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Double Bass Small combo jazz camps
- Thread starter Tom Lane
- Start date
Yeah, I think you'd have to work hard not to like Kris. He seems a good guy with a very appropriate attitude to be a bassist; supportive, cooperative, ego well under control, and he sounds good too! That said, I was gratified to see he and I shared a few of the same bad habits when we weren't paying attention, right hand moving away from the bridge, etc. Kind of gave me license to not be so critical of myself. It's good to have someone at a similar level among all those masters.
Hi Tom, thanks for all these reports. I'm curious about this exercise. Did he use a metronome or click? If so, what BPM? Also, just out of curiosity, was there anything unique about the way he used a metronome overall, if he did?
Thanks in advance!
No metronome! Tempo is about 90 bpm. I call that a brisk ballad tempo. You can go slower or faster and IMO, it's wise to work all tempos, but it's easier to hear your steadiness, tone, and swing at a slower tempo. I think the main point of the exercise is to make such a simple line feel like it's "driving the band". But, I could see adding a metronome to it to give you something to play against. I'd probably put the metronome on 2 & 4 to simulate a high hat. You'll have to ask Rufus for what he recommends.
No, I don't think Rufus is on TB. But I expect that you can contact him via his web page and work out some sort of lesson arrangement. He's a very down-to-earth kind of guy, loves to teach, and a true master musician.
I’m so lysdexic I thought this thread said “small combo jazz amps.”
If anyone is interested in a "similar" experience, there are opportunities yet this year. There are probably others but there's this one for sure: Jazz Retreats in Indiana It's a smaller camp yet then the Louisville Jazz Workshop, about 25 campers with 5 or 6 faculty and no staff. It's their second year and it's usually held at a bed & breakfast. Most of the staff are recent grad students but the artistic director is a long time Aebersold faculty member and jazz trumpet teacher at the Indiana University Bloomington. Pros: smaller means more individual attention. Cons: smaller means less of a spectrum of students and faculty.
Just got back from the Louisville Jazz Workshop and had a blast! This year I did the weekend vocal workshop, then a week on DB, and ended with the weekend Brazilian workshop.
This camp is like the Summer Jazz Workshop version 2.0!
· The concerts are better because they're shorter and feature working, established bands who've worked together for years.
· The faculty are all consistent, well-experienced college instructors, so there are no “great performers but bad inexperienced” teachers. And there are a dozen grad students who fill out the combos and provide additional instruction. The Summer Jazz Workshop had them too, but at this camp, they play a lot more with the campers.
· Two types of jams, one in the morning, broken into three different groups, beginners, intermediates, and advanced. I went to the advanced jam on Thursday and Friday and had a lot of fun. All of the players were very good and everyone had a great attitude. No supervision needed.
· The second kind of jam was held in restaurants where a band would perform during dinner and then the campers could start sitting in. Again, everyone had a lot of fun because the pro's were still the backbone of the band, so no trainwrecks, and really, no supervision needed. Shelly Yoelin did a lot of leading the jammers.
· The UofL faculty concert was the highlight of the concerts for me, although, they were all wonderful, but their rendition of My Romance was so creative that it reminded me of Liebman playing with Rufus and Adam Nussbaum. But I really enjoyed Hora Certa and the Jerry Tolson Quintet too. And then the guest faculty concert was Harry Pickens with Lynn Seaton and Joe LaBarbara, so you know that would have been an expensive ticket if it weren't free for us!
· There was a very interesting film at the Speed Art Museum Thursday night with drinks and hors d'oeuvres, and accompanied by the grad student band.
· The food is better because for lunch, we can go to the Ville Grill instead of the University Club, and for dinner, every night was at a good restuarant. About 60 campers this year and that's about as large as the UofL can manage since they can no longer use the faculty offices for combos, but that makes for plenty of diversity and variety.
I'm very much looking forward to next year!
This camp is like the Summer Jazz Workshop version 2.0!
· The concerts are better because they're shorter and feature working, established bands who've worked together for years.
· The faculty are all consistent, well-experienced college instructors, so there are no “great performers but bad inexperienced” teachers. And there are a dozen grad students who fill out the combos and provide additional instruction. The Summer Jazz Workshop had them too, but at this camp, they play a lot more with the campers.
· Two types of jams, one in the morning, broken into three different groups, beginners, intermediates, and advanced. I went to the advanced jam on Thursday and Friday and had a lot of fun. All of the players were very good and everyone had a great attitude. No supervision needed.
· The second kind of jam was held in restaurants where a band would perform during dinner and then the campers could start sitting in. Again, everyone had a lot of fun because the pro's were still the backbone of the band, so no trainwrecks, and really, no supervision needed. Shelly Yoelin did a lot of leading the jammers.
· The UofL faculty concert was the highlight of the concerts for me, although, they were all wonderful, but their rendition of My Romance was so creative that it reminded me of Liebman playing with Rufus and Adam Nussbaum. But I really enjoyed Hora Certa and the Jerry Tolson Quintet too. And then the guest faculty concert was Harry Pickens with Lynn Seaton and Joe LaBarbara, so you know that would have been an expensive ticket if it weren't free for us!
· There was a very interesting film at the Speed Art Museum Thursday night with drinks and hors d'oeuvres, and accompanied by the grad student band.
· The food is better because for lunch, we can go to the Ville Grill instead of the University Club, and for dinner, every night was at a good restuarant. About 60 campers this year and that's about as large as the UofL can manage since they can no longer use the faculty offices for combos, but that makes for plenty of diversity and variety.
I'm very much looking forward to next year!
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A friend of mine from camp proposed that we assemble our own combo camp next year, in addition to the Louisville Jazz Workshop. This past year, both of our combo's were hampered a bit by more beginners and a wider range of skill than usual. I think that's a natural casuality of having a camp a fifth or a sixth the size of Jamey's.
We don't have any details pinned down yet and we're in the very beginning of the planning stages, but we're thinking of a 5-day camp for intermediate to advanced students, 5 to 12 students and hiring a heavy-weight jazz educator as the leader. My guess is that it'll be held in Louisville around the same time as the LJW but not necessarily. It'll depend on who signs on. But since I know more jazz students in and around Louisville than anywhere else, I expect that it'll happen there and then. To that end, I started assembling a list of potential topics for the curriculum. I'm thinking that we'll vote on the list and work the most popular topics first and so, I thought I'd shop the list here for feedback. Any constructive suggestions will be very much appreciated.
1) tightening up the rhythm: start with drums or bass and add an instrument one at a time after the groove stabilizes, while everyone focuses on the groove. Address issues as they arise; metronome exercises?
2) Dynamics: practice playing more quietly when the melody is active and louder when it's not. Bringing choruses down and then back up for the last chorus.
3) guitar+piano comping together: practice alternating and working together. Guitar mostly 3rds and 7ths, piano gets the extensions. Freddy Green; both leave space and listen to each other
4) working with a vocalist; difficult keys, verse out of time, dynamics with vocalist, ghosting. supporting the vocalist, making them sound their best, what to do if they come in off-key, 2 beats late, etc
5) articulation when playing the melody together: ending notes cleanly and together, tonguing, dynamics, shout chorus, keeping the rhythm accurate, no trailing off
6) reharminization/substitutions: reharmonize a standard, tritone subs, Dominant chords for Minor, Minor-ize a Dominant laden tune like All of Me
7) intros and endings: practice common intros and endings, name each, have each written out, work them into every tune we play during the week
8) building a better multi-chorus solo: referencing the melody, making the changes, using rhythm, dynamics, leveraging the rhythm section, how the rhythm section should respond
9) using texture: not all instruments always playing; practice it; start with one instrument and others join in, different combinations, improvise it; do the same for the last chorus with instruments dropping out
10) selling the performance: projecting energy and confidence; practice it, Strong, wrong, and fourteen bars long! Pretend you’re Rufus or Chris Potter or Herbie!
11) creating interest in the form: interludes, switching genres, transposition, practice interludes, All Blues, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Mack the Knife transposition a half-step per chorus; AtTYA start as a waltz and switch to 4/4 and back in the bridge.
12) practicing interaction between the rhythm section and soloist; practice it; soloist leaves room after a rhythmic phrase and rhythm section responds to it
13) ear training, hearing melodies, chords, rhythms: demonstrate how much better people's ears are than they realize; ask them to sing a melody they just heard; ask them to identify a chord played on the piano; have them try to id some chord progressions, simple and short to more complex; transcribe some rhythms and match them with their onamonapia
14) diminished melodic patterns; demo, play some examples, provide some written examples and practice them
15) trading 4s, 2s, 1s; practice them during the session, 4s, then 2s, then 1s
16) compound meters; AtTYA in 4/4, 3/4, 5/4, 7/4; provide lead sheets for each, walk us through it
We don't have any details pinned down yet and we're in the very beginning of the planning stages, but we're thinking of a 5-day camp for intermediate to advanced students, 5 to 12 students and hiring a heavy-weight jazz educator as the leader. My guess is that it'll be held in Louisville around the same time as the LJW but not necessarily. It'll depend on who signs on. But since I know more jazz students in and around Louisville than anywhere else, I expect that it'll happen there and then. To that end, I started assembling a list of potential topics for the curriculum. I'm thinking that we'll vote on the list and work the most popular topics first and so, I thought I'd shop the list here for feedback. Any constructive suggestions will be very much appreciated.
1) tightening up the rhythm: start with drums or bass and add an instrument one at a time after the groove stabilizes, while everyone focuses on the groove. Address issues as they arise; metronome exercises?
2) Dynamics: practice playing more quietly when the melody is active and louder when it's not. Bringing choruses down and then back up for the last chorus.
3) guitar+piano comping together: practice alternating and working together. Guitar mostly 3rds and 7ths, piano gets the extensions. Freddy Green; both leave space and listen to each other
4) working with a vocalist; difficult keys, verse out of time, dynamics with vocalist, ghosting. supporting the vocalist, making them sound their best, what to do if they come in off-key, 2 beats late, etc
5) articulation when playing the melody together: ending notes cleanly and together, tonguing, dynamics, shout chorus, keeping the rhythm accurate, no trailing off
6) reharminization/substitutions: reharmonize a standard, tritone subs, Dominant chords for Minor, Minor-ize a Dominant laden tune like All of Me
7) intros and endings: practice common intros and endings, name each, have each written out, work them into every tune we play during the week
8) building a better multi-chorus solo: referencing the melody, making the changes, using rhythm, dynamics, leveraging the rhythm section, how the rhythm section should respond
9) using texture: not all instruments always playing; practice it; start with one instrument and others join in, different combinations, improvise it; do the same for the last chorus with instruments dropping out
10) selling the performance: projecting energy and confidence; practice it, Strong, wrong, and fourteen bars long! Pretend you’re Rufus or Chris Potter or Herbie!
11) creating interest in the form: interludes, switching genres, transposition, practice interludes, All Blues, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Mack the Knife transposition a half-step per chorus; AtTYA start as a waltz and switch to 4/4 and back in the bridge.
12) practicing interaction between the rhythm section and soloist; practice it; soloist leaves room after a rhythmic phrase and rhythm section responds to it
13) ear training, hearing melodies, chords, rhythms: demonstrate how much better people's ears are than they realize; ask them to sing a melody they just heard; ask them to identify a chord played on the piano; have them try to id some chord progressions, simple and short to more complex; transcribe some rhythms and match them with their onamonapia
14) diminished melodic patterns; demo, play some examples, provide some written examples and practice them
15) trading 4s, 2s, 1s; practice them during the session, 4s, then 2s, then 1s
16) compound meters; AtTYA in 4/4, 3/4, 5/4, 7/4; provide lead sheets for each, walk us through it
That’s one helluva set of concepts/settings to work with! One that I think would be interesting to add is a duo setting and how it alters the role of a bassist. Here you are expected to do bass things like keep the pulse and connect the rhythm to the melody, but also to solo a lot and fill up space to keep the duo setting interesting. I think different duo instrumentation is cool too outside of just piano and bass. Sax and bass; flute and bass; guitar and bass; clarinet and bass; heck — vibraphone and bass if someone around there plays it (I love those Red Norvo albums with Mingus and Tal Farlow).
I did a duo gig right after COVID with my guitarist with him on acoustic guitar and I swear my right hand was going to fall off with all the soloing it entailed. It’s a totally different animal.
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That’s just crazy. What kind of nut job bass nerd would ever do THAT?
just got done with a duo gig with a former student, a pianist. It was fun but by the 3rd set I was feeling it in my right hand in a big way. I even resorted to the NHOP 3 finger technique for a while there to give my poor fingers a break. I may skip my morning practice slot tomorrow…
I think that's a good idea but probably not for a "combo" week because I wouldn't want everyone else have to watch me struggle trying to get better at the "duo" thing. And, for the past couple of years, I've kind of been doing that by asking local pros to give me a lesson. Any pro whose playing I like and seems amenable. Guitarists, pianists, drummers, horn players, don't matter. It's cheap, I always learn something, nearly always have a good time - they're pro's afterall so they play well and have good time, etc. I'm usually okay as a "bassist" and soloist but I could be a better accompanist.
Someone whose kind of got his accompanist skills better than most:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_noH5j-mZzhMsnuAs8nfZvJivOi_hUJqOo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjwduLw2Yik&list=OLAK5uy_noH5j-mZzhMsnuAs8nfZvJivOi_hUJqOo&index=1
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_noH5j-mZzhMsnuAs8nfZvJivOi_hUJqOo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjwduLw2Yik&list=OLAK5uy_noH5j-mZzhMsnuAs8nfZvJivOi_hUJqOo&index=1
I took a second cut at a schedule for this week-long workshop, policies, and possible topics. Giving it more thought, this isn't for "advanced" students but for intermediate students who have the basics somewhat under control and are ready to explore more "advanced" concepts. Any suggestions are welcome!
1) Special events:
a. Play with the leader: Each student prepares two tunes to play with the combo leader in advance. The student will arrange the tunes, specifying the tempo, instrumentation, form, key, texture, etc. The leader will help them choose the better of the two to be played. It can be a duet with the combo leader, or the entire band or anything in between.
b. Play with a pro rhythm section. A pro trio or quartet will play a tune picked in advance with planned form, key, tempo, etc. After the pro’s have gotten through the tune once, a student will replace one pro, one at a time for a few choruses and then sit back down so that each student will have a few choruses with the pro’s. The students can choose to solo or not.
c. Working with a vocalist: difficult keys, verse out of time, dynamics with vocalist, ghosting. supporting the vocalist, making them sound their best, what to do if they come in off-key, 2 beats late, etc
2) General:
a. Tune list will be agreed upon a month before so everyone can learn the tunes well before hand and have the same changes. We can add, but only if everyone agrees. Ten to fifteen tunes?
b. Materials will be prepped in advance:
i. tunes to play with the leader
ii. tunes to play with the pro rhythm section
iii. tunes to play with the vocalist
iv. list of intros and endings
v. leadsheets for altering the form of tunes
vi. leadsheets for altering the meters of tunes
vii. leadsheets for double-time exercises
viii. leadsheets for reharmonization examples
c. Friday, if we’re happy with some of our pieces, we can record them and put them up on YouTube.
d. If there’s interest, we can get a gig at a local jazz house and give a performance there, opening up to a jam after the first set.
e. After each topic is practiced, add it to a white board and remind us to use it every time we start a tune. I.e., rhythm, dyanmics, texture, energy, discuss the form, intro and outro before hand and write them on the board so we all remember, who takes the melody this time, etc
3) Basics:
a. tightening up the rhythm: start with drums or bass and add an instrument one at a time after the groove stabilizes, while everyone focuses on the groove. Address issues as they arise; metronome exercises?
b. Dynamics: practice playing more quietly when the melody is active and louder when it's not. Bringing choruses down and then back up for the last chorus.
c. guitar+piano comping together: practice alternating and working together. Guitar mostly 3rds and 7ths, piano gets the extensions. Freddy Green
d. articulation when playing the melody together: ending notes cleanly and together, tonguing, dynamics, shout chorus, keeping the rhythm accurate, no trailing off
e. using texture: not all instruments always playing; practice it; start with one instrument and others join in, different combinations, improvise it; do the same for the last chorus
f. selling the performance: projecting energy and confidence; practice it, Strong, wrong, and fourteen bars long! Pretend you’re Rufus and Chris Potter, Herbie!
g. trading 4s, 2s, 1s; practice them during the session, 4s, then 2s, then 1s
Moving forward:
h. intros and endings: practice common intros and endings, name each, have each written out, work them into every tune we play during the week
i. creating interest in the form: interludes, switching genres, transposition, practice interludes, All Blues, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Mack the Knife transposition a half-step per chorus; AtTYA start as a waltz and switch to 4/4 and back in the bridge.
j. practicing interaction between the rhythm section and soloist; practice it; soloist leaves room after a rhythmic phrase and rhythm section responds to it
k. building a better multi-chorus solo: referencing the melody, making the changes, using rhythm, dynamics, leveraging the rhythm section, how the rhythm section should respond
l. Double-time, double-time feel, half-time, and half-time feel. Double-time a ballad; explain it and have a leadsheet ready; practice it
m. ear training, hearing melodies, chords, rhythms: demonstrate how much better people's ears are than they realize; ask them to sing a melody they just heard; ask them to identify a chord played on the piano; have them try to id some chord progressions, simple and short to more complex; transcribe some rhythms and match them with their onamonapia
n. diminished melodic patterns; demo, play some examples, provide some written examples and practice them
o. compound meters; AtTYA in 4/4, 3/4, 5/4, 7/4; provide lead sheets for each, walk us through it
p. fast tunes: Strategies, rhythm changes or Autumn Leaves at 250 bpm; practice, try to get it under control, take it at a tempo that we struggle with
q. Transposing on the fly: read a chart in G Minor and play it in F Minor. Maybe that’s a better exercise for solo practice rather than group practice.
r. reharminization/substitutions: reharmonize a standard, tritone subs, Dominant chords for Minor, Minorize a Dominant laden tune like All of Me
s. Bebop scales: Major, Minor, and Dominant with examples of their use. Octave displacement, encapsulation, chromaticism. Lining up the chord tones on the beats. Rhythmic displacement, syncopation.
t. Playing outside. Bringing it back. Leadsheet examples.
u. Coltrane changes. Describe, explain how it’s used and useful, demonstrate, apply to a tune or two and play through it, soloing on it.
v. Quartal harmony. Write out the voicings to Maiden Voyage, Herbie’s model tune. Play it, solo over it.
w. Blue In Green: a tough tune: 10 bar form, challenging harmony, and after each solo, the tempo double-times, so 4/4 for the first solo, 2/4 for the next solo, ¼ for the last solo, and then back to 4/4 for the out-head.
x. Soloing over modal tunes: soloing over modal tunes is easy in that the harmony changes infrequently but challenging in that you don’t have the changes to provide propulsion and interest so you have to do that all by yourself. Making an interesting solo on a modal tune is a different challenge than on most standards.
1) Special events:
a. Play with the leader: Each student prepares two tunes to play with the combo leader in advance. The student will arrange the tunes, specifying the tempo, instrumentation, form, key, texture, etc. The leader will help them choose the better of the two to be played. It can be a duet with the combo leader, or the entire band or anything in between.
b. Play with a pro rhythm section. A pro trio or quartet will play a tune picked in advance with planned form, key, tempo, etc. After the pro’s have gotten through the tune once, a student will replace one pro, one at a time for a few choruses and then sit back down so that each student will have a few choruses with the pro’s. The students can choose to solo or not.
c. Working with a vocalist: difficult keys, verse out of time, dynamics with vocalist, ghosting. supporting the vocalist, making them sound their best, what to do if they come in off-key, 2 beats late, etc
2) General:
a. Tune list will be agreed upon a month before so everyone can learn the tunes well before hand and have the same changes. We can add, but only if everyone agrees. Ten to fifteen tunes?
b. Materials will be prepped in advance:
i. tunes to play with the leader
ii. tunes to play with the pro rhythm section
iii. tunes to play with the vocalist
iv. list of intros and endings
v. leadsheets for altering the form of tunes
vi. leadsheets for altering the meters of tunes
vii. leadsheets for double-time exercises
viii. leadsheets for reharmonization examples
c. Friday, if we’re happy with some of our pieces, we can record them and put them up on YouTube.
d. If there’s interest, we can get a gig at a local jazz house and give a performance there, opening up to a jam after the first set.
e. After each topic is practiced, add it to a white board and remind us to use it every time we start a tune. I.e., rhythm, dyanmics, texture, energy, discuss the form, intro and outro before hand and write them on the board so we all remember, who takes the melody this time, etc
3) Basics:
a. tightening up the rhythm: start with drums or bass and add an instrument one at a time after the groove stabilizes, while everyone focuses on the groove. Address issues as they arise; metronome exercises?
b. Dynamics: practice playing more quietly when the melody is active and louder when it's not. Bringing choruses down and then back up for the last chorus.
c. guitar+piano comping together: practice alternating and working together. Guitar mostly 3rds and 7ths, piano gets the extensions. Freddy Green
d. articulation when playing the melody together: ending notes cleanly and together, tonguing, dynamics, shout chorus, keeping the rhythm accurate, no trailing off
e. using texture: not all instruments always playing; practice it; start with one instrument and others join in, different combinations, improvise it; do the same for the last chorus
f. selling the performance: projecting energy and confidence; practice it, Strong, wrong, and fourteen bars long! Pretend you’re Rufus and Chris Potter, Herbie!
g. trading 4s, 2s, 1s; practice them during the session, 4s, then 2s, then 1s
Moving forward:
h. intros and endings: practice common intros and endings, name each, have each written out, work them into every tune we play during the week
i. creating interest in the form: interludes, switching genres, transposition, practice interludes, All Blues, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Mack the Knife transposition a half-step per chorus; AtTYA start as a waltz and switch to 4/4 and back in the bridge.
j. practicing interaction between the rhythm section and soloist; practice it; soloist leaves room after a rhythmic phrase and rhythm section responds to it
k. building a better multi-chorus solo: referencing the melody, making the changes, using rhythm, dynamics, leveraging the rhythm section, how the rhythm section should respond
l. Double-time, double-time feel, half-time, and half-time feel. Double-time a ballad; explain it and have a leadsheet ready; practice it
m. ear training, hearing melodies, chords, rhythms: demonstrate how much better people's ears are than they realize; ask them to sing a melody they just heard; ask them to identify a chord played on the piano; have them try to id some chord progressions, simple and short to more complex; transcribe some rhythms and match them with their onamonapia
n. diminished melodic patterns; demo, play some examples, provide some written examples and practice them
o. compound meters; AtTYA in 4/4, 3/4, 5/4, 7/4; provide lead sheets for each, walk us through it
p. fast tunes: Strategies, rhythm changes or Autumn Leaves at 250 bpm; practice, try to get it under control, take it at a tempo that we struggle with
q. Transposing on the fly: read a chart in G Minor and play it in F Minor. Maybe that’s a better exercise for solo practice rather than group practice.
r. reharminization/substitutions: reharmonize a standard, tritone subs, Dominant chords for Minor, Minorize a Dominant laden tune like All of Me
s. Bebop scales: Major, Minor, and Dominant with examples of their use. Octave displacement, encapsulation, chromaticism. Lining up the chord tones on the beats. Rhythmic displacement, syncopation.
t. Playing outside. Bringing it back. Leadsheet examples.
u. Coltrane changes. Describe, explain how it’s used and useful, demonstrate, apply to a tune or two and play through it, soloing on it.
v. Quartal harmony. Write out the voicings to Maiden Voyage, Herbie’s model tune. Play it, solo over it.
w. Blue In Green: a tough tune: 10 bar form, challenging harmony, and after each solo, the tempo double-times, so 4/4 for the first solo, 2/4 for the next solo, ¼ for the last solo, and then back to 4/4 for the out-head.
x. Soloing over modal tunes: soloing over modal tunes is easy in that the harmony changes infrequently but challenging in that you don’t have the changes to provide propulsion and interest so you have to do that all by yourself. Making an interesting solo on a modal tune is a different challenge than on most standards.
No. Thursday and Friday mornings will each have one topic selected from the botton portion of the list. Options are your friend.
Were I ever to open a "small combo jazz camp", (don't worry, I WON'T!), here is what I'd/we'd do:
1. Play a Blues in F for 3 minutes (by EAR, No Charts/No Phones/No Pads!) - then have experienced faculty members identify (and demonstrate!) what the FIRST ISSUE in need of fixing is - it's usually Very Obvious - whether it is "Group Related" or "Individual Related"...OUCH! This process would be similar to a visit to your auto mechanic, in that you may be told that you have not been maintaining/driving your auto in a responsible manner, and now have significant repair "issues" (there is that word again....) that may inflict significant monetary and emotional damages. OUCH!
2. Repeat. Blues in F for 3 minutes. (Is it getting better? If not, why not?) We will be isolating and focusing on very specific issues that need fixing, for the good of the combo, for the good of the Music.
3. At both the Group and/or Individual level, what is now the NEXT ISSUE that needs to be addressed...ad infinitum. (Don't worry about any esoteric issues that are well beyond the grasp of your members - i.e. "Coltrane Changes.......", unless your Combo is playing Giant Steps and not self-immolating!)
4. Individuals will work with an experienced faculty member in daily private lessons to address said (and future) "ISSUES".
5. Day 2 - Learn a new Tune, same process, (and revisit Blues in F.)
Seriously.
FYI - The name of my camp would be - "The Wake Up and Smell The Coffee" Jazz Combo Camp, or "The, No!... We Are Not Having Fun Yet!" Jazz Combo Camp.
It would be unlike any other jazz camp and would not succeed beyond the first year. (Possible merch: "I went to Combo Camp and all I got was Humiliated, and this crappy Tee Shirt!") (smiley face here.)
Fascinating Topic, though...Seriously.
Good Luck, Tom.
1. Play a Blues in F for 3 minutes (by EAR, No Charts/No Phones/No Pads!) - then have experienced faculty members identify (and demonstrate!) what the FIRST ISSUE in need of fixing is - it's usually Very Obvious - whether it is "Group Related" or "Individual Related"...OUCH! This process would be similar to a visit to your auto mechanic, in that you may be told that you have not been maintaining/driving your auto in a responsible manner, and now have significant repair "issues" (there is that word again....) that may inflict significant monetary and emotional damages. OUCH!
2. Repeat. Blues in F for 3 minutes. (Is it getting better? If not, why not?) We will be isolating and focusing on very specific issues that need fixing, for the good of the combo, for the good of the Music.
3. At both the Group and/or Individual level, what is now the NEXT ISSUE that needs to be addressed...ad infinitum. (Don't worry about any esoteric issues that are well beyond the grasp of your members - i.e. "Coltrane Changes.......", unless your Combo is playing Giant Steps and not self-immolating!)
4. Individuals will work with an experienced faculty member in daily private lessons to address said (and future) "ISSUES".
5. Day 2 - Learn a new Tune, same process, (and revisit Blues in F.)
Seriously.
FYI - The name of my camp would be - "The Wake Up and Smell The Coffee" Jazz Combo Camp, or "The, No!... We Are Not Having Fun Yet!" Jazz Combo Camp.
It would be unlike any other jazz camp and would not succeed beyond the first year. (Possible merch: "I went to Combo Camp and all I got was Humiliated, and this crappy Tee Shirt!") (smiley face here.)
Fascinating Topic, though...Seriously.
Good Luck, Tom.
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