Musicians Upstaging Eachother

[Geechnyc]

As Joe Pass said, of pianists, "He has 10 fingers, 88 keys, and he's bigger than you."

Pianists illustrate the axiom that "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." No musician has a harder time with "less as more" than pianists.

Yes, that wisdom from Joe (in which one of his videos?), if not Acton, came to mind that evening ... Alas, I evidently did not accomplish, despite my best intentions, what Joe suggested in his Chord Encounters: "Consider the fact that he has 88 keys and 10 fingers. After you know, more or less, what his harmonic design is, then build your chord voicings on top of his, using the top 3 or 4 strings." I'm happy to have had the good fortune to have played with more forgiving pianists and ones with whom I've been able to establish a better dynamic.

[mr. beaumont]

Here we go, I can't hang at 305, so here's this for laughs. Got vibed by my kid (same Lil guy from first video, 5 years later...yikes!)

[John A.]

Altreet then ... here's my Green Dolphin Street. Dang, I look pissed off in this. I blame Joe 2758.

I'll probably skip Cherokee (definitely not gonna try it at 305 BPM).

John

[lawson-stone]

Altreet then ... here's my Green Dolphin Street. Dang, I look pissed off in this. I blame Joe 2758.

I'll probably skip Cherokee (definitely not gonna try it at 305 BPM).

John

I genuinely enjoyed that. I loved your tone, your lines, the whole thing was just wonderful. Thanks!

[John A.]

I genuinely enjoyed that. I loved your tone, your lines, the whole thing was just wonderful. Thanks!

Thanks very much, Lawson.

John

[John A.]

MP3 Player SoundClick

Here's my shot at GDS.

I couldn't play Cherokee at that tempo.

Cool stuff!

John

[don_oz]

Altreet then ... here's my Green Dolphin Street. Dang, I look pissed off in this. I blame Joe 2758.

I'll probably skip Cherokee (definitely not gonna try it at 305 BPM).

John

[John A.]

Here we go, I can't hang at 305, so here's this for laughs. Got vibed by my kid (same Lil guy from first video, 5 years later...yikes!)

That was some impressive grace under attack from wild beasts. You hung in pretty well, I thought.

John

[John A.]

Nice!

John

[don_oz]

Nice!

John

Likewise! It was fun hearing you play

[joe2758]

k i think we just need donnie ozmond on cherokee and graham on gds then i can start the threads

[mr. beaumont]

When I lose, can we just measure the size of our


Offspring? Seriously, these kids are friggin' huge.

[lawson-stone]

When I lose, can we just measure the size of our


Offspring? Seriously, these kids are friggin' huge.

Anybody who can improvise at tempo with little kids all around will be fine in any bar or club. Amazing!


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[Hep To The Jive]

Here we go, I can't hang at 305, so here's this for laughs. Got vibed by my kid (same Lil guy from first video, 5 years later...yikes!)

I see what you done there! The only thing is missing little kitties snuggle around, then the cuteness factor would be through the roof.

Joking. Sounds good man, well done!

[citizenk74]

Here we go, I can't hang at 305, so here's this for laughs. Got vibed by my kid (same Lil guy from first video, 5 years later...yikes!)

I dunno about "Cherokee," but I know a happy, healthy kid when I see one. Well done, Sir, well done!

[voxss]

very nice .. the only fast tempo jazz i like is Django gypsy style.....more is less then lol..

[lawson-stone]

I see what you done there! The only thing is missing little kitties snuggle around, then the cuteness factor would be through the roof.

Joking. Sounds good man, well done!

Throw in a cute pet and Mr. B. wins. Game over.

[grahambop]

k i think we just need donnie ozmond on cherokee and graham on gds then i can start the threads

it’s ok don’t worry about me. I can play that GDS, it’s only about 200. But I wouldn’t play it any better than John or Oz really.

[joe2758]

round 1:
Cutting GDS head to head

[joe2758]

osmond you still working on cherokee or should i make the thread

[don_oz]

osmond you still working on cherokee or should i make the thread

Wont be able to post anytime soon! Go ahead without me

[christianm77]

Throw in a cute pet and Mr. B. wins. Game over.

Last refuge of the scoundrel

[joe2758]

cutting cherokee

[deacon Mark]

I have not directly run into cutting per say but I have run into guitar players who have egos. A few were pretty amazing players but the problem was they wanted you to know it and how well they played in comparison to you. I would love to name some names but will refrain. I am particularly thinking of one who is an incredible player and known amoung many, he came accross as a prima donna and a know it all.

Most great players do not have to do this but there are a few that are insecure. They can play but they do not want you to be able to.

[JGinNJ]

Cutting is a vestige of bygone jazz culture, like the beret, zoot suit, horn rimmed glasses, cigarette holder- it should really go away. It seems like "vibing" is the passive-aggressive replacement.

Jazz is in a precarious spot- it's not popular enough to alienate even more people with that behavior.

There's a jam session near me, it's well run and has a good rhythm section, but I don't go very often. It's hit-or-miss, sometimes crowded with guitar players, lucky if I get to play 1 or 2 tunes, sometimes kids who don't know many tunes, or visiting pros, like I played with Richie Cole one time. There's an "in crowd" of guys who show up and get most of the time.

Contrast that to a local bluegrass jam - everybody plays, gets a solo if they want, very friendly supportive environment. It's not really "my jam", musically, but I went a few times and found it welcoming, low stress, fun, and I learned some things. Maybe not a fair comparison, but the jazz world would do well to encourage people.