knirirr

In case it's of any slight amusement: A long time ago I was roped into a gig which was playing mellow jazz during a black tie dinner at an Oxford college (Regent's Park, IIRC). The scratch band was whatever local musicians were free that night, mostly students, playing standards from fake books - we seemed to get away with it although there was a bit of faff as there was no set list and not everyone had the same books. So, sort of a jam session, with a small payment to cover the taxi fare there. Anyway, during setup we were accosted by the MC who wanted to know the band name so he could announce us at the start of dinner and at the end before the speeches. He insisted on a name and so was told we were "The Jazz Woodbines", which he duly announced.

That's the one. Before that it didn't tend to stay in business long, so perhaps the current makeover has helped.

Thanks! However, I think I'll hold off on the solo performances - with luck I might find at least one other person, which should help considerably (accompanying was always much easier). It does seem to be quite a small stage area, but they might have changed it around a bit since you were there.

The one in Enstone that used to be The Harrow (now the "Artyard Café", IIRC). It's acoustic folk stuff, hence my questions elsewhere about acoustic basses. I live nearby but work in Oxford.

Not exactly a gig, but due to not having any other musicians to play with (or prospect of finding any) I thought I'd try a solo piece at a local pub's open mic night last night (the wife's folk songs go down well there). Despite memorising the material and having the dots in front of me it was a disaster - my mind went blank and I somehow lost the ability to read music, so the result was horrible and riddled with mistakes which everyone noticed. At least the audience didn't seem too upset by it, so a useful lesson overall. Of course, I got back home and was able to play the stuff again...

This might be vaguely relevant: Playing in a noisy bar in Oxford. The following conversation ensues: Saxophonist: I fancy another fast one. Rather than following the set list, how about doing [speech obscured by background noise]. Pianist: Cool! Me: Hang on - what tune*? What key? Saxophonist: One... two... one, two, three, four [honk, parp etc.] It wasn't something I recognised so I had to fake it on the low notes (5-string EUB with poor acoustics in the bar, luckily) until I could guess some of the changes. Whilst I was still guessing (it took a while and wasn't 100% successful) there was a chap looking a bit like Student Grant from Viz watching me from just in front of the stage, clicking his fingers and nodding his head whilst clearly getting into it. IIRC the rest of the band didn't notice either. * Tune? This is jazz!

Indeed; this one is a particular favourite: I can't quite work out all of the bassline though. Of course, this would allow for a "None; the organist could do it with his feet" variation of the joke.

The keyboard did sound a bit like organ pedals, and from a distance a little like a fretted bass guitar; it took me a while to work out what was going on. On recordings I have the organ pedals sound reasonable.

Q: How many bassists does it take to change a lightbulb? A: None. The Pianist could do it with his left hand. I'd not seen a band without a bass guitar or double bass perform live, but I went to a jazz club in Prague last night and the pianist was indeed doing the bass with his left hand, having brought along a separate keyboard for the purpose. At one point he even took a bass solo whilst drinking beer with his right hand. Most odd and a bit of a disappointment although the music was good. The piano and bass are shown in the attached photo taken during the interval.

There are two bassists on this album: https://www.discogs.com/Monk-Montgomery-Bass-Odyssey/release/2001440

Thanks, a good suggestion. I did go to him for a setup on my other bass, and he did an excellent job.

giphy.mp4

I bought an unlined fretless Jazz here recently which is just the sort of thing I'm after as far as playing goes, but I'm not particularly keen on the white body. If it had a natural wood finish I could get on with playing it rather than obsessing about the colour: Options: - Sell it and buy one with the right finish: An expensive custom one would be the only option, and I'd lose money on the sale. Anyway, the current bass sounds good and is nice to play. - Sand the body down: I'm not certain that the wood underneath is suitable and it would need filling in places anyway (socket and active electronics compartment I won't be using). - Replace the body? I've seen some good bodies on sale at affordable prices e.g. on Ebay. Taking all the parts off and replacing them, such as after a respray, is within my capabilities (though my soldering might be a bit rusty) but drilling holes accurately on a new body isn't, so I'd have to pay someone to do the work, assuming someone willing could be found. Anyone have a rough idea of cost? Also, the length of the neck pocket on the bodies listed for sale often seems shorter than the one I've got, e.g. 7.5 instead of 10cm. Does anyone know how much of a problem fitting a the neck on a new body is likely to be, i.e. would someone with the proper skills be able to manage it assuming the body wasn't something totally odd?

Thanks - good music indeed, and pleasing to see such remarks in the comments as: The reason is that the first jazz band in which I was able to play was a big band, and I had to play rhythm guitar. So, I got a book on it which suggested some chord shapes using only 3 or 4 strings which allowed easy changing of the voicing during each bar. This was fun and I thought it sounded quite good, even with my playing. The bassist complained that I was cramping his style, though.

Thanks. I’ve got a Jazz and was planning to use a Fender Rumble 15, but might try a different amp if that proves insufficient.

I'll be there around the same time, then. Unfortunately, it will be for work.

Thanks for the useful info. Looks like I’ll have to stick with a practice amp - no room at home for a DB, even if I fancied one, unfortunately.

Is it loud enough to be heard against, for example, a couple of acoustic guitars, or would it need amplification even for that? Presumably it would be a bit too quiet, particularly if played fingerstyle with nylon strings on.

Indeed. As a result of seeing one at a gig I ended up playing an EUB for a time, which I ought not perhaps to have done as it was expensive, not as comfortable to play as a BG and a faff to transport. Looked and sounded good, though.

MIJ Fender Jazz: Rotosound Jazz Bass 77 flatwounds, medium. Fretless Jazz from various non-Fender parts: Labella copper white nylon, light. These strings feel and sound quite different but each seems to suit the instrument on which they are fitted. I am particularly pleased with the nylon ones - I only heard about such things recently and was initially unsure but they work well on the fretless bass.

The OH (brass player) and I have a fun pastime where, when listening to some jazz, I will ask whether she thinks it's a bass guitar or double bass on this particular track. She will then give the traditional reply of "how am I supposed to know, they sound pretty much the same!" before making the wrong guess. I have, of course, cheated by looking the answer up.

Just received this via the marketplace here.

Just received a fretless Jazz from Gareth - a very pleasant transaction indeed, excellent communication.