Bilbo

[quote name='The Funk' post='323520' date='Nov 6 2008, 04:06 PM']Ah, Bilbo. I think you got carried away in your description of what "in the pocket" means by including soulfulness. I don't think it does. Brecker was always in the pocket. Whether or not he played with any kind of soul or conveyed great emotion is not really the same question.[/quote] Fair play, TF. (But I still think Breckers pockets are a bit too tidy!!!) Simon Phillips is marvelous - does anyone remember Jon Anderson's 'Olympia' LP - some superb work from all players (inc Jack Bruce and John Giblin IIRC) but Phillips is a stand-out. Even his stuff on Michael Schenker's first LP is ground breaking rock drumming but, despite Phillips enormous skills, no-one but Bonham could have made 'Kashmir' sound like THAT! And that's what I understand as being 'in the pocket'.

[quote name='Soulfinger' post='323483' date='Nov 6 2008, 02:57 PM']Michael Brecker had everything you mentioned - soul, groove and complete mastery of the instrument. To me. he was one of the most in-the-pocket players ever.[/quote] John Coltrane was once said that evey sax player would sound like Stan Getz if they could. Brecker was undoubtedly a great player and is already sorely missed but soul? Maybe a bit but not like the great, greats. I once did a gig in Cardiff and the horn section from Lionel Hampton's big band dropped in! There were all these young guys playing theirs asses off and setting their horns on fire. Then this 60+ year old alto player got up and flattened them with one short solo that was DEEP. These young guys were SO enthralled by this older guy that they just sat there with grins on their faces. It was a real learning moment for me. I just think that, whilst Brecker was a great player, there are many that can't play nearly as 'well' as he could but can communicate more. PS - I have considerably more Brecker than Getz recordings!!

The Funk is right on the money - for you to actually play behind or ahead of the beat, you need to be sure that everyone around you knows where the beat is and manages their own contribution accordingly, not slowing down or speeding up because you are not playing metronomically! S'hard!

Its not about jazz, its about everything. I used jazz examples because I know them best but other examples were used to illustrate my point. John Bonham has nowhere near the technique of Simon Phillips but, in 'pocket' terms, Bonham was the greater player. Slash doesn't have anywhere near Malmsteen's technique but his 'groove' is much deeper. What I was referring to re: jazz was that the fact that a lot of jazz is cerebral means that it doesn't move most people. But, when a jazz performance finds the right 'pocket', it reaches more people because the 'pocket' is where its the most real. Try Lee Morgan's 'Sidewinder' or Blakey's 'Moanin''. They are great jazz but they are more than just great jazz. If its in the pocket, people respond, heads start to nod, people make eye contact with each other, even musician's feet start tapping If you don't know what 'in the pocket' means, keep playing. One day, you will find it and then you will know!

Like a great swing groove, its indefinable but, when you find it, its the BEST feeling. Its the 'magic' bit, the bit you can't buy, the bit that all the lessons you can every have and all the gear you can ever acquire won't make happen. Its the thing that some people have naturally, on the day they are born, and others spend their life making futile efforts trying to find. Its why Jeff Berlin isn't Aston 'Family Man' Barrett. Its why Steve Bailey isn't Steve Swallow. Its why Neils Henning Orsted Pederson isn't Ray Brown. Its soul. Its groove. Its the point where man and machine are operating in perfect harmony. Its why Michael Brecker and Bob Berg aren't Stan Getz and Paul Desmond. Its why Simon PHillips isn't John Bonham. Its why most people don't like jazz and why most jazz doesn't move most people. Its why Louis Armstrong is greater than Wynton Marsalis and why Slash is better than Yngwie J. Malmsteen. As Louis Armstrong once said 'if you have to ask..., you'll never know'

I would recommend you play with your ears and not your eyes! Violins, Violas, Cellos and Double Basses don't have lines and manage to stay in tune! The dots are a useful guide but, without your ears, you will be out of tune. I find, after 20+ years of playing only an unlined fretless bass that my relationship with the intonation is defined by my head space as much as the dots. If I am not concentrating (i.e. listening), the intonation slips very quickly into 'eek'. The Ashbory's are a special case and it doesn't help that, if I recall correctly, the intonation changes as the strings warm up (they may have nailed that; the last time I saw an Ashbory in the flesh was in 1987)!! But, as I said, the mechanics will only get you so far; you will always need to rely on your ears to fine tune. That won't change ever.

I had heard something but no details. Could be that he needed to lose weight for surgery (this was some years ago as Petrucciani died a while back).

When Jackson toured the UK with Michel Petrucianni, he was about 8-stone. Thin as a rake. Bizarre but he didn't look much like Eddie Murphy (more like a thin Anthony Jackson )

'Ladies Night in Buffalo' - Dave Lee Roth - the best thing Billy Sheehan ever did.

Not which Shire. THE Shire. where I come from! Bilbo Bag End Hobbiton The Shire Middle Earth

Its not deep, folks, just a goreat groove and high energy playing. Even jazz musicians can have fun.

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='319723' date='Nov 1 2008, 05:56 PM']Songs without lyrics shouldn't be allowed to have names.[/quote] It has got lyrics; it was recorded by Manhattan Transfer for their 1983 album 'Bodies and Souls' .

He can be a bit of a easy target! But AJ is SO IN THE POCKET!

Go, big guy.... [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gUWIQ8nHTko&feature=related"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gUWIQ8nHTko&...feature=related[/url]

I don't think that was up to much and, for the record, that had nothing to do with jazz

I just make sure I turn up early so I can set up in a calm and collected state of mind with some chill time before the off. I really hate to get there, switch on and play straight away. Can't get into the Zone that way. I read that the Mahavishnu Orchestra used to ask for a minutes silence before they played and then hit the audience with a wall of sonic chaos! Cool

That'll be 20 out of a couple of thousand Bit like a local council election, then!

Most Popular....(one fingered fool)

I sound like me. Sod all I can do about it, I am afraid. Where are you in Suffolk, YouMa? I am always looking for deps.

Well now I know!

Bugger that, mate. Get some WD40 on it. It's always worked for me! Squirt a little tiny bit on the pot on the outside of the amp and then turm it all of the way back and forth several times. The crackle will quickly reduce and then stop in matter of seconds. I would guess that the Maplins stuff is chemically the same but don't know that for a fact.

[quote name='4000' post='317904' date='Oct 29 2008, 08:19 PM']To use the Pat Metheny analogy again, he's both very technically gifted and knowledgeable. However I hate everything about his playing, from his tone to his note choice. I know you really like him. Is he technically more gifted and knowledgeable than Dave Gilmour? Absolutely, by far. Is he better? Not where I'm standing; to me he's not even in the same league. You would probably argue otherwise, and I believe we'd both be right.[/quote] How can you not like 'Rejoicing', 4000? Its perfick!!

Just listening to the Bill Evans 'Paris Concert - Edition One' CD with Marc Johnson and Joe LaBarbera on bass and drums respectively. Their version of 'My Romance' is an absolute diamond, really takes you somewhere new. Marvelous trio.

That is one ugly mother..........