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Real quick question. I've heard there is a live album with Jim Hall and Michel Petrucciani playing together. I've looked on Amazon.com and other places and I can't seem to find it. I'm just wondering if anyone knows what this album is called or where it can be found. Those two guys blow my mind. Also, I know from all these discussion boards that Mr. MW is quite an Ed Bickert fan and I just started listening to him a little. Any suggested listening?
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06-10-2008 07:12 AM
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Hey Dmatthews,
I know that Jim/Michel album, is it not on Itunes? Maybe not. As for Ed you should check out his album with Lorne Lofsky, he might have two albums with him. Also his duo album with Don Thompson is great, as are all of his trio albums.
If you do a search for him on Amazon all of the albums that show up, like 5 or so, are classics!
MW
You should also check out Like Someone in Love and Pure Desmond by Paul Desmond that feature Ed. These were his "breakthrough" albums and are absolutely amazin.g
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Nice. Thanks a lot.
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Do you have any other suggestions for jazz guitarists? I've already got Joe Pass, Wes, and Charlie Byrd. If it helps, I'm definitely a swing man. Nat King Cole and Dave Brubeck. You know how it is though, when you first get introduced to jazz, most of what you're shown is horn players. I just need to get my hands on some more good jazz guitar.
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I would check out Jim Hall, especially his live trio album, his duo albums with Ron Carter and his Concerto album.
Also I would highly recommend Johnny Smith, I think you'll really dig him. Here are others.
Tal Farlow
Les Paul
Herb Ellis
Jimmy Rainey
Pat Martino
Early George Benson
Lenny Breau
Ed Bickert
That's a good start on the swing/bop guys.
MW
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Awesome. I got a little Les Paul, and I've heard a few of the other guys. Tal Farlow's on my list already. Awesome. I'll definitely check this out. I don't have iTunes and our computer's a little slow for Limewire and all that, so it takes a little cash to get my hands on some of this but you just doubled my list so I'll be occupied for a while - haha. I also have a question that's completely off topic. I started a discussion board a while ago about looking for music schools. I've done a lot of looking and audition time is fast approaching. School is out and I've got TONS of time so I'm really try to whip myself into shape for the fall. Wondering if you've got any specific suggestions or tips about practicing or even songs for an audition or audition recording.
Currently I'm working alot on my scales and arpeggios...
-cut my metronome tempo in half and really focusing on fine tuning my technique (back in the day I was a big speed guy so I cut corners on technique for speed. Made some mistakes I'm working on correcting)
-working a lot out of a jazz technique book I got for Christmas
-trying to sing with the scales to get the intervals into my head
I'm also trying to keep my chord melody sharp
any other suggestions? This is a big thing for me so if you've got anything at all whether it's a tiny detail or something that'll be a project all summer I'll try it.
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particularly in the chord melody department**
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Cool! Where are you going to apply? This might help me be more specific with my suggestions as different schools look for different things.
Though overall here are 3 things you definately should work on, and though this may go against everything your teachers have told you, but stop practicing scales. To be honest I have never heard of anyone getting into or not getting into a music school based on their knowledge of scales. This is not something the audition panel will be looking for. That's just my experience, I've sat on 100's auditions at four universities over the past 10 years on every instrument and this is what I've found.
So what should you work on.
The two absolute most important aspects of your playing you should work on are Feel/Time and Vocabulary.
These are the two catagories that make or break an audition. Can you swing, and I mean hard, can you keep good time at different tempos and can you demonstrate that you know the jazz language.
So what you should be practicing is the 4 tunes that you'll need to prepare, I'll list them below, by working with a play along or band in the box. Practice "performing", by that I mean play the head twice, blow for 10-12 choruses, then comp for a few. You should even practice trading fours/eights by soloing for four, then comping for four. Then come back to the head at the end. This way you are working on time/feel, and you are practicing the exact process you will go through at your audition. So when you get there it is no different than what you do everyday in your practice room.
For vocabulary I would suggest getting the David Baker Bebop books, they're cheap at Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Inc., and they are FULL of jazz vocabulary. Take a lick or bebop pattern each day and practice using it as much as possible when you blow over your tunes. You'd be suprised how fast you will progress by doing this. You are building vocabulary and are learning tunes at the same time.
A few other things you should think about are preparing a study and a transcription. I would suggest a Wes transcription. Moving Along is a great one, so is D Natural Blues. By doing a Wes transcription you are showing the audition panel that you have respect for the masters, and are fully aware of the benifit of studying the jazz guitar tradition. This is a big point to make. For a study I would suggest one of the Joe Pass Chord Solos, Misty or Wine and Roses are great so try working out one of those.
As for tunes you will need to have a blues and rhythm changes on the tips of your fingers. Billie's Bounce and Oleo are two that most people play as they are famous and they show you can play a bebop head which is also important.
You should also have a very standard, standard. All the Things You Are, Stella By Starlight, Have You Met Miss Jones etc. You should have a chord melody arranged, something with smaller voicings that you would use with a trio.
You should also have a ballad, Round Midnight, Body and Soul and My Funny Valentine are all great for auditions. For this one if you can get a solo head arranged that would be great! Then bring the band in for the solo, and finish by playing the bridge out chord melody. This would show your diversity as you are focussing more on chords with this tune.
That's a good start, if you let me know where you are auditioning I can be more specific.
Also, once you've picked your schools make sure to email/call the guitar teacher there. Start to develop a relationship, these are the things that make you stand out. When it comes down to it and the panel is making their decision, if you're on par as a player with the next guy, you want the guitar teacher to have a positive impression of you as a person to help push you over the edge. Just send him an email, tell him you're a fan and why you're auditioning at his school, and ask him a few questions about what you are preparing for the audition. This is a great icebreaker.
MW
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Wow. Thanks for all the tips.
I've been doing a lot of looking. The one that I'm definitely going to apply to is VCU. It's fairly nearby and I've visited several times. I'm good friends with a graduate of the music school and he loved it so it comes pretty highly recomended. I've also e-mailed the Jazz Guitar instructor there about audition material (in fact I just e-mailed him tonight.). I've also looked quite a bit (online) at Peabody, Hartt, and SUNY Purchase (I hear their Jazz Guitar instructor is John Abercrombie). I know someone who is a college counseler and she named Peabody and Purchase as places that would give me a lot of financial aid (if I was good enough to get in the first place). I'm planning on visiting these three this summer and seeing what's going on. Maybe I'll narrow it down a little, we'll see. There are a couple of other schools in state that have good music programs but don't offer jazz as a major. I've been considering a couple of these as possibilities but, obviously, I consider the whole jazz thing a priority. haha. Anyway, thanks again for your help. I appreciate you taking the time to answer all my questions.
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Matt (M78W) has given you excellent guidelines for your audition. I think maybe I would emphasize the time aspect. Make sure everything you present is played with confidence and swing! Playing an occasional bad note is not nearly as critical as keeping good time. Good luck with your audition!!
best wishes, wiz
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Hi Dmatthews,
First of all let me say that I'm in no way qualified to give you any advice about auditions or music schools. I've never been to a music school, but I have been a guitar player most of my life. I'm going to 60 this year, and will be retiring from the Fire Department here in Honolulu in a few weeks, and plan to spend the rest of my life learning my guitar.
How fortunate you are, first of all, to be so young yet so determined in your path. How fortunate you are to be among the very tiny percentage of people who are so moved by music that it has become their passion.
And how fortunate you are to be just beginning your journey. And what an incredible journey it will be! It will last a lifetime. You will feel things that most people never even imagine. You will hear things most people will never even know exists. Good on you!
Best of luck to you.
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Right on! lk — you put it perfectly.
Originally Posted by lkmuller
Someone forgot to mention Barney Kessel, not everyone rates him but well worth a listen. He could swing!
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Oh, and lk, good luck with your future studies too
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Dmatthews,
Those are all good schools, but I had a student who had a bad experience at Purchase so you should really go there to check it out before making a decision. VCU looks good, it's not as well known as the other schools but the teacher looks great and you'll probably get a lot of playing opportunities there and the tution doesn't look as crazy as Hart or the other private schools.
Don't get starstruck for your undergrad degree by a big name school or big name teacher. To be honest, the reason that these schools have a big rep and can pay big name teachers is because the undergrads pay the bills while the grad students get all the opportunities to perform and study with the top teachers. I would look for a school that only has an undergrad program, or is a medium level school for your undergrad. It will benifit you more to get a lot of performing opportunities and to work closely with a good, but maybe not world famous, teacher for four years. Then you can go to a big name school and study with a big name teacher for your grad degree.
Also you should look into how often teachers are at schools. Abercrombie is not at Purchase every week, from what I've heard he only pops in here and there when he's not on the road. But the school won't tell you that as he's their big name guy.
Just some things to think about.
MW
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Yeah I was sort of thinking about the Abercrombie thing because if he's still a gigging musician then he tours 150 days a year, which means that that's 150 days a year that he's not at school. I also heard that the campus of Purchase left a little something to be desired. I've been trying not to get drawn in only by the big name schools but it still sort of happened that way. To be honest, though, VCU is probably my top choice. I've visited many times and I know a lot of people who go there (not for music) so even though it's a city it wouldn't be like leaving home and not knowing anybody. Also the guy I know who studied music at VCU is a good friend and a local music teacher who I've played in a band with and who pretty much took off the training wheels for me a few years ago when I started to perform. He's not my regular guitar teacher but I really respect his opinion so that was a huge plus on VCU. I've more visited the campus with friends and seen the streets, and the clubs, and the parks and all the cool city life, but I haven't made a formal visit to the music school. From what I've seen of the campus, though, it's great. I'll probably apply to the other three schools and maybe more, but I'm taking a lot of different things into consideration. For instance if I love VCU and kind of like Peabody and get into both (cross my fingers) then I won't pick Peabody because it's got a ridiculous reputation. On top of everything is the money. I won't even be able to go to some of these places unless they can at least come close to matching a school like VCU. I would have to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 to go to VCU without any scholarships. Peabody JHU is $41,000. I know it's nice to think of things like the money makes no difference... haha.
anyway. Thanks for all the great advice on everything and I'm really hoping to get myself in shape and ready to go by the end of summer so I'll let you know what's up.
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Great! If you have any way of recording yourself I would love to hear you playing your audition tunes and can give you pointers on what to work on if you'd like. Also if VCU is close to you I would definately study with the guitar prof there, maybe every 2 weeks if he's cool with,and every week if he's cool with that.
You'd be suprised how many people get scholarships because they are already stuyding with a teacher and the teacher goes the extra distance for his student/friend.
MW
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Yeah, the only recording "equipment" I have is a four track tape recorder. It's great for practice but that's about it. A month or so ago I went and saw Dave Brubeck at Christopher Newport University in Newport News so I checked them out. It looks like they have a Jazz Studies program also and from what I saw the campus was pretty cool so I'm going to have to check them out a little more.
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Hey, I was looking on Amazon and found Pure Desmond with Paul Desmond and Ed Bickert. I think it was $8. Would you recomend it?
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ABSOLUTELY! And there are two transcriptions available out there from that album, one here:
http://www.roypatterson.com/edbickertsolo.pdf
And one is attached.
MW
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