JGBE Virtual Jam (Round 25) - Strasbourg St. Denis

**ragman1** · 07-04-2021, 02:13 AM

Rue St. Denis

Well, we should probably be thankful that it wasn't the Rue St Denis because that's truly the street of sleaze. This is more the Rue du Faubourg. I think they were playing it safe :-)

**ragman1** · 07-04-2021, 04:37 AM

There's the Boulevard de Strasbourg, Rue St. Denis, and the Saint-Denis commune. The only place actually called Strasbourg-St.Denis is the Metro station. The tune's named after a Metro station :-)

**fep** · 07-04-2021, 09:03 AM

My take... A bit rough, the tempo is a bit fast for me.

**TOMMO** · 07-04-2021, 10:27 AM

Here's a take by me - a bit noodly in places. I like the chord progression but wouldn't mind some kind of bridge...

Enjoyed the "Steely Dan" - ish versions by both of you John and Ron!

Frank: yes - maybe a bit rough here and there but very nice nonetheless.

**Triple_Jazz** · 07-04-2021, 11:01 AM

PME Thanks for your kind words. Nice take, Solid groove. I dig repetitive ideas, I think you may have gone overboard though.

John very cool outside stuff in the middle. Nice CTI feel like Mr. B was saying

Ron great to hear you in a new style, I haven’t heard you play with overdrive and bend strings yet

Rag I was wondering how you were going to approach and it was very cool. Loved the video

haven’t listened to the latest posts yet. I’m enjoying some time at the beach, happy 4th to you Americans!

it’s interesting to hear Benson comparisons. I never really got into Benson because one ice started out the only things I found by him or smooth jazz and it completely turned me off. I’m a big 70 CTI fan and all of the groove so fusion, love Eddie Harris. Also a huge influence is Scofield and Krasno from Soulive. I try to play everything with a soulive vibe. I would love to hear recommendations for a good George Benson album to listen to.

**John A.** · 07-04-2021, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by Triple_Jazz

PME Thanks for your kind words. Nice take, Solid groove. I dig repetitive ideas, I think you may have gone overboard though.

John very cool outside stuff in the middle. Nice CTI feel like Mr. B was saying

Ron great to hear you in a new style, I haven’t heard you play with overdrive and bend strings yet

Rag I was wondering how you were going to approach and it was very cool. Loved the video

haven’t listened to the latest posts yet. I’m enjoying some time at the beach, happy 4th to you Americans!

it’s interesting to hear Benson comparisons. I never really got into Benson because one ice started out the only things I found by him or smooth jazz and it completely turned me off. I’m a big 70 CTI fan and all of the groove so fusion, love Eddie Harris. Also a huge influence is Scofield and Krasno from Soulive. I try to play everything with a soulive vibe. I would love to hear recommendations for a good George Benson album to listen to.

Giblets Gravy
New Boss Guitar
George Benson Cookbook
Benson Burner
Jimmy Smith Off the Top

Breezin' is kind of the turning point between "jazz guitar Benson" and "pop singer Benson". Pretty much everything before it kills. After, it's more mixed. It's all on Spotify, and you can pretty much work your way forward from the earliest stuff.

**rpjazzguitar** · 07-04-2021, 03:10 PM

I hadn't encountered this tune before, but I like it.

**rpjazzguitar** · 07-04-2021, 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by John A.

Here we go. The backing track I used has several changes in feel, so I decided to play longer to go along with that. I also slowed the backing track down a bit -- it was done at 110 bpm which is I find too fast for the tune. I figured it could also use a bit of the old Skunk Baxter treatment.

TJ: very nice Benson-y take. Definitely your kind of tune.

Jeff: Started off great, and then it was like "who was that masked man?" We gotta get you to stick around a little longer on a tune.

\

Love it. The passion is there.

**ragman1** · 07-04-2021, 07:37 PM

This guy can do it.

It's obviously dead easy :-)

**John A.** · 07-05-2021, 12:03 AM

PME: some nice stuff there, although I would like to hear some longer lines from you.

Ron: yeah, nice and greasy!

Tommo: very nice, good job bringing out the harmony, tasty phrasing.

Fep: you were going good there, but the dog walked away as soon as you went minor pentatonic over major chords. Tough audience.

Rpjazzguitar: great stuff. I like the way you kind of flirted with a double time. Great tone and feel overall.

Ragman: another nice one. This tune fits your style well.

**TOMMO** · 07-05-2021, 01:30 AM

Thanks John. RP: very nice!

**mr. beaumont** · 07-05-2021, 10:01 AM

Frank, fantastic tone...didn't seem like you were struggling to me. Love the bends.

Tommo, cool laid back take. My one suggestion would be for a tune like this, to work more syncopation into your lines.

Rp, good stuff. I like your patience, you're able to take an idea or a motif and beat it up a bit, without jumping to the next thing too quickly.

**TOMMO** · 07-05-2021, 10:04 AM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Tommo, cool laid back take. My one suggestion would be for a tune like this, to work more syncopation into your lines.

Thank you for both the nice compliment and advice - will work on that.

**fep** · 07-05-2021, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Frank, fantastic tone...didn't seem like you were struggling to me. Love the bends.

Thanks Jeff. Tempos around 110bpm are tweeners for me... to fast for me to run sixteenth notes comfortable (that's the struggle), and eighth notes are kind of slow at that tempo. I need to get my technique to were I can play a bit faster, not being greedy, long lines of 16th at 120bpm and I'd be happy. But I've been wishing for that for a long time.

**mr. beaumont** · 07-05-2021, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by fep

Thanks Jeff. Tempos around 110bpm are tweeners for me... to fast for me to run sixteenth notes comfortable (that's the struggle), and eighth notes are kind of slow at that tempo. I need to get my technique to were I can play a bit faster, not being greedy, long lines of 16th at 120bpm and I'd be happy. But I've been wishing for that for a long time.

Yep! Midtempo tunes can be deceptively tough.

**rpjazzguitar** · 07-05-2021, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by TOMMO

Here's a take by me - a bit noodly in places. I like the chord progression but wouldn't mind some kind of bridge...

Enjoyed the "Steely Dan" - ish versions by both of you John and Ron!

Frank: yes - maybe a bit rough here and there but very nice nonetheless.

Tone is great. Lots of good ideas and feeling. I especially liked a quick double time passage you did.

If I may be permitted to make a suggestion, I'd suggest thinking about how a dancer might react to the groove. The idea is to make the eighth notes sound a little less on the metronome and a little more like a postage stamp dance floor in smoky club, back in the day when people drank, danced to jazz and freely polluted indoor air. That is, just a little slinkier.

**rpjazzguitar** · 07-05-2021, 02:47 PM

Originally Posted by fep

My take... A bit rough, the tempo is a bit fast for me.

I like the way you're reacting to the track, kind of call and response. It grooves. Tone is great. I also like the way you make the notes speak. There is a guitar style where the guitar functions kind of like a piano -- the notes are plainly stated without vibrato or bends or anything like that. It's great, but so is a style where the player makes the notes really sing, with sustain, vibrato, bends, shakes, prebends, volume swells, pinch harmonics and all the other ways of affecting a note.

**TOMMO** · 07-05-2021, 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar

Tone is great. Lots of good ideas and feeling. I especially liked a quick double time passage you did.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar

If I may be permitted to make a suggestion, I'd suggest thinking about how a dancer might react to the groove. The idea is to make the eighth notes sound a little less on the metronome and a little more like a postage stamp dance floor in smoky club, back in the day when people drank, danced to jazz and freely polluted indoor air. That is, just a little slinkier.

Not only permitted but any suggestions and advice are most welcome - Thanks for this as well!

**John A.** · 07-05-2021, 11:14 PM

Took another crack at it with the same backing track, this time with clean tone.

Definitely a challenge to keep things interesting and not repeat stuff on this tune.

**rpjazzguitar** · 07-07-2021, 09:52 PM

Originally Posted by John A.

Took another crack at it with the same backing track, this time with clean tone.

Definitely a challenge to keep things interesting and not repeat stuff on this tune.

I like the way you use sustain. I think it sounds powerful. And, for that reason, I think the solidbody guitar suits your style maybe more than the archtop. (This is why I don't play an archtop, so if I'm wrong, at least I'm not a hypocrite).

**wzpgsr** · 07-07-2021, 10:02 PM

Tonight I went in search of my alter ego, Maxx Roxx. I think I found him:

**wzpgsr** · 07-07-2021, 10:31 PM

Just getting a chance to listen to everyone's takes tonight. Brief thoughts:

Triple: Loved hearing some of those straight-ahead jazz lines over this tune.

Mr. B: Smooth as always. Expressive touch, great feel on every single take I have ever seen from you.

Tommo: This tune is head-bopper at your tempo.

John A: Both takes rippin'. I liked the slightly overdriven archtop.

FEP: I hear ya re: the tempo. You handled it well, I thought. Nice thing about kicking the overdrive a bit is that you can hold notes longer like a horn player.

Picking: On the “groovy” take, nice funky rhythmic approach around the 2:25 mark. I think I hear this song the same way you do.

Ronstuff: Admire your ability to blend jazz lines with the more overdriven rock sound. I guess that what’s fusion is all about.

Apologies if I missed anybody—each of you is a bad mothergrubber in one way or another.

**TOMMO** · 07-08-2021, 01:55 AM

Originally Posted by wzpgsr

Tommo: This tune is head-bopper at your tempo.

...not sure what that is supposed to mean. Looked up "head-bopper" and I'd rather not quote what the Urban Dictionary says....

**John A.** · 07-08-2021, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar

I like the way you use sustain. I think it sounds powerful. And, for that reason, I think the solidbody guitar suits your style maybe more than the archtop. (This is why I don't play an archtop, so if I'm wrong, at least I'm not a hypocrite).

Overall, a semi is probably the best fit for me, but I enjoy the variety, and for some of what I do the archtop works best.