Cats Jazz Band Recital of May 6, 2017

My practice big band had a recital last Saturday, May 6, 2017.  For some strange reason we were generally "on" and sounding fairly tight.  What a shock.  Having an audience surely helps one focus.

Here are recordings of each song.  Have a listen if you like.

Blues in the Night:  http://yourlisten.com/Stogiebass/blues-in-the-night-2

Caravan:  http://yourlisten.com/Stogiebass/caravan

Fly Me to the Moon:  http://yourlisten.com/Stogiebass/fly-me-to-the-moon-vocal-4

Misty:  http://yourlisten.com/Stogiebass/misty-instrumental

Shiny Stockings:  http://yourlisten.com/Stogiebass/shiny-stockings-vocal

Social Call:  http://yourlisten.com/Stogiebass/social-call-vocal

Sugar:  http://yourlisten.com/Stogiebass/sugar-with-solos

Summertime:  http://yourlisten.com/Stogiebass/summertime

Take Five:  http://yourlisten.com/Stogiebass/take-five

Lessons Learned: My Progress on Playing String Bass

Listen to the Band Here.

Last night my Big Band, now called "the Cats Swing Band," gave a recital to mark the end of the semester. The Apostolic Church on Parr Avenue in Campbell, CA were kind enough to make their church available for our performance, and the pews were filled with friends and family. 

I played my acoustic string bass, and all the band members loved it more than my bass guitar.  My friend and attorney, who plays alto sax in our band, said that there is "no comparison" between the sound of my stand-up bass and my bass guitar, and he favors the former.  I agree.

However, a string bass requires a lot more stamina, and I need to improve mine. I was pooped by the end of the performance.  Playing a stand-up bass is much more physically demanding than playing a bass guitar.  This means I need to do my practices on my double bass (string bass) rather than my bass guitar.  I need to run several fast plucking exercises each day, perhaps by playing a few stanzas of a fast jazz song, like the jazz piece "Cute" or "The Blues Walk."  Do it until I get tired.  Learning to play bass is more than just reading notes and learning chord patterns; it also involves study of technique and gaining the physicality needed for long and loud performances. 

Everyone told me I played quite well, but being my best critic, I am far from satisfied. I was, however, blown away by the enthusiastic audience, who broke into raucous applause when our lead tenor sax player soloed.  They broke into applause several more times before the performance ended.  This was thrilling for me, as I have played in many bands, but have never experienced this before. 

Everyone in the audience was grinning, open-mouthed, from ear to ear, including my always grouchy little wife. Afterwards we had a pot luck dinner. The band was ecstatic over the successful performance.

Some important milestones for me:
My new Acoustic Image Contra 4 bass amp performed very well:  I could hear my string bass above the orchestra!  The tone was great -- it sounded acoustic rather than electrified.  Some performances are known as "noisy gigs," and a band our size (15 members, mostly horns) creates a lot of volume.  However, my new amp has solved the problem of being heard, without feedback.  This was the best $900 bucks I have spent recently on my musical pursuits.

My Tuff Bag protected my bass:  I learned that my Calin Wultur Panormo bass is actually 7/8 size, not 3/4 as I thought.  So I ordered a Tuff Bag (gig bag) from a source in Arizona, and it protected by bass quite well, transporting it to and from the gig. No scratches or damage.

My note reading skills continue to grow.  A year ago, I couldn't read notes.  I have come a long way since then.  I am now reading much better in the keys requiring 3 or 4 flats, i.e. Eb and Db.  Learning to read music is a gradual process, a skill gained over time by repetitive exercises.  I can sight read slow songs in the easier keys, but not in more demanding pieces.  I will keep at it, and eventually will be able to sight read even difficult pieces.  Patience and practice are the keys.

Learning Double Bass: Attack On All Fronts!

Lately I am obsessed with learning to play jazz on a double bass (also called string bass, stand-up bass or acoustic bass).  I give not a scatological expression for anything else.  I get on these kicks, where I want to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can.  So I listen to jazz music, paying particular attention to the bass, I read articles on how to play jazz bass, I play exercises, I read musical scores, and I play along to backing tracks.  Lately I have even used a free musical notation program to write my own bass lines from the chord sequence of a song, e.g. "Blue Monk."

Today I finally understand what a 1-6-2-5 chord progression is.  There are many different chord progressions, all described by equally strange numeric references.  The 1-6-2-5 is used in "rhythm changes" jazz tunes, such as "I Got Rhythm."

In other words, when it comes to double bass, I am attacking on all fronts simultaneously.

Ultimately, after digesting a ton of music theory, you have to actually sound good.  So lately I have emphasized playing to backing tracks or the recordings of actual songs.  I don't want to just ad lib, I want to play the chord sequences in clever but accurate ways.  Sounding great on bass is the one overriding goal.  All the rest of it, i.e. the theory, just supports that goal.

I am in my second semester of Beginning Big Band class.  The band leader is a gigging jazz trombonist who really knows jazz and swing, and he is leaning on me to improve (he seems to like me, though).  He is always telling the brass section to "Listen to the bass!  Listen to the bass!"  The bass lays down the rhythm and chord changes that keeps the rest of the band on track.  If I screw up, the whole band can get lost, especially the soloists.  That's a lot of pressure on me not to screw up (i.e. losing my place in the song's bar sequence).

I have learned so much since beginning this class, but there is so much more to learn.

Big Band Practice: My Progress on Double Bass Continues

Last night we held the first band practice with our new band leader, a young college student named Faris.  Faris is a senior at San Jose State University, majoring in jazz.  He plays piano and trombone.  But not at the same time, har har.

Faris proved to be an excellent band leader, and we the members got a lot of good out of this first session.  Unlike the former band leader, whom we much loved, Faris pays attention to the rhythm section.  He asked me to turn up my volume!  Omigod, I like this guy.  Then he asked me to play a few lines of the sheet music, and I did (thank goodness I have been learning sight reading of notes).  That went well.

Faris told me to be bold, to hit those notes with vigor, not timidly, as the band, and especially the soloists, need a strong rhythm section to keep them on course during solos.  He also implied that we need not follow the notes perfectly literally, that it is okay to throw in some flourishes that are not in the sheet music.  Jazz is about improvisation, after all.

In other words, "once again, with feeling."

I was into it last night.  My sight reading is the best it has ever been, though it is not as good as I want it to be, yet.  I will renew my practice with increased vigor.

The new practice site is in the band room of a junior high school, and it is crowded with chairs and equipment.  I didn't have time to bring in my stool, so I stood for the whole hour and a half of practice.  To my surprise, I didn't tire, my legs didn't hurt, and my arthritic right shoulder didn't ache. Also, I didn't get lost!  I must be getting in shape, but I think the intense focus also was a factor.  By god, I am going to be a double bass player!

Encouraging Progress on the Double Bass

Last night was the sixth and final session for my "Beginning Big Band" class.  After the class, the band went out together for beer and dinner at the Los Gatos Brewery.  We all enjoyed the beer, snacks and conversation.  Several people complimented me on my bass playing, and that was nice.  The lovely lady band leader gave me a big hug.  The guitar player tried to recruit me for another local big band.  I told him I would gladly consider it.

My biggest challenge in playing upright bass is the arthritis in my right shoulder and shoulder blade.  I must continue exercising with weights to overcome it.  My desire to be a serious bassist is also my greatest incentive to get and stay in shape.

Now that I don't have my weekly class meeting as a practice incentive, I must find new incentives, e.g. a new class, a new band.  I will think on it.

What I take away from this classroom experience:  (1) a much greater ability to read notes (2) an improving knowledge of the bass neck, and better intonation; (3) practical experience in the maintenance and transporting of my large double bass.

Musical Progress! Reading Notes, Playing Bass and Replacing My End Pin

I have now finished three classes of "Beginning Big Band," an adult education class, and my skills continue to grow.  The band leader is a lovely lady Brit who seems to like me a lot, probably because I am one of the few musicians in the class who doesn't play some kind of horn (we have four alto saxophones, one baritone sax, one tenor sax, two trumpets and a trombone.  Non-horn musicians include a drummer, a guitar player, and me, on string bass).

I am reading notes better and better.  Now when I look at the sheet music, it makes a lot more sense then when I first glimpsed the chaotic collection of dots and lines on the page (the notes and staff).  More and more the feeling grows, that not only is this possible to become a literate musician, it is inevitable.  It will happen.

We have a two week break before resuming our weekly class, which ends in early August.

Last week the end pin on my bass broke, and I was wondering how to repair or replace it.  I took a chance and ordered a new end pin unit, not knowing if it would suit my bass as opposed to other brands of basses.  However, when I loosened the strings on my bass, the old end pin could be pulled out and the new one inserted.  (The end pin is held tightly in place by the strings, which are attached to the tailpiece, which in turn is attached to the end pin by a steel cable.)  Apparently, just about any end pin will fit just about any bass.

I love it when I am able to figure out and fix things for myself.

Big Band: My First Practice

Last night I had my first practice with the big band.  We will be playing swing and jazz.  The project is actually through an adult education class, with a band leader and various musicians.  There is a big brass section:  a baritone sax, an alto sax, a trombone and three trumpets.  We could use a drummer and a tenor sax.  A guitar is coming.  As for me, "I proudly took my place, as the one and only bass" (from the Music Man).

My attorney (and close friend) plays alto sax, and invited me to join this group.  We are having a ball doing it.  The challenge for me is reading notes.  I do read bass clef, but not nearly fast enough; I can't really "sight read," but this project will help me do that.  I found myself straining to read the notes, and it was challenging, but I am sure I can do it, with enough study and practice.

That's a rule for success in learning to read notes.  Get in a class or program where you are obliged to learn it, with deadlines.  You may never learn anything new without a good reason and a good program for doing so.  With other musicians depending on you, you have a great reason.

I used my Fender Jazz Bass guitar for this first meeting, but will bring my Calin Wultur Panormo string bass to the remaining sessions.  A big band must have a traditional string bass; bass guitars are just too rock and roll.   I splurged on a better pickup, a Fischer, at $200, for my string bass.  Yes, string basses do need amplification (all those horns are loud), but this pickup ostensibly does not alter the warm, woody twang of the bass.

Our first three songs to practice are (1) Sing, Sing, Sing (2) Greensleeves and (3) A String of Pearls, all from the American Songbook of great old standards, which make for excellent jazz pieces.

Big Band Practice! I Have to Read Notes! Arrrgh!

Tonight I start an adult education class called "Beginning Big Band."  We will study the music for various standards and play the songs as a band.

The course requires you to be able to read music.  I do -- sort of.  I have studied the bass clef in the past, but never had any opportunity to apply what I learned, so have forgotten it.

So now I am on a crash course to relearn bass clef.  Hope I don't make a fool of myself tonight.