[Dixielandjazz] Rehearsing.

[Russ Guarino]

I remember a duo gig I did in which a person requested " Hey Jude".  I had never played the tune and I told the audience that  the
tune was in my book, but I had never played it before, but we would do the best we could.

It is a ballad and I played it with emotion and feeling.  It seemed so natural.  My keyboard guy also did a nice job.  When concluded,
the man in the audience said "It is hard to believe you just played the tune for the first time".

Russ Guarino

"Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis" wrote:

> Rehearsing on stage is a time honored institution but it might be a good
> idea to have a little clarification.  As Steve pointed out more or less if
> you have pro level or at least experienced players they will be listening
> like glue to the other players.  Endings and intros tend to standardize at
> least a little and once the lead person gives the band the signal to go out
> a listening player will go with them.
>
> Rehearsals in some bands tend to be "OK guys lets start at A and Joe play a
> little softer this time and some of you missed a couple ..........."  This
> type of rehearsal doesn't happen very often with pro level players and if
> you have worked with someone for any length of time you KNOW what he's
> thinking and what he or she will do so it's just a new chord progression and
> different notes but the essentials stay the same.
>
> In jazz mistakes will be made and I am pretty convinced that a lot of licks
> were really mistakes that someone fixed or thought was cool.  Jazz takes
> bold players who aren't afraid of making mistakes.  You never see the
> mistakes of the great masters because they painted over them.
>
> One of my current bands rehearses pretty much regularly because I wasn't
> able to permanently attract the top pros and to tighten up with people who
> don't do a lot of Dixie just isn't an automatic thing.  My Cornet player and
> I don't mind rehearsing.  He is in another band that rehearses regularly
> also.  Lacking steady gigs the chops tend to go and someone who intends on
> playing can't let that happen.  This work is starting to pay off and we
> aren't rehearsing as much but we aren't to the point that I would take a
> completely new tune on the stand without having run through it at least once
> off stand.
>
> I play in several bands that do not rehearse.  We show up, we play and we go
> home and My cornet player and I rehearse tunes all the time on the stand
> with our Duo.  I usually say something about taking a request that will
> stump the band and before anyone says anything I say I have one to stump the
> Cornet player and then we do the new tune.  We then play through it like we
> have known the tune all our lives with one exception.  If its a rock tune
> from the 70's on I play through it once and my friend bangs on the
> tambourine or usually not.  The then takes the middle chorus.  We then
> discuss how much I spent on tambourine lessons for him and he could at least
> bring it sometimes.  The people love it but we have it from then on.
>
> Real Jazz just can't be rehearsed.  Big band is different from combo work
> and small group is what I think we are talking about.
>
> Timing is also important.  I don't think many bands who rehearse on stage
> introduce a new tune at the hottest part of the evening or in front of a
> concert audience.  An informal, dancing, milling crowd aren't listening all
> that close but the concert audience is just setting there staring at you and
> hopefully listening too.
>
> It would also be somewhat unwise to try a tune that was a total stranger to
> most of the band.
>
> There are certain things that have to be in place before a band can get away
> with this.
> 1. a set of visual or aural signals or at least eye contact to designate
> solos, endings etc. This includes declining a solo too.
> 2. most of the players should have some knowledge of the tune especially the
> rhythm section.
> 3. horn players that can arrange on the fly
> 4. horn players that can play off of each other
> 5. horn players that can pick up a riff or background idea instantly when
> the leader or other player sets it up.
> 6. key change signals - one finger up = 1 sharp = key of G.  One finger down
> = 1 flat = key of  F
> 7. Ending signals such as clenched fist for out.  Finger making circles for
> the same thing.
> 8. horn player directing ritards with his horn
> 9. a fixed order of solos after the head.
>
> I'm sure that there are more but those are the essentials.  Some are things
> any band can do but the listening skills to do others on the list just have
> to be worked at.  This is how the experienced band with pro level players
> always seem to be able to pull off tunes, even new ones.
>
> There is a lot of controversy about using music or not but bands that don't
> use music or at most use fake sheets will be a whole lot more successful at
> doing an untried tune on stage.  People who bury their face in a chart tend
> to not be as flexible and are less likely to pick up on those signals.
> Musicians who don't have very good control over their instruments and  have
> to concentrate on a chart and the mechanics of their instrument can't pay
> attention to other things besides the chart.
>
> All those basics are predicated on one thing and that is the musicians are
> constantly communicating with each other and are paying attention with a lot
> of concentration to the other players and leader.  Almost all of these
> things are body language or sound cues and some are very subtle like knowing
> when to play loud or soft.
>
> Lacking some or all of those things then rehearsals are the way to go but it
> is difficult to get groups together.  I do both.  My rehearsal group does a
> lot more obscure tunes that are more unknown to the members.
>
> I play with a big band that almost every chart is somewhat new to everyone.
> The level of the players is just so high that everything comes off but we
> usually have a paid rehearsal before the concerts which consist of starting
> each tune for tempo and playing once through the unfamiliar tunes once for
> key and sometimes we go through a soli a couple of times.  Soloists are
> designated and that's about it.  If you have strong readers and soloists you
> can get away with it.
> Larry
> St. Louis
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
> To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 12:23 PM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Rehearsing.
>
> > Mike <mike at railroadstjazzwest.com> wrote
> >
> >> How do you get better as a unit if you don't practice?
> >>
> >> How can you work out intros and endings if you don't practice as
> >> a band?
> >>
> >> How do get to the point of being professional if you don't rehearse?
> >>
> >> Hobby Band or not, if you want to get better you gotta rehearse.
> >> Otherwise you'll never be able to raise the bar on your
> >> performances. Of course, there's always bands and people who are
> >> the exception but most bands and musician I know practice
> >> privately and rehearse as a unit to improve.
> >
> > Hi Mike:
> >
> > Good points for those wishing to improve. Certainly all beginning
> > musicians/bands should rehearse. And big bands should rehearse
> >
> > But let me throw out a few things for those who have been playing in
> > various
> > small bands, for various gigs, for many years.
> >
> > My band does not practice. We can't because;
> >
> > 1) We have too many gigs and enjoy a little time away from each other.
> >
> > 2) Our "Dixieland Book" is about 500 tunes, includes some American
> > Songbook.
> >   We are not fixated about adding more.
> >
> > 3) We use a lot of subs during the Summer vacation period. The band make
> > up
> >   varies among a pool of about 35 competent Dixieland/Swing musicians. And
> >   sometimes I even book multiple band editions at the same time.
> >
> > 4) We talk over the intros and endings if they are tricky.  And if the TB
> >   player doesn't know the Fidgety Feet intro, just lay out the first time.
> >   No doubt if we have a quality player, he/she will hear it and play it
> >   after that. And if someone comes up and says; "That ain't the way Ory
> >   did it", tough noogies. We're not trying to copy anybody.
> >
> > 5) In effect, we rehearse on the gig. :-) VBG.
> >
> > Bear in mind that we are professional jazz musicians who know how to
> > listen
> > to each other and adapt. Just follow the trumpet is our mantra. If he
> > extends the ending with an 8 bar turnaround, just follow. If he retards
> > the
> > ending, watch his head movement and just follow.
> >
> > Yes, we might make a mistake, but like Artie Shaw said, if you don't make
> > a
> > mistake or two in jazz, you're not trying hard enough. :-) VBG
> >
> > And a seasoned musician knows how to cover up a mistake. Shoot, they are
> > made all the time by everyone, else we wouldn't have recording techies
> > covering them up all the time. Who wants to hear a "perfect" jazz band?
> > Not me, however others are welcome to try, though if they have good ears,
> > they should be able to identify "mistakes" in almost every recording, and
> > certainly in every live performance.
> >
> > We're working with a gal trombonist this Saturday. Only played with us
> > once
> > before. Is a big band trombonist and not strictly a Dixieland Player. BUT;
> > She has great ears, and knows how to watch the trumpet for ending signals,
> > and/or me for the usual band signals as to solo order, key modulations,
> > and
> > riffs. Plus she knows how to solo coherently. I'd rather work with her
> > than
> > a lot of trombone players out there. Plus the audience loved her.
> >
> > On the other hand, I play in a rehearsal band almost every week. They
> > rarely
> > get gigs. It is a tight band, if "arrangements" are your thing and plays a
> > lot of obscure tunes. The patter when they do get gigs is about the
> > "history" of jazz. Basically, the audience could care less about that.
> >
> > Why do I continue to do so? Because when I needed to get my chops back
> > after
> > a 30 year layoff, that band helped me do so. So I'm paying back the debt.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Steve Barbone
> >
> >
> >
> >
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