Bilbo

Just keep at it. You will gradually tune in better as you do it more. Can't hear the music in work. What is it?

I have only ever played one (A Stanley Clarke, IIRC) and was decidedly unimpressed. In fact, I have only ever really heard one player using an Alembic where I thought 'Wow' and that was Jimmy Johnson. Every other Alembic I have ever heard didn't strike me as anything special. I think they are overrated. But I can't hear the difference between a Fender Jazz and a Precision.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB6cY6--iuk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB6cY6--iuk[/url] Mornington Lockett playing My One and Only Love on a P Mauriat Soprano Saxophone. Absolutely beautiful.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jLGa4X5H2c"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jLGa4X5H2c[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQgUPxgqnfA&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQgUPxgqnfA&feature=related[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8q8kB87APc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8q8kB87APc[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-rzL48_Y5Y&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-rzL48_Y5Y&feature=related[/url]

Or these... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4_wXPZ1Bnk&ob=av2e"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4_wXPZ1Bnk&ob=av2e[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyDRXbP1MaY&ob=av2e"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyDRXbP1MaY&ob=av2e[/url]

A favourite pop song? I would really struggle to get it down to one. Some I am fond of (but would neve claim them as the greatest etc....) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY4-_VdmjdI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY4-_VdmjdI[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pALWIj9ketA&ob=av2e"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pALWIj9ketA&ob=av2e[/url]

If that is the perfect pop song, pop should really eat itself. Does nothing for me, I am afraid (and I am not just being anti-pop).

Lessons are great but you can gain a lot of learning 'on the job', as it were, and sitting in for a couple of tunes (you can usually call them if you are the 'new' guy) can really give you a buzz.

We use a Cajon as the core percussion instrument in Braziliance but it is supplemented by congas etc. The cajon is the main instrument for some pretty intense flamenco stuff and noone has ever really transferred that intensity to a Rock setting so now is your chance!! There are also beatboxers, an under explored options for bands. We have all seen the amazing youtube clips of solo beatboxers but why couldn't a properly amplified beatboxer not be part of the core rhythm section of a band? Frame drummers are another option (look up Trilok Gurtu). And, of course, there is the drum machine route.

I have been to loads of these over the years and noone is as bad as some of the people I have heard. I am talking 'can barely get a note out of a trumpet','can't play im time with other people', 'can't count 4 to a bar', lousy intonation' kind of bad. If you are intimidated, it is best to go along without your gear and watch. Then you can judge whether you are up for it. A lot of jam sessions are as much a 'have a go' opportunity and, to be blunt, very few hard core pros go so you have no worries about being humiliated. For me, rule number one if you are running a jazz jam is to be approachable and non-judgemental. Anyone who looks down on a person because they are a poor musician is a bit of a dick. I knwo guys who can't play anote but they run businesses, are solicitors, doctors etc. You can gain a lot form a person other than reflected muso glory.

Great stuff. Its amazing how these kids can still play with their hoodies whilst texting with their left hands. Monster Actually there is some pertty intense reading on track 3 as well as track 8. Some nice arrangements, as well. Stock or written by the band/leader?

Excellent!!! All we need is my GK MB112S and SWR Baby Blue 2x10 cab (nicked in Bristol in about 1992) and we will all be happy!!

Get this: when I type, I use four fingers on my left hand and two fingers and the thumb on me right hand. And who said bass playing skills weren't transferable?

The book I recommended is a very good source for the answers to tnit's question but, in a nutshell, for me, the answer is 'all of the above'. If Iam playing a tune I know well, it is more likely that I will relax and play more 'intuitively' because I know the changes well. If, however, I am playing something new that I haven't seen before, I am more likely to be in a 'conscious theory' mode. Often, if I am playing a tune I kind of know, I will play half of it in relaxed mode and half (the middle 8 of Have You Met Miss Jones?) using consciously applied theory. Strangely, I often use theory more consciously when I am playing walking lines. But there are examples where I am playing along with a sax plyer who keeps playing a little riff and I can consciously process the m,elody and harmonise it, creating a nice little improvised effect, a 'yeah' moment . Often, it is a case of 'hearing' what someone else is doing harmonically so you can react to it. I guess it is like understanding the written word. We don't process all of the grammar, we just know what it means but, if we are trying to hear or say something important or complicated, we are more likely to pause and consider our next sentence. The book I recommended is massive and incredibly detailed; not a light read at all but at £11 Kindle price, it is enormously good value..

Just wanted to draw people's atention to a really great book on the process of playing jazz. This is not a 'theory' book in the normal sense as it contains no scales, chords or anything of that type. It is about the things that need to be dealt with if you are to play Jazz. The book is called ' Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology' by Paul F Berliner and is available on Kindle for just over £11. There are no dots in it so it should transfer to Kindle ok. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Jazz-Improvisation-Ethnomusicology-ebook/dp/B004M8S3XW/ref=sr_1_15?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1332945587&sr=1-15

Every player/vocalist needs to deal with time. We are all assuming, for a start, that the drummer is playing. It may comes as a surprise to some here but sometimes they stop (or don't even start for a whole tune) and, if anyone is relying on them to keep time, then they are lost. A lot of jazz/folk/function work is in duos and trios without drummers. If you are looking for someone to tell you where the one is, you'll be waiting a long time. Part of being a musician is active listening; listening to all parts of any ensmble simultaneously, including yourself, and making minute adjustments moment to moment to manage groove, pulse, intonation, tone, phrasing and, most importantly, time. Every beat tells you when the next one will come, how loud it should be, which note it shoudl be etc and, if there is the slightest slippage, you will need to respond (jazz musicians shoudl be particularly well prepared for this but, regrettably, many are not). If you are expecting everyone else to hold perfect time so you can't go wrong, then you have some work to do.

You should use the Leonard Rosenman's orc battle song from the Ralph Bakshi animated version of Lord of the Rings as your intro tape. It would be monster. Its only 38p here.... http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B000000O7G/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

They spelt it wrong.....

ripper 1888 - I don't need to remember that I didn't say that......

I haven't seen anyone's. I don't get out much.

I have looked at and listened to hundreds of hours of Paul Chambers playing and just think that the best way to swing is straight quarter notes with as little ornamentation as possible. That is all.

Yeah - spotted the Yamaha thing already I am looking at options as we speak and can see the sense in the alto route. I am thinking I will go that route because the advice is pretty universal. I will have to fight my inate mistrust of deferred gratification to the end but more haste less speed woudl have solved me a lot of probelms in the past had I heeded its wisdon.

Those Stagg EUBs can be got for around that figure and have a credible reputation as EUBs. May be a good place to start and you can think about a 'real' bass later when the economics make more sense. Good luck.

I don't know Bob Reynolds or Louie Palmer. Any details?