Last week Peter challenged me to pick December's TOTM and I can gladly say that I have accepted the challenge . Although the song I picked wasn't the first one that came to mind, it has been on my mind since I began playing saxophone 20 years ago. Every now and then, I pick it up again and practice it. Since this Gershwin song is a well known standard, I must say that I was surprised to see it hasn't been picked before as TOTM.
I have seen it on a thread before but not as SOTM. The song I am talking about is not a difficult one but it can be a challenge to make it beautiful and exciting. According to Aebersold, the song only emplys three scales…….
This December's Tune of the Month will be Summertime.
For those of you who have difficulties in following chord changes, this some basically has 3 scales only. Those of you who don't find that challenging enough, let me encourage you to make the song special by altering the melody, 'flowering it up', or do something special with rhythm.
the backing track is available from several Aebersold volumes ( 54 and others)
also youtube:
I wish you all lots of fun with this o so nice tune....I am looking forward to see the spin-offs on this melody...
After the weekend I will make a new recording myself....for now you can listen to a recording i did a few weeks ago.
maybe it has never been picked as it is such an obvious tune and right under our eyes but that just shows how great that it when a tune in engrained into us all, i think it is a great choice and seeing as i missed out doing last months TOTM through other commitments then i will try to put together a version for this month.
I think this could be a great TOTM with varied versions of this classic.
cheers for picking this.
Ian
Summertime ? Well, rather funny on this side of the globe. 10cm of snow this morning. Anyway, excellent pick. One of my favorite versions, Miles Davis with the Gil Evans orchestration. The perfect mood, the perfect tempo.
@fransisco.... Nice first try. I hear a lot of hard music, for this tune i would prefer a bit smooth tone. Try to lay back a bit more and play around with the dynamics of the instrument. Use your airflow to vary your volume
@Francisco, good first try. Found it kind of hard tone wise, perhaps I was expecting something a little softer and laid back.
That said it's a good marker for the rest of the month
It shows. That was masterful, Sean. Seriously the best I have heard from you on SOTW (not that I've listened to everything). Playing in complete control, great ideas, solo evolves, one phrase answers another, etc... Effects like the growls and buzz-trills (or whatever you call them) perfectly executed, and musically appropriate. (How does one do that growl?) Loved the arrangement, so elemental, funky and laid back. You really brought it to this one, man! Will give it more listens, for sure.
@littlewailer, i enjoyed that funcky version.....this is what i hoped fir, to give the tune a new life....nicely done i think i will download and keep it for future reference.
Heres a version I done a few months back for my solo wedding sax website on alto sax, will do a tenor version soon but this gets me on the board for now.
Heres a version I done a few months back for my solo wedding sax website on alto sax, will do a tenor version soon but this gets me on the board for now.
Real nice one, great gritty alto tone with lots of core, I like the approach too. You're very solidly with the changes and the form here, sounds great. A lot of ways to approach this tune and I like the variety already in evidence...
@Davey, enjoyed that one fella. Great smooth feel to it, got the feeling you might have taken off somewhere but you didn't
and it all worked out very well. I think we are going to get a LOT of versions of this tune. Great call Mark.
Mark- good take, loved the Ornithology quote. You have a nice mellow alto tone. I almost LOL when I saw "settings: no idea" on the banner.
Francisco - I agree with Borganiboy; we can actually hear your growth each month! Seemed like you were trying to throw in some rhythmic variation, and your playing is very lyrical, but there are a lot of too-similar phrases (like you said regarding lack of ideas). Good take, though.
Sean - really enjoyed the hip-hop style! Also the way you use the entire horn, including some extended techniques like split altissimo, growls and a few shakes. Great take!
Davey - I can see where (and why) you were taking it easy, and I was about to be disappointed...until the end of the solo where you got up into the altissimo register and threw down some nice double time! Almost a Dave Koz vibe (couldn't think of anyone else at the time!) on this one.
Here's a version my group, "Amy's 6 O'clock jazz", did at the recent crafts2wear show sponsored by the Smithsonian. I hope I've managed the url link successfully, let me know otherwise.
@jazzwombat i like the sound you produced during solo. It reminds me of Benny Goodman. He Used a simular vibrato on his clarinet like you do on your sax
Okay, well since i picked this song...can not stay behind... I promised myself i will put one out there today..no matter what the result would be...And i happen to run out of time to improve it today....( my kid is protesting and ripping my sax out of my hands...)
Well the result is that my summer ended before it started...( i started the tune some beats early lol ) I was so focussed on giving the tune a different approach that i forgot counting and listening...hahah. well anyway the solo parts is okay.
Didn't know this one, Liam... thanks for hipping us to it. Nice diatonic rhapsodic approach from Byas, not so much of the heavy bluesy ii V7 i that I tend to fall into on this tune (not that there's anything wrong with that..). I may have to buy this album... or at least play along with Don to attempt to cop some of his approach...
Holy smokes, that was different! I really liked it. Mostly liked the arrangement a lot. Found some of the odd processed noises in the mix a bit distracting, loved it when the piano was kind of Rhodes-y, also liked the weirded-out processed sound from the guitar at the end... less so the thin sound from the piano just before the end although there were some cool lines in there. Great playing on sax... really enjoyed it. Kind of unrelenting but sometimes that's cool. Will have another listen for sure. If you want to enlighten us on your approach to the improv, I would be interested... or can try to figure out some things by listening...
As a side note: the Scots contingent is doing themselves proud on these threads!
Thanks for sharing
Howard
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