Playing in a Big Band

[sgcim]

Please explain why Q-tips are in a glass tub along with other snacks. Freebies from an ENT physician's convention?

Actually the Q- tips weren't located next to the snacks. They were in these dressing rooms in a plastic container.
A pack of 50 of them would've cost 50 cents in a Stop & Shop- that's half a day's pay!!

[rpjazzguitar]

So, the procedure is

1. Find the chart in the guitar book.

2. If it's not there, find it in the piano book.

3. Make sure you got the right one, which means you set up where you can see what's on somebody's else's stand.

4. Make sure you've got all the pages.

5. Make sure they're all unfolded.

6. Now is your chance to glance at the chart. Get the tempo and rhythmic feel.

7. Figure out the roadmap. Make sure it's clear where the repeats go back to. Find the sign, the coda and the to-coda.

8. Figure out if you're going to have to solo. Make sure you know when the solo stops.

9. Note any time signature changes.

10. Note any key changes.

11. You won't have time for this, but if, somehow, you do, figure out what you're going to do for the hard parts. Don't forget laying out as an option.

12. There's a chance the leader counted off the tune before you reached step 5. If so, start counting so, if you ever get the correct chart, in its entirety, properly unfolded on the stand, you have a fighting chance of finding your place quickly.

What have I missed?

[pcjazz]

What have I missed?

Not much, but —

Occasionally I run into a chart printed on both sides of the paper. Inevitably the page turn comes, not at a rest, but mid-solo or right on a key change or an unexpected 2/4 bar.

And then there are those piano charts that run to six or eight or ten pages with a DS at page six taking you back to page two. They fit reasonably well on the piano’s board but sit very unstably on a regular music stand.

Re your #11, I like Jim Hall’s advice: “Don’t just play something, sit there!”

[sgcim]

What have I missed?

If the charts are ordered alphabetically, make sure they're not listed based on articles like one genius leader does.
EG. A Night in Tunisia is put under the letter A, not under N.
The Shadow of Your Smile is under the letter T, not the letter S.

If they call the Kenton chart "Invention For Guitar and Trumpet", laying out won't work.
Stick your fingers down your throat and puke all over the chart.
That way you get out of playing it then, and hopefully ever.

[rpjazzguitar]

Not much, but —

Occasionally I run into a chart printed on both sides of the paper. Inevitably the page turn comes, not at a rest, but mid-solo or right on a key change or an unexpected 2/4 bar.

And then there are those piano charts that run to six or eight or ten pages with a DS at page six taking you back to page two. They fit reasonably well on the piano’s board but sit very unstably on a regular music stand.

Re your #11, I like Jim Hall’s advice: “Don’t just play something, sit there!”

Good one! Check the back of the paper should get its own number in the list.

[rpjazzguitar]

If the charts are ordered alphabetically, make sure they're not listed based on articles like one genius leader does.
EG. A Night in Tunisia is put under the letter A, not under N.
The Shadow of Your Smile is under the letter T, not the letter S.

If they call the Kenton chart "Invention For Guitar and Trumpet", laying out won't work.
Stick your fingers down your throat and puke all over the chart.
That way you get out of playing it then, and hopefully ever.

That's a great idea! I wish I'd heard it sooner. There would be a couple of charts out of commission. Get queasy when you look at the chart? Use that to your advantage!

[Reg]

Yea notation can still suck, for all the reasons above. I know I still need to fix many of my charts... and I was a copyist in collage and early years in LA... so I can complain too much.

But personally I work in big bands just for all those reason. They make us get our shit together, right. And generally after we've worked in enough of them and know all the different rhythm sections players etc... (and illustrious leaders)...we get most of the shit right and when we don't... we remember.

Eventually maybe usa will get it's arts funding together and there will be paid steady BB bands etc.. There were a few guitarist that occasionally who posted on forum sometimes... really good full time BB players, from europe.
(not in my lifetime).

[sgcim]

Yea notation can still suck, for all the reasons above. I know I still need to fix many of my charts... and I was a copyist in collage and early years in LA... so I can complain too much.

But personally I work in big bands just for all those reason. They make us get our shit together, right. And generally after we've worked in enough of them and know all the different rhythm sections players etc... (and illustrious leaders)...we get most of the shit right and when we don't... we remember.

Eventually maybe usa will get it's arts funding together and there will be paid steady BB bands etc.. There were a few guitarist that occasionally who posted on forum sometimes... really good full time BB players, from europe.
(not in my lifetime).

Yea, we had Paul Shigihara here from the WDR BB, and he might as well have been Joe Shmoe as far as the JGF was concerned.
Unless you've got the hype machine that the MehteneyScofieldLageFrisellBensonRosenwinkelStern Conglomerate whipped up, you're on the road to Schmoeville in the US of A.

The only reason I knew who he was, was because I worked with a trumpet player on various NY gigs, who was smart enough to leave this arts cesspool behind, and immigrate to Germany, where he hooked up with the WDR BB (probably from his notoriety with the Buddy Rich BB), and after 20 years of great steady BB work, he's got a pension, lifetime benefits, and can do whatever he wants. However, after you put in your 20 years with WDR, you can't play with them again, ever.

[rpjazzguitar]

I only heard of them in the last few years. WDR is a great band.

[sauces11]

Same question as the posted, how are you going to play these 4-chords-in-1-bar?

I circled them out with blue color in your "Grove Merchant" sheet. (For example, in the D part, there are so many 4-chords-in-1-bar. )