[Dixielandjazz] Sit Ins

[Mike]

I fully agree with what's been said on this subject. My college 
group played a private party this last Friday and a guy showed 
up with his tenor and said he hadn't touched it in about 20 
years. It took him about 3-4 tunes to get warmed up, then he was 
pretty good. Like your situation with the guitar player, we all 
noticed that he was a good player at one time.

Out here in the Denver area, most bands don't mind you sitting 
(some even encourage it) in if they know you. What I first did 
was asked the band(without my horn in hand) if I could come sit 
one of these nights when you are playing here.

Most bands will generally consider it and some will not. Either 
way, most will appreciate you asking them before you bring your 
horn with you. In one case, the bandleader asked me to attend 
one of his rehearsals before I sat in. I still play with that 
group from time to time as a sub.

A lot of bands have a "no sit in until the second set" rule that 
seems to be somewhat standard. I've also noticed that the bands 
who do let you sit in are very encouraging and tell you some 
other places and bands who might let you sit in our need a few 
extra men.

Mike



Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis wrote:
> I do allow sit ins if they are directly related to the gig or the client 
> even if they are for shit.  I was working a home and some old guy wanted 
> to sit in on guitar.  He was terrible and loud but you could tell that 
> he had been a fair player at one time.  The recreation coordinator loved 
> it and I got two more gigs off of that one.  One with my 7 pc band.
> 
> I too let guys sit in if I know them and that they can play but that 
> almost never happens because of the nature of my gigs.