Month: February 2014

All The Things You Are

For our next jam Eric picked "All the Things You Are." This is one of those "must know" jazz standards commonly called at jams. The melody is memorable and not hard to learn. The harmony, though, is more involved than some of the other tunes we've been learning. Start learning it but if you don't have it together by March 2nd come and play a tune you're comfortable with.

You can find a playalong, chord sheets, videos, and analysis at learn jazz standards. When learning jazz songs start by listening and singing the melody repeatedly. When you can sing it by memory then pick up your instrument and play it. This is the way to get the tune in your memory so it sticks and is useful for improvising.

Next isolate out the bass line and identify what is played on the downbeat of each measure. This is a good start to figuring out the chord changes. If you're stuck, listening to the chording instruments can help. If you're really stuck then it's okay to look at the sheet music. Try not to look at it until then. There is no substitute - jazz is for the ears, not the eyes. If you can sing the roots of the progression you can hear it and are ready to start improvising.

The ultimate goal of improvising is to play ideas you hear in your head. During practice it's also helpful to analyze the harmony. It helps with memorization and may suggest ideas your ear isn't generating. Here is another site with detailed analysis and here are a few thoughts of my own:

• The 1st 5 chords (6-2-5-1-4) are the same as "Fly Me to the Moon". Try singing "Fly Me to the Moon" over this section - it fits perfectly. The melodies in this section both highlight the 3rd of each chord, too.
• After that the songs take different paths. "Fly Me to the Moon" continues on around the cycle of 4ths while "All" takes a less traveled path. I hear the Dbmaj as a pivot chord (pivot chords are common in the current key and in the key being modulated to): a 4 chord in Ab and the start of a b2maj-5-1 progression in the new key of C. Here the b2maj is acting like a 2 or 4 chord (see Neapolitan chord for more) and leads smoothly into 5-1 of the new key, but with its own unique sound.

by Michael BB

All Blues

Super Bowl vs Jazz Jam? No contest once again. Someone even remarked there should be a Super Bowl every Sunday. We had one of our larger turnouts of the last 3 months: 19 jammers (9 from high school or college) and a large audience of jazz fans taking it all in.

Expect more of the same at our upcoming jam on  Feb 16. Dan Wallach will be our educator and he always brings in many young jammers. He'll be joined by Dave Stoler - piano, John Mesoloras - bass, and Milwaukee's Devin Drobka on drums. This is Devin's 1st time in the house band. He is regular in Johannes Wallmann's trio on Saturday nights at the Fountain and is an enthusiastic teacher.

The tune-of-the-week is "All Blues. As the 1st song on one of the most popular jazz albums of all time, Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue," it's surprising we haven't featured it previously.

Be absolutely sure to listen closely to the original. The Real Book changes are not accurate and  do not convey the original mood and feel of this song.

At least be aware that on the original the bass continues to pedal G over bars 5 and 6 whereas the Real Book indicates C7, the usual four chord in a blues. It's played both ways so keep your ears  open. The four chord tends to send it in a bluesy direction, certainly an option, but if you want the original feel emphasize G minor and limit blues licks throughout.

Here is all you need to learn this song: a recording of the original. Learn the 4 bar interludes and try to figure out the harmony line for your instrument. Ideally, we'll have a horn section to play the harmony lines and a lead voice playing the melody.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW8UnTuy0pA&feature=youtube_gdata]

by Michael BB