[Dixielandjazz] Quoting

[John McClernan]

Don,
I worked with one trombonist (surprise!) who tried to jam as many  
quotes as possible, appropriate or not, into each of his solos. The  
guys in the band chuckled at first, but it grew tiresome rather  
quickly and we felt it was just smarmy and 'clever' rather than  
inventive or creative. One fella got so fed up with it, he finally  
spoke up and said, "Hey, if you want to quote something, how about  
quoting the song we are playing?"

That finally put a stop to it. It forced the guy  to change how he  
"composed" with his instrument and ultimately became a much better  
soloist. As in most things, moderation is the key. Quotes can be used  
tastefully, or shoe-horned in, merely because the chords fit. If one  
more trombone player quotes the original Star Trek TV theme over a C  
to Ab chord change, I'm gonna scream!

My 2¢
Cheers,
John


On Feb 23, 2006, at 3:51 PM, Don wrote:

> For some reason, hearing "quotes" in a jazz solo always tickles  
> me.  Maybe it's an ego thing, I'm proud of my ear and memory, which  
> are not bad for a wannabe but neverwuz musician.
>
> Don Robertson