Post 518: IS TRADITIONAL JAZZ 'ERUDITE'?

I was at a traditional jazz concert recently when a lady in the audience said she was enjoying it very much but that she didn't 'normally listen to such erudite music'.

I was struck by the word 'erudite', partly because it's not a word you often hear these days, but even more because it was a word I had never myself applied to traditional jazz.

However, when I reflected on it afterwards, I came to see that it really was a clever choice of word and very appropriate to our music.

If we think of traditional jazz only as a pleasant noise that makes us tap our feet and want to dance, we are missing the enormous amount of learning that lies behind it. And the greatest musicians make it look so easy that we may not recognise how 'erudite' it is. 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines 'erudite' as 'having or showing knowledge that is gained by studying'. The Concise Oxford Dictionary tells us that 'erudite' means 'remarkably learned'. It comes from the Latin erudire, meaning to instruct.

When you think about it, you find a huge amount of erudition behind every performance of traditional jazz.

The musicians have had to:

master the techniques of playing their instrument(s) [many hundreds of hours of practice];

study the history of traditional jazz and learn from the work and recordings of past masters;

learn to play in various keys and become fluent in the appropriate chords and arpeggios - major, minor, diminished and so on - and be able to improvise freely around them;

study and learn to use syncopation, riffs, jazzy devices and a variety of tempos and rhythms; 

understand the structures of the tunes;

learn and hold in their heads the melodies and harmonic progressions of many tunes [often hundreds];

study the role of their own instrument and use this knowledge effectively in contributing to the playing as a team-member;

master the conventions and the methods of communication within a performance.

Compared with most conventional kinds of musicians who play instruments directly from printed music and without any requirement to improvise or deviate from what is written, jazz musicians may be considered exceptionally erudite.

Imagine you would like to speak a foreign language but you are starting from scratch. Think how much study it will take for you to reach a point when you will be able to hold a fluent natural conversation with native speakers of that language.

Learning to play an instrument in a traditional jazz band is very similar to that.

Yes, well said that lady: traditional jazz is erudite all right.

Post 504: 'LILY OF THE VALLEY'

As an octogenarian Englishman who likes traditional jazz and has a go at playing it, I wish I could occasionally give more praise to our elderly British bands. But I have to face the harsh truth: we (I include myself) are just not good enough.

It's not surprising that our audiences are sparse and that young people don't come to hear us. Our music is often so dull, complacent, predictable, repetitive in format, uncreative and poorly presented. Far from swinging, it is often plodding and tedious.

Here's an example. I recently witnessed one of the well-known English bands playing Lily of The Valley - a fairly simple three-chorder. The tempo was so slow and the drumming weary, heavy and laboured. At times the tune threatened to drag even more. Compared with the great young musicians in New Orleans today, these players (though they possibly played better years ago) seemed to have limited technical skills. The interplay between trumpet, clarinet and trombone was uninteresting. The usual dreary succession of 32-bar 'solos' followed, while the musicians themselves did not look at all enthused. The banjo solo (really necessary?) - though accurately working through all 32 bars - was very basic.

Compare this with a performance of the same tune in Royal Street, New Orleans. Click on here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMZGvF6Hwc4

These youngsters set and maintain a bright, foot-tapping tempo. They find a great deal to 'say' about the music. Starting - unusually - with the trombone taking the melody, they follow up with much creative interweaving involving the cornet, clarinet and trombone. Instead of tedious 32-bar 'solos', there is much exciting ensemble work, sometimes with the cornet and sometimes the clarinet taking the lead. Simple the tune may be, but some of the improvisations are astonishing. The tuba is intelligently used to provide variety and give some respite to the others before they return for a glorious ensemble finish during which there is some remarkable invention and exciting off-beat cymbal-work. They even do something unusual to end: they play the first 16 bars twice.

I hate to sound unkind. But the truth is I would rather spend my time listening to interesting and exciting performances of this quality than to performances by us elderly British musicians.

By the way, there is a Victorian hymn called The Lily of the Valley with words written by William Fry for the Salvation Army. Ira Sankey set it to the music of the song The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane, which had been composed by Will Hays. So when jazz bands play Lily of the Valley, the composers are sometimes given as Fry, Sankey and Hays. But this is WRONG. Look at the music (it's on the Internet) and you will find it is a totally different tune.

The Lily of the Valley that our jazz bands play is the one composed in 1917 by Anatole Frieland (music) and Wolfe Gilbert (words).
------
FOOTNOTE
I received the following email from one of my readers who lives in London, England, and had just returned from a holiday in New Orleans:
I could not agree more with your second paragraph and I am suffering from a lack of enthusiasm for watching UK bands since we got back from NOLA.  However, comparison with Tuba Skinny - an imaginative, creative and compelling band of talented energetic young musicians - is a tough 'ask' for the sort of bands I see in England who are often going through the motions in playing numbers they have played many times in the same way over many decades.

Post 495: THE SUN LANE LTD NEW ORLEANS BAND

The Sun Lane Ltd. New Orleans Jazz Band comprises seven pretty old boys based in Aaachen, Germany. Maybe you already know this band well. But for me they are a recent discovery - the result of a recommendation by one of my readers in Australia.

I have never seen the band in performance but there are good examples of their work on YouTube. I like them. The way they arrange their tunes is pretty much the same as in 95% of the bands operating all over Europe, Australasia and America - straightforward statements of the themes, followed by solo choruses until the out-chorus. But what I like particularly is the way they play tastefully and unpretentiously, with real delicacy and restraint (even in the rhythm section). The teamwork is good. After many years of working together, they have a very 'tight' sound. These chaps really listen to each other.

From its website, I learn this is a busy band, with plenty of bookings in Cologne. Also, surprisingly, The Sun Lane Ltd. New Orleans Jazz Band was founded as long ago as 1977, at The University of Aachen. Over the years, they have played at many festivals throughout Europe; and the band has been to New Orleans more than once - giving concerts there. Possibly the greatest moment came when they were booked to play the evening performance at Preservation Hall. That was on 30 April, 2002.

Not surprisingly, the band has built up a large repertoire and has made several CDs. You can buy them online.

In this video, watch them playing Bugle Boy March: CLICK HERE. Note the exemplary drumming.

Or try My Little Girl: CLICK HERE.

And here is Postman's Lament: CLICK HERE.

There are other videos of the band on YouTube if you would care to hear more.

As ever, we have to be grateful to the video-makers who bring such fine things to our computer screens. In this case: thank you, Uli van Royen.

Post 449: BAND-LEADER'S HEADACHES

I have written before about how hard it is to be a good and successful band-leader. Special skills are needed, as well as the capacity to remain cheerful and optimistic even when things are going against you. I think it is very important for all musicians to be supportive of their leaders. It is the leaders who obtain the gigs and who have all the hard work behind the scenes.

I would not want the job. I don't consider myself capable.

However, I receive an occasional request (perhaps once a year) to provide a band for an event; and I do my best to oblige.

I was once asked at about a month's notice to provide a band for a birthday party to be held during a Bank Holiday (i.e. a national holiday here in England). I contacted some fine musicians and they all agreed to play. So I replied to the enquirer that I would provide a band. But in the week that followed, two of the musicians found they could not play after all. Oh dear.

I struggled to find replacements. As the gig was on a Bank Holiday, when there is a great demand for bands, most other musicians were already booked. Two string bass players were available but I obviously could not use both of them. It was almost impossible for me to recruit a satisfactory balance of instruments.  Eventually I managed to put a band together, though it involved one player kindly switching from his usual instrument to his 'second' instrument which he had not seriously played for a couple of years.

Luckily, in the end, The Pops Coffee Cappuccinos worked well together and the gentleman and his guests were very happy with our music. We were warmly received and made to feel part of the party. In addition to being well supplied with drinks, we also enjoyed the bonus of an excellent meal.

But the experience had given me a further reason for admiring our regular band-leaders and sympathising with the headaches that are part of their job.

Post 419: HARUKA KIKUCHI

That great young Japanese trombone player Haruka Kikuchi was very proud as we approached the latter stages of 2016. Why? Because, although she had played on many recordings and with the best bands, she then - for the first time - became the Producer of a fine new recording; and she intended it to be the first of a series. She called it JAPAN: NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION SERIES Volume One.

The music was very well recorded, with fine acoustics and balance. Haruka's band comprised five musicians and had a distinctive brassy sound, with trumpet, sousaphone and trombone and no reeds. On trumpet was Naho Ishimura, yet another brilliant young Japanese musician, whose playing is nimble and lyrical. Steven Glenn made a solid and melodic contribution on sousaphone; and who better to provide the chords and percussion than Albanie Falletta (guitar) and the highly-experienced Gerald French on drums (and vocals)? So for the link to some fresh performances of old favourites, CLICK HERE.

You will even hear (and be able to learn) the vocals to Struttin' With Some Barbecue and Muskrat Ramble. That's something that doesn't often happen!

Then in March 2017 Haruka produced JAPAN: NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION SERIES Volume Two, featuring Gospel Jazz. Haruka made this recording with fellow musicians who play gospel music with her in church every Sunday morning:
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
I specially enjoyed the lusty performance of Jesus on the Main Line - a spiritual I have always liked, ever since the late great Milton Batiste introduced me to it in the 1990s.

In September 2017, Haruka added a third volume, with Shingo Kano from Osaka on piano and Grayson Brockamp  on bass. The trio swings very pleasantly through When It's Sleepy Time Down South, Back Home Again in Indiana and the rarely-heard Small Fry, which Hoagy Carmichael composed for a cartoon film in 1938. To sample these tracks,  CLICK HERE.

Haruka Kikuchi -
about to play with The Audacity Brass Band
at The French Quarter Festival, 2016

.

When I visited New Orleans in April 2016, a great pleasure was meeting and hearing Haruka Kikuchi again. This young lady, though slight of build, is one of the best and most powerful trombone players in the world. She is also one of the most versatile. Haruka was very kind and helpful during my visit, giving me a warm welcome and also supplying me with tips about bands and gigs that I might enjoy.

In April of the previous year, I met her for the first time - when I came across her playing with The Shotgun Jazz Band. In 2015, she was also playing regularly with Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers and with The Swamp Donkeys.Haruka toured with The Swamp Donkeys in England, Scotland, France, Holland and Spain during July and August 2015.

Since the  start of 2016, she has become much more independent and freelance. She now plays from time to time with even more bands but she has also started running a band of her own. Her diary is so full: it seemed to me that she was averaging seven gigs a week - sometimes with seven different bands.

In May 2016, Haruka toured in Japan, where she was the guest star in a series of jazz concerts with Japanese bands.

Haruka grew up in Chiba - a few miles east of Tokyo - and settled happily in New Orleans at the end of 2013.

During my 2015 visit, I heard her playing a couple of times with the dynamic and energetic Shotgun Jazz Band. Haruka seemed to have become rapidly integrated into Marla Dixon's very happy Shotgun family.

The Shotgun Jazz Band

What a team they were - driving each other to ever greater heights. Haruka's powerful, creative playing - remarkable from a young woman of her stature - was a mainstay of the band's success.

Haruka started learning to play the piano, violin and cornet from an early age. But when she was 15 she was bowled over by discovering the early recordings of New Orleans jazz. Haruka was greatly encouraged and supported by Ken Aoki - the internationally-renowned banjo player. She decided the 'tailgate trombone' was for her, her hero being Kid Ory. She studied at Tokyo University of Fine Arts, graduating in 2010 with a degree in Music Science. But, while studying, she also joined and played at the Jazz Club (that has existed for many decades) at the nearby Waseda University.

Earlier, Haruka had formed a dixieland jazz band with school friends. And she set about serious study of New Orleans jazz from the earliest times up to the Revival. On YouTube there is some good evidence of the music she was playing with her teenage friends in those days: CLICK HERE.

During a visit to a New Orleans Mardi Gras, she was stunned by the atmosphere and enthusiasm for the music in the City. This led to her organising a Mardi Gras event in Matsue City, Japan, complete with Big Parade, Second Line, and all the usual beads and brollies. Quite an achievement for a young woman.

Today Haruka is one of the best and most exciting trombonists in the world of traditional jazz. If you want to understand how traditional jazz works or if you are learning to play in a traditional jazz band, you could hardly do better than study Haruka's playing. Just notice the line she takes - how well it supports the melody. Notice how she phrases the music and where she takes a breath. Notice how she drives the band along, both in her ensemble work and in her exciting solos. Start with this video, which shows her in close-up: CLICK HERE TO VIEW.

In 2017, Haruka joined and made a great contribution in the wonderful all-ladies Shake 'Em Up Jazz Band, which has evolved into one of the best bands in the world today. THIS VERSION (Click on) of 'Savoy Blues' may be the best you will ever hear.

At the 2016 French Quarter Festival, she even appeared with the veterans in an old-style New Orleans Brass Band. I did my best (despite difficult filming conditions) to make a video of them playing Bugle Boy March and hope you may care to watch it. You can do so BY CLICKING HERE.

How lucky I have been to meet Haruka! On top of all her other achievements, she has also mastered English, so I have had most enjoyable conversations with her.

My most recent meeting with Haruka
- on 18 February 2017

When I was in New Orleans on 20 October 2016, I was very pleased to hear her band play. I took this picture of her and also informed her that I am adopting her as my grand-daughter. She now calls me 'Grandpa'!

Have a look at this well-made video to appreciate Haruka's versatile and venturesome approach to music making: CLICK HERE.

In 2018, Haruka married Yoshitaka Tsuji, a virtuoso jazz pianist, who had moved from Osaka to New Orleans in 2010 to seek his fortune. In recent years, he had played with several bands, but most notably Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers. He and Haruka met in 2012. They now live in Treme, New Orleans, with their son Shouta. Here are Haruka and Shouta in 2020, watching a Parade.

Post 310: HOW TO IMPROVISE - HELP IS AVAILABLE

Mr. John P. Birchall is a great enthusiast and educator in the field of traditional jazz. I have never met John but I became aware of him through the internet. I have exchanged emails and materials with John and he has always helped me with great kindness and generosity.

I want to tell you that John has - on his website - a mass of thoughtful, well-structured information that is intended to help anyone who is trying to play the music and perhaps finding it difficult to get to grips with the structures of harmonic progressions and with improvising.

For access to this wonderful resource (for which many thanks, John):

CLICK HERE.

Post 267: GETTING TOO OLD FOR IT? NO! KEEP PLAYING!

I came across this great bit of wisdom. (Nobody knows for sure who first uttered these words, but it could possibly have been George Bernard Shaw.)

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

As a 1930s-born would-be player of traditional jazz, among many elderly friends who read my articles, I need say no more.

Post 262: CHOOSING KEYS FOR VOCALISTS

Erika Lewis

An American musician - Lou - has become a very good pen-friend after first writing to me about an article in this Blog several months ago.

Recently he sent me this message:

----------------

Ivan,
I have been playing the tune Six Feet Down (in G) along with Tuba Skinny from their 2010 CD.
Today I saw the video made of them playing this tune at The Louisiana Music Factory in 2015 (Click here to watch it). I thought I would again play along. But this time they were playing it in F.
Strange!

--------------------

This message left me thinking in general about choices of keys.

In the case of Lou's example, I think there is a simple explanation. In 2010, Erika was comfortable singing her song in G (one tone higher than in 2015). But her voice matured over the following five years. By 2015 her perfect comfort zone for a tune such as Six Feet Down had become the key of F. In that key, the lowest note used in her vocal is C and the highest is A, so (unlike some of Erika's other songs, such as Crazy Blues, where she sings high Ebs) it does not require a very great range - just four and a half tones. I am sure she could still sing it in G easily enough; but in F it sounds absolutely right for her 2015 'mature' voice.

Tuba Skinny are well-known for the freedom and boldness with which they roam around the keys and often change key (sometimes more than once) within a tune. On some occasions, the band plays a tune in one key and Erika - when taking a vocal chorus - sings it in another. For example, in How Do They Do It That Way?, you find the band playing choruses in Eb and Erika singing choruses in Bb. The transitions are so skilfully managed that you hardly notice. The same sort of thing happens in Delta Bound, with Erika singing in D minor and the band choruses in G minor.

Traditional jazz musicians come to learn that there is no such thing as a correct key for any tune. You can play in a band that performs Muskrat Ramble in Ab, for example, and then deputise in another band, only to find it plays Muskrat Ramble in Bb. A tune such as Ain't She Sweet may turn up in Bb or Eb. You will hear Breeze in either Eb or F. And so on. Whenever there is a singer, the whole band may have to adapt to an unusual choice of key. For example, after years of playing I Can't Give You Anything But Love in F, you one day find yourself in a band with a lady singer who requires the tune to be played in Bb.

=================

Post 226: TRADITIONAL JAZZ - A HORRIBLE DIN!

I must be honest: on very rare occasions I find the sound of a traditional jazz band to be a horrible din.

There are very good traditional jazz performances and very bad ones. I wonder whether you would agree with the following. (For the purpose of these examples, I am talking about the musical sounds produced by a six-piece or seven-piece band.)

LEVEL ONE - THE LOWEST - HORRIBLE DIN LEVEL: Most of the instruments are unnecessarily and excessively amplified. The drummer plays too loud and doesn't take much note of what the front line players are doing. The rhythm section sounds like one collective bass drum. The front line players - especially in full ensemble - take an 'every man for himself' approach and blast away, regardless of what notes the others are playing. It is sometimes impossible for a listener to pick out instruments individually (especially bad if there are four in the front line). The result is a horrible noise! A din!

LEVEL TEN - THE HIGHEST - TOP QUALITY LEVEL:  All instruments individually can be clearly heard. There is little or no amplification. The percussionist plays discreetly, never drowning out other instruments but always decorating and complementing what is going on. The rhythm section plays like one man, maintaining a steady, pulsing beat, never dragging and never speeding up (unless as part of an agreed special effect). The front line players listen carefully to each other, producing wonderful polyphony and syncopation by complementing and responding to what the others are doing and not trespassing on the same notes. The overall effect is like the best chamber music of the classical music world.

In practice, most traditional jazz performances fall somewhere around LEVEL EIGHT. Yes, most are closer to the top quality level than the horrible din level.

Post 225: GET THE RIGHT HAT!

If you are a serious fan of New Orleans jazz, or aspire to play it - you really must obtain the appropriate headgear.

So I returned from my 2015 trip to New Orleans with four caps.

Of course, there are many more available in that city. I particularly liked those commemorating places where jazz is played. But I bought just four; a chap can use only so many.

First (on the left) we have the simple 'New Orleans' cap, made by Bol (in China!). It is comfortable, robust and available in various colour combinations. Next comes the jazz-specific blue cap (also available in other colours, such as grey - very appealing). It mentions the French Quarter and manages to get a discreet 'Jazz', with a saxophone representing the 'J', on the peak. I am very fond of this one, which is 100% cotton and made in China by Sun Products. I am currently wearing it daily here in Nottingham.

Finally come two very special caps. The Dew Drop cap commemorates the amazing historic Dew Drop Hall, about which I wrote in a blog post. You can read the post if you  CLICK HERE.

The Dew Drop Hall

I chose the light-coloured cap but there were other options. This 100% cotton cap was manufactured in Bangladesh by the company Port Authority.

Finally, having spent so much time at the great jazz bar The Spotted Cat in Frenchmen Street, I could not resist their special distinctive black souvenir cap.

The Spotted Cat

This is also 100% cotton and was made in China by Port and Company. You can watch a video of a great performance I witnessed of The Shotgun Jazz Band playing 'Royal Garden Blues' at The Spotted Cat by clicking on here.

All four caps are comfortable and have adjuster straps at the back. Their peaks - especially that on the blue 'French Quarter' cap - are effective in giving the eyes some protection from the sun.

And here's a collection of caps brought back from the French Quarter Festival in 2017 by my friend Peter, who lives in London.

It goes without saying that, if you wear a New Orleans cap, your appreciation of the music will be enhanced; and musicians wearing the caps will find their playing rapidly improves.

Post 212: TODD BURDICK AND BARNABUS JONES

Lou, an elderly American reader of this blog, has corresponded with me from time to time and recently sent this message, which I think ought to be shared.

Hi Ivan,

It certainly sounds as though you enjoy life and the pleasure that the music brings. I have commented on a few members of Tuba Skinny, but I have to mention Barnabus. Of course I listened to the traditional recorded dixieland growing up. But we spent every weekend during my college days at a local jazz place. We listened to the "Dixiecrats", a great band consisting of piano, tenor sax, trumpet, clarinet, string bass and drums. The tenor and sax played with Cab Calloway and the clarinet played with Louis Armstrong in the early days in NOLA. So I was pretty used to a band without a trombone, and never gave the instrument much thought. As a matter of fact, we thought of our taste in dixieland as rather elite....no tuba, no banjo, strictly "Chicago Style".

Tuba Skinny has totally changed my thinking on the subject, which is a lengthy lead-in to Barnabus.

I suspect that he, Shaye and Todd go back to their earliest days together and that they have not only a strong personal relationship, but are attuned to one another musically. Barnabus is such a strong player. He's always where he should be, whether it's lead or support. I still find it hard to believe that he just picked up a horn and taught himself. He certainly plays like he has a deep musical background. The same thing seems true of Todd. He's so gentle that at times he sounds like a string bass, and he's so important as part of TS's rhythm section.

Have I pontificated enough?
Regards,

Lou

I am so pleased Lou pays this tribute to Barnabus and Todd.

Todd Burdick

Tuba Skinny fans (including myself) are so seduced by the amazing talents of the ladies - Shaye and Erika - that we don't give sufficient credit to the other players - especially Todd, who goes unnoticed by most people while never putting a foot wrong in the 'engine room' of the band.

Shaye and Barnabus

Sometimes, when listening to a tune played by Tuba Skinny, I deliberately focus my attention on ONE instrument. It is a great way to appreciate the magic of this band. I am invariably amazed at how that one instrument contributes to the overall structure. In the case of Barnabus, Lou is so right about his strengths, whether leading on the melody or supporting other players. And Todd has an uncanny ability to find the perfect bass line, no matter how complicated the piece. Maybe the fact that both these men are also banjo players - and therefore understand chord sequences - helps a little. What great musicians they both are!
-------------------------
Canadian correspondent Wally, who not long ago attended a Tuba Skinny performance, added this:

Hi Ivan,

Thank you for sharing this.

I would like to add a thought to something your correspondent mentioned: "but are attuned to one another musically". This is something that I can echo wholeheartedly, especially after my trip to Maine. In fact, it is more than just this three, it is the entire ensemble. Easy enough to focus upon the band all at once or on each individual, but the secret is to look for the interactions as well, something that does not always seem apparent when viewing a video, unless one knows exactly what to look for.

A note on Todd: In a couple of the songs he took on the most amazing solos, something unexpected from a Tuba on the back line. How often do we see the front line getting the nods while the rhythm section keeps on steadfastly pounding out the rhythm?

Regards,

Wally

Post 211: TELEPHONE BANDS

Maybe you have heard the expression 'telephone band'. Even if you haven't, you can probably guess what it is. There are plenty of telephone bands operating in the field of traditional jazz.

What happens is that a bandleader builds up a list of traditional jazz musicians in his region (several for each instrument) but does not decide on the personnel for a particular gig until after he accepts the booking.

He then phones round among the musician contacts, taking into account the need to have a balanced band, with the appropriate range of instruments, and also considering which musicians live nearest to the venue, thereby avoiding long-distance travel. The chances are that all the musicians on his list are already players in other bands, so he can book them only if they do not already have a gig on the date in question.

Such bandleaders and agents are in a sense 'fixers'.

Even some well-known bands are in effect 'telephone bands'. You may notice frequent changes of personnel. This is because the leader has a pool of musicians from whom to choose.

Usually it is musicians who have gained wide experience and met many players over several years who decide to run one or more telephone bands. One - or more? Yes, we have a famous fixer in England who sometimes puts out two or three telephone bands to play in different places on the same date - for example on New Year's Eve, when there is great demand.

Obviously a telephone band is a strange animal, because musicians can find themselves playing a gig with others they have never met before.

Such bands will not have had a rehearsal and the tunes they play will probably all come from the straightforward core repertoire. It is unlikely that any of the musical arrangements will be very complex. But audiences tend not to notice these things.

However, the standard of a telephone band can be high. This is because such musicians are usually very experienced and competent. With a few brief words, they can agree the way a tune is to be treated. (For example, the leader might whisper: 'Play A - B - C - then back to B and stick on B').

They can even look like a regular band, especially if the leader requests them all to turn up in shirts of the same colour.

The musicians themselves derive pleasure from meeting, listening to and working with each other. They can learn much and also with good teamwork produce some high-quality music.

There are dozens of telephone band performances in England every week; and I guess the same must be true of most other countries where traditional jazz is played.

If you are thinking of setting yourself up as a bandleader, this is one way of going about it.

By the way, a telephone band is in some ways similar to a 'pick-up band', though not quite the same. Pick-up bands are put together for special projects, such as a providing a backing group for a recording, or accompanying a singer on a tour. They are likely to be technically highly-skilled; and they are also likely to rehearse seriously together before undertaking the work.

Post 183: CHORUSES AGAINST OFF-BEAT STOP CHORDS

I wish there was more variety of treatments of choruses in the performances of our bands. There are many ways of making 'solo' choruses more interesting. The use of long held notes (as backing) is one. Another is the use of stop chords (for example, the rest of the band - apart from the soloist - playing just the first two beats of each bar).

One of my favourites is the use of OFFBEAT stop chords. In other words, the soloist plays fluently over all four beats of the bar, while the rest of the band plays only the second and fourth beats.

Similarly, you can have the full rhythm section playing a chorus of offbeats only while the melody instruments all continue to play normally. That is very effective.

Like all good things, the device should be used sparingly. For example, in a 32-bar chorus, one instrument could play 16 bars against offbeat stop chords, with another taking over for the remaining 16 bars accompanied by conventional rhythm section backing.

The use of offbeat stop chords impresses audiences and indeed it does not always come easily to the musicians. In particular, the soloist must not let himself or herself be thrown by the unusual rhythm. It takes practice. When taking a solo against offbeat backing, it's best to hit the first note of the bar firmly, at least at the start, to establish clearly where it actually is!

The offbeat stratagem is not at all new. It is an authentic part of the New Orleans tradition.

You can hear Louis Dumaine demonstrating it well with his Jazzola Eight in 1927. Louis himself plays a chorus of Pretty Audrey against such a rhythmic background.

CLICK HERE.

Notice what happens at 1 minute 15 seconds into the recording. Louis plays a full fast 32 bars against stop chords. It is an exciting effect.

In the same year, the great Sam Morgan Band made recordings in New Orleans. Notice what happens in the band's recording of Mobile Stomp.

CLICK HERE.

At 1 minute 28 seconds, for the third chorus, the rhythm section switches to a stop chord offbeat rhythm, against which the reeds continue to improvise prettily over the full bars.

Let us all try more of these variations. Of course, the best bands already do.

CLICK HERE

for a clever variant in which the front line (cornet, trombone and reeds) plays the stop chords while the banjo takes the solo. Note what happens at 1 minute 37 seconds. What about that as an example to us all?