[Dixielandjazz] Who puts the "jazz" in jazz?

[Ministry of Jazz]

Hi Bob,

Of course I use a click (metronome) track to put down the first track or
two. After that, I play with the first tracks and no click. Only one song so
far I played as a banjo solo the way I usually perform it, with no click,
and then added tuba, more banjos and percussion to that. The song gains
speed and energy slowly throughout, and the metronome would kill it.

There are some issues when playing with a metronome.

First of all, many songs have slower intros that accelerate into the tempo
of the song, or out choruses that speed up or slow down to a grand climax,
or holds or breaks here and there where the tempo has to be flexible. This
is not possible with a metronome.

Second, it has been our experience on nearly every song that if I put down a
banjo or tuba track or both with a metronome, that the resulting playing is
mechanical and lifeless. Some might say that this is MY problem with playing
in tempo, and maybe it partly is. It is a known fact that banjo players have
issues with playing at constant speeds, especially speeds other than "fast".
However, I think it is also the nature of the beast, so to speak. It has
happened on most of our songs so far, that after about half of the tracks
are recorded and the song begins to come to life, the first tracks that went
down with the click are the ones that are lackluster and need to be redone.
When played again with the horn and vocal and solo tracks, the banjo and
tuba (or whatever was first with the click) comes to life. At this point, if
one tried to put the click track back into the song, the click is what would
be off. But the song sounds fine. I suppose one could blame me for that, but
I say try it and see. Anyone ever try to get your whole band to play with a
metronome? If you can even stay with it at all, it makes the song sound like
the ticking of a clock, and I never saw anyone dance to or smile to or
applaud a clock for ticking. And if you can't stay with it exactly, then
trying to stay with it introduces all kinds of tension and stiffness.

The click does not solve the problem with breaks. No matter which track we
have put down first, the others have had trouble coming in properly, even
with the click. My theory is that the magic that makes a break exciting, and
maybe what makes jazz in general exciting, is in the subtle "breathing" of
the playing. Sometimes players anticipate the beat or play slightly behind
it, imparting a certain feeling to the passage or song. This happens
naturally and transparently when playing in a band. But when playing track
by track it must somehow be created.

With breaks, in most cases I find I have to play the parts one by one as
accurately as I can, then start replaying the earlier ones to fit better
with the later ones. This has not only worked, but it has produced some
downright thrilling breaks in the finished mix.

Well, not wanting to beat the topic to death. In about a month, whoever
wants to will be able to hear for him/herself, and be the judge. The reason
I brought up this topic at all on DJML is because I thought the process
might be of interest to others who might be contemplating similar recording
projects. I myself got the idea after hearing a friend's CD with vocal
harmonies recorded the same way, and later I was invited to compose and play
some multi-track accompaniments and interludes on another friend's disk.
Once I saw that it was something I could do, I decided to go for it myself.

Then of course there is the philosophical question of identifying that
elusive quality we all love in our music. This project gives me a new
perspective on the question.

Regards,

Elazar
Doctor Jazz Dixieland Band
Tekiya Brass Ensemble
Jerusalem, Israel
www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
+972-2-679-2537


-----Original Message-----
From: Robert S. Ringwald [mailto:robert at ringwald.com]
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 2:56 AM
To: DJML
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Who puts the "jazz" in jazz?


Elazar,

Try using a click track.