[Dixielandjazz] Almost good players

[Ken Mathieson]

Hi Gang,

Russ hit the nail right on the head with this list:

>snip
The most common problems I find with "almost " musicians is
  problems with intonation.
  problems with keeping rhythm... speeding up but most commonly, slowing down.
  [ I've played with some really good musicians who have a slowing down problem
  especially in small ensembles ].
  Playing too loud, sometimes playing too timidly.
  Can't read.
  unfamiliar with music nomenclature.
  Ego problems, can't not be coached.
<snip

The weaknesses of "not quite almost musicians" (faltering phrasing, loss of control of the instrument, lack of harmonic knowledge, over/under-running on a solo chorus etc) are more obvious, but I've met guys who could really play their horns, knew their harmony and were strong, interesting soloists, but had no idea about ensemble discipline and had little interest in learning. One sax player I know is a strong, punchy, coherent and interesting soloist, straight out of the hard bop tradition, but consistently over-blows and loses control of his intonation. He knows his horn and harmony and can generally get away with it on a quartet gig (especially if the piano tuning is suspect), but along with other horns it can be a disaster: his volume means that nobody else can hear the lead player clearly, so everyone's intonation and phrasing become affected. He's also not the world's most accurate reader, so that adds further problems where charts are involved. I guess the ultimate basics are playing in tune and playing in time: nobody can really start playing good music in any genre unless these are happening.

Regards,

Ken Mathieson

www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk