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A Brief Introduction to Jazz Improvisation – Part 1

Posted by admin2 on August 24th, 2010 Comments Off



Many talented musicians seem to go pale when someone asks them to leave the music for a few moments and fill in those 4 bars with a bit of jazz improvisation. Some see it as a strange and uncharted land, full of weird things like Modes and Tritonal Substitutions. Don’t Panic! Although jazz theory can get become ‘involved’, a great deal of ‘good sounding stuff’ can be played or sung with understanding of just a few basic starting points. I have tried to distil some of these for you in this brief ‘Impro-Info-Pack’, which I hope you will find useful and enjoyable. After all, jazz improvisation should be satisfying and fun for all involved (that includes the audience!).

Encyclopaedia definition of Jazz:

“Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory and marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. It is characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms, and improvisation. Jazz has been described as “America’s Classical Music,” and started in saloons throughout the nation.”

1. Have confidence!

Standing up to ‘do a solo’ can be daunting to say the least, especially when there’s an audience in front of you! However, standing up, not flinching on ‘duff’ notes and projecting your solo to the listener will give them a sense that you are playing for them – a musical ‘gift’ if you like. It adds to your enjoyment and confidence.

If you make a mistake – maybe a wrong note – use it! Slide confidently up to a ‘right’ note, for example! Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, as they are a very good way to learn new ideas

2. Know What You Want to Play

 I once attended a jazz class held by an ace pianist. The problem was that all the improvisations he did seemed to be ‘pre-programmed’ in his fingers. There were set arpeggios, runs, twiddles… and it was nice but all rather mechanistic.

Improvising should be having an idea and then expressing it – communicating it – in the ‘language of music’. But, we need to have the idea before even beginning to try and make it into music! We need to have an input of ideas that sound good to us.

Listen

…to music…All types of music from Bach to Beatles, Van Halen to Van Morrison! Most of all, listen to the jazz/blues ‘Greats’ – folk like:

Louis Armstrong,

Sarah Vaughan,

Nina Simone,

Sonny Rollins,

Ella Fitzgerald,

Peggy Lee,

Bill Evans

Stan Getz,

Dizzy Gillespie

Duke Ellington

Ray Charles

Dave Brubeck

Chet Baker

Art Farmer

Freddy Hubbard

Stan Kenton

Herbie Hancock

Cannonball Adderley

Art Tatum

Billy Holiday

Monte Alexander

Louis Jordan

Glen Miller

Errol Garner

Frank Sinatra

Oscar Peterson

Dinah Washington

Gerry Mulligan

Miles Davis

Fats Waller

Stephane Grappelli

Zoot Sims

Charles Mingus

Count Basie

Billy Holiday

Ray Ellington

…to name but a few!!!



Sing Along

Whether in your room, in the shower or walking down the street (careful – not too loud!), sing the melody line that you’ve heard and copy the player’s/singer’s phrasing. Whistle it, tap the rhythm, go to sleep with it going round your head and wake up with it still going round in the morning (although this can get annoying!). The more you can ‘hear’ and reproduce others’ ideas, the more you’ll be able to use them in your jazz solos, tailoring them to what you personally would like to hear. This process happens at a subconscious level too – an effective way to learn a language is by copying others.

So, Know what you want to play by listening to loads of varied music – not only jazz, it could be any genre!!

This series is continued in Part 2…

By: Olly Wedgwood

Posted in Jazz Festivals

What Do Classic Black Jazz Shoes and Tap Dance Footwear Have in Common?

Posted by admin2 on August 16th, 2010 Comments Off



Tapping To Jazz

Jazz music was, and still is sometimes, used for tap dance numbers, in fact jazz and tap were very closely connected when African American routines were in their heyday during the early 1900’s through to the 1950’s. However jazz dance and it’s respective footwear took a slightly different turn, becoming more of a modern dance that incorporated segments from ballet and other contemporary choreographed styles, and in many cases required a mix of footwear flexibility, the ability to perform a pirouette while still not being ballet, and later being able to add rhythmic movements, and most recently incorporate hip hop street dance styles.

Fred Astaire Tapping

Naturally the footwear once used for jazz, which consisted of basic black tap shoes in rather formal ballroomesque styles, had to change with the needs of the dancers. Dancers required diverse things, from an oxford to a soft flexible leather, or a modern sneaker to a street style high top boot that would be accepted on dance floors. These changes caused a split in the footwear designs. The classic black jazz shoes no longer “needed” to be equipped with taps because they fell under a more specific label of “tap shoes”.

If you close your eyes for a moment and think about what Fred Astaire wore on his feet, you will undoubtedly think of a pair of black tap shoes that looked like fashionable ballroom dance attire. And that is most often what tap dance footwear is about. Tapping. Shoes that are solid, often leather, that hold the foot tight and secure and on the bottom there are taps to click and clack to a rhythm. From flamenco women’s heeled designs to men’s oxfords that look like formalwear – that’s tap, whereas jazz dance footwear has become a whole new bread of flexible, soft, unusual and very dissimilar designs.

Jazz-Tap By Leo’s

Terms like jazz flex and jazz sneaker are now the norm. Companies like Capezio and Bloch are masters at designing affordable tan colored and black jazz footwear for men, women and children. There are however still jazz tap shoes, like the ones made by Leo’s, one particular design is the Giordano that is a leather shoe with a two part sole for flexibility, a heel, a rubber sole and taps.

So, jazz can have an element of tap and vice versa, although there are now many more specific design elements and dance characteristics to take into account when buying the right footwear for the right dance.

By: Nena Argent

Posted in Jazz Festivals

Buying a Good Jazz Guitar

Posted by admin2 on August 7th, 2010 Comments Off



If you are planning to learn how to play the guitar and really want to be good at it, I would suggest that you start out with learning Jazz. Jazz guitar playing does not have any actual base of music theory but instead, is a theory which is a collection of ideas which were passed on from musician to musician. Jazz players never really needed music theory to come up with their music, but instead, needed to thoroughly know the instruments enough to give a rhythm to accompany the other jazz musicians. Jazz playing changed over the years and now has become a base for many other genres of music.

It is said, if a guitarist knows how to play jazz, he is really good. This is because jazz playing has a vast background and includes a huge number of unique jazz scales and licks. Jazz playing will teach you how to create your own strumming patterns and chord progressions, making your music very unique. When learning jazz theory, you will learn to rely mostly on the seventh and third notes of a chord. Jazz may seem like fun, but requires a good amount of practice and dedication. However, learning jazz is what I would recommend for anyone who is planning to start out with guitar playing.

When going to buy a jazz guitar, it is best to go with someone who already knows how to play the guitar, and plays it well. A person who has good experience with guitars will be the best one to tell whether or not a guitar is good. If you are buying the guitar online then you should consider only buying a reliable make. Also, read testimonials of people who have bought a guitar from the site you are planning to purchase your guitar. The prices online will definitely be a lot cheaper than at a regular music store, and you can also find places that offer other things along with the guitar.

Not all guitars are meant for jazz. Back in the day, before solid bodied electrics were made, people used acoustic guitars. But now however, the hollow bodied electric guitar is the ideal choice for a jazz guitar. When buying an electric guitar, make sure that you do not buy one without doing a good amount of research. The ideal jazz guitar is a hollow bodied electric guitar. Makes like Gibson and Epiphone are commonly used in jazz guitar playing and are known to be some of the best jazz guitars. Do not go in for a solid bodied guitar if you want to only focus on jazz since the tone of those guitars won’t suit the genres.

If you plan to play other genres of music also, then you should probably think of going in for a Gibson or a Fender. Guitar makes like Ibanez and Kramer are really good but mostly meant for heavy metal. The tone of the guitar mainly depends on it’s pickups as well as the design of the body. Archtop guitars are typical jazz guitars and you can find them in many makes. Make sure that the guitar you buy has a floating bridge to allow adjustments so as to increase or decrease the action. Once you get a good jazz guitar you will not have a problem with spending time learning.

By: Shoked Mohol

Posted in Jazz Festivals
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