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Modal à la Coltrane with an E pedal/drone? More "traditional"... somewhere in-between?
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04-22-2024 01:06 PM
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If somebody called this at a jam I'd go get a drink.
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Me too … I’ve heard this two or three times at jams, every time during the Christmas season, every time a train wreck.
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Though I guess the seasonal application would imply that the answer is “more traditional.”
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Cowards
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Lol. Originally Posted by Peter C
I've actually never heard this called, so there's no telling how cowardly I'd actually be. I mean, at one time I DID transcribe all of McCoy Tyner's piano voicings for guitar...now, if I remember them...
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Brian Setzer Orchestra version!
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Come on guys, this is easy. It'll be the changes in iReal.
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This tune is in a jam setlist. If I hear the pianist laying down some McCoy Tyner quartals, I'll know where I am (that's a relative statement).
Where can I see the iReal chart?
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So you're saying this song is not one of your favorite things? Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Well then, how about brown paper packages tied up with string? Please don't tell me they're not either!
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Topic hijack, I guess.
When I get invited to jams, the players generally know the top 50 jam tunes, give or take, that you usually see on tune lists. By that I mean they don't need charts for those tunes.
But, nobody wants to play them except maybe as a warmup tune. People want to play more novel and challenging material. Not everybody knows those tunes by heart, so the books come out.
I was at a jam yesterday. We warmed up with I Love You, after which it was Isotope, Ana Maria, Sidewinder (which somebody mentioned and we didn't play), Peri's Scope -- and then everybody wanted to dive into obscure (to the uninitiated) Brazilian tunes and odd meters. We played Tempestade, Baiao Pro Eliseu, Batida Diferente and one more widely known tune, Chega De Saudade, called by the drummer and counted off faster than I'd ever played it -- which was great. Clearly, I'd been playing too slow. I've forgotten a few we played, but that's sort of the gist of it.
So, I'm curious. Are there actually jams where advanced players want to play everything from memory -- and everybody knows enough tunes, beyond the basic 50, to keep it interesting? If so, I guess I can see why I don't know about them.
Is my experience unusual?Last edited by rpjazzguitar; 04-22-2024 at 06:14 PM.
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Yeah they exist in New York, DC, and probably a handful of other pretty big markets. Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
We also established that you’re generally talking about going to living room sessions rather than open sessions at a bar or whatever, right?
Thats a way more inviting situation in which to be pulling out cool obscure charts and stuff, for whatever that’s worth.
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That's a good point. I'm talking about living room (read: by invitation) jams. I've rarely gone to public jams. When I have, and it's a "no books" situation, then the tune choice has been the usual suspects. Exceptions usually involve some particular lineup of players within the jam who know each other and collectively know something less common. "Evidence", comes to mind as a tune I first heard in that kind of jam situation. Originally Posted by pamosmusic
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There are players who report knowing a thousand tunes.
How does that happen?
Warren Nunes claimed that if he heard a song once on a jukebox, he knew it for the rest of his life. I never heard him stumped on a standard.
For the rest of us, I wonder if it goes more like this. You're at a session or a gig and somebody calls a tune you don't know. So, you make a note and you return to the tune later and learn it from recordings or charts. But what happens at that session? You sit out? You open a book? You lay out until you've figured out the tune? Do people play the tune without you? Can you really memorize it from the recordings, or do you have to play it a few times to get in ingrained?
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It's not about knowing or not knowing anything...this tune invites overindulgenge.
You ain't John Coltrane.
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I too would be looking for the door if someone called my favorite things. Maybe soloists can sound good on it, but I doubt a random rhythm section is gonna produce the energy of McCoy, elvin, and Jimmy, which is kinda the point of the tune lol.
People call some obscure tunes at the Brooklyn jams I go to, but they're also pretty friendly to irealpro. I read hey it's me you're talking to not too long ago. Great tune, but not a fun one to read haha.
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Yeah, so I really don't know which way it will go; it may just depend on who's up on stage. As you may remember from the lockdown jams, I tend to just dive in and see what happens. Meanwhile, I'm listening to this guy. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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I'd be fine with listening to where you take it...but I know your playing and know you'd sound good. Originally Posted by Peter C
Strangers? I'm having a Black Russian. Tall.
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You ain't been to a jam until you get up on stage and there's an endless 20 minute modal slog that's also too fast.
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Bonus points if it starts too slow and then rushes until it’s too fast Originally Posted by AllanAllen
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Just imagine, a 19 or 20 year old laying down a masterful chordal take on piano like Tyner did. His imagination was mind boggling. In the piano world this recording made Tyner a piano god. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
As to whether MFT should be called on stage, why not challenge yourself to see what you can do with a tune previously etched in jazz stone.
I’m biased because I feel the tune is strongly benefited and played by a “qualified” pianist.
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I dunno, I just think it's bad form to call something at a jam that's likely to go on so long. I mean, if you really know and trust the players, all good. But if it's an open jam and a lot of people signed up, calling something that has an open form is kind of bush league. Like calling a super slow ballad and taking more than one chorus.
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So I asked the pianist if they were going to go all Coltrane on this, and he just smiled. No. They actually ended up singing it and I played a solo off the cuff, which people seemed to appreciate. No trainwreck in sight and also no footage because my, ahem, camerawoman was otherwise occupied.
Jammed The Jody Grind first with a B string which had decided to detune itself while I was waiting to go up, so I was getting an "interesting" Bbm-semi-b5 while comping. Must get one of those luminous digital headstock tuner thingies. Ironically, the resident guitarist, generous guy that he is, would have lent me his Fender Robben Ford, which I'm sure was 100% in tune.
Anyway, you gotta play, right?Last edited by Peter C; 04-25-2024 at 08:59 PM.
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I got this at a charity shop (thrift store) yesterday. I Feel Pretty reminded me of MFT which is one of the few waltzs that I've played in a jazz style (sax, guitar and upright).
I've since checked out IFP on Youtube and found a few jazz versions in (or partly in) waltz time. Can't find anything on JGO.
Anyone covered it or thought about covering it? Great tune.
ps. 'Somewhere' gives me goosebumps!!
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Ugh.
Beautiful tune, but it's the perfect balance of Well-Known and Complicated.
People know it really well so they think they can play it, but it's just complicated enough to be a pain in the a** without a rehearsal.
In my experience, this is the number one Potential Train Wreck I hear at jam sessions.
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My Favorite Things is a solid jam tune. I play a version similar to the Grant Green one on Matador, and I play the melody. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
If I'm playing with folks, I'm not too failure with I ask them if they wish to solo over all the changes, only the "A" or only the intro two-chord vamp. Many prefer just the two chord vamp, since it is easy to follow, but still, like many vamps, offers a lot of space for creativity.
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