[Dixielandjazz] Re: Musicians Sitting in

[Chuck Kercher]

A fine piano player here in Florida--Tony Castellano--told me of his growing
up in a musical family and his fervor about playing jazz. He was
particularly impressed with a black musician's band in Miama and after
building up enough courage he asked the guy about possibly letting him "Sit
in."  The guy said, "Oh no! Sitting in is "out' Sitting out is "in."Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: <TCASHWIGG at aol.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 2:16 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Re: Musicians Sitting in



In a message dated 10/9/03 10:07:58 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
dave at creolejazz.com writes:

>
> What do you think about musicians sitting in on a band's regular weekly
gig?
>
If it is a regular weekly gig with a regular audience that does not have to
pay a cover charge to see and hear your band, then there is absolutely no
problem with it.

You should however always announce that you have a special guest in the
house
who would like to come and perform a number or two (at most) with your
regular band, and make certain that the guest player will not cause a
conflict with
one of the regular players, who might interpret the gesture as auditioning a
replacement for them. It is always a prudent and good idea to ask the other
band members if they mind if the player sits in for a couple of numbers. If
they object don't be afraid to ask them why and ponder their reasons
carefully,
we can all be temperamental at the drop of a hat.

For the new young player attempting to get some live performance experience,
it can be very helpful, and the regular guys should feel a sense of
nurturing
along a new guy who needs to get some positive interaction with an audience.

If the new guy is good and can come up to your level of playing from his
experiences then you have accomplished a great deal, we all get better and
play
better by performing with better and often more experienced players than
ourselves. Without this opportunity many younger players would simply not
learn how
to be better.

On the other hand if you indeed know that a certain player who shows up
every
week, is not very good, and his only gig is to go around sitting in where
ever he can just to get on a stage. You should politely avoid accommodating
them, because, no one ever hires him/her to perform for money. This type of
player is typically not, or ever will be professional and will only deter
from the
overall quality and reputation that your band has earned over the years.

If people are paying to come and see and hear your band, then the only folks
allowed to sit in should be actually guest Star players known to you and
your
band as equals in quality and stature with the public or better. That is
called professional courtesy, and many great players will be honored to be
invited
to come up and play a number or two, but do not get upset if they decline
your invitation as well, it is a two way street. Some folks like to do it
and
some don't.

Sometimes professional players like to just go out and hear someone else
play, either for their own enjoyment or to check out potential players for
future
gigs, and have no intention of sitting in and playing on their night off.

You should also be aware that sometimes the sit in dude is actually looking
for a chance to be seen and heard by the gig owners boss, in the hopes of
stealing the gig, (yeah I know it is an ugly thing to think about but it
happens
every night).

Sad to say but an unemployed musician is more desperate than an unemployed
hooker, at least the hooker has many more prospects for getting employment.

Since I do not work those kind of gigs anymore, I never have to worry about
it, but you guys and gals who work the club scene know what I am talking
about
or sooner or later will.

The best Sit in players are the ones you personally invite, who you know can
and will enhance your performance or at best not detract from it.

I don't do Sit-ins, except for very special circumstances for long time
professional friends who are actually in need of my services on a particular
given
performance due to a dire illness or emergency with one of their regular
band
members. In such a case I would not hesitate to help them finish or perform
a
show, other wise I prefer to sit in the audience and enjoy their performance
as a member of the paid audience, which sometimes I am a paying member.

When I buy a ticket to see and hear a particular act that I respect, I do
not
expect to be asked nor do I want to be asked to sit in, I came to hear them
and BE entertained, besides, (I would never pay to hear myself play). :) :)

Entertainingly yours,

Tom Wiggins
Saint Gabriel's Celestial Brass Band
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