Post 541: 'SOME KIND'A SHAKE' - A NEW GEM FROM TUBA SKINNY

On 3 March 2018, that generous video-maker James Sterling put up on YouTube a performance by Tuba Skinny of a tune called Some Kind-a-Shake. This tune, which - James informed us - was an 'original' by the band, had never been previously available on YouTube. You may watch it BY CLICKING HERE.

What you will witness is another astonishing composition and performance. Tuba Skinny must have been busy in recent weeks working up some slick arrangements. I guess they have rehearsed together quite a bit.

For what's it's worth, and in case you're interested, here's how I see this new piece.

Essentially it's a 16-bar (8 + 8) tune in the key of F; but it is played with so much variety and quite a few surprises.

After twice through the 16-bar Chorus, we find Shaye offering an obbligato on the third time. Then the fourth time through has a surprise rhythmic pattern (with silent first beats in the third and fifth bars from the whole band ). Craig is the next to play his improvisation on the theme.

Then at 1 min 52 comes the highlight of the piece - an amazing 8-bar 'Bridge' section. You have Todd, Barnabus, Shaye and Craig over a period of four bars playing just one note each in turn through two rising arpeggios (to my ear, Gb diminished and Ab diminished respectively). The band did a similar thing in Blue Chime Stomp - you may remember. Then there's a two-bar banjo tremolo, and next a couple of bars from Todd to lead us back to the 16-bar Chorus (but - unusually - the key has not changed).

Max - a stalwart of Tuba Skinny.

Now we have one Chorus for the strings and one for Barnabus (playing the tune fairly straight) and one in which Todd leads while the whole front line plays very sweet choreographed supporting notes. Finally, there's a stomping ensemble Chorus, followed by a clever and well-rehearsed Coda - it uses the first two bars of that Bridge again! and then one additional bar to put the tune to bed.

Wow! When did you last hear any other band (especially in the U.K.) do anything like that - without printed music in front of them?

The only other band I can think of that does similar tricky things (i.e. while working without printed music) is The Smoking Time Jazz Club, also based in New Orleans.
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Post 191: SIGNALLING THE BRIDGE

In many tunes, there is a section known to musicians as 'The Bridge'. Usually it comes right in the middle of the tune - for example starting at Bar No. 17 in a 32-bar tune. Where the tune has an a-a-b-a structure, the Bridge is section 'b' and is also known as 'The Middle Eight'.

Sometimes, when bringing a tune to an end - and often following a vocal - the bandleader does not want to go right back to the beginning to play the whole thing yet again; instead, he or she prefers to finish off by playing just the second half. This means going back the the Bridge.

To signal this, the band-leader makes the shape of a bridge, using the fingers or the whole hand. Here's an example:

Here is Marla doing it:

And here is a fine example of Shaye (using forefingers to create a bridge) letting Max and Greg know they are to go back to the Bridge at the end of the chorus that is just finishing:

You can also see Shaye giving exactly the same signal and message at 3 minutes 48 seconds during this lovely performance filmed by my friend James Sterling:
CLICK HERE.

Post 167: WHAT IS A 'DOGFIGHT' IN OUR MUSIC?

Here is the dogfight in 'That's a Plenty'. It
begins at the top right, where you see
cornet and clarinet instructed to play the high Ds.
The trombone and bass then respond with the low Ds.

I am indebted to my Canadian friend Stephen Brown for teaching me a new term that describes a feature in the structure of some of our tunes. The word is 'Dogfight'.

Stephen told me that for a full explanation, it is best to go to:

https://musicterms.artopium.com/d/Dogfight.htm

But if you are happy with a brief explanation of how it mostly turns up in traditional jazz, I can tell you the Dogfight is a special kind of 'Bridge'. The Bridge is a link (often eight or twelve bars) between one theme and another in tunes that have more than one theme. What is distinctive about the Dogfight-style bridge is that usually a higher voice (generally the trumpet) plays a short phrase and then there is a short-phrase response from a lower voice (e.g. trombone or tuba) - thus creating a sort of musical dogfight. Get it? A vivid and useful term, isn't it?

If you know our music well, you will notice there are Dogfight links in such pieces as That's a Plenty, Clarinet Marmalade, High Society, and King Porter Stomp.

Haruka Kikuchi on her Wedding Day.

But you can hear her playing a 'Dogfight'

- see below.

If you are still having trouble grasping the idea, listen to this video which was put up on YouTube by my 'adopted grand-daughter' Haruka Kikuchi! You can hear the Dogfight (in this case a 12-bar Dogfight) from 1 minute 7 seconds to 1 minute 19 seconds, and again from 2 minutes 46 seconds to 2 minutes 59 seconds.

CLICK HERE.