Our next jam is December 6th. The band is Eric Koppa – sax, Rand Moore – drums, Dave Stoler – keys, and Ben Ferris – bass. The featured tune is, “I Can’t Get Started With You.” Although this can be a slower song, we won’t go too slow and we’ll probably split up the head among the horn players so it doesn’t sound sloppy. The changes are straightforward and not too challenging except for measures 3 and 4 where there are four 2-5’s stuffed into those 2 bars. A common strategy in these situations is to simplify by considering only the 2 or 5 chords. That eliminates some of the mental calculation and frees up your mind to think more melodically.  It might also be a good place to play the original melody.

Possibly the most well known version is by Bunny Berigan, the famous trumpeter from down the road in Fox Point. We also include  Frank Sinatra’s version as it is a good place to learn the melody, and Scott Hamilton just because I love his playing. Lastly, a video I just found which has nothing to do with this song but is so much fun and showcases very talented young jazz musicians.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u7x-Q3oTjQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYX7t7KC7L4