the jazz authority; random dubiously zappy rants about 'the musicians music'.: Brief, but a 'solid meal' nonetheless...

Monday, May 09, 2005

Brief, but a 'solid meal' nonetheless...

Jon Stewart reffered to a rant on polotics by Dennis Miller as 'a solid meal' one time, and I thought one day I had to use that.
Man, I totally lost the whole theme of my post suddenly! Ha! Well I'm here now, so this is what we get. Not even a subject or an opinion, just some words about not much at all.
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4 comments:

camsax@gmail.com said...

Now I got it. Good solos can be brief and a solid meal at the same time. Soloists don't need to go on and on playing every riff they know, ending up loosing their audience long before they quit. The trick is to blow that solo and have it mean something.

I've noticed that on occassion the jazz greats will work out a few choice licks for a particular tune, and that becomes the meat of their solo. We don't always have to be completely spontaneous, and it isn't cheating to practice a tune in this way. So yeah, keep your audience satisfied with a brief but compelling solo by really working out the tune.

L8R

Tuesday, 10 May, 2005
MJW said...

Unless you're John Coltrane. Then you can play whatever you want, as long as you want. :-)

Tuesday, 10 May, 2005
camsax@gmail.com said...

yeah, Trane was allowed, but that's one guy. Trane had something unique (not that we all don't - we do - ) and was unbelievably musical. It was like he could sing, talk, scream and cry through his sax. The day I learn to do that is the day i start playing 30 minute solos.

Wednesday, 11 May, 2005
MJW said...

It's true. Many have tried, few have succeeded.

You had it right, of course. I think it's about discipline...like Bird said, "More than four choruses and you're just practicing."

Friday, 13 May, 2005

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