Jam Session Journal (February 2024)

[JazzPadd]

I'm a casual jazz guitarist living in Japan. I post these journals to share my experiences and to encourage other JGO forum members to share their jam session experiences.

There are 4 venues, within reasonable driving distance from home, that hold jazz jam sessions, typically 8 or 9 a month. I usually go once or twice a week. This month, I participated in 4 jams at 2 venues. Check my other journals for details on other venues.

I'll begin with an overall summary and then move on to selected experiences and observations from each individual session. I know it seems like a lot to read, but I try to include as much detail as possible in the hope that you can find something that interests you and perhaps offer a comment or question. I'm particularly interested in hearing about jam session participation and repertoire, as well as venues and management. Thank you.

Venue C is a small Mom and Pop shop, and a hub for musicians with a 25 year history. Open 6 days a week, afternoons and evenings, it has a bar/cafe and a performance space, each seating around 30 people. Mom and Pop are both work-a-day musicians. Business includes holding varied genre music events, a jazz jam session and an open mic. For the weekly jazz jam, participants range from advanced to intermediate; beginners are welcome. Entry is 1000JPY (6-7USD), including 1 drink; most buy additional drinks, some have dinner. It's a 40mn drive from home, and I've been jamming here for about 5 years.

Venue B is a jazz cafe in a rural area, and also a Mom and Pop shop. Pop is in a gigging musician. They've held concerts and other music events. The monthly afternoon jazz jam session is by invitation. I got on the mailing list through a musician from Venue C and have been going for over a year. The jam is lightly managed by Pop, whose piano trio is the house band. They don't play a set and regularly cede their seats to participants. Entry costs 2000JPY (around 13USD) including coffee and tea. The audience is generally other participants, with occasional friends, family or colleagues. It's a 5mn drive from home.

Participants this month at Venue C included GTx3, BAx3, DSx3, PF, and TR, and at Venue B, in addition to the piano trio, we had GT, BAx2, TR and VOx3. Although, in general, most musicians know one another in this small regional city, I'm the only participant at both jams. Participation varies by month, February was slower than usual.

Both venues provide a backline, including a piano, drum set, bass and guitar amps and a PA. Venue C has several guitar amps, including a Roland JC-120, a Vox combo and a Peavey combo, while Venue B has a Roland JC-40. Effectors are uncommon, though some participants bring them. This month, a guitarist brought a Boss multiFX unit, and I brought an El Pescadoro. I played my Westville Aruba and a Yamaha AE-11. Venue C has several guitars on hand that participants can use, so no need to bring one's own.

Across both venues in February, 35-40 distinct tunes were called, some multiple times (x2, x3, etc.), some by vocalists (VO), and for some I am among those who called a tune (*), for a total of 55-60 tunes:

All of Me VO
Alone Together VO
As Time Goes By VO
Autumn Leaves VO
Billie's Bounce x2
Blue Bossa
Blue Monk
Bright Size Life
Cute
Days of Wine and Roses VO
Desafinado
Dindi* x4
Feel Like Makin' Love x3
Four
Freddie the Freeloader x2
I'll Close My Eyes x2
I'll Remember April
If I Should Lose You
In a Sentimental Mood
It Could Happen to You
L-O-V-E VO
Like Someone in Love
Love for Sale
Lover Come Back to Me x2
Lover Man
Mack the Knife
My Funny Valentine VO
Oleo
On Green Dolphin Street
Out of Nowhere* x2
Polka Dots and Moonbeams
Speak Low
Stella By Starlight x3
Summertime VO
There Will Never Be Another You* x3
Up Jumped Spring
Well You Needn't* x3
When I Fall in Love

Both venues have copies of the 2-volume Jazz Standard Bible (something like the Real Book) from which most tunes are called. Some participants use tablets or iReal; vocalists bring charts. On occasion, someone will call a tune from another source, e.g. Real Book. Reading is common, not frowned upon, but jams are more interactive without chart reading.

The first jam of the month was at Venue C. It had GTx3, BAx2, DSx2, PF and TP. One BA was an occasional participant, the other a regular. The first hour was a quintet, TP, GT, PF, BA, PF, and DR; I played on every tune. PF called the first 3 tunes, and on 2 of which asked in Japanese for a "gyakujun" ending (English unsure), in which after iim7-V7 in the next-to-last bar, there's iiim7-VI7 and back to iim7-V7 to I. It was familiar but I'd not learned what it was until now. TP next called Up Jumped Spring, and briefly explained the form. Everyone was reading the JSB chart. I'm a little clumsy in 3/4 so got lost at one point.

When it was my turn, I called Out of Nowhere, setting a tempo and asking PF to give us an intro from the last 8 bars. That went pretty smoothly, but DS seemed a little awkward and when we finished they asked for a Bossa tune. I had been working on Dindi, so I called that from JSB2. It went well. At that point, BA2 had arrived so we took a break.

While BA1 was using an electric, BA2 played upright. The first tune was a jam session staple, There Will Never Be Another You. I should've known it better, so made a note to practice it for the next session. Next, PF called When I Fall in Love, after which GT2 arrived. I invited GT2 to take my spot, but they said stay and took up a position on the other side of the stage. GT2 is a pro who recently returned from playing in a gypsy jazz group in Tokyo. We did 1 tune, after which GT3, a local semi-pro player arrived. I sat out, leaving TP, GT2, GT3, PF, BA, DS to play Blue Bossa and Stella By Starlight, both staples.

Listening to the second set, I recalled our JGO discussion some time ago about comping. GT2&3 comped along with PF, at one point even during the BA solo, which I could barely hear. Venue C sessions are mostly self-managed, and it works out well most of the time, but this was one time that a little intervention might have created a teachable moment.

During the last hour, DS1 left and was replaced by DS2, a semi-pro player and a regular at Venue C sessions. TP also left. They played Mack the Knife as a 2 guitar quintet. GT3 sat out and I joined for the last 2 tunes. Miles Davis' Four is one of those tunes that I find myself humming when not playing, kinda like an ear worm. So my ad-lib felt intuitive, but I don't have the tune fully internalized so glanced at the chart. We wrapped up the jam with the crossover jazz/funk/R&B standard Feel Like Makin' Love, which is called at Venue C sessions as an instrumental, and in other venues as a vocal number (a la Nina Simone).

While packing up, GT2 complimented my playing, noting that I changed my style. I had recently returned to using my thumb instead of a pick, and felt more comfortable, more relaxed, maybe less to worry about, and I seem to feel the groove better. When I use a pick I anchor, it seems to get in the way, so I'll stick with thumb for the rest of February.

The next jam session was also at Venue C. Instrumentation was similar, GTx3, BAx2, PF, TP and DS. Some participants were different, e.g. BA. There was a new GT, who appeared to be a first time jam participant. PF also brought along a colleague to watch.

For the past few months, I've used my Westville Aruba. Sometimes I rotate among my other guitars. Tonight I brought a 1960s Yamaha AE-11 archtop, modeled on an ES-175 with different pickups. Playing with it at home, I found it sounded best using both PUs, bridge volume on 10 and tone on 0, neck tone on 10 and adjusting neck volume as needed. It yielded a punchy, midrangy tone that worked well with using my thumb.

I arrived early and while waiting for others did 2 duo tunes with Pop, Summertime and Out of Nowhere. We play together often and know these tunes well, so there was a lot of fun exchanges and interplay. DS arrived while were playing and complimented us.

Once DS was set up, Pop switched to a mini U-Bass, which sounds remarkably good for such a small instrument. Now a guitar trio, I called Well You Needn't, inspired by one of our JGO discussions about the changes (Monk vs Miles). BA read the chart from the JSB, which has the Miles changes, beginning the bridge on G. Although the chart is mostly 7th chords, BA was outlining triads, so I could use either 7th or add9, or even 6/9 chords.

My intro was simple to give the drummer the tempo, basically moving between the F and Gb in a moderate swing feel. I played the A section in the lower register with a staccato attack and for the bridge used Kenny Burrell inspired voicings, basically 6/9 stacked 4ths sliding up and down the neck. It worked fine and got the trio into the groove. I don't recall how many choruses I took, it was maybe 3. For the A section, I didn't outline the chords, nor did I use scales or modes (though, as Kenny does and some of you mentioned, the Fm pentatonic scale works fine). I began by emphasizing the C note (as the 5th of the F and #11 of the Gb), rhythmically locking in with the drummer, and then weaving in some simple snippets that came out sounding like a melodic minor mode (A, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F). It seems to depend on where one places the notes in the two chord vamp. For the bridge, as others have noted, I combined outlining the 6/9 chords with chromaticism. The bass took a short solo and we traded some fours, during which DS was having a blast, and then we reprised the head and took it out. It was nothing spectacular, but it was a lot of fun.

Next, I called Dindi, using a rubato intro that I developed for a recent acoustic set, with the original verse rubato and then a vamp on Eb6 to Bbm7. For the solo section, with no piano to lean on, I got a little lost in the 2nd chorus, and had to listen carefully to BA to bring it back. We ended up trading 8s with DS, which I noticed works nicely for Latin tinged tunes. It went well, too, and overall I really enjoyed playing these four tunes.

While we were playing Dindi, the regular TP arrived, and GT2 arrived with a Telecaster, a wireless device, and a Boss multiFX unit. TR called Desafinado from JSB2 which we did with GTx2, BA and DS, and TR playing the theme. I muddled through at first, as it took a while to get the form spanning 2 pages, atypical for the JSB. While we were playing Desafinado, GT3 arrived and after we finished I sat out so GT3 could join.

GT3 called Freddie the Freeloader and Softly as in a Morning Sunrise, with GT2 taking a rocking' solo with distortion using the BossFX. PF soon arrived and joined, and they did Stella By Starlight, with GT3 playing the theme. At the session midpoint, BA swapped, GT3 sat out and I joined. PF called Cute, we hit most of the breaks, though on the theme taking it out I missed some. Next, PF sat out and GT2 called Billie's Bounce. After PF called I'll Close my Eyes, I sat out. GT3 rejoined and called Feel Like Makin' Love and did some tasty, Larry Carlton style, ad-lib. GT2 called Bright Size Life, and both guitars gelled well and they made a fine quintet. But it was loud for me, and so I moved my seat. It seemed that GT2&3 had played together before, both coming from a rock background, and enjoyed playing Metheny. They could have been rehearsing for a live show, which happens from time to time at jam sessions. I watched for a bit before packing up my gear and leaving.

In the middle of February, I participated in a jam at Venue B. Beside the host piano trio and myself, there was BAx2, TR and VOx3. PF had not yet joined, so I comped on 2 tunes called by TR: Billie's Bounce, I'll Close My Eyes. PF joined, complimenting our playing. I stayed on stage and we played 6 tunes with VOx3, who handed out charts. PF and I briefly discussed how to share the ad-libs on the tunes, agreeing on what is known in Japanese as "hanbun," taking half a chorus each. After the VO tunes, I called Dindi, which started stiffly but we eventually got into a groove. I took 1 chorus and PF took 2 choruses.

After Dindi, I sat out to get a cup of tea. TR called Well You Needn't, but it was too late for me to join. Later I suggested that we play the theme together at the next session. TR next did a very beautiful rendition of As Time Goes By, and got a nice applause from everyone. The response by those in attendance at Venue B sessions tends to be more enthusiastic than Venue C.

The second vocal set began with VO1 calling Days of Wine and Roses and L-O-V-E. Next, VO2 stepped up, inviting me to join, and called Summertime and Autumn Leaves with PF and I sharing the solos. VO3 called All of Me and My Funny Valentine. After the VOx3, I called There Will Never Be Another You, with some trepidation; I had only been reviewing it for a couple of days. PF did an intro and I played the theme, first half in the low register and second half in high register, and took two choruses. PF also took 2 choruses of some very lively and adventuresome ad-lib. When I heard them going outside, I abandoned the changes and used an ascending chromatic chord form to increase the momentum, which worked well when we all landed in the same place. This was followed by TR calling Stella By Starlight, and we wrapped up the session with another set of VO tunes, some of which were reprises from the earlier VO set. I think at least one VO is studying with Pop. It's not uncommon for teachers to bring students to jams.

The last jam session of February was back at Venue C. I used the Yamaha AE-11 again into the JC-120, but this time tried using a Nocturne Brain El Pescadoro, which combines an octal style pre-amp with a Chess inspired plate reverb. I used it as an always on pedal for tonight's session. The reverb sounded nice, and there was more depth to the guitar sound overall. It responded well to touch, and I was happy with the tone.

Participants were similar to the other Venue C sessions, with 3 guitarists and the regular BA, PF, TR and DS, with a new DS joining as well. I played on the first 4 tunes. To start the session, GT3 called Freddie the Freeloader, asking to use jazz blues changes for the ad-lib section. GT3 is a busy, loud player, so there wasn't much room for me to add the little Bill Evans piano riff on the theme. I laid back comping and just took a few choruses. Next, PF called 3 tunes, I'll Remember April, Lover Come Back to Me, and Lover Man. Comping on these was cluttered, so I laid low, listening more than playing, and took a couple solos.

I sat out for the next half hour, and went to the cafe to chat with Pop and the new DS, a rock drummer who was new to jazz and who I met for the first time tonight. While in the cafe, I didn't hear all the tunes called with GT2 & GT3 on stage, but heard I'll Close My Eyes, and when I returned they were wrapping up Oleo, playing rhythm changes under the theme. The GTx2 wrapped up their set with Blue Monk, but I noticed they left little room for PF to do much, who at one point was comping with the right hand only, and yawning.

About half way through the evening, I sat in and GT2 sat out. TR called Polkadots and Moonbeams, followed by GT3 calling Feel Like Makin' Love, again acing the ad-lib by using some nice Eb pentatonic licks and adding whole tones over the A7#11 in bar 8. I think GT3 really shines in these crossover tunes. I also took a chorus or two on this, in the more sparse, carefully selected note approach that I've been cultivating using my thumb. For comping, I kept my volume down and lightly outlined the changes, sweeping with my thumb.

Next, GT2 sat out and I called Well You Needn't. I began with a rubato ascent from F7 to Gb7, slowly climbing up to Bb7, and then establishing the tempo with the last 4 bars of the bridge. Entry of BA, DS and PF was a little hesitant until I started playing the theme, then it went OK. While the intro I used needs polishing, I think it worked well for the tune.

After PF called Speak Low, they asked me to call another tune, so I tried There Will Never Be Another You, requesting PF to do an 8 bar intro. Tempo was moderate, but I botched the theme in a couple of places, and felt uncomfortable with the comping and ad-lib. It's a good example of the process of learning a tune, that while it works well alone at home, at least in my case, it can falter on stage. Afterwards, DS noted that it could be played much faster, singing it to demonstrate. I should work more on ...Another You; it's called often at sessions. After some discussion, we wrapped up the evening with my calling Dindi, after which I got compliments from PF, a fan of Jobim. Overall it was a satisfying and enjoyable session.

Thank you very much for reading, and I'm looking forward to your comments and questions.

[rpjazzguitar]

Very nice to hear about something so familiar and yet so far away.

[JazzPadd]

Very nice to hear about something so familiar and yet so far away.

Thanks for reading, glad you enjoyed it! And thanks also for the thoughtful reply.

Sometimes I feel the same way, but perhaps from a different standpoint. I've only participated in jam sessions in Japan, so that's somewhat familiar to me. And the tunes are familiar, I suppose that's part of jazz on a global scale, that wherever we are in the world there's bound to be a familiarity with some tunes.

What's far away, for me at least, is jam sessions in other locales. I've only been to, but not participated in, a few in Dallas and NoLa, some before corona, some after. Not much to go on for comparison, but one was all blues, a couple were funk (mostly horns), others were jazz standards, including vocal tunes, another was jazz-rock crossover. Venues, management, and participation differed to some extent among them.

But I'm not sure if that's what you're getting at. If I may ask, what seems familiar yet far for you?