[Dixielandjazz] Can't stop improvising

[Hoog, Steve]

Stephen, Dan, Russ, and anyone else still interested!--

I guess my take on the Miles quote--if you have NO idea what you're doing, you don't have a clue.  You have to know the changes, or some semblance of knowledge of them.  You have to know the style of the tune, who is going to be backing your choruses, when you're going to start playing. 
I'm not saying you have to transcribe your solos and play the same thing over and over, not at all--like the Coltrane comment, it's sometimes impossible and it gets boring really fast no matter what.  But, I'd submit that it's all but impossible to have NO IDEA what you're going to do, at the most rudimentary level, and even at the purely artistic level you have to have some hints about where you're going next.  In bop and beyond, the rhythm section follows the soloist.  In OKOM, the soloist follows the rhythm section.  The best solos in OKOM will be melodic, playing against and off of the other voices.  Often in more modern forms silence is golden; in OKOM, it's pretty much an indication of total loss of place.

I try to solo much as I play bass lines--listening to the other voices, find things to complement them and give them something to fool around with so we can come close to one of those rare, magical moments of "WOW!!!"   

That's what OKOM is all about to me.  Oh, I failed to say earlier, I'm 42, a veritable kid comparatively to some ( no names mentioned here....)

steve
tubist, AV guy
KCMO