Bilbo

PS I forgot to say, I love Jazz.

Self talk....’sh*t. All these guys wanting to play Jazz? I’m going to lose gigs. Oh, they are all in Surrey and London. OK, then, here goes.’ The ‘Jazz Scene’ is not a single entity and there are several things going on at once. You have your local big bands where the local MU or similar enthusiasts organise a weekly blow though some charts. These bands can range from great or terrible but they do offer regular playing opportunities if you can get a foot in the door. The requisite competences are rudimentary reading skills and good time (local big bands to you are Pat Kelly’s Penduluum (Reading) and Bill Castle’s The Chosen Few (Bracknell). Then you have your local jam sessions where you can just turn up and sit in. Great places to cut your teeth when you are starting out and need a place to play but the standards can vary greatly from great to appalling and you have to go along and see what is happening. In don’t know what’s in Surrey now but there should be jams around and about, particularly as you go into London (there was one in Staines, IIRC, and at Jagz in Ascot) The next stage is the commercial ‘function band’ type of jazz which sees players working the same circuits as other wedding/function bands and it is a case of getting your name out there as a competent player and waiting for a gig to come along. Theses kinds of gigs range in quality from great to appalling (same a pop, rock and funk bands) and it s a question of trial and error and of seeing what is out there and taking work where you can. These bands sometimes find themselves playing local venues who are trying to ‘get some jazz evenings going’ but the money is generally poor so it tends to be duos and trios. It is as much a case of who you know as it is what you can play. There are then the local rhythm section with visiting artists scene which sees a regular rhythm section (usually piano/bass/dr or guitar/bas/dr) backing a visiting artist. These are great gigs if you can get onto one because you get to play with major UK jazz players like Art Themen, Don Weller, Stan Sultzman etc. Trouble with these is the gigs are often ‘dead men’s shoes’ and whoever holds the gig keeps it until some traumatic life event intervenes and the gig becomes free. I have depped loads of these but have never been the first call guy who gets the regular work. I have resisted the temptation to assassinate Bernie Hodgkins so far but it is early days in Suffolk so watch this space Right up until this level, the repertoire is standards (The Great American Songbook) and so-called jazz standards (the ones everyone plays – Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk etc etc) And, at the top of tree, there are the originals bands who are playing their own material; creative, on the cutting edge etc. You can go straight into this ‘strata’ if you are lucky but the standard is monstrously high and, if there is a gig to be had, everyone wants it! This is as much about who you know and who you spend your time playing with so, if Django Bates lives next door and needs a player regularly, you are in with a chance. Regarding the electric bass prejudice. Its out there and its real. Many will book a good electric player if they can’t get anything else but there are still some (many?) who would rather book a bad double bass player than a good electric player (I tend to think there are gigs I wouldn’t want anyway as those kinds of decisions are perverse and must reflect on the musical values of the leader). If a jazz band is leaning towards funk/fusion etc, an electric bass is fine but such bands are not that common in the provinces so think about a double bass as it will bring you more work. Core advice: Learn to read charts. A must if you are going to work with people who never rehearse. Learn what extensions and slash chords mean. They are less common in popular music and you may see stuff you are not ready for. Learn to read dots; even if you can’t read fly sh*t on toilet paper, being able to read eighth notes is going to save your arse on a daily basis so put some time in on it. Soloing is less important than you think; you can, if you wish, tell and MD not to give you solos if you want and many respect that (maybe one or two a gig – I do gigs where I get asked to solo on every tune and it bores me never mind anyone who is listening ). Pick the tunes you want to solo over based on what you are prepared for. I can’t solo over Giant Steps without looking like a tit so, if it is called, I don’t solo. Never play Fever, Canteloupe Island, Watermelon Man and especially never, ever, EVER play Moondance (or I will have to kill you).

I have just got hold of my 'entry level' IEM gizmo (Art Headtap) and now need to sort out headphones. My first thought is, where do I situate the Headtap and how long a headphoen lead will I need. I would prefer buds as closed back headphones may work on a drummer in the studio but, on a live double bass player are going to look a bit silly. What do others do to make the process discreet but convenient?

If we are talking jazz partnerships that have stood the test of time there are many: Tony Bennett - Ralph Sharon Carla Bley - Steve Swallow John Scofield - Steve Swallow Pat Metheny - Lyle Mays Branford MArsalis - Jeff Watts Sonny Rollins - Bob Cranshaw Oscar Peterson - Ray Brown Cleo Laine - John Dankworth the list is endless. If we are talking business relationships in Jazz, its Ronnie Scott and Pete King or Lorraine and Max Gordon

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If you draw a circle around what you think is art, someone will immediately step over it. Its his call.....

The trouble with men in the mid life crisis phase is you can't tell them. Like bigots, they cannot but see themselves as reasonable people, unaffected by such things. What tattoo have you got, molan?

Trouble with internet forums is that, unlike real life, because person A and person B have a discussion in January, person C and D can't have it again un February Personally, I think there is an element of 'mid-life crisis' spending in this as well. Most Harley owners are not hard core bikers but middle aged blokes with more money than sense. The kids have left home, the income is as high as its ever been so why not? A kind of reward for all those years of denial!! I would have one (an AJ Presentation)in a shot all things being equal but it will be a long time before I have £14-16K to spend on a bass. I struggle to see that most of the folk who have these basses are pros as most of the pros I know could not afford these prices.

Hit The Road Jack.... Hit the MD, more like.

Man and machine in perfect harmony.

Not surprising, really. Its a case of grow or die and a lot of projects never get past the occasional gig and, consequently, people get frustrated and move on, psychologically or physically, so changes are made etc. Either that or, when you buy a new bass, you turn into a bass trainspotter and piss everyone off!!

It is a great sound, Ben. I wish my recordings were so quiet! Nicely executed and a great transcription. Excellent work all round.

Was it Gareth Lumbars on sax? I heard he was doing that gig...

I would rather download 4 Pink FLoyd cds or eat my own liver......

I thought I might get one of these......

More to the point, how do I get a saxophone sound out of my fretless bass...

It's definately a bass.......

Nice one, Scott. Getting chords to work on the bass is always a tough one but the concept works here. Very Swallowesque tonally but I don't think even Steve could pull that off quite so convincingly.

You aren't going to get an Italian hand made bass that is painted white or covered in flames but I suspect you knew that!! It'll be fine; at these prices, the difference betwen one bass and another won't be a deal breaker. When it arrives, it is likely that the bridge will be lying flat (don't worry, its not broken) so you will have to initially set it up yourself. All you need to do is line up the bridge with the notches on the f-holes and then tighten the strings as you do on an electric (it'll take longer, tho ). A proper set up can come later but, for the first few days, just have a bit of fun and slap it about a bit.

I just hope they didn't all try to get there on public transport.... Can you imagine the queue at the bus stop?

9 hours? They produced Kind Of Blue in less time than that!! Seriously, though. Nice work.