The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Couple of questions for those with experience playing gigs lately.

    First, anyone have experience playing in casinos and their associated venues like "piano" bars? Is there a market for solo or duo performers who do vocals as well as play instruments such as guitar and piano? And in this type of setting, what gear would you prefer to use? I play both classical nylon string and steel string electric, though I'm thinking about trading my electric (Godin LGX-SA) for an archtop. This question is directed towards whether you would prefer to play your amplified archtop versus a nylon string classical guitar with amplification. I'm thinking about trying to find a female vocalist to work with solo guitar and vocal arrangements. I sing as well. I'm also thinking about making the archtop a seven string to cover the bass.

    Of course, I've never set foot in a casino, so maybe I should check one out, but I would think they offer some musical job possibilities.

    Second, I was wondering about playing private parties, perhaps for the 1% crowd who might be able to pay a couple of hundred to a duo for a three hour set or so. Similar question for winery spots or corporate gigs.

    Note I'm talking solo or duo settings, in part due to the economic stress these days on venues and performers. I'm thinking 'small is better' or more likely to get work lately.

    Or am I wrong? Maybe another simple question would be "Where are the jobs these days?"

    Jay

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  3. #2

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    "Where are the jobs these days?"
    good quastion.........

  4. #3

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    Live jazz is the toughest music to sell anywhere. The market is so small that smart businessmen see it as an unwise investment when hiring entertainment.

  5. #4

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    So, is one to infer that we would be better off composing country tunes and becoming country boys on stage?

    Sometimes I think what we need in jazz is to bring back the swing and entertainment energy. An example. Many jazz players like to perform instrumental jazz off a song like There Will Never Be Another You. Fine. But, if you can sing decently with some cool harmony voices, that song can lift an audience. The vocals and lyrics to these old tunes were an important element.

    Anyway, with an aging population who at least might recognize songs like Night and Day and artists like Nat King Cole, you would think that jazz standards performed with energy and light would work, especially in a gambling environment. I asked about work in relation to casinos because I thought there would be more of entertainment zone with job opportunities.

  6. #5

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    The Casinos around Chicago opt for much peppier stuff usually...a lot of country, for sure (once you go south of I-80 or west of 355, you're in country music territory anyway)and I've seen classic rock bands in other areas when I've played a country gig at Horseshoe or Empress. Horseshoe gets "big name" country acts that appeal to "older" (read: over 35) fans--Hank Williams Jr. (crazy as a loon, but the nicest, most genuine cat you'll ever meet--I got stories) for example always does Horseshoe when he's in town.

    For jazz standards, I've had the best luck getting gigs working with an event planner. Which means I'm playing private parties usually. The money's pretty good, but you're not going to gig every week.

    As for jazz needing to go back to the swing/fun stuff, that stuff's still out there-Chicago has a thriving gypsy jazz scene, and it's a blast...I ain't playing in it though--don't have nearly the technique to keep up with Alfonso Ponticelli or many of the others...those guys can BURN.

  7. #6

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    So is anyone making any money off jobs associated with casinos and their restaurant/bars?

  8. #7

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    I'll let you know. We do our first "casino" gig in a couple of weeks. I was surprised they requested no vocals. We go in as a quintet. I really don't know what to expect. I didn't book this gig so I don't have details on the arrangements. Normally we go out with a vocalist. We get more jobs with a vocalist usually, but I really enjoy the gigs without a vocalist since we play much more "jazz".

    We do change our configuration to get gigs. There are only a few clubs that will take the full band. There are a couple of places that don't like more than a trio. The piano player and I are putting together some duo material because we want to play out more. The balance of our gigs though are private. The money is better but not as frequent. Frankly I am enjoying playing out and getting my jazz legs. I would probably do it for free but don't tell them that, lol. It's all about logging hours for me.

  9. #8

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    I see a duo presenting sung standards as more of a cabaret style act and easier to market than a jazz act. It's a fine line. It's a fact that there is a lot more work for duos than larger groups, just because of the pay and performance space factors.

    Some guys get hung up on the jazz thing as all they're willing to do, even though the work is not readily available. I come more from a union mentality of "if it pays fair, I can do it". Show me the money and I'll be there with my guitar playing in front of an audience and making them happy with the music they want to pay to hear. The other option is sitting at home dreaming about playing jazz. Of course location has a lot to do with it, not a lot of jazz going down in Mayberry.

  10. #9

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    Good luck, Michael!

    I tend to agree that 'small is better' may apply in terms of getting paid gigs. I prefer the dynamics of a duo or trio anyway in terms of personalities and just getting a couple of sets together, rehearsals and the like. In the New England area it seems that more casinos will soon be a reality and offer perhaps some job possibilities. I wouldn't mind doing private parties or small corporate or winery gigs, too.

  11. #10

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    Market as Swing/Latin/Jump Blues music, avoid the term "jazz", but play it once you get the gig. The word is scarier than the music.

    For casinos, it is a requirement to have more contemporary material in you book, even as a jazz group, unless you're specifically doing a Dixie or Vintage Swing gig. I've done hundreds of gigs in the Connecticut casinos, and I got the 6-night-a-week jazz trio gig by including rock/pop tunes in the jazz book. Material by Beatles, Sting, Steely Dan, Carole King is very nearly as harmonically sophisticated as jazz standards, fun to play on, and catches the audience's attention far better than the 10 millionth version of All The Things. The more important aspect of working casinos is the professionalism: be on time on both ends of each set, dress as they require, behave as they ask; the music is secondary of you're easy to deal with, pro and entertaining.

  12. #11

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    The good news: the casino gig was a blast. I haven't had this much fun playing in a while. Just a fun, straight up jazz gig. No vocals, easy set up and tear down, no train wrecks. 3 sets, $100/man. Not the greatest $$ but we just consider it paid rehearsal.

    the bad news: they are discontinuing jazz. What??? Yeah.....

    Casinos must have a lot of money, lol. The venue is a peripheral restaurant off the main floor. The crowd was pretty transitory of course. People are there to gamble. We brought in maybe 30 or 40 off the mailing list with another 10 or 20 coming and going all night. This place could hold a couple hundred comfortably so it felt empty. Between the waitresses, security, service people and a few mysterious characters, man they have a lot of employees, lol. It's nice the stress is off to bring a crowd in or sell alcohol for sure. We weren't there to boost casino business, lol. They are doing just fine.

    We're going to try and book this one again. We'll see. The down side is since you're not there to sell booze or food there's not a lot of argument there for another gig.

    It was just really nice to play the arch top with a clean tone all night long. That I dug.

  13. #12

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    That's great that you did a casino gig and played jazz and got paid and enjoyed it! I'm jealous!

    I've played a ton of casino jobs, but it was always classic rock, or country. I've generally found them to be a drag:
    long hours, indifferent audience, lots of rules from the management, and smoking!

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gilpy
    I've generally found them to be a drag:...and smoking!
    I see what you did there. Well played.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Kaye
    The good news: the casino gig was a blast. I haven't had this much fun playing in a while. Just a fun, straight up jazz gig. No vocals, easy set up and tear down, no train wrecks. 3 sets, $100/man. Not the greatest $$ but we just consider it paid rehearsal.
    What do you play to open and close sets? I'm fascinated by those choices.

  16. #15

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    Right now in Vegas, the big draw is electronic dance music. All the casinos are building big square dance clubs and the kids just pack in to hear the oom-chicka-oom-chicka-oom-chicka. Top DJ's that can draw crowds are getting paid insane money (prepare to be appalled: Calvin Harris - $46 million - In Photos: The World's Highest-Paid DJs 2013 - Forbes ). The thing is that the younger crowd aren't interested in gambling, so the casino floor is mostly old folks and pretty empty at times. The kids just want to dance and drink, so the casinos make their profit on $16 drinks. It will be interesting to see how long this trend lasts, but the economics of Vegas casinos is certainly shifting.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by targuit
    Sometimes I think what we need in jazz is to bring back the swing and entertainment energy. An example. Many jazz players like to perform instrumental jazz off a song like There Will Never Be Another You. Fine. But, if you can sing decently with some cool harmony voices, that song can lift an audience. The vocals and lyrics to these old tunes were an important element.
    Yeah like this:



    Quote Originally Posted by targuit
    Anyway, with an aging population who at least might recognize songs like Night and Day and artists like Nat King Cole, you would think that jazz standards performed with energy and light would work, especially in a gambling environment. I asked about work in relation to casinos because I thought there would be more of entertainment zone with job opportunities.
    That aging population is 80 and they really don't get out much.

    The other aging population is in there 60s and they are much more likely to recognize enjoy The Rolling Stones than recognize music their parents listened to like Nat King Cole.

  18. #17

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    Well, I don't know about Lost Wages (actually, I do a bit - all the bands that I saw there were classic- and/or country-rock, neither of which does much of anything for me), but at a pub/restaurant in Billericay, Essex, England last night, diners were treated, in addition to fine food and wine, to the classic jazz sounds of the JS Jazz Duo, half of which is me.

    We played standards (and even snuck in a few originals) and our own versions of a few more modern pop tunes and got a surprisingly good response; have to say, from diners, I wasn't expecting much reaction as we envisaged being musical wallpaper. However,last night every song was applauded. And whereas I see what Gumbo says about a vocal duo being cabaret, we were presented as a jazz act which may have accounted for our only request of the night being for Wes' version of Scarborough Fair. Pretty hip for a restaurant crowd, huh? No, we didn't have that in the book - but it will be ready for next month in case the guy and his wife come back. I hope they do, they were very supportive all night.

    Technical notes: house had its own music system which meant that we took only very small amps for our own monitoring (I used my Vestax D'Angelico guitar into my Fender Super Champ XD, clean channel, volume on a massive 2) and we ran lines out from the amps into our desk (along with one vocal mike for introductions), stereo out into the house system Set up, tuned up, ready to go in 20 minutes. Packed away in the same.

    Oh and as a change from most gigs I've ever done, when we were offered "food and drinks", turned out we had soft drinks all night and a proper meal in the restaurant, instead of the usual plate of curled-up sandwiches left in the changing room, out of sight of the punters. Does the gig pay a huge amount? Well, not huge. But, enough to make it worthwhile, plus being well looked after, food/drink and an appreciative crowd. We have another two months of that plus the option to do more if both sides are happy with the deal. Heck, I've had worse than that. A LOT worse.

  19. #18

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    Fep, thanks for the Lyle Lovett vid. I really enjoyed that.

  20. #19

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    Premise - I am one of the few who have never set foot in a Casino, though I was hoping their expansion might bring some job opportunities. I think I'm having an existential crisis here - am I devoting myself to a dying art?

    So who listens to the old Nat King Cole records, the George Shearing sides, Sinatra and other oldies? How can a Michael Buble be successful, apart from being young and good looking?

    Sounds like I would be better off donning a cowboy hat and pulling out my electric to play Keith Urban and Brad Paisley tunes. The funny thing is I could pull that off pretty easy - not so much the "young, good looking" part anymore maybe. But what happened to the music that constitutes the most authentic American fine art?

  21. #20

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    Authentic fine art...casinos. Your answer may be more obvious than you think

  22. #21

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    Jeff, so where is the audience for jazz, if one still exists? Wineries or in the alley outside The Village Vanguard?
    Last edited by targuit; 07-03-2014 at 10:17 AM.

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by targuit
    Premise - I am one of the few who have never set foot in a Casino, though I was hoping their expansion might bring some job opportunities. I think I'm having an existential crisis here - am I devoting myself to a dying art?
    I won't say "dying" but certainly unpopular. But you knew that. Everybody knows that. No adult in this country thinks jazz is popular. It hasn't been for over 50 years. It probably won't be popular again anytime soon. The only reason to devote oneself to playing jazz is that one loves it. It ain't for money or social status.

  24. #23

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    Michael Buble? I don't think he is playing the nursing home circuit these days....

    I realize that jazz is not as popular as rap or even country, but where is the audience besides here?

  25. #24

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    There are tons of gigs... the casinos and similar gigs usually go through agents or agencies, I've played way too many. Usually glorified Jute Box. Need good front person, sing well and all styles. They pay well, but usually long lousy hours.

    It's not like you can decide to start playing those gigs.... Your either established or your a really good performer and get hired as side. I get hired as side... R&B, rock etc... I get to cover Benson pop tunes... once in a while. They're work.

    The Hotel chains etc... usually same with three to six month contracts, late and first set is generally only chance to actually play anything fun.

    I don't mind R&R tunes, so If the band has good black front singer, usually isn't too bad.

    Same with Winery gigs, you need to be in the loop, and you have to be able cover... the BS excuse thing doesn't get it.

    I don't drink much... but a perk from good wineries is... you usually also get a few, up to a case of wine. My wife will go to those gigs, they can actually be fun. Generally jazz out on west coast.

    Targuit... from what little I know of your playing... you might go your classical direction and try for the solo background gigs. There are a ton of players who cover very well... but they're different gigs. Again, your just a live jute box.

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by targuit
    Michael Buble? I don't think he is playing the nursing home circuit these days....

    I realize that jazz is not as popular as rap or even country, but where is the audience besides here?
    Michael Buble is a pop singer, not a jazz singer. (Rod Stewart sells a lot of records doing standards but he's not a jazz singer, either.)

    Country is the most popular music genre in the US, followed (closely) by classic rock and Top 40.


    >>>>“Country music has become America’s favorite genre, mostly because of its diversity and the accessibility of its artists to young and old alike,” said Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis at NPD. “It doesn’t hurt that fans of country music, who were always strong CD buyers, are rapidly adopting newer forms of music acquisition and listening options, including digital music downloads and streaming services.”

    NPD found that country music is a popular choice among all age demographics. By contrast, classic rock is most popular among music listeners aged 36 and older. According to Crupnick, “electronic dance music gets a lot of industry attention these days, but 18-to-25-year-olds are twice as likely to say they are fans of country music. Even among teens, country music ranks third, following rap/hip-hop, and pop/top-40.”<<<<<<

    The NPD Group: Country Music Rises to Become America?s Favorite Genre in 2012

    Jazz isn't as popular as soft-rock, "oldies" (-'50s to '70s), '80s-'90s hits, or death metal, for that matter.