> =
> This is a tricky area. I've had some really talented students over the
> years, but it takes more than talent to excel in playing jazz. Just
> because a kid figures out a solo on a record doesn't mean they are
> prepared for the types of musical challenges they will face in the "rea=
l
> world". The usual problem I've seen with self-taught wonderkind is that=
> they don't know how to relate what they do to such mundane tasks as
> reading a chord chart and improvising over unfamiliar tunes. I imagine
> this was less of a problem in earlier times, because there was a smalle=
r
> body of tunes that people played, and everybody knew them. Now it's muc=
h
> more likely that folks will get together with a Real Book or some other=
> charts and play tunes at the gig with no rehearsal. In my experience
> everyone but the most amazing ear players will have trouble playing
> modern tunes without some study of theory and music reading.
> =
I think I would only disagree with the estimable Clay on one point. That
is the question of "fewer songs." When I scan jazz recordings of the
40's and 50's, I'm astonished at how many, and how different, songs were
played. The era of the Real Book probably reduced the number of tunes
likely to be played. Ross Russell tells of Charlie Parker's sojourn
playing at the Parisien in New York, where the band changed songs every
60 seconds, playing for taxi dancers. The repertoire was enormous, and
that generation of players cut their teeth on a dizzying array of tunes,
and not all were 32 bar AABA or 12-bar blues. When I scan the repertoire
of just the Nat King Cole trio, I can't imagine any local jazz players,
who are few but good, who could match that repertoire for breadth.
I think this huge repertoire created in the jam session veteran a large
inventory of strategies for handling almost any kind of tune. =
Just as a latter day example, it's fun to learn a tune for Joe Pass'
"Appassionato" album and see how many people still play it. Some on
there are very familiar, but then he hits "Thats Earl Brother," "Red
Door," "Stuffy", etc. Even a Charlie Parker blues head like "Relaxin at
Camarillo" is tricky and many listeners, even many players, don't spot
the blues form immediately.
The more tunes a person masters, the better they play. The pioneers were
encyclopedias of tunes. I don't see the same breadth today. =
My usual caveat: I haven't been there, haven't done that, and my
experience and exposure are limited. This is central Kentucky! If I'm
off base I eagerly await the correction that will surely come.
> The challenge is to come up with a way to teach the necessary theory
> without displacing the valuable self-teaching that got the players to
> where they are. School environments often subjugate kids to their
> "method", or force the kids away in disgust, which may mean that they
> will turn up their noses at any kind of formal learning.
> =
> --
> Clay Moore
> =
> We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. Yet, it sometime=
s
> seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but
> its own talents as well. -Bruce Lee
-- =
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Lawson G. Stone=97Asbury Theological Seminary=97Wilmore, KY 40390
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"You know, a long time ago, being crazy meant something. Nowadays,
everybody's crazy." Charles Manson