Jam Session Journal (September 2023)

**JazzPadd** · 10-03-2023, 11:12 AM

In September I participated in 4 jam sessions: 1 each at Venues B and D, and 2 at Venue C. I played the Westville Aruba at all 4 sessions through backline amps: a Roland JC-120 and a JC-90, and a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Venues C and D are a 40mn drive each way; Venue B is 10 minutes by car. Venues B and C and Mom and Pop shops that hold music events, while Venue D is a multipurpose space. Venues B and D charge an entrance fee of 2000JPY ($13USD) including coffee and tea. The fees go to the local pros hosting the sessions. Venue C cost me 1500JPY ($10USD), including cover charge and 2 iced teas, for each of the 2 sessions. Each of the sessions are roughly three hours.

The Venue B session was hosted by Pop’s piano trio. Participants included a second pianist and bass player, a trumpet player, myself on guitar and several vocalists. There were also about a half dozen people who came by to participate in a sing-along on an old Japanese song toward the end of the session.

The first hour was a rehearsal for a jazz festival in October. The trio invited me, the trumpet player and 3 singers to join them on stage. We ran through a preliminary set list in the August session, and already had charts. The trumpeter called Lee Morgan’s “Ceora” and the standard “Candy.” Both are in the Jazz Standard Bible. “Ceora” is not often called; “Candy” is a jam session staple. I still need to work more on navigating their contours. Next, Pop called on me to play the two tunes I chose, “Summer Samba” and “You and the Night and the Music.” The vocalists sang a number standards, including “Tea for Two” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and a few of others.

For the past few months, I’ve been calling “Summer Samba.” I use an intro of F6/C to Bb7 for 8 bars. I also used an ending that plays the closing riff 4 times followed by a low F6#11 (or a G triad over F, sliding up the to 13th fret and trilling the F note while adding some harmonics as the band holds the chord. I also called “You and the Night and the Music,” my other contribution to the October gig. I used a CMaj9/G to Db9/Ab vamp as an intro. Compared to last month, and I was more adept at switching from strumming to picking and turning up the volume to play the theme.

Part of what I’m interested in learning is the lingo that musicians use at jam sessions. In Japan, the more commonly used term for “solo” is “ad-lib,” and instead of referring to the “melody” or “head” of a tune, the term “theme” is often used (pronounced “tema” in Japanese). Learning regional conventions in a multi-lingual setting helps in creating a common parlance to facilitate jamming. I’m interested in hearing from JGO members on the terminologies used in their linguistic settings.

After the rehearsal ended I took a short break and rejoined to call “Summertime.” For the intro, I use Am6 - Bm6 - Cm6 - Bm6, partly based on the intro from early recordings. Perhaps due to the jet-lagging upon returning from an overseas trip, my timing was a little off in the ad-lib section.

Two vocalists next did one song each. I was familiar with “Tea for Two,” which went well, but there was some confusion between the pianist and I about the ad-lib after the first verse, and so we agreed to next time do 8 bars each. The second vocalist handed out a chart for “As Time Goes By.” I was also familiar with this tune from previous sessions, but this time the pianist handled the ad-lib section.

After the second pianist called “Softly as a Morning Sunrise,” I took a short coffee break while they continued with “Take Five” as a piano trio. After that, the host pianist returned, this time with the second bass joining and calling, “Blue Monk,” on which the pianist did some remarkable playing.

Vocal set 2 began with “Recado” from a hand written chart in Am (the JSB chart is in Dm), with which I got a little confused on the form. The singer then called “That’s all,” a lovely old number and fun to play. Singer 2 then stepped up and handed out charts for “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and “Beautiful love.” I lost the form on the latter, so I need to study these charts better. On the vocal tunes, the singer does the whole tune from the top and then the first section is for solos, and then the singer enters with the bridge and out. The pianist and I discuss who will solo when.

After the vocal set, we wrapped up the session with the trumpet and I joined the host trio for “Freddie the Freeloader,” “Autumn Leaves” and “Out of Nowhere.” During the ad-lib on “Autumn Leaves,” I got lost briefly, perhaps dropping a beat. Reflecting on that, maybe with the songs that are more or less basic minor charts I sometimes get a little ahead of myself, so have to still be alert even on the tunes that I know very well. On “Out of Nowhere,” the pianist played outside for a chorus and I played acoustically slipping into ascending chromatic chord movement, creating a rhythmic momentum more so than outlining the changes, since things are going by so quickly.

Venue C is a Mom and Pop shop that is what is known as a “Music House” in Japan, basically a small venue with a bar and cafe that has a stage for performances, usually regional acts, sometimes touring groups and the occasional international visitor. They have shows most evenings, with an acoustic open mic night and an open jam session once a week. The jam session is mostly jazz standards, along with funk, blues and Bossa. It's usually regulars, including a drummer and pianist, a bass and drummer, and two other guitarists. Sometimes horns and singers join. The venue is a local hub for musicians, so while the weekly jams are often ordinary, it’s also unpredictable who’ll be there. The session is managed by the participants and there’s no house band. Mom or Pop, who are multi-instrumentalists, sometimes join to fill in on a missing instrument for just for some fun.

For the two sessions I attended at Venue C in September, the tunes we played included "All of Me," “Like Someone in Love,” “In a Sentimental Mood,” “Sugar,” “But Not for Me,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Blue Bossa,” “Blue Monk,” “Summer Samba,” “Shadow of your Smile,” “Black Nile,” “My Romance,” “I’ll Close my Eyes,” “Sakebara” (the Japanese name for “Days of Wine and Roses”), “Softly as a Morning Sunrise,” “Georgia on my Mind,” “Alone together,” “Autumn Leaves” (called as “Kareha, in its Japanese title), “Candy,” “Yardbird Suite,” “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” “C Jam Blues,” “Out of Nowhere,” “You and the night and the music,” and “Billie’s Bounce,” as well as the crossover classics “Feel like Making Love” and “Isn’t She Lovely.”

There are three guitarists among the regulars at Venue C , so sometimes there are two on stage, but we mostly try to stay out of each other’s way and not clash with the pianist. After reading threads about this on JGO, if I’m on stage with another guitarist I either avoid comping or try to play acoustically, rather than sit out (usually because for me these sessions are real time practice). In addition to the regulars, there were a few new faces. One was a friend of Mom and Pop and joined playing shakers on a few tunes and another joined on piano for several tunes; they were quite a lively player! The regular pianist sometimes brings work colleagues, and at one session this month they brought a guitarist who was a beginner. With some care for selection of tunes (we suggested “C Jam Blues”) most anyone can fit in. Beginners, as noted earlier, tend not to know the session etiquette, e.g. when to solo, the form, beginnings and endings, non verbal cues, etc., but most pick it up soon.

All the tunes as noted above are in the JSB, and most of these are commonly called. There are a few uncommonly called ones that get played from time time. At one session this month, a pianist called “Cleopatra’s Dream” which I’d never played nor heard. The progression is similar to “Night in Tunisia,” with fewer breaks. After it ended, the pianist was cracking up, saying we played at about 40% of the actual tempo. But, as I’ve said, these sessions are friendly and casual and it’s totally fine to try out new tunes that you are working on at home. I think it’s very valuable to be able to do this.

In addition to the monthly jam session at Venue B and the weekly jam sessions at Venue C, I sometimes join a jam session at Venue D. It’s held more or less monthly. Before corona I was a regular each month. I started going back last year. The last time I went was last July, which was the first time back since last Autumn. It was a very enjoyable session with lots of interesting people. It seems the numbers have increased at the Venue D session.

The Venue D sessions are led by a gigging pianist and bassist. In the past, this session had a pedagogical intent though it seems to have tailed off. The pianist used to critique everyone’s playing, but they now offer advice once in a while and usually for everyone. The previous sessions felt almost like an audition, but now they feel more like a managed jam session.

For September, there were three guitarists including me, plus a singer who accompanied themselves on guitar. Other participants included a trumpet player, who gigs with the pianist, and several singers. I had played with three of the singers, and two were new to me. This month there was no drummer, which happens from time to time with the Venue D session. That was one reason I stopped going last Fall, but realized I needed the practice playing in drummer-less settings so I started going back.

Like other jam session venues, there's a piano (in this case a grand piano) a drum set, PA system and several amps. The bassist plays through a Hartke combo, and there’s a Fender Deluxe Reverb for guitarists, though this month the singer/guitarist brought their own amp, a small Fender combo. I was playing my Westville Aruba and one of the other guitarists was playing an Archtop Tribute, so we talked about about visiting the Walkin shop in Shibuya. The other guitarist played an old Ibanez Joe Pass JP-20, which had one pickup in the neck position though somewhat closer to the center than the usual neck position pickups. The singer/guitarist had a Guild thin hollow-body that resembled a Gibson ES-125, with no cutaways.

Once everyone was settled in, the host pianist and bassist did a duo on a moderate tempo tune that I didn’t recognize. But everyone was excited to be here and getting into the music, applauding enthusiastically. After the opening tune, the pianist calls people one a a time, one tune apiece. I got to play on three tunes, all of them cold reading from charts provided by others. The first one was a hand written lead sheet provided by the trumpet player, and the other two were from vocalists who provided lead sheets in their keys.

After the opening tune, since I was the first to arrive, the pianist invited me on stage. The trumpet player gave me a chart for “This I Dig of You,” a tune I had never seen before. I asked about the form, and it was ABAC. I took a photo of the chart for future reference. I did a passable job of reading it for comping and a one chorus solo, as it’s a fairly straight forward tune done at a moderate tempo. Next, one of the singers was invited up and sang “All of Me.” Although an amateur like most of us, and a newcomer to this session, they had a natural stage presence. All the vocalists sing standards using the English lyrics, and in the case of this singer they could also speak English quite well so we chatted on and off throughout the session.

After the first vocalist, the host invited me up again, this time to play with the second vocalist. The host specifically asked me to take a “solo” (not using the term “ad-lib”). The tune was “Bye Bye Blackbird” in Bb (the JSB chart with which I am familiar is in F). This time it was me with just piano, bass and the vocalist. Even though in an unfamiliar key, the tune is fairly straight forward, as was the other vocal tune, so I was able to cold read it and take a full chorus solo. I’m beginning to realize that although learning all tunes in all twelve keys seems infeasible for a part-time amateur, it is useful to know the version likely to be called from the JSB at a spontaneous jam session, as well as a vocal chart that's usually a fourth higher than the instrumental JSB chart. There is a vocal version of the JSB, BTW, but I haven’t checked it for keys; since there a lot singers around these sessions, it’d be good to do so.

The singer/guitarist took the stage next and sang “Fly Me to the Moon,” comping only with no ad-lib, though the pianist and bassist took solos. After the tune ended, there was some discussion with the host, who asked a question about the form of the tune, and gave advice for playing an intro.

The third vocalist, who I knew from these sessions and also from one of the other jam session venues, was invited up. They called “Just Friends” in an up tempo. There was a one chorus piano solo and then a return to the theme for the vocalist to take us out. The fourth vocalist came up next, and is a well known performer regionally that I know from sessions at other venues. They handed out a sheet for “Moonlight in Vermont.” I’d done this tune a few times at other sessions, but the key sounded different than the one with which I was familiar. So I followed the form in the key from JSB. When hear this tune I recall Remo Palmier, who taught me a chord melody decades ago.

At this point, the host pianist sat out and another pianist took the stage, who had arrived while the session was already in progress. They called “Here’s that Rainy Day.” Following a two chord vamp intro with GMaj7 going to something that sounded lydian to my ears, they played the theme with the bass, while the trumpet looked on and took a solo later. But something sounded off with the first or second chord. Some charts have a slightly different progression, so it could have been that. But the rest seemed to fit the JSB version. On the reprise of the theme, the trumpet added tasty fill-ins.

With the host pianist sitting out and the previous pianist continuing, the guitarist with the Archtop Tribute was invited up next and he called “It Could Happen to You.” I recognized the theme, but didn’t know the name immediately. I eventually found it as they played, as I like to follow the charts for tunes that I don’t know well. I noticed that the guitarist didn’t comp at all during the bass solo, leaving it to the pianist to lightly punctuate the changes.

The JP-20 guitarist was invited up and did “Stella by Starlight.” I’d played with this guitarist a few times. He does a nice job with this tune, using a BbMaj7 to B13 vamp as both intro and outro. During a break, I complimented his playing and we spoke about the JP-20, for which he uses dampers around the pickup and on the bridge. I also spoke to the other guitarist and we traded our Walkin guitars for an impromptu duo, about which one of the singers noted that we play very well together.

After the break, the JP-20 guitarist joined a singer to do “Autumn Leaves,” and then the singer/guitarist followed up with his version of “Moonlight in Vermont,” accompanying himself on guitar while the trumpet took over the solo duties. The host returned to piano and invited a previous singer, who did “Bye Bye Blackbird” joined by a guitarist and the bassist for an up-tempo rendition.

I was invited up for the third time, to take a solo on a vocal tune. The singer handed out a hand written chart for “In a Sentimental Mood” (I took a photo of it for later comparison with the JSB chart). The comping worked well but my ad-lib was meandering, likely since I was reading it on the fly.

The vocalist who earlier sang “Moonlight in Vermont” was invited to join the bassist and trumpet, for a lively rendition of “All the Things You Are.” The intro and outro were based on a pedal point.

The JP-20 guitarist was invited up again, playing “Blue Bossa” with the bass and second pianist. The AT guitarist was invited next, doing a nice take on “There will Never be Another You,” using the theme from the last 4 bars as an intro. Regarding the comping, perhaps I’m overly sensitive as per our JGO forum discussions on comping, but to me his comping seemed obtrusive during the piano solo. Not to criticize a fine player, but I also noticed that while his playing is very fluent, his eyes never left the chart. It reminded me of a tenor player who came to Japan from NYC several years back who complained that at Japanese jam sessions everyone’s eyes are always on the charts.

Another of the singers took the stage next and did a moderate tempo version of “My Favorite Things,” accompanied by JP-20 on guitar, along with the host pianist and bassist, joined by the trumpet player. The JP-20 guitarist laid out completely during the trumpet solo, although his guitar solo was unbalanced with the group. Granted, it’s not easy to balance one’s sound on the fly at session where there’s no time for a soundcheck and multiple people use the same backline amp. Overall, though, they sounded like a polished band and I’d love to hear them play with a drummer.