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So coming from a background of playing in a few UK blues rock style covers bands it was apparent to me that maybe 50% of the dudes i met were moderate to heavy weed smokers. I myself are partial to a spliff from time to time.
I've not gotten out playing jazz with anyone yet but I get the impression that its not the case in Jazz, the people I chat too at gigs don't seem that way anyway, they seem more studious and like classical musicians. Plus I cannot personally play it myself after a joint. I lose track of the chords and also the theory aspect of it becomes confusing.
But then what about all the talk of 'jazz cigarettes'and Louis Armstrong's famed love of the herb?
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04-06-2022 03:27 PM
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I think marijuana is fantastic stuff.
You'll also never catch me playing high.
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Back in the 1950s most of them were on something far worse than that. And they were playing bebop lines at lightning tempos.
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Louis Armstrong, and all the greats we look up to played multiple 4 hour sets 7 days a week. That’s stage time, as in, he was on stage 4 hours every day and practiced when he wasn’t.
So yeah, he could get high and pull it off.
You aren’t Louis Armstrong, you’ll never be, the playing opportunities he had aren’t available anymore, so stay sober.
You simply can’t play a hotel lobby noon-4 a bar 6-10 and an after hours jam midnight-4am. 7 days a week like they could.
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It seems alcohol is similar shit.
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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No smoking, edibles are okay though.
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When asked how he could play so well after consuming ridiculous amounts of booze, Johnny Griffin said he could play when totally juiced because he practised when totally juiced too. Originally Posted by kris
Years ago I saw Scott Hamilton drink a whole bottle of bourbon during the course of a gig. By the end of it, after each of his solos, he went to lean against the wall with his eyes shut. But he still played brilliantly.
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To answer the original question, "No."
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Seems to be the case then, cheers for the replies.... Originally Posted by marcwhy
Me: "why the f can't I play this stuff after a smoke, must be something wrong with me, this is jazzzzz man..."
But seems I'm not the only one so thats cool!
Onwards and upwards with the sober practicing then.
Now listening to it after a puff, completely different story!
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I think it's likely that the stuff Louis Armstrong smoked was no way as strong as the average weed you'll find these days i.e. skunk.
I used to love smoking weed, but only for about a year, after which it wasn't so great, and then I discovered MDMA, which made smoking weed pleasurable again but which brought with it a whole host of other problems, as well as increasing the ones already caused by the weed etc.
Oh well, psychosis isn't fun but I experienced a lot of euphoria - especially while listening to music, truly awesome levels of euphoria, particularly with Coltrane's Interstellar Space and Miles's Bitches Brew & In a Silent Way...
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Same. I don't work or practice or drive (or try to do anything beyond enjoying the moment, listening to music, or cleaning the house) under the influence. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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The question is about jazz and being stoned.
Heroin has been part of that scene for many decades and has claimed some greats along the way. I'm in no way advocating opioids to improve playing, but I can understand that better than some other substances. On the other end of the spectrum, forget about LSD before going on stage. I have seen that as an epic fail in a band mate. Someone who was at the venue put acid in his soft drink. One of the band members thought it belonged to himself and drank it. The guy who owned the drink couldn't stop him in time. We made it for a full set then carried on without the drummer.
I don't recommend pot while jamming only because I have yet to see someone do better on it and I've seen quite a few do somewhat worse, particularly remembering their parts.
A small amount of an opioid probably won't affect playing. The trouble is that a small amount may get larger and out of control. The same is true with alcohol, a hazard of being a professional bar and club musician.
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The short answer is, at the elite level, anymore there's too much competition and not enough popularity for jazz musicians to get away with being unreliable, sloppy, inconsistent, etc.
Many of the people that did get away with that behavior paid the price and died too young.
If you're a local cat just having fun, fine- maybe you'll enjoy it more, but don't kid yourself you play better when you're stoned. I don't know how I functioned when I was younger.
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Do you have polling data? If not, how creditable is your reply of "No". Yea, little to none. Originally Posted by marcwhy
To me the better question would be: do jazz musicians smoke pot more often than non jazz musicians.
Again, I have no idea, and unless one has some type of data, they don't either. Ones friends may NOT represent what is the case for jazz musicians as a whole.
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Interesting. The question in the thread title is posed in the present tense and immediately the late great Louis Armstrong and "bebop" crop up.
Jazzbos I've known over the last 2 or 3 decades generally need to concentrate on what they're playing and drugs/booze tend to detract from that. Fusion jams are a different matter, though I swear I never had more than 6 shots of whisky. Maybe 8.
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It's pretty common for the art and music crowd to indulge in some pot, at least my friends and I did pretty regularly and it always seemed to be around at most shows and events.
However I've been clean for over 12 years now. Gave it up when my life changed and I had kids. I don't miss it and smelling it on people everywhere now kind of annoys me!
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I wonder how much alcohol was sold by the guy who worked as a bartender ...? Originally Posted by grahambop
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It should not be forgotten that humans are living organisms with a very complex body structure.
Everything is saved in the brain and after what time comes the time of the settlement.
I have a friend who keeps repeating -alcohol as a chemical poison.He has the same opinion about other stimulants.But he is an athlete.
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I had a college friend who said the same thing when I asked him why he was smoking pot while studying for the LSAT. “Why not, I’m gonna take the test high anyway?” Originally Posted by grahambop
He is now a successful lawyer in Chicago. I have no idea if he still smokes weed.
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That’s because the OP posed a question about the historic aspect (‘jazz cigarettes’ and Louis Armstrong) in his final paragraph. Originally Posted by Peter C
He also raised a point about whether it’s possible to play jazz properly when under the influence, again there are documented historical examples of people doing just that. However the Scott Hamilton example I mentioned was only about 10 years ago. (I suspect he has stopped doing it now, I saw him recently and he is very frail, walks with a stick).
For what it’s worth, I get the impression that jazz players nowadays are generally more abstemious than in the past. But I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them don’t mind a joint or two.
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Drugs (including alcohol) affect us all in different ways. My old business partner (nightclub business) is a self made multi-millionaire who smokes pot during his working hours and is a high functioning human being when he is stoned. If I smoke pot (I rarely do these days. Red wine and Quality bourbon are the only drugs I consume with any regularity), my playing ability suffers. Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
One of the agents who hires me for high dollar gigs has a no alcohol or drugs clause in his contract. He wants his pro players playing at a pro level when on the gig. I respect that.
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I micro dose edible thc, 2.5mg, once or twice a week. Not enough to get stoned but to relax, to chill out. Great for anxiety, at least for me.
I don't drink alcohol or do any other drugs. But from memory, 2.5 mg seems about equal to maybe 4 oz. of wine, if I can make that loose comparison.
The point being, you can use thc and not get stoned. I'm hardly aware of the affect. I don't think that dose would affect ones guitar playing.
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it really just depends on you. Ive been smoking weed every day of my life for 15 years. Some days a lot some days a little. It doesn’t affect the way i play music or think like it would someone who only smokes occasionally. Originally Posted by KingKong
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The Jazz people I was lucky enough to work with over several years never b roached the subject. Playing in bar bands, OTOH, I was occasionally accosted by strangers in pairs looking to score some weed. Most annoying. You'd think grown men could find their own supply. Go figure.
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I haven’t drank in 47 years. I never developed a taste for alcohol and especially beer. I was too fit and enjoyed lifting too much. There’s an entire world out there that I never experienced. I smoked pot my first year in the Navy and learned that Gangi overseas was a different beast, as 3 tokes and I was toast. I suspect a lot of people here have drank much of there lives. More power to you.
Hey, I’ve respect whatever the greats were doing way back when. Even if their lives were short lived. They left a musical legacy. We don’t deserve to stand in judgment of anyone for we never walked in their shoes.
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