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We had our long-awaited show last Saturday, and it exceeded all expectations. I think it went very well, the band and singer felt good, and the audience seemed to love it. They laughed, they cried (literally), they danced--what more can you ask for?
This was the second time I've played with Jacqueline at a show. In October I accompanied her on a couple of songs--Time after Time and Can't Help Falling in Love with You. This time she asked me to join her usual piano collaborator Bobby Gedoury and a great sax guy named Ed Archibald--both solid pros. I brought in a bass player and drummer that I used to play with.
The show was called Sip and Relax, and the theme was "Love"--falling in, falling out, reconciling. I opened with a solo Polka Dots and Moonbeams and then we did about 11 songs together, plus a few solo pieces from the key and sax guys. Most of the group songs were from the 70's and 80's--generally RnB like Gladys Night, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, but also Christopher Cross' Sailing and Journey's Open Arms. (Jacqueline does have eclectic tastes.) We had a couple of jazzy jams just before the closing songs with Take the A Train and Satin Doll, which were the only real solos I had, otherwise I was just playing rhythm.
As I said, it went very well. From my perspective, I didn't flub up, even though I'm sure I was the least accomplished person on the stage. I thought I sounded good and fit in with the overall vibe of the sound. I took my Gretsch Double Anni Reissue, and it got the job done. Nice tone with a bit of edge. I took a few pedals--a TCE Choka tremolo pedal that I brought specifically for You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman and At Last. Worked for those Muscle Shoals-type songs, but a bit of subtle trem on the Polka Dots didn't sound so well through the soundsystem, so no more that night. I also used a TCE Tube Pilot for the Journey song. Perfect overdrive. (Love that little pedal--real tube in that thing.) And an Ernie Ball volume pedal.
There were a couple of minor hitches. My sound went out after my initial song. Not sure if it was me or the soundboard, but I changed to the second channel on my Fishman Artist and it was back to normal. I am not really a fan of playing through the soundsystem. The guitar sound is just very different from what I'm used to. I do trust Bobby, since he's a pro and focusing on the overall mix, but it introduces some complexities into the sound. There were some overtones on the bass notes I either usually don't get or can dial out with the amp. So next time I'll probably position my amp on the side and not plug in. The other musicians sounded great though.
Oh the uke. I played the A/E uke on rehearsal on Tuesday, and there was some horrible static, which was reproduced at home as well. Turns out the cheap Chinese set-in preamp (UK-2000) was busted. So I ordered the same cheap Chinese preamp off of Amazon for $12 and it arrived in 24 hours. I hooked it up on Saturday afternoon, and it worked fine. So I used the uke tuned to an open tuning for the guitar parts on Sailing. Worked great and sounded very good with the Fishman amp, even with the ubercheap electronics. (Piezos ain't rocket science.)
Last edited by Doctor Jeff; 04-10-2024 at 04:19 PM.
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04-10-2024 04:03 PM
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I know many of you are pros and have studied and played with great musicians and gigged hundreds of times, but for me this was special. I feel like a kid busking on the sidewalk who is picked by the Eagles to fill in for Glenn Frey. Or a waiter who is spotted by Martin Scorcese and asked to be in his latest movie. There were a series of coincidences that led to me being asking to join this group, but it really was some kind of cosmic alignment. The important thing is that I didn't say no. I just kept saying yes until I ended up on stage with these great musicians. (And, of course, practiced and fiddled with the equipment, practiced and fiddled some more.)
Jacqueline is quite a singer. I'm not exaggerating when I say that few people can touch her on these songs like Where Do Broken Hearts Go--I doubt if Whitney herself could sing it as well, if she were still with us. On that song and a couple of others folks were literally teary-eyed in the audience, which is a special experience for someone on stage. She reminds me of Patti Andress in her ability to phrase and make a song her own.
We will be doing this again in August and November. I am hoping to do a few duet performances with her somewhere along the way.
Anyway, as they say, there's nothing like playing live music with other people. Especially if they're really talented. They'll pull you up and you'll learn a lot. And have a good time.
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Oh one other note: I uploaded the songs from either Ultimate Guitar Tabs or iReal Book to OnSong, which turned out to be a very good way to organize the songs and view them on stage. OnSong works well with music PDFs, as well as some other formats. The UGT imports could be transposed into different keys and edited. (I used an Amazon basics holder [similar to Prolines] attached to the Hercules guitar stand. Economical way to set up.)
The iRig BlueTurn pedal bluetooths to the iPad and turns the pages. Very convenient. Once you get used to it, you won't want to fiddle with paper again.
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Loved hearing this story. Thanks. Any audio/video? Uke…nice!
p.s. cool backdrop…with that lighting in your photo looks like a 1970’s TV show set
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The whole show was recorded by Jacqueline, but I haven’t gotten ahold of it yet. My daughter recorded a few songs—I asked her to send them to me, but in typical offspring fashion she’s taking her time…
Originally Posted by alltunes
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Thanks for sharing Jeff. You were the right man for the job.
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My bass buddy--a retired physician--has said many times, out of all the musicians she could have picked, why did she pick us? And the sax guy--probably the best player in Omaha--wants to work with us in the future as well. Originally Posted by A. Kingstone
I don't have a real answer, but I think it's in part because we don't have an ego or attitude to get in the way. We show up on time. We're easy to get along with. We do everything we can to support the team, not show off.
And truth to tell, I don't think there are lot of people even in a decent-sized city like Omaha who play this kind of music the way they want it played. Archtop guitar? Upright bass? We're not a dime a dozen LOL.
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May your PC bliss perdure for some time to come! Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
Does Jaqueline have a 2nd name or should we all know who she is?
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She usually goes by Jacqueline Monique. Originally Posted by RJVB
May your PC bliss perdure for some time to come!
Does Jaqueline have a 2nd name or should we all know who she is?
Home - Jacqueline Monique
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I am still enjoying a lot of good feels from this show. Jacqueline sent me the raw video footage, and I have watched it several times. The performances are IMO quite good, recording so-so. Vocals and piano and sax sound great, rhythm section not as clear.
Waiting for some of the songs to be posted on YouTube, and I might post a link.
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