I will be updating this blog post with notable changes and advancements in the jazz improv class this year, this will save any mix up with many posts being hard to follow or find.
Improvisation Group -
Jason Sweeny - Vocal
Gary Rafferty - Guitar
Andrew Beveridge - Guitar
Donal Gaine - Bass
Eugene Gaine - Tenor Sax
Amy Moar - Piano
Over the course of the first semester of Improvisation class, we have looked at many different pieces of varying difficulty and feel. We started off by looking at some more blues orientated material by artists such as John Coltrane and Miles Davies. We looked at the chord progressions and the melodic instrumentalists were looking into ways of soloing around these progressions, following both chord tones and modes, whilst trying to be stylistically accurate with the way in which they solo.
For the drummers, we were really looking to try and immerse ourselves in the style and really get a grasp of the playing styles. As I have never really fully immersed myself in all out Jazz playing, I have found that quite difficult. I have a good understanding of Jazz drumming and I believe that I could 'get through a gig' so to speak, however I admit that a lot of the fills and licks that I play and use are more associated with my usual style of heavier, rock playing. I think the only way to really fix that is to listen to as much Jazz as I do everything else! Although I will have to adapt my playing style to fit the way some of the Jazz styles are played for it to really sound authentic.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have been trying out different styles of playing including styles like, ballads, latin jazz, be-bop and more blues orientated playing.
some of the tracks we have been using were -
This Masquerade - George Benson
Autumn Leaves
Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald
Billie's Bounce
Solar - Miles Davies
Bb Blues
F Blues
So What - Miles Davies
Freddie Freeloader - Miles Davies
For the first assessment, we were using the tracks -
Freddie Freeloader
Summertime
My feedback from the assessment was that I have to really immerse myself more into the style of playing in which we are trying to achieve in this class, I really feel that I have much further to go before I will be able to comfortably play in this style. I feel that I was not "programmed" to play jazz as I feel that I have really hit a bit of a wall with it. I can be very solid, confident and creative when I am playing in styles I am used to, however when It comes to this kind of material, I seem to lose a lot of confidence due to the feeling that I am too heavy handed or loud and seem to struggle to keep up with the way in which jazz drummers don't seem to play the same pattern twice.
I have mainly noticed this due to trying to learn this piece for one of the degree shows at the end of the year - Peaceful Warrior - Aaron Parks
The version shown in this video is a cover version by the Kurt Rosenwinkel Quartet however it follows almost exactly the same feel and idea as the original album track. (The original does not seem available on youtube).
What is noticeable about this track is how the drummer is constantly moving through patterns while keeping overall time. Also, the very subtle and musical use of dynamic contrast means that the hits, fills and stabs really stand out where they have to. He has the technique to be able to play the very fast, complicated patterns while maintaining the light feel playing so quietly. This is extremely effective in this style. I have found that, being a more rock based drummer, I struggle to get the correct tone out of the drums by the dynamic I play at. In essence, I play far too heavily and loud to get the right overall tone and effect of the light playing and it always comes across in the wrong sense. I have a lot of technique based work to do in order to be able to play this style of drums. I need to work on my dynamic playing and overall touch to not be so heavy handed. Also, I need to work on moving through different ideas and playing off the leaders of the pieces to create more musical ideas and movement in my playing.
For the weeks after the assessment, we have been working on blues tracks to go back to the basics of playing over complicated progressions. The melodic players have been focusing on playing the chord tones while soloing as well as different modes and blues scales. I understand the basic theory behind this playing although I obviously can't put it into practice on a kit.
While they have been doing this, I have not really had much technical playing to do other than just holding steady time. I have been working on following the scores and chord charts along with them to try and work on my listening skills. Also, I have been using the scores of the heads and while playing time with my right hand, kick and hats, I have been playing the rhythm of the head with my snare hand, mixing this up with some different brush techniques and dynamics. I have found that this has made quite a difference to the feel, it is also quite challenging to keep the swing feel while reading a"melody" line at the same time. The main track I have been doing that with is "Blues for Alice' - Charlie Parker.
The "melody" line I have been following starts from bar 5 after the intro section.
When we are back after the February break, I believe that we will be going back to work on the Jazz tracks that we were working on prior to the assessment and preparing these for the final performance. my group were working on -
This Masqerade - This piece has a more solid base and a laid back latin feel to the rhythm. For this track I have been experimenting with some different latin rhythms, similar to bossa nova feel. The main difficulty I have been having with this track is keeping very solid time while changing the textures and patterns using latin style clave rhythms. To try and combat this, I have been trying to focus on really keeping the time solid. To do this, I have been counting the sub-divisions in my head and making sure everything links up properly, it seems to have been making a huge difference.
Autumn Leaves - There are many different versions of this track, this is the closest version I could find to what we are doing with the feel of the track. A lot of the versions seem to vary in feel. For this track i am using brushes and the feel is very much directed towards that of a jazz ballad. With this track, I have found it very difficult to keep the groove interesting while being very subtle with the playing. The brushed snare drum feel can get extremely repetitive very quickly so I have been working on subtle changes in the patterns to create a bit of movement and dynamic shift without too much being noticed overall.
Freddie Freeloader - we have kept the feel of this track relatively similar to the original. Originally I had been playing it with brushes however on further reflection I think it may sound better with sticks. As I progress with my ability in these styles of playing, I am able to get the parts to sound much more genuine and idiomatic to the style. I do however still feel that I have a problem with moving through patterns and keeping fresh ideas coming through.
So What - (This was later changed to the George Benson Version instead of Miles Davies)
For this track, we are using the main chord progression and have used the basic feel of the track to base our version for class on, this gives us a much more sensible structure to play over when soloing. This track gives me a chance to play more towards the style I am used to as it has funk elements in it. Once again, the hardest part I have found about this track has been the fact that the drummer on the record seems not to play the same pattern twice in a row at any point. Instead he takes an idea, develops it, then takes the developed idea and builds on that too, then switches to a new idea and continues this way of thinking. I have been trying to build on my ideas but again I have found an issue in that I can be quite heavy handed and loud when playing this, where it still has a very dynamic texture to it. I seem to end up playing much more rocky styles and fills. I have been working on my touch for this track and I feel that I have made decent progress with it. Also, this track gives me a chance to have a proper drum solo, building over the chord progression which does not change too often but has some very nice hits and stabs which can be created with the band. These stabs and hits can be anticipated in different ways with fills and soloing, giving the track more options for stylistic approach.
Most of the last semester has been focused on preparing for the final performance. I feel that all my work up until now has payed off and I feel that I am making progress with my touch, feel and ideas in the style. I still feel however that I have a long way to go to get to a high standard of playing in this style. Listening to a lot of these players has helped massively and also taking the time to work out techniques, more complicated patterns and even choice of equipment has led to having a much better understanding of what I need to do to improve at playing different styles of Jazz.
