Jazz advice?

[EggplantofDoom]

I'm 17 on the cusp of 18. I have been playing for just over 6 years. I play many different genre, though I have leaned on progressive music and the less simple and monotony-inducing forms of metal for the majority of my music playing. I feel that I have really gotten a feel for my bass, mainly thanks to the advice you guys gave given me in the past.

To the point, Jazz band has had it's first session yesterday, Jazz, along with Rap, Country, and Pop in general, is a genre I seldom listen to. Though I have admired the skill involved in jazz, I never "got into" jazz.
With Jazz being a foreign style to me, and the concept of playing with an entire ensemble of brass and other various instruments being new to me, can anyone give me a few tips or advice on tackling and Immersing myself in this genre?
I am a quick learner, and the Drumset player happens to be one of my rock band mates, so i have an advantage there. But once again, both the genre and general atmosphere of the group is foreign to me, advice?

[Michael Case]

Listen to as much of the music as you can. That's a good general starting point. Also, learn to appreciate the music as music and not just a skill set.

[wrench45us]

my advice would be to start by listening to Duke Ellington -- just to get a feel for 'modern' jazz roots
the Kind of Blue Miles Davis to see how things evolved

aside from the full orchestra of Ellington, to really listen I tend to like smaller 3 or 4 piece groups esp to hear what the bass is doing, but playing in a larger ensemble you may want a mix of large and small groups.
jazz is a very wide genre you should be ablke to find something you like and let it soak in. My entry point was Thelonius Monk, but that may not translate all that well to your needs.

[EggplantofDoom]

My request being, a general concept on how to get a "feel for the genre. If that makes sense, what sort of role I should aim for, ect. Especially in a large group, which is also a new concept from where I normally stood in a group of 4 or 5, is now up to the 40s.

[BassChuck]

Jazz is like any other kind of music. All answers are in the listening. I would suggest you look up Jazzbook.com and get the free "Red Book". This will have many great musical suggestions on how to play, but better than that would be a list of great players (on all instruments). This, and an afternoon with YouTube will be a great starting place.

Remember too, the term "Jazz" is very broad. What to listen to first is the kind of jazz that sounds good to you. Then, every now and then, try listening to something different. When it sounds good to you, go into it deeper. The mind will accept the things it is ready to learn. Be calm, you're young, time is on your side. Listen.

[BassBrass]

Originally Posted by EggplantofDoom

My request being, a general concept on how to get a "feel for the genre. If that makes sense, what sort of role I should aim for, ect. Especially in a large group, which is also a new concept from where I normally stood in a group of 4 or 5, is now up to the 40s.

Jazz is vaster than rock, so you are asking a difficult question. For instance in rock you have Goth and Punk and metal and riot-girrl teeny pop...each is a different attitude and atmosphere 180 degrees from the other. There is no one way to be. More relevant:

You are in a school band, sitting in a large group of people each one with their own instrument and there is a music stand in front of you. Chill. Take a breath. Wait for cues. Don't worry. Listen. Follow the director's instructions. Mellow out. Be alert. Be normal. Read the chart. Turn the page when necessary.
There, you are prepared.

[Ed Fuqua]

As Boss Brass says, it's a school band. Your parts are almost without exception going to be pretty fully notated. You may occasionally be asked to improvise a quarter note walking line based on chord symbols, so you want to make sure you understand what's required there. High school big band jazz (with a few exceptions) is pretty much removed from jazz in the real world. If you're interested in finding out what THAT is, there have been some excellent suggestions so far.

[TeeAre]

Originally Posted by Michael Case

Listen to as much of the music as you can. That's a good general starting point. Also, learn to appreciate the music as music and not just a skill set.

Definitely agree with listening to as much jazz as you can handle, and to enjoy it, if you can. Make sure to hear the standards, but don't limit yourself to them. Venture into more contemporary stuff. Jam along with Jaco or Chick Corea or whatever you have on tap.

It might be hard to start, but jazz is a very deep realm of music. It can be incredibly rewarding.

[Jhengsman]

I agree with High School Stage/Big Bands being somewhat removed from most of what we call jazz being made today. Although a few big bands are able to exist inspite of the economic situation. For inspiration check out the documentary Thunder Soul about an award winning Houston stage/big band.

. Back in the day we had Maynard Ferguson playing recent pop music with his almost big band. Maybe some of Buddy Rich's catalog. But the bulk of what we played was either jazz/funk fusion aranged for a big band or jazzier big band arangements from back when big bands were dance bands.

[Corporate Boy]

Go for the Jugular.... listen to Mingus. Find 3 different live versions of Fables of Faubus. Listen to them all and get yourself hooked. Then identify the role of the bass in jazz and realize that whatever rule is put in front of you on how it should be played can be broken, but in order to sound good you have to understand the fundamentles, which requires studying the standards and when you dig into it you will realize how infinite it all is and why jazz is so amazing.

[Intenzity]

Originally Posted by Michael Case

Listen to as much of the music as you can. That's a good general starting point. Also, learn to appreciate the music as music and not just a skill set.

yea, gotta do this.

Its like saying "I want to learn how to speak Italian" well, you gotta listen to a lot of people talking in Italian. Same deal with Jazz.

And as people have mentioned there is a LOT of different kinds of jazz, so many that one kind barely sounds like another sometimes.

You can't go wrong just following the history of Miles Davis from the early 50's until he died for a good overview, but here is a link to a streaming station for Jazz, when you hear something you like, find out who it was, when it was recorded (what era), and who else was playing with them when they recorded it. That will get you a list of names really fast and a general start into whatever genre you find yourself digging, as the jazz cats say.

http://www.jazzradio.com/

Transcribing and listening is the best way, that is how all those guys did it before there was real books, slow-downer programs, play-alongs and DVD's.

[Jenra]

Im 18 as well played for 8 years now (6 on bass) and ive also come across alot of different genres, i start by listening ALOT! to firstly the things im gonna play, secondly to the general genre if your an easy learner idd start out with something everyone can relate to pop jazz, idd say Jamie Cullum is a place to start since hes quite young has an AWESOME bassist (skilled and yet subtle) also idd access Spotify if its available to you and listen to their Jazz channel its really good with a variety of good jazz numbers

Keep on rehersing is the only thing idd like say works but ive done all of these things to get into it, now i cant get out

Casper

[MalcolmAmos]

Take notes: Dailymotion - Jazz bass lesson -Milt Hinton - a Music video

[anonymous122511]

Unless you live in NYC or maybe three or four other cities in the world you don't have a constant source of top level live jazz. If you're not in one of those cities never, ever miss a heavy player coming through town. Hearing it happen live increases your level of knowledge of what's possible in a way recordings won't. Being too young to legally get into the bar didn't stop a lot of us so that's no good excuse.

[EggplantofDoom]

All excellent advice. Thank you!
Though one detail I may have forgotten add, which I see now is a unique difference.
Instead of sheet music, what I am given is the basic chords and root notes of the song in order, a guitar chord chart basically.
In light of this, the music director knowing that the drumset player and I have been playing together for years, has instructed us to essentially take the basic pattern and chord changes, and make our own groove with the music, using the chord chart as a mere point of reference. Maybe my question seems more relevant now.

[Ed Fuqua]

I'm just sayin' and also this.

[FretlessMainly]

Originally Posted by EggplantofDoom

Though one detail I may have forgotten add, which I see now is a unique difference.
Instead of sheet music, what I am given is the basic chords and root notes of the song in order, a guitar chord chart basically.

This is a common approach to jazz bass playing. Of course, there are many types of music that could possibly fall into the net of jazz. You've got your tunes with more "scripted" basslines, such as Killer Joe, and older standards that can be freely improvised, such as All the Things You Are, and many styles in between.

Since you will be given chord charts only, you should become very familiar with developing lines that suit II V I movement, chromatic movement and the circle of fifths.

For example, a common progression would be:

| B-7(b5) | E7(b9) | A-7 | D7 | GMaj7 | This can be thought of as:
|___ii____|__v of_|__II__|_V_|___I___|

Odds are you don't play these types of changes in the music you've been playing, and you need to reflect the often constantly-changing tonality that is jazz.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by EggplantofDoom

All excellent advice. Thank you!
Though one detail I may have forgotten add, which I see now is a unique difference.
Instead of sheet music, what I am given is the basic chords and root notes of the song in order, a guitar chord chart basically.
In light of this, the music director knowing that the drumset player and I have been playing together for years, has instructed us to essentially take the basic pattern and chord changes, and make our own groove with the music, using the chord chart as a mere point of reference. Maybe my question seems more relevant now.

This is OK for getting started, but I hope for your sake that the instructor will pull some charts that have notated bass lines. You have to be able to do both, or you will be severely limited in terms of what you can do later with jazz.

[EggplantofDoom]

Originally Posted by fdeck

This is OK for getting started, but I hope for your sake that the instructor will pull some charts that have notated bass lines. You have to be able to do both, or you will be severely limited in terms of what you can do later with jazz.

This isn't a jazz class, this is a Highschool Band Performance that is practicing already. Not jazz lessons, thus my request.
Due to the lack of funding, I highly doubt I will recieve any music beyond what I have been given.

EDIT: actually I have recieved an actual notated bass sheet for ONE of the songs that is on the list. Several remain with just a guitar chord chart.

[JoeDeF]

Ed Fuqua gave you some great links - I hope that you follow them.

I would also recommend Chuck Sher's book, which I found really helpful many years ago:

The Improvisor's Bass Method | Sher Music Co.

And, listen, listen, listen to great jazz recordings! Not as background music, but really concentrating and listening to the same great track over and over, paying attention to both the bass line, and also to understanding how the bass line fits with the rest of the music. Why did the bass player choose to play what he played?

Figure out/transcribe some small passages (at first), and play along with the recording, matching the player/s tone, articulation, and rhythmic feel.

Good luck with it,

Joe