Latin Jazz

**Scrybe** · 03-21-2010, 11:52 PM

Gulp. I've been asked to go jam some latin jazz on acoustic guitar with a guyand, if it goes well, maybe gig it with him. I'm in jazz at the deep end now....

I'm naturally pretty adept at fingerpicking, and comp fairly well, I'd say very well for a jazz newbie, but just fairly well compared to the guys I've seen who've been playing years. Here's the vaguely latin jazz I know right now, besides Ipanema, what else should I add to my "get familiar" list before I go jam? Any particular rhythms, technqiues, etc., I should familiarise myself with too? Thanks.

Green Dolphin St
Afro Blue
Take Five 9not latin, I know, but it's in 5/4 and can be played with a latin feel)
Perdido
Blue Bossa

I can read charts okay, and can get tunes into my head pretty easily. A little nervous at the prospect of having to solo unaccompanied (dunno if it's duo setup or if there'll e.g. be bass or percussion or something added, so working on the assumption it's just duo - I can solo unaccompanied okay sometimes, but not for extended periods and not on every tune I've tried it with, gotta be very familiar with it to do that, I'm finding).

**lkmuller** · 03-22-2010, 12:25 AM

Wave
Quiet Nights
Desfinado
How Insensitive
One Note Samba
Little Boat

Uh, the list goes on. How much time you got?

**bako** · 03-22-2010, 10:40 AM

Frequently jazz usage of the phrase Latin means different things.
Brazilian and Cuban styles are the most common being played mixed with jazz.

Brazil: bossa nova, samba and occasionally baion are played
Cuba: salsa, bolero, guaguanco, guajira and afro cuban 6/8

Latin America is vast and has multiple rhythms from each of it's many countries. There are jazz practitioners creating compositions in these rhythms as well as reinterpreting traditional songs. There is much fantastic music to check out.

In the short run ask the person what specifically they have in mind so that you can focus your preparation.

**Scrybe** · 03-22-2010, 10:50 AM

I asked and got the vague "we'll get together and jam some and see how it goes.." I'm familiar with bossa nova, bolero and Afro Cuban 6:8. Gonna make sure I cab transition smoothly between those and swing, and just listen as much as possible. Think the only new tunes I'll learn will be Ipanema, Spain (if poss on acoustic guitar, at least get familiar with the changes), Move, Corcovado (these last two have been played out by local Latin jazz bands a lot), and Wave. Beyond that, I think just listen as much as poss and try to get a handle on the key sounds, songs, n players. Of it goes well, I'll keep digging through the material and rhythms and develop my playing in this area.

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated!

**Scrybe** · 03-22-2010, 10:52 AM

And by "Move" I actually mean "Minor". My bad!

**RunningBeagle** · 03-25-2010, 02:05 AM

IME, Latin Jazz =/= Bossa Nova.

I'm the one dressed like Harry Potter. Playing the same repetitive garbage over and over because he is not familiar with the style...

**randalljazz** · 03-25-2010, 03:41 AM

nice playing, runningbeagle! what are you reading those killer montuno licks from?

agree that 'latin jazz' usually refers to afro-cuban and cousins, not brazilian...

**Scrybe** · 03-25-2010, 05:02 AM

Tasty playing indeed! I'd be envious, if I had time to be so, off to the practice room in a sec. But, Montuno licks??? Do explain....

Ran thru On Green Dolphin St last night just comping and had nicely solid transition between the latiny A and the swing B. Also got some killer comping sounds for Blue Bossa, and learned most of Spain (i.e. I learned it, but will likely fluff it a little until I've run thru it a few more times). Also added St Thoms, just because it was on the same sheet as Spain and I have enough listening familiarity to pick it up easy. And I wasn't even planning to start prepping until the weekend!

Thx for the responses guys, I've a list of tunes I've been listening to on Spotify (heh, I have a special Latin Jazz playlist for prep) and I added Jobim to my iPod, too. Getting them in my head so when I hit the sheets on the weekend I'll absorb it all easily, then it's practice, practice, practice! A bit of technique drills, but mostly just experimenting with different feels, comping patterns, and soloing unaccompanied plus doing stuff like stopping for a few bars (as suggested in another post on these boards, good tip) then coming back in at (hopefully) the right time. Def doing lots of clapping, comping and soling using a handful of latin rhythms (mostly nicked from a combo of Wikipedia and records - Afrocuban 6/8 feel, bossa nova, bolero, and samba rhythms, to get them as totally into my blood as possible, so I can use them as foundations for anything done on the fly).

I don't expect to be perfect by the time I go jam, but if I can show myself to be competent, eager to learn, and hard working, I reckon I might just have a chance of landing this gig. Would be awesome too, the guy is a really good player and long time jazzer, so I'd learn tons on the bandstand with him, plus get a little pay for it.

**Scrybe** · 03-25-2010, 05:06 AM

You jut mean the end section of the tune, right? Thx to Wiki.... ;-)

**Reg** · 03-25-2010, 08:27 AM

Listen to the piano...there's the montuno...There short repeated grooves played under the tune. Learn how to accent + of beat 2 and 4 and usually every things felt in 2. Guitarist usually play the montuno with piano or play chords on + of 2 and 4, with bass. The rhythm's not notated exactly, you need to use your ears and get the feel. Remember it's dance music...Reg

**RunningBeagle** · 03-25-2010, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by randalljazz

nice playing, runningbeagle! what are you reading those killer montuno licks from?

agree that 'latin jazz' usually refers to afro-cuban and cousins, not brazilian...

Thanks, man. I'm just improvising. The progression is D-7 / A-7 / E7 / A-7 A7. The last part is played with a rumba feel, and I'm reading the melody with the sax. The tune is called Varadero Blues, by Jan Hartong, and I think is in the Latin Real Book. I'm not sure if I still have the chart.

Originally Posted by Scrybe

Tasty playing indeed! I'd be envious, if I had time to be so, off to the practice room in a sec. But, Montuno licks??? Do explain....
...
I don't expect to be perfect by the time I go jam, but if I can show myself to be competent, eager to learn, and hard working, I reckon I might just have a chance of landing this gig. Would be awesome too, the guy is a really good player and long time jazzer, so I'd learn tons on the bandstand with him, plus get a little pay for it.

For the faster tunes, one thing that helps a lot is feeling it in 2/4 instead of fast 4. I think that's a key difference. I have limited experience with this stuff, but that was immediately helpful, esp for reading fast melodies.

Originally Posted by Scrybe

You jut mean the end section of the tune, right? Thx to Wiki.... ;-)

Originally Posted by Reg

Listen to the piano...there's the montuno...There short repeated grooves played under the tune. Learn how to accent + of beat 2 and 4 and usually every things felt in 2. Guitarist usually play the montuno with piano or play chords on + of 2 and 4, with bass. The rhythm's not notated exactly, you need to use your ears and get the feel. Remember it's dance music...Reg

Also, someone will usually yell something in Spanish.

**Uli** · 03-26-2010, 04:32 AM

Personally, I like "Brazil" very much, although it's a bit on the trivial side.

If you bent "Stella by Starlight" a little, it can also make a nice Latin number, especially with it's last few chord changes.

**randalljazz** · 03-26-2010, 05:32 AM

Originally Posted by Uli

Personally, I like "Brazil" very much, although it's a bit on the trivial side.

If you bent "Stella by Starlight" a little, it can also make a nice Latin number, especially with it's last few chord changes.

really? trivial...compared to what?

In November 1997 it was voted Best Brazilian Song of the Century by a jury of thirteen experts assembled by the Brazilian Academy of Letters.

Ary Barroso | “Aquarela do Brasil” (“Brazil”)

Aquarela do Brasil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Uli** · 03-26-2010, 05:38 AM

Great relief!
I owe you a dinner.
:-)

**Reg** · 03-26-2010, 10:55 AM

Hey scrybe... there's basically two types of latin gigs, one where jazz players play latin jazz tunes and you have a drummer, play listening versions of real book latin tunes, kind of like "soft latin", great gigs and lots of fun. Then there are dance latin gigs with percussion players, with or with out a drummer, usually have a vocalist and horns. The first gig is pretty standard, sambas, bossa novas, play through the tunes, most of the tunes mentioned above fit in this style. The second style you need to know a few basic montunos, more like Running Beagles vid, which was very cool. The solo sections are usually played over the montuno and are open. Everybody has a part and for guitarist you play more like a rock player, Carlos etc... its fun, but but you usually don't get to work on your jazz thing. Sometimes a percussionist will have a bass drum and a high hat, timbales (2) for a snare and misc. other percussion and will stand while playing, usually a congas player, a good latin bass player and go through fake books playing real montuno style latin jazz. This type of gig is great for your playing, your making up montunos or adjusting harmony's to work on standard montuno rhythms all on the fly. Good luck Reg

**Scrybe** · 03-26-2010, 12:11 PM

Awesome post Reg! Think this gig would e the "soft Latin" you speak of, rather than real Latin. But, since starting to listen more regularly, I'm really developing a taste for this kind of music, so I'm gonna prep the tunes above for jamming with this guy, but also develop my skills/feel in this area over time. The guy loves Latin music so, if I get the gig (or even if not, but I develop some), we can always work future projects with a more 'serious' Latin focus to it. This, I think, would be just a duo, so I can't imagine it being much more (to start with) than comping with a Latin feel, playing a few heads, and taking the occasional unaccompanied solo. But like I say, dude loves his Latin, and I'm loving the grooves too, so if things go well, who knows where it'll lead. Thanks again for all the useful posts - I'm adding the tips and clarifications to my Latin folder.