Saturday, August 8, 2015

Jazz Colony #7

We started the session by reflecting on our first Sea-Jazz gig this summer. We discussed strategies for talking on the mic.

- Introduce JC Program
- Introduce band members
- Announce titles, composers, interesting info about compositions
- Promote tip jar
- Prepare a couple (appropriate) jokes

We also listened to "Simple" by my mentor, saxophonist George Garzone and had a short discussion. The piece alternates between a simple, almost square melody (with hints of dissonance) and short interludes of rubato, intense free jazz. Great solos!


Because attendance for several combos was low, and we had an abundance of saxophone players, we divided into a rhythm section workshop and a saxophone workshop. In the sax workshop, we listened to sound models and worked on our tone through working on mouthpiece pitch. Here is the handout I put together:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6BGmxv2DkrEbkxqTjJYMml0d2c/view?usp=sharing

Here are notes from Michael Glynn:

We discussed a number of things in the rhythm section workshop, but spent the most time working on the jazz "2-feel."  This is a common feel used most often on medium swing tunes for the melody, and sometimes parts of the solos.  Here are a few recordings of bands playing in a 2-feel.   
Things to listen for and think about:

-How long or short are the bass notes? How does it change the feel when they are shorter or longer?

-What is the drummer playing?  How does it interact with what the bass is playing?

-When do they change to a 4-feel (if at all)?  Do they set up this change musically somehow?

-Compared to the 4-feel, does the 2-feel seem lighter or heavier?  Are there other ways you might describe the difference?


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1 comment:

  1. Jake BergevinAugust 9, 2015 at 8:11 AM

    If I'm an busy teenager ... what should I be practicing to get ready for the next session?

    ReplyDelete

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