Post 92: THE SALTY DOG CHORD PROGRESSION

Below, with much gratitude to Lasse Collin and his wonderful website, is the tune Salty Dog. You will note that Lasse gives the chords (concert) at the top. The key is Bb but the first chord is G7, leading to C7, then F7, and so to Bb, before the cycle begins again. This sequence (VI7-II7-V7-I) is known as The Salty Dog Chord Progression and it is used in many tunes. It begins on the Chord of the VI and then goes through the Circle of Fifths.

In the lower part of his Chart, Lasse has transposed the tune into the key of C (for Bb instruments), so this time it begins on A7 and progresses through D7, etc.

Take another example. If you're in the key of F and the chord for the first full bar of the tune is D7, it's likely you are playing a song that begins with The Salty Dog Chord Progression. It appears quite frequently in traditional jazz. So it is helpful to become familiar with it, especially as this will help you with improvising.

Examples of our tunes in which The Salty Dog Chord Progression is used:

A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Alabamy Bound
All I Want is a Spoonful
Any Time
At The Jazz Band Ball [main strain]
Balling The Jack
Buck Fever Rag
Cushion Foot Stomp [final theme]
Friends and Neighbours
Good Time Flat Blues (also known as Farewell to Storyville) [chorus]
Jazz Me Blues [main strain]
Lonesome Drag
Louis-i-a-ni-a
Put and Take Blues
Rose of the Rio Grande
Salty Dog
Seems Like Old Times
Shine On Harvest Moon
Since My Best Girl Turned Me Down
Sweet Georgia Brown
Tailgate Ramble
Take a Ferryboat Down to New Orleans
There’ll Be Some Changes Made
Up A Lazy River
You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
You've Got The Right Key But The Wrong Keyhole

I have received this e-mail from James Sterling in Florida. James is a fan of bluegrass as well as traditional jazz:

Ivan,
I was catching up on your blog tonight and saw your post on 'Salty Dog' and thought I would forward you the version I grew up with. This is a clip from the Flatt and Scruggs television show recorded in the 1960s. It was a ritual in our home to watch Flatt and Scruggs every Saturday night at 6pm. Lester Flatt singing lead and playing rhythm guitar, Earl Scruggs on five-string banjo (the best there ever was and the best there ever will be), Buck Graves (also known as 'Uncle Josh') on dobro, Paul Warren on fiddle, Curly Seckler harmony and mandolin (the only living member of the original band at 94), and 'Cousin Jake' Tullock on bass:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW.

Thanks, James. I enjoyed that. And, by the way, those essential repeated four chords keep coming through loud and clear.

Post 91: DRUMMING - DON'T GET ME STARTED

I am in a bad mood today. Sorry, but if you read on, you will have to put up with an old crabstick getting something off his chest.

In 2016 I have heard so much traditional jazz being messed up by bad drumming that I can stay quiet no longer.

The rôle of the drums - or any kind of percussion - in traditional jazz is to inspire the rest of the band by providing a pulse that stirs and stimulates the musicians and audience alike.

Drummers need highly-developed skills, sensitivity and an understanding of the structure of the music. It has been said for many decades that good drumming should be 'felt and not heard'. I think that is exactly the effect percussionists should strive for in every performance.

Some of the finest drumming occurs when it provides a sparing, dainty colouring (for example, behind a clarinet solo). Therefore, drummers should treat their kits delicately, rather than as items to be thrashed.

They must also pick up immediately and correctly the tempo at which the Leader 'beats in' the tune; and they should learn to maintain it like clockwork.

Unfortunately these things do not always happen.

A drummer has power. He can use that power to spoil a performance in a number of ways. One of them is failing to maintain the tempo correctly. I have attended performances where the drummer 'dragged' the tempo, while the front line fought to keep the tune moving. This internal battle was horrible to witness and ruined any chance of making good music.

I saw a leader giving a signal for a quiet chorus and the whole band responded well - apart from the drummer, who continued thrashing everything in sight!

Several of the drummers I have watched in these last few months have been insensitive to what the melody instruments were doing. A typical example was the drummer who was constantly using heavy offbeat cymbal crashes, even when the clarinet was trying to play a delicate, pretty solo chorus.

Quite often I have heard drummers failing to stop during a clarinet's two-bar 'break', thereby horribly spoiling the intended effect.

I could give more examples. But I think I have made my point.

I have occasionally listened to a six-piece or seven-piece band and thought they would actually sound better if they got rid of the drummer, leaving the 'rhythm' to the banjo or guitar and the bass or sousaphone.

The trouble is that anyone can buy a drum kit and call himself a musician. He doesn't need to study music or learn to read it. He simply has to bash various bits of kit and all will be fine. That's how some see it.

You hear bad drummers complain that they are short of gigs. It's no surprise.

Drummers should study closely the work of the greatest percussionists. And fortunately there are plenty of these.

Observe that fine young drummer Justin Peake in this video - CLICK ON TO WATCH. You need watch only the first few minutes (they are playing Climax Rag) to get the point. Justin uses a full range of equipment but he does not thrash it. Note the economy of his wrist movements. Blending with John (banjo) and Tyler (string bass), he maintains a rock-steady four-four beat; and he listens carefully to the front line, stopping at the right moments, and using a cymbal gently but effectively to punctuate. He also shows how to support other players really quietly, for example during the banjo solo chorus and during the 'quiet' chorus that Marla signals.

Another tasteful and sensitive drummer based in New Orleans is Benji Bohannon. You can watch him (also with The Shotgun Jazz Band) by clicking on THIS VIDEO. I hope you will enjoy it.

And for another example of how important well-played percussion can be, listen to an extraordinary, historic recording in which the drummer is only eleven years old - BY CLICKING HERE.

And, although this final example is not exactly traditional jazz, try any recording by the Coon Sanders Nighthawks Orchestra of the 1920s (plenty are on YouTube) and listen to their drummer Carleton Coon. His playing is always discreet, never obtrusive; and yet it propels the band along. That's the way to do it - 'felt and not heard'!

--------------------
Footnotes:
Reader Carsten Pigott in England has written to recommend Bill Harty (you can hear him in Lew Stone 1933 recordings - on YouTube). Bill could play robustly and  energetically in a fast-paced piece but could adjust his style and technique when playing slower numbers, such as Al Bowlly ballads with Ray Noble's Orchestra of the same era.  Carsten says 'Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones' drummer since 1963, is on record as saying that Harty was the best percussionist Britain ever produced'.

Reader Barrie Marshall (Lancaster, England) wrote:
Hi Ivan,

An interesting piece about drummers, Just one thing to say about one particular drummer who was in a band I played with: the effect was opposite, an ex-dance band drummer, I sometimes think they fit in with New Orleans jazz bands better than those who think they know. Anyway, this particular drummer used his brushes all the time and played them gently, so gently sometimes I could not hear him at all, and don't get me started on piano players who tinkle away as musicians do a solo instead of giving them chords and rhythm!

Barrie

Reader Bob Andersen of San Diego wrote:

Reminds me of Baby Dodds line, something like,'' the drummer should be like an idling engine"...

Post 90: 'MY KITCHEN MAN'

I wanted learn to play on my keyboard the good old Bessie Smith jazz classic 'Kitchen Man'. I think it was written in about 1928 by Andy Razaf and Maceo Pinkard.

I made my own lead sheet. It's probably incorrect in a few notes or chords but it doesn't sound too bad to me. (I have since found that there's a version - probably better than mine - on the internet at :
 http://cjam.lassecollin.se/songs2/kitchenman130218.html   )

Post 89: FRANK STOKES

FRANK STOKES (1888 - 1955) from Tennessee started out as a part-time blacksmith, part-time Memphis busker. He was a fine guitarist, one of the founders of the Memphis style.

Frank Stokes

He formed a musical partnership with guitarist Dan Sane and they did much busking and gigging around Memphis, just like several of the young groups in New Orleans today. They were also in various little bands - mainly The Beale Street Sheiks. Between 1927 and 1929, they were recorded by both Paramount and Victor.

Stokes left a legacy of almost 40 recorded songs. Some of them were probably composed by himself, in collaboration with Dan Sane. They included 'Taint Nobody's Business If I Do, Mr. Crump Don't Like It, What's The Matter Blues, How Long, Mistreatin' Blues and Chicken You Can Roost Behind The Moon. This last number has been delightfully revived by The Hokum High Rollers:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW.
Plenty of recordings by Frank Stokes and The Beale Street Sheiks are available on YouTube. For example, you can hear Stokes and Sane performing How Long
by clicking here.

Post 88: BEWARE THE DRAGON CHORD!

John Burns, an old buddy of mine, who is brilliant on both banjo and cello, drew my attention to The Dragon Chord. For the technically-minded, it's based on the third note of a scale, and is the basic minor triad. So, in the key of C, it is E minor.

The first chord above is C major [C E G].

The following chord is E minor [E G B].

Once you have been alerted to this and its subtle effect (bright start followed by a slight switch to the sad or nostalgic), you notice that tunes often begin in that way - on the major chord, to be followed by the Dragon Chord.

How did it get that name? Think of the tune 'Puff, the Magic Dragon' played in the key of C.

'Puff, the Magic...' is on the C chord; but as soon as you begin the word 'DRAGon', you are on E minor. Get it?

Now think of 'When You're Smiling'. It begins, 'When you're smiling, when you're' - all on the C chord; but when you hit the second 'smiling', it's the Dragon! You can hear it, can't you?

Or try the start of 'Home in Pasadena'. 'I want to be in Pasa-' is on the chord of C; but the moment you sing '-dena', it's the DRAGON!

Or 'In Apple Blossom Time': 'I'll be seeing you in.....'. As soon as you reach 'apple', you are on the dragon chord.

And in 'I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter', it comes with the word '...letter'.

For further examples, try 'I Wonder What's Become of Sally', 'The White Cliffs of Dover', 'Daddy's Little Girl', 'Happy Days and Lonely Nights', 'You Belong To Me' and 'You Always Hurt The One You Love'.

Footnote: Stan Cummings (banjo, Sacramento) has sent me the following useful additional point:

Current harmonization of this progression, C-Em, is frequently shown as C-Cmaj7.

If you add the C note to the Em chord (EGB) it is a Cmaj7 chord.   As a tenor banjo player, I 

frequently play whichever is handy or sounds better to my ear.  Of course, this works in any key.

Post 87: BUSKERS' BOOKS AND FAKE BOOKS

I was playing in a traditional jazz band in a Cambridgeshire pub when a young man in the audience told me he was a trumpet player and wanted to learn to play traditional jazz. Could I please lend him 'the music'?

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. The 'music' has to be inside your head. It takes months to build up a repertoire and much of your learning may have to come from picking tunes up by ear, as many of the old-time tunes are virtually unobtainable in sheet music form.

But a good starting tactic is to buy some busker's books (also called fake books).

They do not contain piano-type music, with two staves. They simply give you what is known as a lead-sheet - the melody line and the chord sequence.

That's all you and your band should need. Provided that you are all working to the same melody and chord pattern, you can improvise to your heart's content and also work out - if you like - a 'head arrangement' (i.e. a plan for who will do what, and when).

Of course, these books have their limitations. They sometimes leave out the Verse of a song, giving you only the Chorus. That's all right if you want to play only the Chorus; but it's irritating if you want to include the Verse, to provide some contrast or variety.

And with more complex old tunes (such as rags with three or more themes), it is annoying if the fake book gives only one theme and omits the rest.

Another warning: there are so many busker's books on the market. Do not waste money on chunky books that claim to contain 500 or 1000 tunes if there are not more than four or five tunes in them that you will ever be likely to play with a traditional jazz band. There are many such books available. Don't be fooled by the bulk.

Over many years, I have built up a bunch of fake books. They can be quite expensive when new; but I have noticed recently that plenty of them are available on internet auctions, so you should now be able to pick some up cheaply. Simply type 'Buskers' Books' or 'Fake Books' into your search.

After that, there are also resources on the internet where you can freely download the music for some of the rarer old jazz tunes.

For an example of dozens of tunes generously provided by a very remarkable Swedish gentleman - a musician and artist named Lasse Collin - go to this website:
  http://cjam.lassecollin.se/

It is also possible - if you search - to find downloadable books of tunes, sometimes generously provided by particular bands.

Also be warned that, when you come to play a tune with other players, you may find the band uses a version with slightly different chords or melody notes from those in your fakebook. They may even use a different key. So be prepared to adapt.
============
FOOTNOTE
The book Playing Traditional Jazz, by Pops Coffee, is available from Amazon.

Post 86: 'THE GREEN LEAVES OF SUMMER'

Some of us had a request recently to play The Green Leaves of Summer and we were a little embarrassed because we could not oblige. We were not sure of the chords and would probably have been more than suspect on the dots too. Ralph and I decided we had better do some homework and learn the tune.

In the U.K., The Green Leaves of Summer was made famous in the 1960s by Kenny Ball and his Band. (Sadly, Kenny died on 7 March 2013.) Their version (available on You Tube) has it in F minor; and later (when the trombone takes over the lead) they step up a tone to G minor.

What a great little tune it is! It sounds simple enough, but its special effect is due to its unique progression largely through minor chords.

Internet research reminded me that it was written for the film The Alamo in 1960 by the great American (Russian emigré) film composer Dimitri Tiomkin. What a lot of fine music he had to his credit!

Having spent an hour listening to the tune and tinkering on my keyboard, I came up with a sort of lead sheet for The Green Leaves of Summer, 32 bars in F minor only. Now I must learn it.

Post 85: A PRESERVATION HALL CONCERT, 2015

In April 2015 I made my first visit to Preservation Hall, New Orleans, since 1998.

Just as in 1998, I still found long queues of tourists and enthusiasts from around the world waiting to see the band play in the legendary 'Hall'.

I was entertained by a concert in which the band was Freddie Lonzo (trombone), Wendell Brunious (trumpet), Daniel 'Weenie' Farrow (tenor saxophone), Lars Edegran (piano), Mitchell Player (bass) and Ernest Elly (drums).

Each one of them is a great player - technically brilliant, and superb in contributing to the essential teamwork. Wendell Brunious has been an idol of mine since I first admired his virtuosity and creative genius when I heard him at the Hall over twenty years ago.

They played mainly the old favourites, such as When You're Smiling, Milneberg Joys and Ballin' The Jack; and Freddy Lonzo in particular was skilful in 'working the audience' - entertaining them with his chat, humour and vocals.

Here's a photo I took of the famous Preservation Hall piano:

Here is the courtyard at the back of the Hall - where the musicians went to relax for a few minutes between sets.

There's Thomas, the Preservation Hall Cat; and Wendell Brunious having a drink; and you can see Daniel Farrow relaxing on the right.

I had a most enjoyable chat with Daniel. In common with all the New Orleans jazz musicians of his generation, he is thoroughly charming and modest about his art. All that matters to him is that he is happy and he loves to share his happiness through his music. It was a privilege that he allowed me to be photographed with him.

If you would like to read about my previous visit to Preservation Hall (in 1998), PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Post 84: THE ICHNOGRAPHY OF OUR PERFORMANCES

If you are not a musician but have wondered what on earth is going on in the music when you listen to traditional jazz bands, you may be interested to know the musicians have to follow a ground plan in every performance.

At its simplest this may be nothing more than playing an eight-bar melody, with its accompanying chord sequence over and over, with various improvisations, sometimes by soloists and sometimes involving full ensemble. There may also be a few bars of Introduction and there may be a Tag or a Coda (a little tail added to the end of the final chorus); but these are not essential.

For an example, listen to Tuba Skinny playing ‘Jet Black Blues’. They do nothing more than work through the same eight bars FIFTEEN times, but with so much creativity that the performance is always interesting: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2bZoCTPblc 

The same applies to standard 12-bar blues, in which there is a single theme.

When we play the popular tunes of the 1920s and 1930s, the familiar song, usually called the Chorus, often consists of 32 bars, so the ground plan may be: just play that Chorus without any additional material straight through, several times – to allow for solos and ensemble work.

Sometimes the song has a good Verse (often 16 bars), so the plan may be to work through the Verse once before embarking of several treatments of the Chorus – perhaps returning once more to the Verse before finishing.

But with more complex structures, notably the classically-composed tunes of the 1920s, you often find two or more themes – each a little melody in itself and each with its own chord structure.

Often there is a key change, too. So a composition by King Oliver or Clarence Williams or Jelly Roll Morton may be structured like this: 

INTRODUCTION : Usually two or four bars. 

THEME A : Usually 16 or 32 bars. 

THEME B : Usually 16 or 32 bars. 

BRIDGE (A short linking, transitional passage, often leading to a key change). 

THEME C : Usually 32 bars. 

It often happens that the band agrees to play Theme A twice and then Theme B twice and then Theme A once more before tackling the Bridge. (This is also a very common procedure with classic rags written before 1920.) After that, they may remain on Theme C, playing it several times, with various improvisations. They will probably end with an Ensemble Chorus and perhaps a Coda.

Of course, this pattern can be varied in many ways. For example, a band may choose to play a number of solo choruses on Theme B, before playing the Bridge.

These structural patterns can be traced back to such classical composers as Haydn and Mozart. Well into the Nineteenth Century such an ichnography found its way into brass band music and eventually into ragtime structures. Theme C (usually involving the key change) was often called ‘The Trio’ in classical music and was still labelled as such in the sheet music of popular tunes in the early Twentieth Century. Even today it is sometimes still called the Trio by practising musicians.

If all this makes little sense to you, let me give you a practical example. Have a look at Tuba Skinny playing ‘Cushion Foot Stomp’ and let me talk you through their performance. I am referring to this video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaaY2yDcnW0

This is a Clarence Williams composition with three themes. Here's how this performance is structured. 

(1) EIGHT-BAR INTRODUCTION : 03 seconds - 13 seconds. 

(2) THEME A (standard 12-bar) : 14 secs. - 29 secs. Craig leading with the main melody. 

(3) THEME B (24 bars) : Todd leading, with Shaye 'decorating' : 30 secs. - 1 min. 01 secs. 

(4) THEME B (24 bars) : Craig leading, with Shaye 'decorating’ : 1 min. 02 secs - 1 min. 33 secs. 

(5) THEME A (the 12-bar again) : 1 min. 34 secs. - 1 min. 49 secs. 

(6) BRIDGE (4 bars, leading into Key Change - Key has been E flat until now but is about to become A flat) : 1 min. 50 secs - 1 min. 54 secs. 

(7) THEME C - Classically known as the TRIO. This is the Main Theme on which the piece settles, and is to be used as the basis for improvised solos. (16 bars in Ab, always with a ‘break’ on Bars 7 and 8) : Taken by Craig: 1 min. 55 secs – 2 mins. 16 secs. (You can hear his ‘break’ at 2 mins. 04 secs. - 2 mins. 05 secs.) 

(8) THEME C : Taken by Barnabus and including the ‘break’ - 2 mins. 17 secs – 2 mins. 37 secs. 

(9) THEME C : Taken by Shaye and including the ‘break’ - 2 mins. 38 secs – 2 mins. 59 secs. 

(10) THEME C : Taken by Max and including the ‘break’ - 3 mins. 00 secs – 3 mins. 19 secs. 

(11) THEME C : Taken by Todd and including the ‘break’ - 3 mins. 20 secs – 3 mins. 41 secs. 

(12) THEME C : Taken by Robin and including the ‘break’ - 3 mins. 42 secs – 4 mins. 02 secs. 

(13) THEME C : Taken by the full ensemble but with the ‘break’ allocated to Todd - 4 mins. 03 secs – 4 mins. 23 secs. 

(14) CODA (4 bars) : Initiated by Robin – 4 mins. 24 secs – 4 mins. 30 secs. 

For a performance to come out as slickly as this, all band members have to remember the agreed ichnography as well as the three principal melodies and the chord progressions.

Post 83: ALBANIE FALLETTA

Photo supplied by Bill Stock.
What a picture!

I first came across the guitarist and singer Albanie Falletta in this delightful video, where, on the north bank of the Mississippi in New Orleans, with two string-playing friends, she performs I'll See You in My Dreams: CLICK HERE TO VIEW. I was immediately charmed.

And here is a wonderful April 2015 video filmed by the great digitalalexa of 'Albanie and her Fellas' playing in Royal Street, New Orleans. You could hardly have a better introduction to her: CLICK HERE.

With the help of YouTube, I had found that Albanie played in The Thrift Set Orchestra in Austin, Texas, with such fine musicians as Jonathan Doyle, Hal Smith, David Jellema and Westen Borghesi. Here's an example: CLICK HERE TO VIEW.

She also turns up on YouTube in both Texas and Louisiana with her band 'Albanie And Her Fellas'. For example, you can catch her singing When It's Sleepy Time Down South BY CLICKING HERE. Or watch them busking in New Orleans BY CLICKING HERE, where the 'Fellas' happen to include Jonathan Doyle, Todd Burdick, David Jellema and Robin Rapuzzi.

There is also a video of Albanie playing with Tuba Skinny at a French Quarter Festival.

So for months Albanie has been one of my favourites.

Now imagine my joy when I visited New Orleans in April 2015 and suddenly noticed in Royal Street a young lady who looked exactly like the Albanie on YouTube. She had a guitar strapped to her back. 'Are you the famous Albanie?' I asked. 'Well, my name's Albanie,' she replied.

I found her just as sweet and charming as she appears in those videos. Albanie told me she came from Austin, where she started to teach herself to play the guitar at an early age. She has a good ear and usually has no trouble in working out the chords for a tune. She 'dropped out of high school' and took to busking and playing wherever she could. She has mastered her instrument to a high degree and sings very pleasantly.

I later discovered Albanie is highly respected by the entire community of New Orleans musicians. Dividing her time between Austin and New Orleans, she gets to play in many different groups.

Now that she is internationally famous and has reached a high level of proficiency, we might think she would be satisfied with her achievements. But Albanie surprised me by saying she still hoped one day to go to college and study music academically.

How modest these great young musicians on the New Orleans French Quarter scene always are!

I have two precious photo souvenirs. Here's a picture my friend Bill Stock from Essex, England, took of Albanie a few moments before I arrived. (Bill also happens to be the cameraman who made the video on the bank of the Mississippi - the video I mentioned at the top of this article.)

And here she is with me:

Pops Coffee Meets One Of His Idols

FOOTNOTE

Reader Phil has identified the bass player in the video on the bank of the Mississippi as Jeff Moran, leader of The California Feetwarmers, and has commented: Trivial perhaps but still interesting to me how musicians travel and learn from each other...Jeff was busking on the street in California with Chloe Feoranzo when Chloe was still a teenager. You can see the video Phil is referring to if you CLICK HERE.

Post 82: JUST A LITTLE HELP WITH MIDDLE EIGHTS

Hundreds of the songs (not counting the 12-bar blues) played by traditional jazz bands are structured in 32 bars. Sometimes there is a pattern of two sets of sixteen bars – each of the sixteen starting with similar notes.

But many tunes have a ‘middle eight’ – so-called but not really middle because they are actually the third of four sets set of eight bars. The tunes often have an A – A – B – A structure, in which the three A sections (each of eight bars) are very similar in melody and harmonic progression, while the B section (sometimes called the ‘release’ or ‘bridge’) has a contrasting melody and harmonic structure.

For the musicians, it is a tough job learning all these chord progressions and the middle eights can be particularly tricky and easily forgotten.

Fortunately there are some recurring patterns and it helps a little to familiarise yourself with these. Here are three of them. Please note: most tunes listed below have their own slight variations within these structures.

Suzie Middle Eight Pattern

Based on these chords of the Home Key:

 I   |   I^7th  |  IV   |   IV   |   II^7th   |    II^7th  |   V^7th |    V^7th 

Examples:

All Alone by the Telephone

Are You Lonesome Tonight?

Big Butter and Egg Man

Coquette

Darkness on the Delta

Honeysuckle Rose

I Had Someone Else Before I Had You

I’m Alone Because I Love You

I’m Confessin’ That I Love You

If You Knew Suzie

Just Squeeze Me

Move the Body Over

Some Day Sweetheart

That Certain Party

The Best Things in Life and Free

We’ll Meet Again

When I Leave the World Behind

You Always Hurt the One You Love

You’re the Cream in My Coffee

Girl of My Dreams Middle Eight Pattern

Based on these chords of the Home Key:

 III^7th  |  III^7th  | VI^7th |  VI^7th  |  II^7th  | II^7th  | V^7th |  V^7th 

Examples:

Do  Your Duty
Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue

Girl of My Dreams

Give it Up

Hometown

I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with Me

Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall

Kansas City Kitty
Love Letters in the Sand
Please Don’t Talk About Me

Side By Side

Stevedore Stomp

Ice Cream Middle Eight Pattern

Based on these chords of the Home Key:

 IV  |   IV  |   I   |    I  |    II^7th   |   II^7th   |   V^7th   |   V^7th 

Examples:

Blue Turning Grey

Don’t Sweetheart Me

Exactly Like You

I Like Bananas Because They Have No Bones

Ice Cream

Monday Date

Painting the Clouds with Sunshine

San Jacinto Stomp
Sentimental Journey

There’s an Old Mill By the Stream

When the Moon Comes over the Mountain

Post 81: HORRIBLE VOCALS

I spend a lot of time watching and listening to traditional jazz bands.

One thing I find disappointing is that some of the 'vocals' are - frankly - horrible.

In particular, there are so many elderly male performers who are determined to sing the words of whatever tune they are playing, regardless of their lack of ability. They croak and strain and are out of tune. Such 'expression' as they attempt is inept. If that's the best they can do, why bother?

Perhaps some of them used to have reasonably good singing voices twenty or thirty years ago. They haven't noticed (and friends have been too kind to tell them) that they have 'lost it' with the passage of time.

I think these vocals help to explain why traditional jazz fails to attract younger audiences.

Some of the elderly gents seem to think that, in order to be qualified to sing, all you need is to be a bit musical on the clarinet or trumpet and also have the words of the song on a music stand in front of you. But there is far more of an art to it than that. It requires a good voice, intelligence and serious practice.

Here's the great Erika Lewis. What would most of us give to have a singer of her quality working with our band? But if we don't have a good singer, then may I suggest that we let the music speak for itself and cut out those horrible 'vocals'?