A week ago Sunday, while the house was nice and quiet, I flipped to CoolTV to see what was on. For those who don’t know, CoolTV is a subscriber channel which broadcasts jazz and blues musical content on Rogers digital cable here in Toronto. There happened to a Lee Ritenour concert on, and I was enjoying it thoroughly. About halfway though the concert, they launch into a sweet version of the tune Stolen Moments. It’s a great medium swing, minor jazz/blues tune with some great changes. I hadn’t heard it in quite some time. Lee Ritenour’s arrangement really inspired me for I happen to love his playing in general.
So as I usually do when I get inspired, I went to my computer, downloaded various versions of tune, and printed out a couple of charts to examine. With guitar in hand, I worked out a decent version (and jam track) and sent the tune, jam track, and charts to my Monday night jamming buddies, so they can spend some time doing a bit of preparation before our next session. They all agreed that it would be a great tune to play.
We got together last night. Unfortunately a couple of guys (keyboard and guitar) were out of town on business, so our line up was one guitar, two saxes (alto and tenor), drums, and myself on bass. I had also brought my guitar, for it’s easier for me to work through a new arrangement with my guitar in hand. We went through the tune about three times, working on various parts, and it was really coming together nicely. We then started playing the tune from top to bottom, allowing for soloing.
The soloing is done over a typical minor jazz/blues progression, and the first time through the whole tune, I was playing the guitar. It sounded pretty good, but that medium swing groove was just not there, and everyone seemed to be lethargic in their playing (and soloing for that matter). Half way through the solo section, I put my guitar down, picked up the bass, and started to play some walking bass lines.
The whole room came to life! Looks of astonishment were on everyone’s face at first, then some really big smiles. It was quite incredible. Everybody’s playing automatically kicked up a notch. It was tighter, the swing groove was right there, and even the soloing was better. This had nothing to do with my playing, for I didn’t do anything fancy. When that low rumble of the bass kicked in, it was like giving everyone a shot of adrenaline. I literally got shivers down my spine.
I’ve experienced a rush of enlightenment when playing jazz guitar from time to time, but I never really, and truly appreciated the impact of the bass in music as I experienced it last night. It was truly an epiphany for all of us playing.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my post. Since I frequent a few forums, you may see this on other sites as well. I’m really pumped. Had trouble getting sleep last night thinking about it.
Lawrie
So as I usually do when I get inspired, I went to my computer, downloaded various versions of tune, and printed out a couple of charts to examine. With guitar in hand, I worked out a decent version (and jam track) and sent the tune, jam track, and charts to my Monday night jamming buddies, so they can spend some time doing a bit of preparation before our next session. They all agreed that it would be a great tune to play.
We got together last night. Unfortunately a couple of guys (keyboard and guitar) were out of town on business, so our line up was one guitar, two saxes (alto and tenor), drums, and myself on bass. I had also brought my guitar, for it’s easier for me to work through a new arrangement with my guitar in hand. We went through the tune about three times, working on various parts, and it was really coming together nicely. We then started playing the tune from top to bottom, allowing for soloing.
The soloing is done over a typical minor jazz/blues progression, and the first time through the whole tune, I was playing the guitar. It sounded pretty good, but that medium swing groove was just not there, and everyone seemed to be lethargic in their playing (and soloing for that matter). Half way through the solo section, I put my guitar down, picked up the bass, and started to play some walking bass lines.
The whole room came to life! Looks of astonishment were on everyone’s face at first, then some really big smiles. It was quite incredible. Everybody’s playing automatically kicked up a notch. It was tighter, the swing groove was right there, and even the soloing was better. This had nothing to do with my playing, for I didn’t do anything fancy. When that low rumble of the bass kicked in, it was like giving everyone a shot of adrenaline. I literally got shivers down my spine.
I’ve experienced a rush of enlightenment when playing jazz guitar from time to time, but I never really, and truly appreciated the impact of the bass in music as I experienced it last night. It was truly an epiphany for all of us playing.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my post. Since I frequent a few forums, you may see this on other sites as well. I’m really pumped. Had trouble getting sleep last night thinking about it.
Lawrie