Why the need to gig?

[pamosmusic]

Ahhh okay. I was in Bay Ridge at the time so I was … erm … not getting to Inwood often.

There were two or three awesome weekly sessions in Park Slope I went to pretty much every week though.

[John A.]

Ahhh okay. I was in Bay Ridge at the time so I was … erm … not getting to Inwood often.

There were two or three awesome weekly sessions in Park Slope I went to pretty much every week though.

I do sometimes leave the neighborhood , but it's nice not to have to.

[AllanAllen]

Probably gave up gigging after he heard that recording.

Why?

[wintermoon]

It’s been my experience that the guys who play jazz as a reason to look down on other musicians and genres play the most outside solo possible over a 1 chord vamp and call it jazz. Can’t play shit, full of ego, boring music, very commercially successful though.

some people play jazz to look down at other musicians and genres?

[pamosmusic]

I feel like jazz is so accommodating of other genres these days that we’re more likely to get crusty old forumites complaining that no one plays real jazz anymore than we are to get jazzers who talk down on other music.

[AllanAllen]

“Blues is boring, it’s all the same song”

[pamosmusic]

“Blues is boring, it’s all the same song”

Quoth the raven?

[AllanAllen]

Quoth the straw men

Facebook jazz groups is full of this attitude.

[entresz]

I gig to give the Jazz Police something to do

[pauln]

"Why the need to gig?". This is like one
Asking the need to breathe live or love.
I have read this question over and over,
Then more very slowly. I've still no idea
What is being asked (or what is meant).

[pamosmusic]

Facebook jazz groups is full of this attitude.

Ohhh gotcha I thought you were talking about people who actually play jazz.

[digger]

"Why the need to gig?". This is like one
Asking the need to breathe live or love.
I have read this question over and over,
Then more very slowly. I've still no idea
What is being asked (or what is meant).

There were/are many posts bemoaning the increasing lack of jazz gigs. My question was simply, if you love playing jazz and there are no gigs why not just play jazz wherever you are? Why the need for gigs? This is why I excluded those who do it, or need to do it, for money. Why not slip on a backing track and just play? Is playing jazz and performing jazz the same thing? Do you need someone listening for it to be worthwhile to you?

Derek

[cmajor9]

There were/are many posts bemoaning the increasing lack of jazz gigs. My question was simply, if you love playing jazz and there are no gigs why not just play jazz wherever you are? Why the need for gigs? This is why I excluded those who do it, or need to do it, for money. Why not slip on a backing track and just play? Is playing jazz and performing jazz the same thing? Do you need someone listening for it to be worthwhile to you?

Derek

The simple answer is that jazz was born as a social music, and one in which the live interactions between players and indeed an audience is an essential part of the music. Playing for self-amusement leaves out the bigger part of that experience, and the experience of responding in real time that helps you to grow as an iimproviser.

[digger]

The simple answer is that jazz was born as a social music, and one in which the live interactions between players and indeed an audience is an essential part of the music. Playing for self-amusement leaves out the bigger part of that experience, and the experience of responding in real time that helps you to grow as an iimproviser.

I get the need to play with other musicians, but an audience? Is the audience essential or is that just a nice to have?

I'm no improviser, but playing with other players and experiencing many wonderful moments within songs is indeed great. But again, is a gig the only place to get that? Would not sitting around the garage with three or four players not give you what you need? And if not, what is that elusive need?

I must add, that as I've got older my feelings have changed and whereas I used to look forward to gigs, now I no longer do so. I get more enjoyment from sitting around playing rather than performing.

Derek

[Christian Miller]

After a few choruses of playing with a backing track I think I’d rather go and do the dishes haha.

I do sometimes get into a weird monk mindset where needing leaving the house seems like an imposition, but the world of other humans making music out there is a fun one and I like to be a part of it whether on stage or listening.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[supersoul]

I think playing live is really important, but for me, right now, I'm not. Mostly I want to have head space to create without having to work on repertoire to play a coherent set. In the past I've played many gigs and toured. Performing is the best/only way to reach a certain level (I guess it depends on your own criteria).

But whatever, I also think practice is its own reward. I like having a practice where I work on the instrument every day, even if I'm not feeling creative. When I was playing live a lot, I often didn't have time to practice (being on the road isn't really conducive to practice time). As a result I often found myself wishing to be in the studio, in a place where I can sound bad and it's all part of getting somewhere interesting.

I kinda can't stand backing tracks. If anything I'll play along with a record. What I really enjoy is solo playing, with the question being, "can I play this song without any accompaniment and have it sound interesting and good?" Improvisation (oh no, what is improvisation REALLY?) is important, so I just don't want to play pre-arranged things. I want to know a tune well enough that I can play with it.

[digger]

I suppose backing tracks are more useful for those of us who can't play jazz to a very high level, or even an embarrassing low level, and enable us to work through things over and over without any pressure. My current pleasure in this regard is simply playing rhythm guitar with upright bass only backing tracks. I get to practice my rhythm playing (I've come to realize this is what I enjoy doing most in the world of jazz guitar) without boring anyone.

I did see that one can get BIAB to generate such a backing track and a solo, too, which maybe where I go next i.e. listening to the soloist as I play and reacting accordingly, but I'm nowhere close to having the ears, chordal knowledge, or speed of reaction yet.

Derek

[kris]

Practise with backing tracks is very good ... but playing live before the audience prompts the artist to give everything during the concert.
The audience motivates and inspires the artist.
There is no real jazz without listeners.
Playing in an empty room is like playing with a backing track.

[pamosmusic]

Well I guess there’s the whole thing about art needing to be shared and it’s not the only thing that matters about art, but it’s something. Writers publish, even if they’re not getting paid. Artists put their work in coffee shops even if it’s unlikely to sell, etc.

I think a better comparison is cooking though. Most people who cook are not artists, even if they cook very well. On top of which, there is no difference in the process if you’re cooking for friends or if you’re cooking for yourself and keeping the leftovers. But most people really like cooking for other people. Maybe not making a whole Thanksgiving dinner every year, but putting something you worked on in front of others for them to enjoy is a really cool experience.

I worked in a restaurant for a hot minute and if Id asked the chefs why they cooked for other people and if they really needed to do that, the question wouldn’t have computed at all. Food is for sharing.

[kris]

I would not compare chefs to jazz musicians.
I know musicians who are great to prepare dinners but I don't know chefs who play jazz great.
This is funny.

[AllanAllen]

I would not compare chefs to jazz musicians.
I know musicians who are great to prepare dinners but I don't know chefs who play jazz great.
This is funny.

That's just a bad dataset. You need a sample size of at least 30 for statistical significance. Find 30 jazz musician chefs, and we can assess from there.

[kris]

That's just a bad dataset. You need a sample size of at least 30 for statistical significance. Find 30 jazz musician chefs, and we can assess from there.

I think it's a waste of time.
I cook quite well and my wife is happy.
I am a jazz guitarist with good culinary taste.

[AllanAllen]

You'll have to get 30 jazz guitarist's wives to taste your food to see if your cooking is statistically good. But that's only for the "wives of jazz guitarists" demographic.

[RLetson]

That music-is-social thing runs in two directions: between/among the players and between players and audience. A session without an audience (that is, non-playing listeners) can be very satisfying--a kind of freewheeling conversation--but having people just listening adds something. At the very least it (for me anyway) it enforces a kind of discipline and focus that might be less tight if I were just playing with and for the other players. There's something more or different at stake. Then there's that audience-reaction effect that my neice the actor goes on about--how the house vibe feeds back to the performer. I know that my dance-band teachers definitely reported reacting to the dancers--that there's a two-way connection.

So gigging--playing in public--is distinct from or an extension of mere music-making, as satisfying as sitting alone at midnight and playing for oneself might be. (I've done a lot of that, and it's not a trivial satisfaction.)

[fep]

I had a guitar teacher say, "one gig is worth 6 months of lessons".