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Double Bass Got fired for solos being too busy.

Dennis Kong

Dennis Kong

Sep 1, 2004
513
101
San Mateo CA
www.reverbnation.com
#1
I just got fired from my guitar trio band 'cause my solos were too busy for the guitarist. (Guitar, string bass & drums). We play the standards like Stella, Dolphin Dance, Stomping at the Savoy, etc. Her highness's major complaint was too many 16th & triplets in my solos. (within the chord structure), and
not enuff sub melodies with 1/8 notes.
In past, I 've taken ideas from trumpet & sax players, or fooled with the melody, or work off the fifth chord of the another chord,( ie C dom 7 but start on G dom 7). But it takes a long time to digest & implement with the other players.
How do you guys manage to solo thru the standards at the drop off the hat?? :confused: Any easy ways? and I just
picked up Dave Baker's Improv patterns, Bebop era Vol 3, for
bass clef over the weekend for new ideas.
 
#2
Unordered thoughts:
Play a solo like you're playing a melody -- you're composing, right?

Approach the song as The Song. This was mentioned somewhere around here not too long ago -- but if you're playing Stella, then your solo should be in the context of the 'conversation' on that tune.

Practice soloing without the bass -- sing what you'd like to hear.

Learn the melodies to a bunch of tunes -- standards and the like -- these are a great study in saying exactly what 'gets the point across'.
 
#6
Dennis Kong said:
I just got fired from my guitar trio band 'cause my solos were too busy for the guitarist.
Click to expand...
Congratulations. This clearly is a gig you don't want to have.

DK said:
In past, I 've taken ideas from trumpet & sax players, or fooled with the melody, or work off the fifth chord of the another chord. But it takes a long time to digest & implement with the other players. How do . . . guys manage to solo thru the standards at the drop off the hat?
Click to expand...
I'm not poking fun at you, Dennis, but phrased otherwise, your question is, "How do I develop a personal approach to jazz improvisation?" The answer (as you already know) is, "It takes a long time to digest & implement." There's just no substitute for slow work. Thirty years, now, and I'm still beginning.

DK said:
I just picked up Dave Baker's Improv patterns, Bebop era Vol 3, for bass clef over the weekend for new ideas.
Click to expand...
I dunno, man. I doubt that's what the guitarist was talking about. I'd be thinking about spending time with Sonny Rollins and Michael Moore. But whatever you feel is helpful . . .

Good luck. She'll be wishing you'd play with her again in no time flat, man.
 
#7
YER HIGHNESS - first things first, don't let the bastards get you down. If you are indeed happy with the way you sound, are playing what you hear in the context of where you are hearing it, and are contributing to the "conversation" at hand, then you don't need to worry about what somebody else thinks of your playing. You need to be concerned about what YOU want to do to get deeper, where you want to go, what you can do or not do.

But, and this gets a little dicey, there are plenty of cats out there who play a lotta notes and, because they are hearing every single ****ing note they are playing, the **** comes across and nobody says they play "too busy". I get a little worried when you start saying stuff like "taken ideas from trumpet & sax players, or fooled with the melody, or work off the fifth chord of the another chord" or "But it takes a long time to digest & implement with the other players.
How do you guys manage to solo thru the standards at the drop off the hat?? Any easy ways?".
Cause this all sounds like
1. you're coming into a playing situation with an agenda created outside the playing situation. That ain't good, what you should be trying to do is play with the band on the stand, not the one in your head. LISTEN to what's going on, LISTEN to what notes become insistent, PLAY those notes ond ONLY those notes. When the guitarist says "you're too busy" she may be full of ****, but she may also be trying to say "I don't hear anything but gibberish." I'm not trying to be mean, believe me, I spoke fluent gibberish for any number of years. REMEMBER - notes played with meaning and intent communicate, those without do not. It doesn't matter how many or how few there are.

2. NO EASY WAY. But remember, it's not about velocity or vocabulary. It's about SAYING WHAT YOU MEAN TO SAY. Playing the notes you mean to play, NOT playing notes that are "supposed" to work or that you copped from somebody else's solo or pulled out of some book. The way to become a better conversationalist is NOT to grab a dictionary and memorize a bunch of words or listen to other people talking and memorize what they are saying or come into a conversation with the idea that you are going to use a specific phrase. You listen to what somebody is saying and you respond in a way that communicates what you feel and think using the language that you have ingrained already.
You can add depth to your understanding by listening, reading and hearing others discuss things, but until what you've INGESTED gets DIGESTED and enters your "working vocabulary", you can't expect that to come out in a natural, meaningful way.

Look, bottom line, you either think she has a point or you don't. I'm not really going to be able to tell without hearing you play. Over standards.
 
#8
Ed Fuqua said:
When the guitarist says "you're too busy" she may be full of ****, but she may also be trying to say "I don't hear anything but gibberish."
Click to expand...

The hard part is deciding whether she has a point. Once you do that, you can figure out what you need to do. When I was a young player (and sucked, but that's beside the point), I thought my solos were my sacred territory, and I could play whatever goldarned thing I wanted to in them. Nowadays, though, I'm reading your post and thinking, "well, it's her gig, and if she isn't hearing what she wants to hear, she has every right to try to find that."

But there's probably more to the story than that: has she been complaining for while about it, or did she just spring it on you? If she complained, and you didn't move to address it, well, you're fired. If she didn't give you a chance to change what you're doing, then she's either a poor bandleader, or she wants to fire you and seized on an excuse (like, maybe she has someone she'd rather play with in the wings, or doesn't like you for some reason) (which also means she's a poor bandleader -- in that case she should say, "I really want to play with Ed; no hard feelings.")

Anyway, if you really want the gig (i.e., she has a point), it might be worth having a heart to heart about trying to do more of what she wants. Worst that can happen is you stay fired.

On the other hand, maybe you are in the wrong band, since they don't want you to do what you want to, and you should fire them.
 
#9
Yeah that brings up a point that is at the heart of what I love about NYC. Most people get hired because somebody likes how they sound. And they want that sound/feel/direction/approach for their band/project/record. It's not about good or bad or like or hate, it's about SOUND. Do you have the sound I want to play with?
 
#10
....which reminds me that I have to practice cutting out the crap in my solos and be "me". I often start sings long solos in the middle of the road - and I LOVE them - but when I get to a gig/session, it goes out the window. Part of it is ear training, playing it as you hear it, and the other various mental blocks we put in front ("should play this scale.....etc"). It's not being afriad of being myself - and not afraid to show it to others. It's usually the same for our everyday character as it is for playing too!

Sorry if a bit Off-Topic - Ed, once again you remind me of important things ;)
 
#12
Actually, this is the first time i've ever heard of a bassist getting fired because of their solos!
If she hates your solos so much, why does she give you solos? If she likes your time, sound, knowledge of tunes etc., why not just say " no bass solos for you!"
 
#15
Paul Warburton said:
Actually, this is the first time i've ever heard of a bassist getting fired because of their solos!
If she hates your solos so much, why does she give you solos? If she likes your time, sound, knowledge of tunes etc., why not just say " no bass solos for you!"
Click to expand...

Well- She does like the other things I do: time, intonation,sound of instr, etc.
What brought this aspect up wuz: I was late for the gig by an 1/2 hour ' cuz of rush hour traffic.
Then the next day she leaves a message:" I decided to make a change".... so forth.
and later on during the week she mentions how she wants to the hand the tune over to the bassist after she finishes her solo. etc. and was not happy with my progress as a soloist
from when I started with her last year. etc. I also mentioned to her I WUZ working on that aspect too, and didn't mind making a fool of my self either. etc. And mentioned I don't
mind if I don't solo too much either..
So- that's my story... I also work a fulltime job & play in another band too- so I don't have a lot time as she does-
she's retired and has all day to devote to playing, whereas I
have maybe an hour or two every nite If I 'm lucky.

We do have different backgrounds for music tho-'
She is a classical guitarist & soft rock bassist, (can sight
read almost anything), but cannot play funk & rock. And am not to used to playing with horn players.

I come from the blues, funk & jazz background ( cannot
sight read very well or play classical music.) play 5 string
fretted or fretless. N always work with horn players.

Whats really hard is soloing after the horn players in my other band:eek: - especially
Tom Polizter (the sub) (Tower of Power), Dave Stone ( Tower Of Power, Huey Lewis, Billy Preston), and getting the same amount of applause.. But I do.. :hmm:


So I worked on it, and worked on it, :eyebrow: and took a solo on the demo cd... too. Actually most people have liked that solo too... between A George Mraz & Scott Lafaro style,
not NHOP style.

And thanks ya'all for your replies too. I appreciate the feedback... :D
 
#17
Paul Warburton said:
How about posting something so we can hear what you're talking about?
Click to expand...

Sure--I could post one of tunes off the cd demo. How do I do that? (I' m new at this stuff.)
I take a short solo on "Beautiful Love"
Hope you guys like it.. :eek:

I'm using my Juzek with B-band pu's & mike in a separate booth in the studio.

I ' be out of town this weekend. My other band is playing at a private party in Naples Florida. We live in the Bay Area and
flying out Friday and will be back Monday. :D

The band's website: www.fortesmoothjazz.com
I'm playing a 5 string EB in the video. (no solos) for the
smoothjazz market. At the end of the video credits there's
a 5 seconds or so of "Stolen Moments" with my King bass.
(just for background music- and not of my soloing section-tho)
Dennis
 
#19
This is a very interesting thread. It has many good points of view. I have a few questions for Daniel 1. "What(who) do YOU want your solos to sound like?"...2. "Are YOU happy with your solos or happy with what YOU hear when you're playing?"...3. "Are your solos what YOU want to hear?"

For me I'm not sure these are straight forward questions. But, #1 depends on the tune, but in general I'm partial to NHOP, LaFaro, and Ray Brown (or just about anybody who grooves!). As for #2 & #3 my answer is sometimes (mostly NOT happy) :rollno: . Sometimes I'm happy but I'm still not hearing what I want...just yet. So that means more listening and more work :bassist: . I'm not sure if any of this is on point, but I have to play what I hear in my head. I have to play what I think/hear is musical. And at the same time I need to be open to musical direction/suggestions/requests (especially if its not my gig). Just my 2cents.

Post your clips I'd like to hear it!

Cleveland
 

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