Monday, October 17, 2011
A Little More Eddie Daniels
Adam Smith sent this link: Eddie Daniels playing a classical/jazz piece ("Solfeggietto/Metamorphosis) with orchestral string section. THAT"S cool.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Eddie Daniels - Clarinet Master
Hello! Tonight we'll check out an instrument that was used a lot in early jazz and kind of fell out of favor during the bebop era. The clarinet isn't heard as often in jazz as it used to be, but that doesn't mean there aren't great jazz clarinet players anymore.
Eddie Daniels is one of the living masters of the instrument - he's equally at home in the symphony hall as he is in a jazz club. This Youtube video shows Eddie talking about how you "jazz up" a melody, in this case "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
If you're playing a feature solo like a ballad, it's definitely OK to play around a bit with the melody! So if you have trouble hearing what to do, check out great soloists like the players I've been featuring here on the Start Listening blog. You don't have to go all over the horn...in fact, sometimes I think some players do that too much, like a vocalist trying to show off...but it's definitely OK to stretch or compress the melody, or add little phrases here and there like Eddie demonstrates, as long as it works with whatever the rest of the band or rhythm section is doing.
You can find more clips of Eddie on YouTube or at his website.
I saw Eddie Daniels live at Jazz Alley in Seattle many years ago; I took a clarinetist friend who hadn't heard him before. Daniels started the gig by playing an excerpt from a clarinet concerto, which then morphed into a very fast jazz adaptation of the piece. My friend's jaw was literally on the floor - she'd never seen anyone with so much technique, and she hissed at me, "Do you have any idea how hard that is?"
Eddie Daniels is one of the living masters of the instrument - he's equally at home in the symphony hall as he is in a jazz club. This Youtube video shows Eddie talking about how you "jazz up" a melody, in this case "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
If you're playing a feature solo like a ballad, it's definitely OK to play around a bit with the melody! So if you have trouble hearing what to do, check out great soloists like the players I've been featuring here on the Start Listening blog. You don't have to go all over the horn...in fact, sometimes I think some players do that too much, like a vocalist trying to show off...but it's definitely OK to stretch or compress the melody, or add little phrases here and there like Eddie demonstrates, as long as it works with whatever the rest of the band or rhythm section is doing.
You can find more clips of Eddie on YouTube or at his website.
I saw Eddie Daniels live at Jazz Alley in Seattle many years ago; I took a clarinetist friend who hadn't heard him before. Daniels started the gig by playing an excerpt from a clarinet concerto, which then morphed into a very fast jazz adaptation of the piece. My friend's jaw was literally on the floor - she'd never seen anyone with so much technique, and she hissed at me, "Do you have any idea how hard that is?"
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Steve Smith - Drums
Hello! How about something for the drummers tonight? There are so many terrific drummers you should listen to that it's hard for me to pick one you should start with. I'll mention a few names towards the end of the post, but for now let's start with Steve Smith.
Smith is one of the most versatile players you'll ever hear. He was already an accomplished jazz drummer when he joined the rock group Journey (yes, that Journey) in the late 70s - that's his playing you hear on the rock standard "Don't Stop Believin'." In the mid-80s he left Journey to return to his roots in jazz; you can find out more about him at his website.
This YouTube video shows Steve Smith demonstrating a melodic drum solo. If you listen closely, you can hear him creating a melodic line with the drum set, and developing it as he goes through the solo. There's a lot of technique involved, to be sure, but it's all for the sake of really developing the solo as he goes.
Drummers aren't excused from making great jazz solos just because there aren't any "notes" on the set! If you're a drummer, be sure you're making good jazz lines and great music as you improvise. Players like Max Roach and Jeff Hamilton are easily located on YouTube or iTunes, and demonstrate the art of playing drum set solos melodically.
A couple more things: Here's an excerpt of Steve Smith demonstrating some basic funk. Listen to how simple the groove actually is! Well, he makes it sound easy. Playing great funk is actually pretty tough because you have to be precise with the rhythmic stuff, much like Latin grooves. Sloppy playing means no groove!
And finally, here an interesting bit from a "drum-off" between Steve Smith and Jeff Hamilton. Apologies for the camera-snap pauses towards the end, but you get the idea. Playing drums well in a jazz setting isn't all about technique and volume...you have to play melodically!
Smith is one of the most versatile players you'll ever hear. He was already an accomplished jazz drummer when he joined the rock group Journey (yes, that Journey) in the late 70s - that's his playing you hear on the rock standard "Don't Stop Believin'." In the mid-80s he left Journey to return to his roots in jazz; you can find out more about him at his website.
This YouTube video shows Steve Smith demonstrating a melodic drum solo. If you listen closely, you can hear him creating a melodic line with the drum set, and developing it as he goes through the solo. There's a lot of technique involved, to be sure, but it's all for the sake of really developing the solo as he goes.
Drummers aren't excused from making great jazz solos just because there aren't any "notes" on the set! If you're a drummer, be sure you're making good jazz lines and great music as you improvise. Players like Max Roach and Jeff Hamilton are easily located on YouTube or iTunes, and demonstrate the art of playing drum set solos melodically.
A couple more things: Here's an excerpt of Steve Smith demonstrating some basic funk. Listen to how simple the groove actually is! Well, he makes it sound easy. Playing great funk is actually pretty tough because you have to be precise with the rhythmic stuff, much like Latin grooves. Sloppy playing means no groove!
And finally, here an interesting bit from a "drum-off" between Steve Smith and Jeff Hamilton. Apologies for the camera-snap pauses towards the end, but you get the idea. Playing drums well in a jazz setting isn't all about technique and volume...you have to play melodically!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Metheny - McBride - Sanchez: "James"
Hello! As you might have guessed by checking out the various posts over the last few weeks, I'm trying to focus on a different instrument each week. This was going to be Bass Week, and I was looking for good video of bassist Christian McBride. But then I found this YouTube video of McBride with guitarist Pat Metheny and drummer Antonio Sanchez, recorded at the Lugano Jazz festival in Switzerland. The tune is Metheny's "James," inspired by folk singer James Taylor.
If you're a guitarist and you don't know Pat Metheny's music, you should really check it out. He's a brilliant composer and performer. He writes great tunes that I think will eventually become jazz standards - they're fun to play on. McBride is as hip to playing funk as he is straight ahead jazz, and in this video he's on fretless bass. He and percussionist Sanchez lay down a fantastic groove over which Metheny and McBride each take great solos.
Listen to the interplay between the three of them, especially during Metheny's guitar solo. When Pat starts playing busy lines, Sanchez and McBride reply in kind. When it's time for the bass and drums to lay out a bit and leave more room for Pat to develop things, they pull back just enough so the energy in the music doesn't fall too much. McBride finishes his solo with a bit of the melody line right before they play the tune out.
The way they work together in this recording is a good reminder that listening isn't just an activity you do as part of your practice regimen - it's what you have to do every time you make music, whether it's in the practice room or on stage at a jazz festival. The more you listen to everything, the better your ears will get at hearing the details.
Musician websites: Pat Metheny's site is www.patmetheny.com. Christian McBride has a great website also, and Antonio Sanchez can be found at www.antoniosanchez.net. Check them out!
If you're a guitarist and you don't know Pat Metheny's music, you should really check it out. He's a brilliant composer and performer. He writes great tunes that I think will eventually become jazz standards - they're fun to play on. McBride is as hip to playing funk as he is straight ahead jazz, and in this video he's on fretless bass. He and percussionist Sanchez lay down a fantastic groove over which Metheny and McBride each take great solos.
Listen to the interplay between the three of them, especially during Metheny's guitar solo. When Pat starts playing busy lines, Sanchez and McBride reply in kind. When it's time for the bass and drums to lay out a bit and leave more room for Pat to develop things, they pull back just enough so the energy in the music doesn't fall too much. McBride finishes his solo with a bit of the melody line right before they play the tune out.
The way they work together in this recording is a good reminder that listening isn't just an activity you do as part of your practice regimen - it's what you have to do every time you make music, whether it's in the practice room or on stage at a jazz festival. The more you listen to everything, the better your ears will get at hearing the details.
Musician websites: Pat Metheny's site is www.patmetheny.com. Christian McBride has a great website also, and Antonio Sanchez can be found at www.antoniosanchez.net. Check them out!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Monty Alexander - Piano Trio
Hello! For the keyboardists out there, here's some Monty Alexander performing at the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival. This fantastic trio includes John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums. They're performing Duke Ellington's tune "Satin Doll" - but they do all kinds of interesting things with it.
Check out how this performance uses lots of dynamics - everything from whisper-quiet, especially in the stop-time sections, to rip-roaring shout volume. Changes in dynamics are a great way to develop tension and release in a solo, and rhythm section players absolutely have to be paying attention to make these contrasts work. If you're practicing for a solo with a big band or other large jazz ensemble, do you get a chance to work with just the rhythm section on dynamics?
Beware that not every big band arrangement lends itself to lots of dynamic change in the solo section, so be sure those changes work musically. Experiment!
Check out how this performance uses lots of dynamics - everything from whisper-quiet, especially in the stop-time sections, to rip-roaring shout volume. Changes in dynamics are a great way to develop tension and release in a solo, and rhythm section players absolutely have to be paying attention to make these contrasts work. If you're practicing for a solo with a big band or other large jazz ensemble, do you get a chance to work with just the rhythm section on dynamics?
Beware that not every big band arrangement lends itself to lots of dynamic change in the solo section, so be sure those changes work musically. Experiment!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Dexter Gordon - Tenor
Hello! Tonight I've got a YouTube link to some live footage of the legendary Dexter Gordon on tenor saxophone. He's performing at the famous Montmartre jazz club in Copenhagen Denmark, and this film is from 1971. After Dexter warms up and heads onstage, the band plays "Those Were the Days," a pop tune of the day (Yikes! I can remember when it was on the radio!).
Check out Dexter's enormous sound and his use of lots of simple lines (just a few notes) mixed in with much longer, more complex lines. He uses plenty of sequence (short but repeated ideas) to tie everything together.
Here's another video of Dexter and quartet (Rufus Reid, bass, Eddie Gladden, drums, and looks like George Cables on piano) playing the standard "It's You or No One." This is from another live performance in 1979, at the Maintenance Shop music club on the campus of Iowa State University.
Listen to how Dexter uses a great variety of rhythms - he doesn't just play long strings of eighth notes, but really shapes the lines as he plays with different rhythmic values. Do you use lots of rhythmic variety in your own playing?
Dexter also spends a lot of time repeating short ideas, kind of like riffs, as he develops his solo around halfway through. It's OK to repeat stuff! Just make sure what you want to repeat is worth repeating.
Check out Dexter's enormous sound and his use of lots of simple lines (just a few notes) mixed in with much longer, more complex lines. He uses plenty of sequence (short but repeated ideas) to tie everything together.
Here's another video of Dexter and quartet (Rufus Reid, bass, Eddie Gladden, drums, and looks like George Cables on piano) playing the standard "It's You or No One." This is from another live performance in 1979, at the Maintenance Shop music club on the campus of Iowa State University.
Listen to how Dexter uses a great variety of rhythms - he doesn't just play long strings of eighth notes, but really shapes the lines as he plays with different rhythmic values. Do you use lots of rhythmic variety in your own playing?
Dexter also spends a lot of time repeating short ideas, kind of like riffs, as he develops his solo around halfway through. It's OK to repeat stuff! Just make sure what you want to repeat is worth repeating.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
The Tonight Show Band
Hello! How about a blast from the past tonight? Back in the day, "The Tonight Show" starring Johnny Carson was the top-rated late-might TV talk show. Johnny was a very funny host...and he had the most killer band on TV performing live every night.
The big band was led by lead trumpeter Doc Severinson, and was staffed by many top Los Angeles and Hollywood studio musicians. You could say it was kind of a precursor to Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band nowadays. The band would accompany Johnny's guests if they were singers, or would play a 10-15 second intro for each guest as they came onstage. Once in awhile, though, the show would feature the band, and some of the hardest-swinging charts you'd ever hear.
So have a look at this clip, featuring trumpeter Snooky Young singing and soloing on "T'ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)." This is a great example of a "commercial" arrangement played superbly well by a pro-level band. Listen to how clean every section sounds and how well the band plays together, especially during the shout chorus. Does your band pay that much attention to the details?
There's plenty of The Tonight Show Band on YouTube. See for yourself!
The big band was led by lead trumpeter Doc Severinson, and was staffed by many top Los Angeles and Hollywood studio musicians. You could say it was kind of a precursor to Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band nowadays. The band would accompany Johnny's guests if they were singers, or would play a 10-15 second intro for each guest as they came onstage. Once in awhile, though, the show would feature the band, and some of the hardest-swinging charts you'd ever hear.
So have a look at this clip, featuring trumpeter Snooky Young singing and soloing on "T'ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)." This is a great example of a "commercial" arrangement played superbly well by a pro-level band. Listen to how clean every section sounds and how well the band plays together, especially during the shout chorus. Does your band pay that much attention to the details?
There's plenty of The Tonight Show Band on YouTube. See for yourself!
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