Bilbo

I was just reading something on the Eden site and thought I would start a thread on an issue that used to disturb me as a player/learner. When I was a 17 - 27 year old student of this noble instrument, I was SO paranoid about taking time off from practising that I would do stupid things like take guitars wherever I went (even on holiday) and I never ever gave myself permission to take time away from studying. Now, whilst I agree that we have a responsibility to practice as much as we can, I think it is also important to take time away from the instrument to allow us to digest the stuff we are learning - even if it is just time to listen to what other people are doing. I guess I am saying, hey guys, its ok, even productive, to take a day off once in a while and look out the window! Or is it just me?

A filter removes select bands of frequencies but never boosts any of them. There are five kinds of filter: [b]low-pass[/b], where low frequencies are allowed to pass through but high frequencies are reduced in level; [b]high-pass[/b], where high frequencies are allowed to pass through but low frequencies are reduced; [b]band-pass[/b], where both low and high frequencies are reduced but mid-range frequencies are allowed through; [b]band-stop[/b], where both low and high frequencies are allowed to pass, but a region in the mid-band is reduced and, last but by no means least, the [b]notch filter[/b] which is a narrow band-stop filter, taking out a small range of specific frequencies. I guess an analogue filter is one that is made up of old fashioned electrical circuits rather than computerised digital ones!

QOTD - the literal answer to your question is they are all jazz but jazz is a term that is too big to be really useful (a bit like saying I like books or food or sport). You need to be more specific - trad, dixieland, smooth jazz, free jazz, jazz funk, jazz rock, bebop, post bop, neo0classicism, fusion, world jazz, pop-jazz - the list goes on. Writing about jazz is like dancing about architecture... Buy a Jazzwise or Downbeat magazine one month and look for some stuff that sounds interesting then look it up. There used to be plenty of jazz in Cardiff (that's where I cut my teeth in the 1980s) but I can't speak for it now. There is a guy called Jon Caulfield that knows his stuff, or Julian Martin (piano), Andy Maule (gtr), Paula Gardiner (bass), :ee Goodall, Osian Roberts, Dick Hamer (saxes) - keep you eyes out and go see some people play!

I think people, jazz musicians, are generally more conservative than they would like to admit - they get to the cutting edge early on in their careers and then stay where they are despite the fact that the music moves on. I find younger people are more informed about a broader range of idioms and are, consequently, less staid in their outlook but the people who learned their craft in the 60s & 70s seem less flexible. Is this me in 10 years time!!?

Get a player you like locally to play his bass and your bass through your gear - you can then get a sense whether its you, your amps or the bass!

Its subtle but, yes. There are many people who book me for jazz gigs but I always get the sense that I am not their first choice because, whilst I can play, I don't fulfil the expectations of the 'jazz aesthetic' by having a 'real' bass. They all ask, for instance, 'do you play the upright'? Would these same jazzers routinely ask double bass players if they played electric? I think its as much to do with the 'perception' of the upright as the 'correct' instrument for the genre as it is a genuine insight into the strengths or weaknesses in my playing. The problem is less of an issue with younger players (I am 44) but, whilst there are exceptions, the old school are still prejudiced in favour of the upright. I have said it 1,000 on here, Steve Swallow is one of the mst musical bass players out there. If the electric is good enough for him....

Don't get me on the 'electric bass in jazz' thing, Mikey. I have spent my whole career (since 1985) fighting that one - I don't mind losing gigs to Dave Holland but there are some urb players out there that should be encouraged to PACK IT IN!!! NOW!! I can swing as well as most urb players and can nail a lot more than many.

Am looking to downsize and am liking the spec of the GK 112MBX. ANyone got a view? I play mostly jazz w a bit of Latin and a rare function gig. My big concern is warmth over crystal clarity. Could be with an SWR Electric BLue or GK MB150S Anyone got any experience of these wee fellas?

And the cello, double bass, viola, banjo, mandolin, saxophone, flute, oboe, english horn, french horn, trombone, tuba, piano, cor anglais, guitar.... We're DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!!!

Obscure query!! Years ago (around 1990), I was the proud owner of an SWR Electric Blue amp (head) and a Baby Blue Monitor speaker (essentially the origianl SWR Baby Blue combo but as separates). To cut a long story short, some small minded, bassball cap wearing nothing at Aust services nr Bristol stole the monitor out of my car in around 1994 (despite there being someone in it at the time!) and I never saw it again. Anyway, I never knew the spec on it and wondered if anyone knew what ohmage the cab carried. Does anyone know? I would love to replace the monitor as I still have the amp head. I use an Eden combo mostly but a spare SWR set up would be great. Does anyone know of one for sale anywhere?

Its because we care! Deeply!

Its changing and growing. Stuff that was turning heads in my early days (early 80s) is old hat now. THumping and popping a la Stanley Clarke/Larry Graham is unrecognisable in Wooten et al and the technique of people like Feraud and Gwizdala is a lot more advanced than that of Jaco and Clarke, even Jeff Berlin is being left behind IMO. The problem with incremental change is that it is impossible to spot in real time and can only be looked at with hindsight. So, revisit this thread in 2018 and we will know whether we knew what we were talking about.

Not read the whole thread so sorry if this has been said but I think 'openmindedness' is a great tendency to have but I would temper it with the thought that it has to be accompanied by some degree of judicious editing. Frinstance, if you decide you don't like Country and Western music, then don't buy it, listen to it or look for it. If someone says 'listen to this bit of Country music', then by all means do so with an open mind but, when you are looking to explore a new area of listening, it is not closed minded to choose not to start in an area that you have previously found uninspiring. It is just a judicious use of prioritising.

Never.....

I guess its about knowing where the kick drum is and constructing your lines congruently around it - some genre's require you to play smack on the same beat as the kick, some ahead or behind and some complete opposing it. Its about knowing your chosen idiom and working with that.

Don't really see it like that. I can't honestly say I know what keyboards the people I play with have, or the drums - guitars, yes, because I play myself. I only know if they sound good. Only notice a sax if its a Selmer but trumpets or trombones? Could be anything! And Lakland are not that common (I think I saw one once but am not sure). Actually, I have never seen a Fodera in the flesh. I have only played on one Alembic once. Never seen a Shuker, seen one Ken Simth up close but never got to play it. Never seen a Sadowsky. I think you are normalising your own obessive traits! Or should I get out more?

I knew a bloke once that was in a party that went to a film preview with Geena Davis. They all, including Davis, arrived at the cinema in a stretch limo. When they left, the limo drove 'round the corner and they all got out a caught the Tube! Fantastic!!

Go to Oxfam - they'll have something

'The Jazz Theory Book' by Mark Levine - how many times do I have to tell people!!!

I agree - practice in the position you play in. I stand when I play (more comfortable) and, consequently, practice standing up. My practice space doubles as a PC based home studio and includes 2 basses, 4 guitars, two amps, a piano/midi copntroller, mixer and all the usual computer stuff. It also includes a computer chair which has no arms so I can play the bass whilst I sit in it (but only for specific pieces of work like transcribing) and a soft chair (again, no arms) for sitting and listening to music (e.g. following an orchestral score or just enjoying a new cd). I have a conventional hi-fi (cd/tape/record player/tuner) and all my cds/tapes/records (my portable stuff is on an MP3 player - much less hassle than cd or tape walkmans, methinks). The room also has a phone in it, it is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Its my little piece of heaven and is strucutured on the basis of 27 years of insight (and a similar number of years of income!!). I think it is important to be comfortable when you are practising as you will get on with the work you are there to do and not sit there thinking about your physical environment. Transribing tunes takes hours of painstaking investment and you will not achieve the outcomes you want if you are uncomfortable.

Ashdown have a fair rep but I would plump for an Eden Metro - 300W at £1500 tho' so maybe not? I recently got a (another!!) post from Jeff Berlin off MySpace and he made a very valid point. Get the best you can and f*** the money cos it will pay for itself time and time and time again and the pounds per gig cost for a great amp will be negligible. I guess some of us live in a different world but I would advocate a top notch professional amp if you can afford it. I have lived to this maxim for 10 years now and have great gear and no regrets. I think GAS is usually created by people who want great gear but repeatedly settle for just good gear. I know it was like that for me. But since I decided 'nothing but the best for me', I have never wanted anything more than the gear I have.

I struggle to see why anyone would mistake trad jazz for the stuff I like. Its chalk and cheese. I spend my whole time thinking about jazz, listening to jazz, yearning for jazz - all because I can't get to play it as much as I would like. Sounds like you have some nice gigs, Mikey. Need any deps? Birmingham is only a three hour drive from Felixstowe!!

I don't think anyone was ever advocating scales over chord tones as an approach to learning. I understand the chord tones approach but wonder if that is, of itself, a partial response (i.e. chord tones without scales tones would be pretty shallow). I think the two are symbiotic and can't see how you can understand the concept of a Bmaj7sharp11 chord without an understanding of scales that relate to it. If a chord is made up of the first, third, fifth, seventh etc, surely you need to know what it is the first, third, seventh etc of? It's a bit chicken and egg to me...

I still love it, peeps. I have spent the last 2 - 3 years getting into Brazillian, Argentinian and Cuban music, all of which I still enjoy a lot, but I can't help but keep returning to the sound of surprise and still love the spirit, energy and passion of jazz SOOOOO much. Joe Lovano's Landmarks CD - perfect! Joe Henderson's Double Rainbow - Henderson plays the arse off Jobim. Keith Jarrett's Still Live - subliiiiime! Michael Brecker's Don't Try This At Home - Itsbynne Reel!! Pat Metheny's 80/81 - the dogs danglies!