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Hi all,
i've been listening to a lot of Bickert lately ("Pure Desmond" and "Days gone by" or "At the garden party" for example) and i stumbled over this video on youtube just today:
He just sits there with his guitar, seemingly in a quite relaxed state, playing the melody and throwing a chord in here an there... He also doesn't seem to look at the fingerboard. The flow and musicality leaves me speechless.
When i look at my own playing, still trying to figure everything out, i just cannot imagine what made Ed play the way he did.
I know, i am NOT Ed Bickert and wanting to play like that seems rather fictional, as he is a master. Period.
Just for example, if i play some standard, comping in charleston rhythm with simple drop 2 or drop 3 chords, I am just lightyears away from what i see (or hear) from Bickert.
So finally, to form my rather naive question - does someone know what to practice next to get me near the ballpark, not sound but playing-wise? Near the "planet of the ballpark" would also be ok, I suppose
Thanks a lot!
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05-11-2018 02:20 PM
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Well, ditch that Charleston, that's for sure (although Emily Remler would have said "nothing is corny if it swings")
Practice comping and thinking about the top note as melody. Ed's chords often sound bigger than they actually are.
Try playing melodies with your eyes closed.
Breathe. A lot.
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The infamous mr beaumont
Thanks for your reply!
I've read a lot of your posts and as a tele aficionado it's no wonder you can tell me about Ed.
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Nobody can get over Ed's playing. He is one of the few original voices on the instrument.
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sidetracks:
Mike Stern give the nod to Ed in Premier Guitars rig rundown. John says “you were one of the first of jazz players to adopt the telecaster and Mike says no, a guy, I forget his name, from Canada, what is a monster player who played on the telecaster“
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Kevin Bacon with a turtleneck sweater...
Yeah, can't resist throwing this out there...GREAT TONE!
I can't see his right hand that well--is it a hybrid picking technique? Pick and fingers?
Anyway, I hear a TON of Pat Metheny in this, or rather the other way around...a lot of Ed in Pat. (And Jim Hall, of course.)
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I dunno, to me it kinda sounds like Jim Hall-Lite a little bit. Great tone and the fact he's playing jazz on a tele works for me, but the playing... it's a little too mellow and leaves me wanting for more adventurous and hot licks to mix it all up. I guess I'm just not a fan of lukewarm jazz?
Originally Posted by Cunamara
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Yes, i've seen those before. I guess, it makes more sense analyzing these instead of learning the song note-for-note. Originally Posted by djg
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Yes, Ed's playing is as smooth as it can get, and certainly not the most exciting. But that's why there is a lot of other music out there, right? Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive
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Yes, he used both. But if you check out some other vids of him you'll see that he only uses the (picking hand) fingers needed. Economy of motion and (by listening to his music) economy of notes also. Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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If you aren't excited by Bickert, you're not listening to what he's saying. Hot licks? He doesn't play licks, he plays music, he, like Bill Evans, is constantly creative. I suppose some might not think Evans exciting, though. Mastery on Bickert's level is subtle, smooth and fluid, but it's mastery, and it is exciting and inspirational, especially if one tries to play like that.
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Pedro Bellora has all of Bickert's solos from Pure Desmond transcribed on his YouTube channel and does a really great job. Lots of good stuff can be harvested here.
Paul
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I do think Bill Evans' music is very exciting, so is Jim Hall's. And Bill Frisell and others with restraint kind of style too. I find Bickert too mellow and not adventurous enough in music content and sonic range than those mentioned, but I can see someone likes exactly that. Just not everyone, sorry. Originally Posted by ronjazz
Probably 'hot licks' wasn't the best term to use though, I agree, my bad.
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Keep putting in the work, that's about it. Originally Posted by AmberNHazel80
So finally, to form my rather naive question - does someone know what to practice next to get me near the ballpark, not sound but playing-wise? Near the "planet of the ballpark" would also be ok, I suppose
Thanks a lot!
You mention charleston rhythm, well that's ONE way to play. Learn the others.
You mention drop 2 or drop 3 voicings, well that's ONE thing..
Connecting all the things you learn is basically how you put the puzzle together, at least it's been working for me. It's not as fast as one might like, but you have to put the time in to internalize it all anyway. There's no getting around it. Ed clearly has command over the melody and harmony of these tunes, and you can bet it took him YEARS to get to the tasteful playing you hear on his records.
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Wow thanks for this post. Ed’s playing is so original and so good. And he gets that sound on a Tele, I’m not sure how. But that turtleneck sweater...sure looks sweaty for a performance. Originally Posted by AmberNHazel80
Hi all,
i've been listening to a lot of Bickert lately ("Pure Desmond" and "Days gone by" or "At the garden party" for example) and i stumbled over this video on youtube just today:
He just sits there with his guitar, seemingly in a quite relaxed state, playing the melody and throwing a chord in here an there... He also doesn't seem to look at the fingerboard. The flow and musicality leaves me speechless.
When i look at my own playing, still trying to figure everything out, i just cannot imagine what made Ed play the way he did.
I know, i am NOT Ed Bickert and wanting to play like that seems rather fictional, as he is a master. Period.
Just for example, if i play some standard, comping in charleston rhythm with simple drop 2 or drop 3 chords, I am just lightyears away from what i see (or hear) from Bickert.
So finally, to form my rather naive question - does someone know what to practice next to get me near the ballpark, not sound but playing-wise? Near the "planet of the ballpark" would also be ok, I suppose
Thanks a lot!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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He's THAT cool. Originally Posted by rice_burner2000
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Being that EB was born in 1932 and PM was born in 1954, I tend to doubt that EB sat around transcribing PM... Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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Mike must really admire EB, he can't even remember his name! Originally Posted by SamBooka
A sax player I know saw MS playing Autumn Leaves at MSM in the 90s. He thought MS was a first year student.
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Nice find; that is a cool video and great playing... the three pretty women tucked in around the guys on stage gives it a kind of warm informality - some kind of stagecraft or just intuitive accident?
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One of Ed's best video clips and it has good footage of his picking technique:
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I came here for a snail joke.
VladanMovies BlogSpot
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Originally Posted by Vladan
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Haha that's a bit harsh, isn't it? My reaction when I first heard MS wow, you can play jazz with THAT sound? And use rock licks? I love it, and I love jazz now lol. That was years ago, but I still appreciate MS. Miles picked him over many more 'classic' sounding jazz guitarists, I'm with Miles on this one Originally Posted by sgcim
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I actually posted one but I took it down. Originally Posted by Vladan
Guess you were too slow.
David
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Source: Ed Bickert and MeThere he was, one of my Gods of Jazz, sitting on a humble folding chair stage right... and plugged into what looked like nothing more than a small practice amp [no Marshallstacks here!
] was Ed's same old, worn, creamy-yellow Telecaster that I've seen in so many pictures. He just sat quietly throughout the gig, wearing a shy smile, often closing his eyes to gaze on what cosmic vistas I dare not guess...
And when he played -- man! I swear, it looked like his left [fretting] hand just kinda rested lightly and limply on his Tele's neck, and sometimes it would drift up or down the neck a bit. His fingers seemed to never move! And yet we could all hear those same awesome chords and unearthly runs, as if the music was emanating telepathically from Ed's brain! Music just flows out of Ed as smoothly and naturally as his breath flows in and out...
I went to that gig to see if that kind of jazz guitar could be played live by a real human. And now that I've seen him, I'm still not sure.
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