This month TOTM host sax1st (Alex) is currently on a short holiday and asked me to start the thread for him. Here is the text he prepared:
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Firstly, I'd like to wish everyone a very successful and peaceful new year.
Secondly, I'd like to thank Peter (Mr Peebee) for allowing me to perform the task of selecting the TOTM for January 2018 and for his fabulous work at moderating and I'd also like to thank all of you guys for welcoming me to this TOTM forum and I look forward to posting as many takes as possible over the next year as and when time permits. Your kind and generous comments are truly inspiring to me. Thank you.
And thirdly, here is my choice for this month and it is 'Falling In Love With Love'.
A standard that is happy in 3/4 as it is in 4/4.
I've provided the links to a backing track I have which is 4/4 (off the JA DeFrancesco album), but there are numerous backing tracks on YouTube in 3/4 which I'm sure everyone can access should they wish.
I've also provided the sheet music in Bb and Eb in both 3/4 and 4/4.
It's a nice number to blow over with a few 2/5's to get those patterns sorted should you wish and you can also get down and more bluesy with it.
There are a heap of versions by various artists on YouTube if you need the inspiration.
I did my once a month recording session this evening and recorded three quick and dirty takes (as usual without much preparation). Here are the first two, recorded on two different mouthpieces with a short backing from YouTube and both with a free interpretation of the melody. Both takes are mixed in exactly the same way (some compression and a little room reverb added).
This take is on my Otto Link metal Florida no USA 10* mouthpiece with a very old and soft Rico Royal 2 reed:
I did my once a month recording session this evening and recorded three quick and dirty takes (as usual without much preparation). Here are the first two, recorded on two different mouthpieces with a short backing from YouTube and both with a free interpretation of the melody. Both takes are mixed in exactly the same way (some compression and a little room reverb added).
This take is on my Otto Link metal Florida no USA 10* mouthpiece with a very old and soft Rico Royal 2 reed:
Here is my take with the (very!) long organ backing in 4/4. Recorded in the same session as above 3/4 takes, so don't expect any improvements related to the excellent comments of Alex on above takes. My only intention was to play a hard swinging Texas Tenor take with a good sound!
@mrpeebee: I agree with you that the first take with the Florida 10* is my preferred, sound wise.
But both are nice takes.
This tune is not familiar to me but I gave it a try all the same.
I'm using a new computer here with a new version of GarageBand and am still trying to find my way around it. https://app.box.com/s/mmczsjmraelvkikmdlp5bo4yoy8wybbv
Liked your take, good sound and a nice drive and energy in the improvisation. The backing sounded a bit soft and the sax less clear/clean and a bit more 'on a distance' compared to what I remember from your older recordings (not sure if that's the new GarageBand version or related to the reed, it seemed a bit too stiff).
Thanks Peter.
The new version of GarageBand has me a bit lost.
I can’t find the settings I used to use so I just used a pre-set track for voice recordings instead.
I need to sit down and have a good look at this version and see if I can figure it out.
But maybe this is a good thing ... time to work on some shorter phrases that fit into a waltz. And some rhythmic patterns too.
Plus I lose my place easily (keep counting four :bluewink: )
I thought you did well.
I struggle with 3/4 and constantly loose my place.
The baritone sounds nice and clear in this take.
Are you still playing the Drake piece?
Ha ! My ears, brain and fingers are not connected, and will only sync up randomly during any tune ... :bluewink:
Yours was in 3/4 ... (take one) and you cruised through it like it was nothing. Awesome !
The good old Drake ... I'd like to try a Durga or maybe a Jet, but I'm too cheap.
I should probably know - but who is that in the new avatar ?
Your take was fantastic in 4/4 ... it's Nic Webster ! :mrgreen:
G'day from New Zealand. Please let me apologize for not having contributed to the thread up until now. My time has been somewhat taken up with various projects since the beginning of the new year but I now have a day set aside for tidying up the loose ends one of which will be recording a take on FILW
I'm going to listen to all the tracks that you guys have recorded so far and lend what I can in terms of positive critique and to that end may I say thank you to those who have so far contributed and I do hope some of the other regulars have a look at putting something up before the end of the month.
Right, now to get down to some listening and note taking.....
As I was listening I made notes and the first note I made was...Yaw...(not yawn) but this is how I refer to the lip up sound when making the initial attack on a note...now I know that you've written somewhere (I think I've read it) that you like this approach to a note and I can understand why as it's something that so many players have done. However I think that it's an approach that works well if it's not overdone...I notice that on some of the other tracks you have on Soundclip (yes I went there and listened to some of your other tracks) you don't employ this method of note attack so much if at all. It's just a polite comment and please take it as such...it's your way of playing and if it suits you then that's just fine. I'm all for using any method that best expresses your inner ideas to the fullest. I have mine too.
Now I know you say you play by ear and that's fine too but it doesn't excuse the fact that you miss a lot of chances to add colour to your solos by using the chord tones that are available to you by sticking mainly to a diatonic approach...when in C play in C. All those lovely Dm G7 C's get washed over with a good helping of C (the G7 can be thought of as a flat 9 chord and gives you G Ab Bb B Db D E F G and the numerous patterns you can draw from these notes...it adds colour and harmonic relief if you will...)
try this pattern over Dm7 G7 in 8th notes Eb E G Gb F A Ab A E(1/4 note) D C B A G F E (Kenny Garrett favoured this pattern on Just Like Sonny off his solo album with Brain Blade) and no doubt other tracks...it's one of 1000's of possibilities to add colour to your solos. It doesn't mean that patterns are the be all and end all of improvisation....they are not...however they do anchor a solo sometimes and play a part of adding a kind of "hey look... I know where I am and what I'm playing over..." solos that contain nothing but patterns are as annoying to me as a solo with no point of reference (at least over standard changes)
Now I know you say you play by ear but that surely doesn't stop you from looking at the changes and maybe arpegiating them as you play through (maybe easier in 4/4) or maybe just playing the 9th or the 3rd or the 5th of each chord...it's cool where it can take you....I taught at the Massey Jazz Conservatory in Wellington for 5 years and had a lot of degree students pass through my studio...simple techniques can carry you a long way and really open your ears up.
In terms of the 3/4 tracks you were actually playing with the time nicely but repeating a lot of lines and as I say if you make small changes to your practice method and how you approach a new tune you may find new lines coming to you.
Your sound is a very strong part of your playing and I'm sure you know that and it's a shame when the phrasing and note choice don't live up to the quality of your sound.
If you have a Jamey Aebersold book around you will find the scale syllabus in the back of it....it's not the holy grail of improvisation but maybe think of it like a dictionary to explain what's going on with the changes that you're looking at either by ear or on the page...and use the page to help your ears anyway.....practicing the chord scales can be tedious to start with but once you understand them and use them in playing and see a E7b9 you'll know what sounds good over it and in turn let the listener know that you know what sounds good over it...so many ways of approaching these changes and so many points of view on how to do it...this isn't an exhaustive explanation as it would take way too long and would always just be my way of doing things and many others would disagree no doubt and suggest other ways.
At the end of the day I want to hear integrity in a solo.
When I first started playing I too played by ear...and it always frustrated the hell out of me that I didn't know where the cool notes were....and when I saw them written down I couldn't work out how some notes seemed to be wrong within the context of a chord but sounded right....(so if I saw a G7 chord and it wasn't marked as an altered chord and I saw Ab Db Eb within it I would be thinking how does that work...it seems wrong...that was in the days when I didn't know about altered chords and a lot of other things related to harmony)
With your sound and a more purposeful harmonic approach I think you would really be sounding great....
Please take my critique as it's intended for the purposes of hopefully trying to help. I've managed to help a number of players with their approach over the years and not least of all my own has benefited from it.
Alex, thanks a lot for your extensive review on my (and the other) takes. It's much appreciated, you hardly see reviews like this on the forum and it's very helpful for people to get advice on how to improve.
I've mentioned it before Alex, but I don't know if you are aware of my situation. I don't have a private place to practice since about 3 years (I can't and don't want to play at home), so there is NO real practice at all on the tunes I do record. Only playing time I get is the weekly rehearsal of my Big Band and about 5-10 gigs a year. I can use a small studio of a friend once a month and I try to practice and record about 6 new tunes for several TOTM threads on different forums in about 2 to 2.5 hours (directly after a long working day without having dinner!). That limits my practice time per tune to max 5-10 minutes, which sometimes is enough (if I know the tune) and sometimes not. My reading also sucks, but I know the basic chords in all keys and always try to side read a print of the theme/chords during recording.
I'm dreaming of the time I can spend more time on the horn to practice theory and to prepare my recordings (and work on the tips you gave above) a bit better. But even now with the very limited time I really enjoy working on the new tunes and the results I get, knowing that there is still a lot to learn and improve.
I think a lot of what I wrote on Mr Peebee's review could equally well help you too. Again the diatonic approach missing out on a lot of colour in the solo.....
However, like Peter you have a lovely sound...real old school and beautiful especially the vib finish to some of the notes.
There is a small issue with the tuning (and that's a whole other topic) on the E in the melody...it's quite sharp so you could look at mouthpiece placement (come off a fraction) or play looser on the upper notes or maybe it's your horn's key heights....anyone of them...process of elimination I guess.
Now something that stands out aside from the great sound is the swing 8th's or lack of them....it's what I call the rumpty bumpty feel....kind of disjointed phrases that don't have any swing 8th notes to bind them together....you play the melody very nicely and then it goes all kind of stiff in the solo...
Practicing swing 8ths is so important to any Jazz musician...they are the very essence of Jazz....
I have several drum apps that have nothing but drum tracks repeated playing over anything from slow to very fast swing.....plenty of opportunity to play swing 8th's over those. Or even just a metronome with the click on the off beat to assist.
What sort of things to play over these drum tracks?
Well just scales if you wish...maybe some scales from the Scale Syllabus...or just 5 notes....G A B C D up and down.....just to feel where the notes need to sit in order to swing...it's a question of perseverance and lots of practicing....it really does open up all sorts of new possibilities with your soloing.
Get the swing happening...connect the notes to the right scales ...use the colourful notes to add interest and insert a pattern that you like here and there....it's the start of a beautiful thing.
Thank you for listening and the the detailed critique.
Listening back I hear all of what you are saying, particularly the tuning of that E.
I hope to find some more time later this month to improve on my first take.
Really enjoyed your soprano take, loved your tone.
Cheers Nick.
Thanks a lot Alex ! I was dreading your critique - but now that it's over I don't feel too bad .... :mrgreen: :bluewink:
OK - a 4/4 version with subs ... stay tuned to be underwhelmed ! :twisted:
Okay so I'll try and put one down for this month.....I'm thinking something that embodies a lot of what I've been talking abut in the above comments on the solos thus far recorded.
So not a show stopper...(if I could even) but just a reference track although I'm sure Dave P could put one down to highlight all of what I've mentioned and a heck of a lot more. (Hint....hint
The low G is a little out (flat) but I'm not going to go back and fuss with it.
I've tried to incorporate as much vocab as I can without stuffing it so full there's no room for me...and in 2 choruses that's not so easy.
Repetition of some phrases to show how the same line can be played over different chord changes.
Blues phrases....heaps of possibilities for this throughout.
Use of 2 5 1 patterns.
Space.....leave some bars alone.....always good to have a think about what to play next...and gives the listeners ears a break....
Contrasting long notes against swing 8ths and on the beat to off beat phrases.
Having fun with head in terms of mixing up the melody and trying not to play it the same way twice....
The first turn around on my solo is the Coltrane C Eb Ab Db
Leaving the last chorus on a pattern that would allow another following soloist something to latch on to in terms of their opening phrase if they wanted to....off beat accents.....
I sincerely hope that it's of some use to anyone who has something to gain from it....
And once again any comments I make here are purely my own and as they say...beauty is the eye of the beholder.....one mans meat etc......
And to all the individual guys who have read this thread (60 all up not including me...) please join in and leave a track...it's a great way of spreading the word and showing others what we do....
Wow Alex, very nice demonstration and a very smooth soprano sound. Good to hear that you're not only good with the words but also on the horn (which I actually already knew)! Looking forward to a tenor take.
I have been away for while, so I wish a belated Happy 2018 to everyone. Here's my attempt at a "laid back" tenor take with the Aebersold vol.118 backing track.
The head was so laid back it was nearly horizontal....that's a good thing...
I'm still missing the swing 8th element though....and the diatonic approach...
If you look back at Mr Peebee's review you'll see a number of strategy's to work through this approach to a more colourful soloing concept....yes it requires a lot of work but the results are worth it....
The laid back feel is great but it works better when the notes connect more in a swing legato feel so not so much tonguing.
Even if you just practice say a middle C and work at connecting 8th notes really evenly with a soft tongued approach sounding like....taa di taa di taa di taa di....so the first is long and the second 8th note is shorter but not disconnected...
But great to hear you here and thank you for the upload and I look forward to hearing more from you.
Happy New Year Mr. Peebee & everyone on SOTW.
Nice Rodgers & Hart tune that for me, lies in the lower octave quite well.
Here's my submission to the TOTM:
for your discernment. Hope you like it.
Back on the Link for a while.
George
I have to say I sat here with a smile on my face throughout your track.
Great sound.
You obviously have a strong melodic drive in your playing which I think is a great gift.....I mean really making a tune up as you're going along....and making a lot of those colours in the chords happen which really adds a great anchoring point to the listener.
There were some moments where I really heard Warne Marsh....I think in the looseness of your approach....a good thing and the sound you have in the top register...Warne is one of my all time favourites....
One thing I should have mentioned about the Aebersold track is that like a few of them it speeds up......energy we'll call it maybe? It's Joey DeFrancesco so I don't care if he speeds up or slows down he's still amazing....
Yes the quotes were nice and came in a a way that didn't sound staged like a few players use them....
I really appreciate your playing George...fabulous to hear and like Peter I hope you populate the future threads with more of your solos.
Didn't listen all what was posted... but very interesting stuff going on. Its't like a competition where every participant is a winner.
I will try to catch every posted tune of the month now...
Don't "beat" me to hard plz if anyone will decide to drop couple of words about my quick mess... Really wanted to participate. Sorry .
Michael? I saw the name on the top of the link and I guess that must be you.
As I'm the instigator of this month's tune it's part of my job to offer what thoughts I may have to all the solos submitted.
Well there's a lot to look at here in your playing....but you asked for the reply to not be TOO hard so I'll go easy if that's okay.
It's kind of perplexing when you have a sound that could be really good but is significantly sharp in the upper register so it makes listening a little hard at times....maybe work with a tuner up there a bit...
You played the melody almost comically but I suspect you didn't mean it that way....schmalzy would be the word that springs to my mind.....and to be honest if that's your thing then go for it....that circus quote into the opening solo chorus was almost expected.
Playing quotes is cool but for me you have to deliver the goods in other departments too.....swing 8th notes....strong voice leading....making the 2 5 1's etc all add up to a solo that I can take seriously and when you do that I will listen for sure...
I'm just saying how I hear it.
Leaving some space is good too.
You were playing all the way through and beyond the last chord of the band.
There's that old saying....the only person who likes someone who doesn't shut up and won't listen is that persons mother.....
Thanks for adding your take to the thread.....I hope you can take another listen to not only your own solo but those of others on this thread whom you haven't listened to yet....
And maybe take a look at developing the swing 8th....the detailed look at chord structure...the 2 5 1 patterns and how to sound them out...tuning....there's obviously a musician in you and I'd be delighted to hear that guy show us what lies beyond this moment in time.
Alex: Thanks for your wonderful response. Good catch on the Warne Marsh approach which I have been trying to utilize, namely that I'm trying to ignore bar lines and really improvise. I did study for a while with Lennie Tristano, so listening to Warne & Lee must be ingrained somewhere. (Not that I'm even close to their playing ability.) If this had been a live band, that approach would have been a bit more together, but one is a prisoner of the play along. They are not listening to you so either you bend to their approach or ignore it and let the chips fall where they may.
Now you made me smile. Thanks.
George
Fabulous George that you really do make that Warne thing happen in your playing...study with Lennie?...wow...now that would have been cool...and I really do appreciate the moving away from the bar line feel...I'm also a big fan off Lee (Konitz) and Bergonzi.....guys that have the fluidity in their playing to start and finish anywhere but make it sound so right....
No worries Michael it's only through posting something you get to find out stuff that you might not otherwise be aware of unless you have a teacher and I'm sure that I speak on behalf of all the guys here including myself when I say that the hardest thing sometimes is to take that leap and put your stuff up online....hold your breath and wait for the reactions.....good on yer...as they say over here in NZ....put up another track when you feel it's time....
Mr. Peebee: Thank you for your input. I'll be 81 next month and don't have the energy or gig incentive to practice a lot but still enjoy playing. I do get together with a quartet once a week & play jazz & songbook standards, so I'm still involved with the horn. Went back to the Link and it's working well so far.
Have a great year!
George
Well the circus theme is gone, replaced with meandering monotony ... I had plans to try to incorporate Alex's tips but everything went out the window once the record button was pressed. I managed to try a descending substitution lick near the end (after I'd already given up, and my brain started to work again.)
You are using a lot of better note choices......there are swing 8th's...there are even chromatic runs that really work...fabulous.
And space.
You are applying some real chordal note patterns that define the chord and lead the listeners ear to the next chord...proper resolution...you may not think so but I'm hearing it...
One thing I'm just going to mention because I thought of it while you were playing is something to think about....how you use the octaves.....maybe working in one register for a while...like a whole chorus....limiting yourself to say low C to middle D....and nothing else....
It really makes you think and doesn't allow you the whole pallet of sound if you know what I mean?
After all this is a great place to test stuff and see how it works and maybe give other guys an idea as to how to work their own thing....
I'm not expecting album release material.....although I know some guys are not only capable but already have done that....and they're here amongst us....
I love the idea of progress be it conscious or otherwise....sometimes we can be so self critical as to not hear the progress we are making....
You are Brendan.....making progress......excellent work.
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