Playing the bass in a big band

[Lionelsax]

Hi !

I recently joined a big band, I received all the scores.
A lot of written lines, I confess that during the first rehearsal I couldn't play exactly what it was written but I did the job playing many times my own lines thinking more about the chord progressions and the structures (extra modulations) than about the written lines.
Do you also act like this ?

There were no guitarist and no pianist, just drums and bass.

On many tunes I don't like the lines, they are irrelevant, they don't really sound natural and it's a torture for the eye.

[grahambop]

I’m no expert but I have been looking at big band scores recently (another rabbit-hole to go down!) and I noticed that the bass parts are sometimes a bit crude. From what I can gather these are often written as a sort of guideline, in practice many bass players play their own (better) lines, at least where there is a walking bass line.

The exception could be where there is a specific sort of rhythmic bass figure or riff which is intended to be played as written.

There’s quite a lot of stuff about this (and other big band questions) on the internet, worth reading up on it I think.

[Lionelsax]

I’m no expert but I have been looking at big band scores recently (another rabbit-hole to go down!) and I noticed that the bass parts are sometimes a bit crude. From what I can gather these are often written as a sort of guideline, in practice many bass players play their own (better) lines, at least where there is a walking bass line.

The exception could be where there is a specific sort of rhythmic bass figure or riff which is intended to be played as written.

There’s quite a lot of stuff about this (and other big band questions) on the internet, worth reading up on it I think.

I searched it and I'm not the only one in that case.
There are some problems when it is not a jazz standard, a rearranged pop song, the bass has nothing to do with the original.
They play Superstition (Stevie Wonder), it isn't well written, the tune is in Bb minor, the original is in Eb minor.
The score has 4 flats instead of 5 flats, a lot of 4th notes, lines are against bass playing (more like guitar playing but I doubt it).
Not really funky, I feel it better when I do it by ear.
But I worked it the way it's written, they were so happy to meet me, I don't want to disappoint them.

Well, I found a solution, I decided to play again my 5 string bass to minimize space between frets and to prevent injuries.
A very strange score.
Other scores are written like in the Real Book or kind of.
Others are a mess but when you figure out it's a transposed standard it's better.
There are not chord symbols, that's the worst thing.

[AllanAllen]

If you want the gig, talk to the band leader. See if they like what you're doing. Don't just play whatever you want over their sheets, that's rude.

[Lionelsax]

If you want the gig, talk to the band leader. See if they like what you're doing. Don't just play whatever you want over their sheets, that's rude.

I think I already have it, they don't want me to leave.
It's a mixed big band, some of them are called "pro", I've never known what it meant, I don't know how they call me.
I will see better how it is when I meet the pianist.
He is too busy to be there every time.
The leader wants me to be comfortable and lets me play whatever I want during the solos.
During the themes, anybody didn't notice something except the drummer sometimes.
They called me today and I figured out I worked too many tunes.
They didn't expect I played on the first meeting.

[hotpepper01]

I play bigband guitar. The reason for this is that the background of bigband arrangers is often a horn player..and they tend to make it easy for the horns to play the tune. Many have little knowledge about what the other instruments can do. Tunes are easily transposed to horn friendly keys, specially the more poppy tunes. I remember a Toto tune, originally in the key of F, but in the bigband arrangement, is was transposed to Bb. Chord progressions then sounded quite off. What also is, that on a piano, you can play allmost any combination of notes. I have seen sheets with impossible notes, for instance a D, lower than the 6th string E. Hey, that is not playable on a guitar ! Or close 4/5 note combintions that require absurd fingering. Things also depend on your director. Does he give you freedom to play something suitable or is he strict. But good arrangers are scarse.