Auditioning for Jazz Band

[Ozzey]

Hey all! My university is holding auditions for a credited jazz band ensemble this year, and I'd really like to try and see if I can get in. I played a bit of jazz last year and found it challenging, but rewarding. My problem is that I don't have any sheet music of my own, and don't know what to use to prepare. Could you guys give me any ideas on free resources I could use to prepare for it, as well as sheet music that would be easily accessible for purchase? Thanks in advance.

[bigtiny]

Originally Posted by Ozzey

Hey all! My university is holding auditions for a credited jazz band ensemble this year, and I'd really like to try and see if I can get in. I played a bit of jazz last year and found it challenging, but rewarding. My problem is that I don't have any sheet music of my own, and don't know what to use to prepare. Could you guys give me any ideas on free resources I could use to prepare for it, as well as sheet music that would be easily accessible for purchase? Thanks in advance.

First of all, find out what the audition requires. Auditions for this sort of thing vary, but my guess is that the powers that be will be looking for the following:

-ability to READ
-ability to play in a rhythm section
-ability to play a variety of styles: walking jazz bass, latin, etc.
-ability to READ
-ability to solo

So, you want to try to brush up your reading as much as possible. They should tell you if they expect you to do anything besides play in the band for the audition (i.e. prepare a piece).

If you need to prepare a piece, then get ahold of some Jamey Aebersold stuff and prepare some jazz tunes....

bigtiny

[Ozzey]

Ok, I've got more info now:

There are two small pieces to learn, a Swing type and a Ballad type. We also may be asked to sight read. What I want to do is find some more sheet music to practice, especially to work on sight reading. I'm trying to figure out where I can purchase the bass scores, either online or through a music store... It's a little long, but I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction for a few of these.

Sing, Sing, Sing
Moondance
Sway With Me
Green Onions
Zoot Suit Riot
Blue Rondo
Chatanooga Choo Choo
Desafinado
Spain
Fly Me To The Moon
Big Bad Voodoo Daddies (Band?)
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Jump, Jive and Wail
Mack The Knife
St. James' Infirmary
South Rampart Street Parade
Stompin' At The Savoy
Go Daddy O
Children of Sanchez
The Groove Factor
Charleston
It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Don't Know Why
Aculpulco

Very long list, actually... some of these I've played before, I just need physical copies for myself to keep.

[Stumbo]

Here's a link to a thread on the same topic: Auditioning for jazz band

You also might want to download a bass clef/treble clef learning program named Notecard . Easy to use and will quickly decrease your note recognition times significantly.

[Stumbo]

Fake Book? http://www.amazon.com/Real-Book-Bass.../dp/0634060767

[Chris K]

^ Indispensible...

[Jim Nazium]

Yes, the Real Book is something you need to have if you want to be a jazz player. However, it only contains chords and melodies, not bass lines. If you already know how to play a walking line by reading chord symbols, then that's all you need. If you don't, you'll want to take a "crash" course. Ed Friedland's book is a good place to start.

If you just want some jazz lines to read, there's a book called "Walking in the Footsteps of Paul Chambers" that has a lot of great lines from one of the seminal jazz bassists. It's well worth the $15 price.

[Febs]

Originally Posted by Ozzey

Ok, I've got more info now:

There are two small pieces to learn, a Swing type and a Ballad type. We also may be asked to sight read. What I want to do is find some more sheet music to practice, especially to work on sight reading. I'm trying to figure out where I can purchase the bass scores, either online or through a music store... It's a little long, but I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction for a few of these.

Sing, Sing, Sing
Moondance
Sway With Me
Green Onions
Zoot Suit Riot
Blue Rondo
Chatanooga Choo Choo
Desafinado
Spain
Fly Me To The Moon
Big Bad Voodoo Daddies (Band?)
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Jump, Jive and Wail
Mack The Knife
St. James' Infirmary
South Rampart Street Parade
Stompin' At The Savoy
Go Daddy O
Children of Sanchez
The Groove Factor
Charleston
It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Don't Know Why
Aculpulco

Very long list, actually... some of these I've played before, I just need physical copies for myself to keep.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a band. Their popular songs included Go Daddy-O and You and Me and the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight. Go Daddy-O is just a Bb blues. I did an arrangement of it a few years ago and I can send you the bass part if you pm me your e-mail address.

What you have as "Sway with Me" is probably "Sway," which has been recorded by Rosemary Clooney, Dean Martin, Michael Buble and many others. Do you know which arrangement?

Blue Rondo ala Turk would be a very tricky number to sight-read, as it alternates meters. I've never seen a big band arrangement of it, though I'm sure they exist.

You can purchase full arrangements of many of these tunes, but generally speaking, the parts aren't sold individually.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

Fake Book? http://www.amazon.com/Real-Book-Bass.../dp/0634060767

Originally Posted by Jim Nazium

Yes, the Real Book is something you need to have if you want to be a jazz player. However, it only contains chords and melodies, not bass lines.

The one I posted is a bass line book.

[Febs]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

The one I posted is a bass line book.

No, it's not. It's a book of lead sheets, where the melody lines are written in bass clef.

[Chris K]

Originally Posted by Febs

No, it's not. It's a book of lead sheets, where the melody lines are written in bass clef.

Maybe he'll notice once he gets to play with a jazz band

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Jim Nazium

Yes, the Real Book is something you need to have if you want to be a jazz player. However, it only contains chords and melodies, not bass lines....

Well a big part of what makes Jazz, Jazz is that bass lines are improvised - as has been said though, you can read the melodies, both for practice and to use as a basis for improvisation and to keep the form in your head!

[okcrum]

Originally Posted by Chris K

^ Indispensible...

+1, the whole set is.

[johndough247]

+1 to mr. lindfield there...learn chord structures if you're not familiar with them (I've lost the cover to my real book years ago, but didn't it have a quick 1 page guide on what's in the various chord types?)...

2 quick tips (great for jazz, but works for other styles):
*don't always play the root of each chord on the downbeat; it can create some interesting voicings, especially when the rest of the band (i.e. horns) my be reading charts 98% verbatim...just always keep the melody in mind and experiment.
*don't be in a hurry to get somewhere, u might be there already: sometimes the notes you're playing over one chord may work on the chord after it, but will voice it in a interesting way...again, experiment Good luck!!

[So Low Bass]

*Are you auditioning alone in a room, with a rhythm section, or are you auditioning with the entire ensemble? If it were my class, I’d use just the rhythm section, give every auditioner the music to prepare, and have a tune or two to sightread.

*Is there a way for you to find out who is in the rhythm section, especially the drummer?

*Do you also play upright?

*Are you a music major?

*Do you know who, if anyone, is your competition?

One way to look at a jazz ensemble is a “combo” punctuated by horns, ALL driven by the bass. Zero in on the “combo” aspect. It’s not life or death, even tough your body might be telling you that at that moment.

[Rudreax]

Originally Posted by Febs

No, it's not. It's a book of lead sheets, where the melody lines are written in bass clef.

You wouldn't want a bassline book anyway; some songs might have a written bass part as part of the melody, but for the most part you'd want the kind of thing Stumbo suggested since you want to focus on knowing the melody and then improvising.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by Rudreax

You wouldn't want a bassline book anyway; some songs might have a written bass part as part of the melody, but for the most part you'd want the kind of thing Stumbo suggested since you want to focus on knowing the melody and then improvising.

For typical combo jazz playing yes. But to prepare for a jazz band audition, it might be helpful to practice reading some big-band bass parts.

[okcrum]

Originally Posted by fdeck

For typical combo jazz playing yes. But to prepare for a jazz band audition, it might be helpful to practice reading some big-band bass parts.

+1. Lots of sheets I've played are written out notes, some with changes too.

So sight reading bass clef, and playing just a little bit up on the beat, are the biggies.

[So Low Bass]

Originally Posted by okcrum

... and playing just a little bit up on the beat, ...

Not if his drummer stinks.

I think you're all throwing way too much at the kid.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by So Low Bass

Not if his drummer stinks.

I think you're all throwing way too much at the kid.

I agree. Honestly, if he can do nothing but read his way through a high school level big band chart, he'll have the gig, and the rest of it can be learned on the job.