Secondary instruments

[hed_b94]

Do you guys play jazz on other instruments besides guitar?

[paynow]

Sometimes I screw around on the mandolin. I'm trying to upgrade my piano skills as well.

[fep]

I play a lot of guitar and a little bit of bass and piano. And I'm learning to play the drums too.

I'm not that good on any of the instruments, but it's fun to play them.

[bako]

I play jazz on cello as well. I like it because I can combine aspects of bass playing, guitar playing plus a large language of tonal and melodic shadings available with a bow.

[paynow]

Originally Posted by bako

I play jazz on cello as well. I like it because I can combine aspects of bass playing, guitar playing plus a large language of tonal and melodic shadings available with a bow.

Love it. Such a great instrument to bop on. Let's brighten our day a bit with the inimitable Oscar Pettiford, on cello, playing his signature tune , "Blues In The Closet":

YouTube Video

There's a local cello guy I'm supposed to hook up with for some gigs. I look forward to it.

[M-ster]

Originally Posted by paynow

Love it. Such a great instrument to bop on. Let's brighten our day a bit with the inimitable Oscar Pettiford, on cello, playing his signature tune , "Blues In The Closet" ...

Brighten our day, indeed! Really enjoyed that. Thanks, paynow.

[hed_b94]

I've always played piano, and now I got a real soprano recorded jazz thing going on.

[bako]

Yeah, Oscar Pettiford made some great cello records. Thanks for the link.
I also love those trio records he made with Max Roach and Sonny Rollins as a bassist.

Fred Katz with Chico Hamilton was another early jazz cellist.

Contemporary cellist Erik Friedlander said cello is the new guitar. I understand what he is saying because there definitely is an evolving but little noticed movement of cellists expressing themselves outside of a classical context but it is perhaps a bit early to make that proclamation.

[Reg]

I play pretty much all instruments... even double reeds... but only Piano, bass and bone well enough to cover gigs with... and my solos suck on pn and bone, but I read well enough etc... I put the time in learning most instruments when I was young... mainly to be able to write more naturally for each instrument... Most of the players I play at junk gigs with cover a few instruments... just the way it is... we have to cover the gigs...Reg

[paynow]

Originally Posted by M-ster

Brighten our day, indeed! Really enjoyed that. Thanks, paynow.

You're welcome sir.

Originally Posted by bako

Yeah, Oscar Pettiford made some great cello records. Thanks for the link.
I also love those trio records he made with Max Roach and Sonny Rollins as a bassist.

Fred Katz with Chico Hamilton was another early jazz cellist.

Contemporary cellist Erik Friedlander said cello is the new guitar. I understand what he is saying because there definitely is an evolving but little noticed movement of cellists expressing themselves outside of a classical context but it is perhaps a bit early to make that proclamation.

Pettiford was great. I think the cello with him, if I'm not mistaken, was born from the fact that he broke his hand at one point and couldn't play the bass for a while so he took it up. He's playing bass on "The Tal Farlow" album and then there's this record, with Tal on guitar and Oscar as leader:

Amazon.com: Sextet: Oscar Pettiford: Music

There's what I refer to as "early Tal" on this record and he's not really burning yet, so you get to hear the fact that his ears were so great at medium tempos, making him that much better when he got with Norvo and had to ramp up the speed. Great stuff.

I have a Chico Hamilton CD called Gongs East/Three Faces of Chico (two CDs on one) that has Dennis Budimir on guitar and also Eric Dolphy playing various horns. I wonder if Katz is on that. I don't have it in front of me.

Interesting statement by Erik Friedlander. I hope it does bust out; I love the sound.

[paynow]

Originally Posted by Reg

I play pretty much all instruments... even double reeds... but only Piano, bass and bone well enough to cover gigs with... and my solos suck on pn and bone, but I read well enough etc... I put the time in learning most instruments when I was young... mainly to be able to write more naturally for each instrument... Most of the players I play at junk gigs with cover a few instruments... just the way it is... we have to cover the gigs...Reg

Q: What do you call a jazz trombone player without a girlfriend?

A: HOMELESS.

Reg, that's no easy instrument. What guitarist doubles on that? Wow. Much respect. Slide? Valve?

I started on clarinet but can't play it anymore.

[pierre richard]

also play alto and tenor sax...clarinet..flute...violin...cello...mandolin. .piano...trumpet...5 string banjo...tenor banjo...tenor guitar...

but my first love is playing the guitar...jazz and classical...and use my classical to play tunes in the charlie byrd style...

time on the instrument...pierre

[jayx123]

I used to play tenor sax

[JohnRoss]

I'm a great believer in multi-instrumenting, but not much of a practitioner. As I'm always saying, I think all musicians should have at least basic piano skills, which is all I can claim for myself, and should be able to sight-sing, not necessarily brilliantly. Apart from that, not a lot - I've dabbled on other fretted instruments like the mandolin or bass, but not really jazz, and I'm thinking of buying a sax - for health reasons, but I used to know a number of sax players who had started out on the guitar, the sax world is a tad less competitive, I suppose.

Learning an instrument ought to be much like learning languages, I feel, the more you have under your belt, the easier it should be to get the hang of a new one. In theory, but the reality is that I have barely made any progress in Arabic over the last twenty years, either.

[kamlapati]

My other instruments are my Strat and my National Style 'O'. Do those count?

And I sing a bit. Does that count?

Really, you guys make me fell like a total slacker.

[Stian41]

I don't feel like I can start on any new instruments until I can play the guitar properly, hehe. But I'll never feel that I've reached that point I guess

The answer to your question is that I sing a bit, and know basic piano, but I rarely work on them, which is a shame, really

[Reg]

Originally Posted by paynow

Q: What do you call a jazz trombone player without a girlfriend?

A: HOMELESS.

Reg, that's no easy instrument. What guitarist doubles on that? Wow. Much respect. Slide? Valve?

I started on clarinet but can't play it anymore.

I'm very old school... played bone when I was kid, and just keep it around. Played in Big bands while in college, at least while I was at Berklee... I use it sometimes at college gigs, ska etc... another guitar player I gig with, plays Tpt and saxes, well... Slide, Reg

[paynow]

Originally Posted by Reg

I'm very old school... played bone when I was kid, and just keep it around. Played in Big bands while in college, at least while I was at Berklee... I use it sometimes at college gigs, ska etc... another guitar player I gig with, plays Tpt and saxes, well... Slide, Reg

While it's not a hard and fast rule I find that starting on an instrument other than guitar makes you a better musician, at least as far as ability to read goes.

[hot ford coupe]

I started out playing guitar in the mid 60's then switched to bass in 67. I can gig on either the guitar or bass. I tried the tenor and alto sax but that didn't work out. I blew my liver out the bell of the alto and a lung out the tenor. I tried the flute but I really didn't have the time to put into it to play it well. I played the accordion as a kid.

[63Bigsby]

My other main instrument is steel guitar ( both with and without pedals ), very demanding but rewarding instrument. Have to admit though that I haven't had the time lately to concentrate on it enough. I guess I should listen to Budy Emmons' Steel Guitar Jazz album again to get the bug bite