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Suggestions for a Jazz Set?


lukeward2004
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Hi Good People of Basschat,

I have been booked to play at the Jazz Cafe with my band in the near future, and they have asked us to play one of our sets as a Jazz set, and I need some help finding songs I can do!

Im not the most knowledgable when it comes to jazz, but can someone recommend some easy, laid back dinner jazz for a set of around 45 minutes?

So far I have thought of Santana's Black Magic Woman, and George Benson's "This Masquerade".

Any Help appreciated!

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Depending on how 'jazz' you want/need it to be....

My Baby Just Cares For Me - Nina Simone
I Just Want To Make Love To You - Etta James
Mack The Knife - various (incl. Bobby Darin)
Fly Me To The Moon - various (incl. Ella Fitzgerald)

On the Latin side -- and as long as you're including Santana --
Smooth - Santana
Girl From Ipanema - Antonio Carlos Jobim w/ Astrud Gilberto
...or others by A C Jobim - Masquenada, Wave, Corcovado

Cool stuff if you have time to learn them.
The Jazz Cafe's a nice gig. Have a good one!

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I am assuming when you say a 'jazz' set, you don't mean jazz-funk or jazz-rock. Santana/George Benson tunes aren't considered to be jazz. I suspect you are talking standards type jazz. Starters for 10 -

All of Me
All the Things You Are
Autumn Leaves
The Best Is Yet to Come
Body and Soul
Desafinado (Latin)
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
The Girl from Ipanema (Latin)
How High the Moon
It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)
Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?)
Lush Life (beautiful but hard!!)
Mack the Knife (although it sucks)
Misty
My Foolish Heart
My Funny Valentine
Nature Boy
Satin Doll
Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most (another beautiful but complex tune)
Tenderly
These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)
What Is This Thing Called Love?
You Don't Know What Love Is

THe big problem you will have is a, accessing charts (if you have some fake books great, if not, you may have a problem). After that you will find that many songs are not in your singers key so they will need transposing - not a massive problem but it will need a run through if only piano/guitar and vocals.

How much experience have you/the band/your singer got in playing jazz? It sounds like this is a new area for you and I am anxious that you have been set up to fail. If you haven't played jazz before, debuting as a jazz band at the Jazz Cafe sounds like a high risky undertaking!

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[quote name='bilbo230763' post='240577' date='Jul 16 2008, 08:31 AM']I am assuming when you say a 'jazz' set, you don't mean jazz-funk or jazz-rock. Santana/George Benson tunes aren't considered to be jazz. I suspect you are talking standards type jazz. Starters for 10 -

All of Me
All the Things You Are
Autumn Leaves
The Best Is Yet to Come
Body and Soul
Desafinado (Latin)
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
The Girl from Ipanema (Latin)
How High the Moon
It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)
Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?)
Lush Life (beautiful but hard!!)
Mack the Knife (although it sucks)
Misty
My Foolish Heart
My Funny Valentine
Nature Boy
Satin Doll
Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most (another beautiful but complex tune)
Tenderly
These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)
What Is This Thing Called Love?
You Don't Know What Love Is

THe big problem you will have is a, accessing charts (if you have some fake books great, if not, you may have a problem). After that you will find that many songs are not in your singers key so they will need transposing - not a massive problem but it will need a run through if only piano/guitar and vocals.

How much experience have you/the band/your singer got in playing jazz? It sounds like this is a new area for you and I am anxious that you have been set up to fail. If you haven't played jazz before, debuting as a jazz band at the Jazz Cafe sounds like a high risky undertaking![/quote]

Looks like my bands set list, there are some very tricky songs there for the novice jazz player, but that's a typical 'jazz set'.

I second what Bolbo has said, that's a good gig to get, but there's a lot more to putting together a jazz set than picking some song titles.

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[quote name='lukeward2004' post='240274' date='Jul 15 2008, 06:34 PM']Im not the most knowledgable when it comes to jazz, but can someone recommend some easy, laid back dinner jazz for a set of around 45 minutes?[/quote]

You could play your normal set, but with each of you in a different key. That should sound like Jazz.....

:)

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[quote name='lukeward2004' post='240274' date='Jul 15 2008, 06:34 PM']I have been booked to play at the Jazz Cafe with my band in the near future[/quote]

You've got to let me know when that is!

As for Jazz songs for a female vocalist... err... in a previous band we used to do a funky arrangement of [i]Summertime[/i] and a pretty standard arrangement of [i]Fever[/i]. You could do [i]Baby Won't You Please Come Home[/i]. [i]Midnight At The Oasis[/i] should be an easy fit too.

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Thanks guys, we are booked for the Jazz Cafe at the Madejski stadium in Reading on the 2nd August.

We will be playing a short 8 song jazz set whilst the guests sit and eat thier meals, and I think we have pretty much pinned down our set for that. When the food is gone, the next 2 sets will be our usual hard hitting funk/soul combo to get them burning off the meal!

The Jazz Cafe in the Madejski is linked to the big famous one in Camden, and with any luck I may be able to secure us a gig there soon... :)

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