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Thanks, let me see if it works ....




It works

Something in 5 I played a few days ago
Today I was doing Autumn leaves in 5 (straight 1/8s) for variety

I play with the main singer in that clip, Reem Kelani, quite a bit. We have been to Turkey a couple of times but that time we were part of a festival as guests of a huge Turkish band. The tv broadcast was publicity for that show. It was completely unrehearsed and we had only met the other people literally 5 minutes before the live broadcast. It was good fun.

Here's some recordings from last night's jam session. Comments welcome.

Solar (starts at my solo)
http://www.box.com/s/aq7bltc8v3vtym6c9par

Stella
http://www.box.com/s/ck7073etbbexkj4rz0xo

Blue Bossa
http://www.box.com/s/g96cguz50jsa4szn3xve

So What
http://www.box.com/s/kcjnjibenlf44yk60248

Footprints
http://www.box.com/s/7lh42e62tbnagghuo1el

wow, very powerful and moving song beeboss. were you just improvising the comp? Sounds very "middle eastern", some double harmonic minor scale stuff.

Reminds me of something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcEdTGFxWtM

a jazz and Arabic fusion mix. Not done too much in mainstream jazz but I like the melding of musical cultures.

Solar was not there.
Anyhow, my first reaction is that it's too much do be do be do be (swing 8ths) and not enough: dooooo - - bodiddleboo, do da do daaa, do beee be dooo aas in melodic playing.
Also generally the group pulse/swing/pocket feels a bit heavy-handed - I would like more lightness. It's like everybody's trying too hard.
I know how hard this is but: Relax. jazz is fun.

Thanks Redux. Reem is from Palestine and so is that song. The piano (and all the other instruments and other singing) was all spontaneously improvised but doesn't really have anything to do with jazz.
I do love those 'double harmonic' sounds though and use them quite a lot in jazz tunes.

I agree you wouldn't call that music "jazz" but the essense and spirit of it embodies what music should be about.

It's cool hearing how musicians from other cultures blend jazz with their own music. Not fusion but their interpretation of it.

Even the Europeans have their own take with their rich classical heritage. I'm thinking of Jan Garbarek or Tomasz Stanko. No horn players in north America sound like them.

I really like Jan in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGjJ7jRd40o&feature=channel_video_title

In these days we are all citizens of the world and can take our influences from wherever we like, which is great because there is so much amazing music from so many different cultures that previously there was little access to. In todays globalised world we can hear anything with a few clicks.
There are loads of great musicians in Europe who largely don't get noticed on the American scene. Garbarek has long been on of my favourites.

Link fixed--

Chris - remember this is a jam session. I can't control what everyone else does so you can focus on me here. This is not my band.

Well I did mean you as well.

Jazzwee, on Solar your left hand seems intrusive. Not out of time but just really intense and without much variety, almost as if you're trying to keep your place in the changes. Maybe not the case, but I'd try to lighten it up and leave some more space. On Stella, I think you could just play less and find more of a melody during your solo. Like the melody of the song, with some long notes and gentle shaping. Obviously not for the entire solo, but just to help keep it grounded.
The comping on Blue Bossa with piano and guitar feels busy to me. In this style, I like letting the guitar be more rhythmic and I just plant little flowing ideas and use a lot of space and pedal. Heard the 16ths in your solo . More 16ths on Footprints! Left hand is heavy again here though. By the way, your So What link is Footprints.

I still think your playing is getting better, just looking for things to help keep you moving.

Beeboss, on that Hermeto Pascoal thing in 5, are you trying to be conscious of how all your lines count out in 5 or are you just keeping the feel? I tried playing that and I found the left hand just kind of takes care of itself after awhile and I could just play whatever I wanted in the right without really worrying about the 5 beats. Things would start and end in all sorts of different places, and I could find a lot of patterns that were I guess "polyrhythmic", but I had no idea what I was doing. Where I would have trouble is if there where changes to keep track of. Then I think I'd have to know what I was doing more to keep from putting things in the wrong place.

Scott, that is definitely right. It is difficult to start with but it pretty soon becomes easy and you can forget all about the left hand and the 5ness of it and play in whatever rhythm you like.

Ok the above has corrections on links. Sorry about that.

Scott, the LH comments are good and I agree with that too. Partially, it was hard to hear myself. The guitar amp was right on my ear. So I think I was grounding myself in the form as this guy was really playing over me and being distracting.

On Solar, the trumpet was all over the place (not in the form) so I cut out a whole section but it disrupts the thought process when you react to the moment.

So What is a really crazy version. You should listen to it. It's like 200bpm and I was just doing crazy stuff there. Kinda fun actually but again hard to hear. I had no idea when we go to the Eb section. The Bass player has to signal me. Too confusing.

Guitar player affects the groove and comps all over me so nothing I can do.

I really did that outside kind of sound on this. Really cool.

Jazzwee, it doesn't sound like anyone really knows where they are in So What... happens . Tunes like that really have to have things shaped to the form by everyone. For instance, the drummer is mostly just playing away with no regard to outlining the form, but if he set up some clear distinctions at the ends of sections or changed "colors" it would help. And then beyond that, as a soloist, we just have to keep our ideas connected to the symmetry of the form. Easier said than done.

I had to laugh at your comment Scott. First of all, it is absolutely true that none of us knew where we were on the form except for the bass player. And when I could see him, he would signal the change.

For awhile there, someone blocked me from seeing him (like during my solo), so I lost track. I just have a standing agreement with the bass player, that I'll keep an eye on him.

But for me, I'm playing outside anyway so I found that it doesn't really matter The audience doesn't know either. LOL.

This was the first time I've played So What in a band. The tempo was a bit unexpected but I practiced it now like this so I won't be caught off guard. I have it on my set list for the next gig. It's actually quite fun with the free kind of feel. A little bit of free jazz with just a slight framing by the form.

If I could just sustain a lot of sixteenths here it would be great. I ended off time there for a moment...

maybe try clear 4 bars motif for So What to keep you in place, call and response like, and avoid playing over the bar line.

I was practicing it last night and the problem is to keep the rhythm clear so I can count. Even as I go outside, I need to shape the phrase to the form I suppose. But this is a jam so it's free for all. Heck, it's a first try I've been avoiding this because I know there's no way I can't get lost.

It's like when we do Take 5. We just vamp and then the bass player signals the form. Pretty smooth though, it's only guys like you that will notice that we don't really know where we are.

Take 5, I just play the vamp throughout, same as the original. Mostly, it's drummer madness time, while keeping the groove on keyboard.