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

[Robert S. Ringwald]

Dear Elazar,

Of course, having recorded with a click track, I disagree with you.

See my recording "The Great Pacific Jazz Band" "The Music of Louis
Armstrong" at www.ringwald.com/recordings.htm

Of course, some of the guys on the recording were longtime studio musicians
and had no problem playing with a click track.

It just takes practice.  It is merely a matter of keeping time.

Best,

--Bob Ringwald


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ministry of Jazz" <jazzmin at actcom.net.il>
To: "Robert S. Ringwald" <robert at ringwald.com>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 5:01 AM
Subject: RE: [Dixielandjazz] Who puts the "jazz" in 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.
>
>
>