[Dixielandjazz] solos & soloing

[Zerxpress at aol.com]

I was just thinking about solos last weekend after hearing
some saxophonists that didn't seem to say anything or seem to know  what
to do.     ANd I jotted down this  poem-like ditty -- for those of us 
that listen to the way-out stuff, this is somewhat how a solo could  be
manufactured:
 
 
HOW TO MAKE A SOLO
LIKE BOBBY BRADFORD OR MICHAEL VLATKOVICH
 
First, throw out a bunch of oddments,  just a flurry of  odds
& ends,  purely scattershot
 
don't pre-plan or work out in advance!
 
then, pull back and lay out for a breath or two,  take a look
at what you have to work with
 
that first flurry is your "language elements" that you will work with
 
So, now, it's time to start work, to start constructing a solo
 
you use only the elements from your first flurry,  you can  re-arrange
them, elongate them, eliminate a few of them, BUT
 
be sure to begin constructing something, brick by brick
 
assemble a unified whole, that is true to itself  (you see how this is  very
different that merely re-playing the various oddments, or just running  down
changes on your horn, demonstrating your virtuosity, all the technique 
you have, all your baggage, that stuff
doesn't SAY ANYTHING, it's just hot air)  BUT if
you construct something out of nothing and build a little edifice you
have done something
 
you have told a little story, you made a solo !
 
--Mark Weber
6june10
Albuquerque USA