[Dixielandjazz] First tune of the set

[Ken Mathieson]

Ken asked "how do bandleaders select the opening number for a set?"

Well, it depends on lots of things, especially the gig. If it's a dancing crowd, an easy bouncy tempo (c 140 - 160 bpm max) is ideal for enticing people on to the floor and if it's a dancing crowd, then that's the band's job. If it's a formal concert with a seated audience, I'd tend to go for something bright, with an attractive melody (generally something that most of the audience will recognise) and a tidy arrangement so that everything starts and finishes with a bang. For a festival gig, it depends a bit on the time of day, the mood of the crowd, and whether the previous band finished on a rabble rouser. In that scenario, there's no point in coming on cold and trying to top a band which had been playing for an hour or so, so I'd kick off with a groovy walking thing (c 120 bpm) like Moten Swing. If it's a late night set with the crowd already warmed up, I'd start with a bluesy piece with a strong groove, so it's essential that the rhythm section is fired up and raring to go and that's where bandleader psychology comes in: make announcements snappy, pick tempos carefully and count them in with energy (there's nothing like a flaccid count-in to turn a rhythm section off) and generally psych the musicians into putting on a performance. It doesn't matter how tired they are, I find they generally react positively to being encouraged to give their best, and once the music kicks in and the groove gets to them, they'll forget they were tired in the first place

Another factor is the instrumentation, as brass players generally don't want to start on a raver, but if they've done their warm-up properly, it shouldn't be an insurmountable problem. I used to work a lot with Peanuts Hucko when he toured in Scotland and he used to call for a "first-round knock-out" before concert or club dates. We'd play something like Sweet Georgia Brown at c 220 -240 bpm and really go for it. The reaction was always volcanic, with standing ovations for the opening number! His reasoning was that they were there to be excited and if we gave them that right at the start, they'd let us play anything we wanted thereafter, as they knew that sooner or later we'd deliver another killer-diller.

Another thing to consider is the encore at the end of the concert. We generally finish our last set with a raver and have a few charts which were specifically designed as set-closers to get the audience going. If they call for an encore, we'll generally go out on a slow piece, as that usually signals that we're winding things down. However it has to be a slow piece with a strong character, preferably with a shouting passage followed by a quiet concluding passage. That keeps the punters interested but still signifies that the end has arrived. We've used West End Blues as an encore on many occasions, as it has a dramatic solo trumpet intro, which can be started over the applause for the last number, an easy tempo, a rousing last chorus which subsides into a tender diminuendo coda. While it's a great encore number, it can only work if the trumpeter's chops are still up, so, if we programme it as the encore, we always have a less-taxing alternative in case his chops are on the wane.

Common-sense, experience and especially reading the audience's mood are what makes for good programming. In my opinion, the first number is often the most important piece in the programme: it sets the mood for the evening, but if the original choice of programme doesn't match the audience's mood, we always have spares up our sleeve so that we can switch to match the mood. I should add that we're an octet working off written charts with lots of room for jazz solos, so we can't just switch repertoire around as easily as a busking Dixie band can do "on the hoof."

I  hope this answers your question and it would be interesting to hear how other bandleaders go about it.

Cheers,

Ken Mathieson in Uddingston, Scotland (where it's trying to be summer, but seems to have forgotten how).
www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk