The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Mike (keyboard/sax) and I (guitar) played our 1st Senior Living Facility gig yesterday. $100 for one hour (15 tunes) on a Sunday afternoon, and it was a gas! The audience was both attentive and appreciative. And since we’re both 61, these folks made us feel like kids! We’ve got two more lined up this month. We played songs from the late 30’s through early 60’s and left out our newer (70’s) material. Here’s the setlist; italics = sax lead, where I play mostly straight rhythm with some bass and counter lines:
    Sleepwalk
    Autumn Leaves
    Wonderland By Night / Stranger On The Shore
    Walk Don’t Run
    Girl From Ipanema
    Misty
    Satin Doll
    I Can’t Help It If I’m Still In Love With You
    Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
    Somewhere Over The Rainbow
    Last Date
    One Note Samba
    Days of Wine & Roses
    Summertime
    Tenor Madness

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  3. #2

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    the first time I played a senior living community, I gotta admit, I was thinking "boy, i've certainly cashed in my "cool" chips, huh?"

    But they paid a good wage, and the residents were very appreciative. I guess some folks find it strange i share musical taste with people my grandparents age, but hey, good music is good music!

  4. #3

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    I have done it, but always volunteer. Helped me get my solo performance anxieties out. People could name the tunes within a couple of bars.

  5. #4

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    What happens when there are no more seniors from the "Golden Age" of music era??? Will there be an audience for me when I finally get out there???

    We have to bring swing/bebop/American Songbook back!!

    Sailor

  6. #5

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    In 20-25 years, I think you'll be expected to play the Lennon-McCartney catalog! Could be worse ...

  7. #6

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    Yeah...that's not too bad...but what about all the time spent on Ella, Joe Pass, Nat King Cole, etc....?

    What if in 20-25 years it's all Captain and Tenile, Lionel Richie, and Wild Cherry?

    Sailor

  8. #7

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    I have played gigs at Senior Living Facilities for many years.
    The repertoire that the people relate to varies as it does for everyone, especially with the diverse population of NYC.
    While folks often like best the music from their youth including the American Songbook standards, classic gospel tunes, old Cuban boleros and son, etc., they also know and relate to many more recent sounds. Using some simple math, a person who was 30 in 1960 is now 80.
    The Beatles, Motown and other hits from those years have long been a part of the repertoire.

  9. #8

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    The big band I play in does a Christmas nursing home tour every year. It's cool playing the classic swing tunes they used to groove to when they were teenagers. Ellington, Basie, Goodman, etc. One of our other highlights of the year is a Valentines Day dance at a local senior citizen center. Attendance is almost 300 and they are dancing fools! Lots of fun. I've got a couple of 80 year old groupies stalking me.
    Last edited by cosmic gumbo; 05-11-2010 at 04:27 AM.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sailor
    Yeah...that's not too bad...but what about all the time spent on Ella, Joe Pass, Nat King Cole, etc....?

    What if in 20-25 years it's all Captain and Tenile, Lionel Richie, and Wild Cherry?

    Sailor
    Or Kiss, AC/DC and Poison
    Brad

  11. #10

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    My wife and I often perform at senior facility gigs in my home town. (Payson, Az) Since this is primarily a retirement town, there are several senior living facilities so we do a lot of these performances (always voluntary here) and the reward is a very appreciative audience.

    wiz

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by wizard3739
    My wife and I often perform at senior facility gigs in my home town. (Payson, Az) Since this is primarily a retirement town, there are several senior living facilities so we do a lot of these performances (always voluntary here) and the reward is a very appreciative audience.

    wiz
    That, and I usually have a couple of the single gals wanting to buy me drinks. Ensure of course.

  13. #12

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    Do you need to take breaks? Depends.

  14. #13

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    I also love playing for seniors. They love that someone, anyone, will take their time to come and play for them. The only group that might rival seniors in terms of appreciation of the music is children and they are another story entirely. For me, both usually end up being done gratis, but hey, the appreciation is worth it.

    Karmic-ally speaking, I certainly hope that when/if I get into that position somebody will come along and play me music. Otherwise it's a pretty lonely existence.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by CraigB
    I also love playing for seniors. They love that someone, anyone, will take their time to come and play for them. The only group that might rival seniors in terms of appreciation of the music is children and they are another story entirely. For me, both usually end up being done gratis, but hey, the appreciation is worth it.

    Karmic-ally speaking, I certainly hope that when/if I get into that position somebody will come along and play me music. Otherwise it's a pretty lonely existence.
    So true. I hope that when I am in that position, playing guitar will be one of the things I can still do. Taking a look at current and recent elder statesmen on guitar, Bucky Pizzarelli, Jimmy Wyble, Jim Hall, and Les Paul are great examples of guys who play(ed) well into the later stages of life, and at a pretty high level.

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by derek
    So true. I hope that when I am in that position, playing guitar will be one of the things I can still do. Taking a look at current and recent elder statesmen on guitar, Bucky Pizzarelli, Jimmy Wyble, Jim Hall, and Les Paul are great examples of guys who play(ed) well into the later stages of life, and at a pretty high level.
    I agree.

    I love that about jazz, actually-- I feel like I can keep at it, keep learning, and still play when I'm old and grey, and not just still be taken seriously, but be better at it than ever. I always use Jimmy Raney as an example--I think he might have been playing the best of his life in the last few recordings he made....

    well, I'm already pretty grey, but...

  17. #16

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    Let's not forget Mundell Lowe, who's still gigging at 88! He's played with everyone from Billie Holiday and Bird to Bill Evans (and in this youtube video, we find out who Debby is!)


  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
    Let's not forget Mundell Lowe, who's still gigging at 88! He's played with everyone from Billie Holiday and Bird to Bill Evans (and in this youtube video, we find out who Debby is!)

    Absolutely. Mundy and his dropped D jazz guitar. A true gentleman of jazz.

  19. #18

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    Yup! Mundelle is a fine example of a true Southern gentleman. When I was at G.I.T. (1978), he taught me how to read music and many other things I value. When he taught our class, he always grabbed my Johnny Smith and tuned the E string down to D.

    wiz

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by wizard3739
    Yup! Mundelle is a fine example of a true Southern gentleman. When I was at G.I.T. (1978), he taught me how to read music and many other things I value. When he taught our class, he always grabbed my Johnny Smith and tuned the E string down to D.

    wiz
    Great story. I would be tempted not to tune it back, and have him show me how he does what he does. Pretty rare approach, and a sure way to get an individual sound going.

  21. #20

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    We did a couple more Senior Living performances this past weekend. It's such a pleasure to bring a little joy into these folks' lives! Saturday was a pretty alert crowd. Sunday was more of an almost-a-nursing-home group. It took a little while, but I started to see some toe-tapping in the back of the room. But this was really cool: there was a lady in the front row with a beautiful voice who sang great counterlines to every tune we played - it was a gas!

  22. #21

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    Tom I want to again applaud what you are doing for this mostly forgotten population. I can't think of a group who is more deserving of the joy that music can bring.

  23. #22

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    Thanks Derek, but they do pay us. These places are generally corporate owned and operated. However, I do find it tremendously gratifying. We would definitely do some performances for free, if it's more of a public housing venue with little or no budget.

  24. #23

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    The saga continues!

    We had a return engagement scheduled for tomorrow at the second place I mentioned in Post #20. A woman from there called me early in the week and asked if we could do it today for two hours instead of just one tomorrow for double the pay. I said sure. We showed up early, and someone else who was in charge for the day said we were supposed to be playing next Sunday. She was all in a tizzy: everyone was waiting to hear us, but they didn't have the budget to pay us for both today and next Sunday, and who would they get for next Sunday if we played today?! We just said that we'd be glad to play for free today and come back next Sunday to fulfill the original contact (even though the mix-up was not our fault). Here's the good Karma part: we played great, and next Sunday is their Lobster Fest!

    By the way, I recently realized that since I started playing in September of 1960, I've been playing the guitar for 50 years! Jeez, I suppose I should be better than I am by now!
    Last edited by Tom Karol; 09-05-2010 at 10:19 PM.

  25. #24

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    i volunteer-DJ on the last friday of the month at the downtown senior center in my town. i call my event the "swingin' seniors club" and i play motown, '50s rock 'n roll, blues, country, etc. it's so fun!

  26. #25

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    I played a nursing home only once about 10 years ago, but I need to do it again soon. I didn't get paid, but I did get heckled! I walked in and Yanni was playing on TV so I thought my New Age-ish stuff would fly. Most loved it, but one woman wanted "somthin' jazzy and fast...we ain't ALL dead yet!". The thing is, I was playing Zeppelin, Hendrix, Van Halen, etc. With one step on the stompbox in front of me I could have slayed them all. But I got a lot of smiles and one guy dancing to a John Mellencamp song.

    You might not need to reach all that far back for tunes that will entertain an older crowd, it's more the style you play. Heck, I've heard metal tunes like "Black Hole Sun" (Brad Mehldau) turned into good jazz readings. But the Beatles catalog as the future of senior entertainment isn't too far off. "Yesterday" (without the "s" at the end for you die hard jazzers) and "Something" are beautiful classics that transcend the generations.

    I had a folk player tell me that the nursing home gigs are his best. He told me that they will pay, and pay well. You just have to ask. They have entertainment budgets. The higher end, non-care facilities have even more need for live music, and tend to have higher budgets.
    Last edited by woyvel; 09-07-2010 at 10:07 PM.