Tag: jazz
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Go ahead and use a fakebook
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in MusicianshipI felt a lot of stress and pressure during my years in college and graduate school, about jazz and Learning Tunes. Nobody who is anybody uses a fakebook! You have to Learn the Tunes! Do you know All the Tunes? Why don’t you know More Tunes? My teachers told me I would never make it …
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Clarinet glissando
There are few more coveted clarinet techniques than the smooth glissando, as heard in the famous opening to Rhapsody in Blue. But the technique isn’t intuitive, and lots of questions persist about how to do it. (Incidentally: the Rhapsody in Blue score doesn’t call for a smooth portamento-type effect, but a scale with discrete notes. …
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Written jazz articulation problems
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in MusicianshipIn classical music for wind players, articulation markings are gospel–part of the composer’s intent, to be performed with accuracy. But printed jazz music, such as arrangements published for high school or college big bands, can take varied approaches to articulation markings.
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Is jazz swing triplety, or not?
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in MusicianshipHere are some helpful generalizations we can make about swing rhythms.
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Jazz education and the “ya gotta listen” cop-out
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in MusicianshipIt’s an article of faith among jazz musicians and educators that listening to jazz is crucial to learning to play jazz. This seems obviously true to me about jazz and about any style of music. (Doubtless one of the reasons the jazz-initiated like to bang this drum, so to speak, is because most of Western …
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Jazz and classical musicians’ concerns about jazz playing
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in MusicianshipRecently I asked some questions on social media related to (self-identified) non-jazz musicians playing on jazz or jazz-adjacent gigs. This kind of thing might happen, for example, at a symphony pops concert, or a big band gig in a smaller market. A number of concerns were raised about this, but two stood out. Self-described non-jazz …
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Transcription: Stan Getz, tenor saxophone on Huey Lewis and the News “Small World (Part Two)”
Get the transcription (PDF) Huey Lewis tells the story in Kansas City Magazine (strong language edited): Well, my dad was a jazzer and Zoot Sims died. And when Zoot Sims died, they had a benefit in San Francisco at Kimball’s or somewhere. … So I take him and sit down … and then I get …
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Triplets don’t swing
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in MusicianshipIt’s common among non-jazz musicians to think of “swing” rhythms as having a triplet-like feel, and it’s equally common among jazz players to regard that as hopelessly incorrect. That conflict over swing style has been widely discussed elsewhere, so I won’t rehash it here. But there’s another layer to the swing/triplets issue: It’s important to …
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What I’ve learned from playing different musical styles
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in MusicianshipOne of my favorite things about being a performing musician is moving in and out of different styles. Recently I’ve performed as a classical, jazz, rock, and blues musician. I’ve been thinking a little about the skills that I associate with each, especially skills that have expanded my musicianship and carried over into playing other …
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Jazz recital videos, August 2017
This year I played all jazz at my Delta State University faculty recital. Program and some selected videos are below. I’m very much a part-time jazz player, so it was fun to spend the summer trying to get my chops in shape to play tunes in a variety of styles on a variety of instruments. …