Jazz bass; pffft!

[ryco]

So I have this little jazz gig on Fri & Sat in the summers in this dinky little coastal town, pop 1200.

Play with these older guys (80) and it's fun. Bop, old pop standards, showtunes - pretty standard fare. Much fun and delighted to have a gig like this out in the middle of nowhere. Piano guy is OK, sometimes drops beats or turns beat around, but we can catch him. Drummer is GREAT!! Been around, old union player mostly Vancouver and SF backing some heavyweights - a joy to play with.

This bar/restaurant is the "fancy" one in town and bartender makes good drinks so it's a festive water hole, especially towards the end of the night. Everyone bobs their heads and enjoys. We get compliments from tourists and passers thru.

So this guy wants to sit in. Fine. I know him, good guy, good time party guy. OK rock basser. Has subbed for me if I'm out of town. I've never heard him play and am excited to hear what my set up sounds like.

He starts playing and it's instantly obvious he's not a jazzer. He's walking, but his lines aren't following the progression - he's just randomly walking. And he's not pushing the beat at all - drummer is really emphasizing the rhythm and simplifying. It's like when a gorgeous girl opens her mouth to speak and has an awful voice.

OK, jazz isn't the easiest genre to play. But I look around the room and I swear no one notices anything. Except the drummer! The crowd is bobbing right along. Then this guys mother comes up with her cell phone and starts popping off pictures of the guy and he's posing like a bad cat.

I found the whole hilarious/surreal but at the same time unsettling. I'm 52 and have been playing a long time, a lot of it playing jazz. Jazz is something I've found I really have had to focus on. It's fun, but it also takes an extra awareness (for lack of a better word) to play. I don't want to pose playing it, I would hope I'm able to play it for real.

A lot of hard woodshedding for naught! (not really true, but rant, rant, rant! )

[TonyFranklinFan]

Sometimes you have to fake the walking lines if you don't know the progression..i've done it many times at certain "lamer" jam sessions when they pull some random tune out of their hats with no sheet music to glance at.Best thing is to either know the tune or skip it if you don't have a reference..that did sound like a funny gig..I sometime play with old cats that age and the stories they tell..yikes! LOL

[Bruce Lindfield]

I find a similar thing in that I play regularly at a sort of open Jazz jam and people do appreciate having good walking lines on DB and a good feel.

But every so often we will get a "rock" type bass guitar player come along, who is obviously a Jaco Pastorius fan and because it's "Jazz" tries to shoehorn all their Jaco licks in - but can't actually play a walking bass line consistently.

I just let them have a go - but they very rarely come back...

It's funny hearing them play all these flashy lines in the breaks and then stutter and stumble when presented with a chart with a few chords on it!

Where are we!!??

[zeppelinfreak]

Real Books are gold

[Andrew.Glose]

I hear you.

There is a lot of work that goes into the craft of Jazz. Into improvising, walking, being melodic, percussive, consistent...it's a big list.

I think the truth is that most of the general public, the people you were playing for, they don't have a conception of what a good jazz bass line sounds like. I don't think they go home and put on a record, or actively listen to jazz, when they're not out at a venue. And when they're there, it's a time to feel festive, and not focus on the music (not like many musicians).

I'm sure you know this. I just felt like elaborating.

And it doesn't sound like your sub is in the know of how to properly play jazz. Properly being within the legitimate realm of what you can get away with. And you can't always get away with crap walking. A little disheartening, the situation, but something to shrug off. A seasoned musician appreciates your good lines, your practice, and your passion (because you have to have passion to convincingly pull off jazz).

Andrew

[JohnBarr]

I haven't been in the band but I've been in the crowd. Yeah, amost anyghing in the rhythm section short of a flat out pratfall lasting more than 2 measures will go unnoticed as long as they can continue to bob heads more or less in time (ever watch the tapping fingers to see if they're even close to the beat?)


It's OK. They're there to bob heads, relax and enjoy. Would you prefer a room full of critics