Robert J

A good bassist is so important. After some bad experiences (I do duos and trios for upscale events as well as my soloing) I made a point of phoning up 10-12 musicians I know in town, from pianists, to horns, to drummers and asked them for their top 5. I spent a bit of time making notes: style, electric or upright, last few gigs played, reliability, personality, bad drunks, etc. I whittled it down to 10 (due to overlap) in a database with notes given by these other guys. It was some work, but in the end I know who to call on. Almost like a dating service I guess.

Steering the topic back. Hello all. I've been more of a lurker on Organissimo this past year due to work, unlike when I started on BN. But I saw a recent post here by Rooster Ties in the musican's forum where he dug up an old BN thread. RT had the source code which led back to the BN site (how did you get this RT?). It seems that most or possibly ALL of the old BNBB (to late 2001) threads are still online. Not sure why there were not taken down. While I may not revisit them, here's a simple way to try it for those who have the time or need. Caveat: there's no real navigation, just "guesswork". Click any of the URLs below and change the numbered part - up or down - to access the threads. I randomly chose post 101 or something close. _______________ Blue Note's 60th Anniversary http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000001.html Artists http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html Reissues http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html New Releases http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html Recommendations http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000201.html Rudy Van Gelder Series http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html Forum Suggestions and Feedback http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html (classic lines from Tomatbluenote in this random thread "I am saddened and disgusted by the continued abasements by Aric and the resultant fouling of our fine board. Folks, enough is enough. Enough rope has been given and I am afraid that Mr.Effron has hoisted himself high on the gibbet... Aric, you are more than welcome to develop an ariceffron.com site as a playground for your passionate yet misguided mind. ") Miscellaneous http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html Mosaic Records http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html Live Shows http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html Vocalists http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html Offering & Looking For http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html Discography Forum http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html Audio Talk http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000101.html Musicians' Forum http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000001.html Jazz in Print: Books, Magazines, and Photography http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000001.html Questions for Tomatbluenote http://www.bluenote.com/bulletinboard/ubb/...TML/000001.html

OK I take it all back. They are all scum! Guess who just phoned now (while I was practicing piano with my 6 year old daughter) to cancel this Friday? Something about it being really busy, not enough room to bring my piano! (Sorry we will make too much money tonight). It's partially true that the place is small, but that's ****ing LAME!

The owner I'm with now has gotten a little better now. When he cancelled a gig WHEN I ARRIVED (OK I am solo piano) at least he fed me and I guzzled about a litre of wine. Things are now good this December. He can't ignore the rapport I have with his customers. I am outgoing with them. Music and a good time comes first. He can see the tips I am making and how I am setting the mood for the night and this translates into bar and food sales so he's less apologetic when he writes the cheque. Some boneheads can be educated, others are sadly lost causes. But customers can have the same attitude too. How many times I've heard the envy in this phrase: "They are paying you to do something you enjoy?". As if it takes no effort to master an instruments or the repertoire.

In Toronto this spring and summer we had the SARS scare which hurt all tourism, entertainment, bars and restaurants. I had a sweet solo piano thing going at this one club, cash, dinner, 1/2 liter of red vino, customer tips. But I could see that it was dying on a Saturday night due to lack of people going out at all. So he canned me at the start of the summer. I've used the time to network, as mentioned above, with venues and other musicians and other opportunities. The right place, right time philosphy still works. I am now teaching a few students after years of no teaching, but it put that 500-600$ back in my pocket that I lost in live gigs. Plus I am having a great time with my students. Then I got a call last week by this same club owner about a party they are having. So sometimes persistence and patience does pay off. Now to get some more Xmas parties under the belt. Good luck Soul Stream and all. Let's fight back. ps. Years ago I was associated with this one bistro/club for at least 3 years, 5 nights a week. One Saturday as I was putting the lid up on the grand piano, the owner, who I've known for awhile, and I did many favours for, whispered to me "Tonight's the last night. I'm closing up the joint". I knew before the waitstaff even. He owed me $150 and I squeezed $100 out of him as he promised I could grab some food from the freezer and some canned goods to cover the rest. I thanked him as he went to the bar to get plastered. Then I called a cab to the back door and loaded up anything I could from the fridge. I feasted for months!

High tea with the Queen: "I've never been into royalty," he adds, "but I was, like, bowing and saying, 'Hello, Your Majesty, please don't cut off my head." "Cullum is tipped to bring a new, young audience to jazz, a genre usually more associated with chin-stroking than underwear-throwing. " "Take Norah Jones's stuff. It's nice, but it's nice acoustic music. It's not jazz." http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/entertainmen...rticles/5293018

My brother's band is now using that system. He's a guitarist. I'll ask him tonight. I have partial hearing loss in my right ear which I attribute to stage monitors (I was always next to the guitarist), wearing out a walkman in university, and a certain My Bloody Valentine Concert about 10 years ago. I now wear plugs to most concerts and onstage when it gets out of hand. RT, thanks for the info on these plugs, perhaps my health insurance can cover them

Strange Karma, (from Ravi?) I just got hired yesterday as a rehearsal pianist for a vocal show coming up at a private high school. A whole gamut from Ave Maria, Whitney Houston, selections from "Chicago", "Rent" etc. Then there's Norah Jones' "I Don't Know Why". Thing is, I've never heard the tune. I had to go to her official website to download the song! Am I forgiven?

This all brings back a certain memory. In the day of BNBB I hastily signed on as Norah Jones. It had to do with Aric going on about how hot she was and how he wanted to do her in his hometown or something like that. I gave a couple of harmless posts to fuel Aric as was the rule back then. She eventually came onboard to settle the score ("Would the real NJ please stand, please stand up" No harm done. She was not opposed to what I wrote (Again I was trying to fool Aric). Now I see what has truly become of the media circus.

I just now discovered Hal's articles on his website. Lots to digest. Would be willing to discuss any of the topics he brings up. "Forward Motion" and "Practice and Performance Goals for the Jazz Improvisor" were especially interesting essays. Check it out! http://halgalper.com/13_arti/_0_arti.htm

Thanks Philip for the info.

Hi Jim, My first querie. Rudy's pianos always sound like they were miked with the lid down, yet there was probably not something efficient like PZM mikes to do so. Was the lid down? How exactly were they miked? I have done some recordings of myself on a 9' Steinway in a church and I experimented with the lid down/up variance and I got unique results. It depends on the size of the room too. Rudy always seemed to have that (paradoxical) bright/muddy attack that never really seemed present in most Steinway's I've tried! Although when I got into jazz piano at 17, I liked that sound, I'd say now that it's not my favourite color of the piano, though I recognize its siginificance on me. In my ignorance in my teens I almost thought BN had just one pianist!

Thanks, Decided the border too hard to cross still (my wife's Canadian now, but originally from Pakistan) and the drive to AA too long, though I miss that town. Saw many concerts there, football games, bookstores, skoolkids records etc. Thanks though!

Hey Jim-- I'm visiting my hometown for the long weekend. I'm in Windsor right now, it's raining and depressing. What's up? Are you gigging? Where should I be? Is the Metro Times online at all? Not sure about crossing the border though. Heard it's still a hassle in many ways. You know, I miss listening to Detroit radio. In Toronto they make us (government mandate) listen to too much Canadian talent - jazz it's OK, but alt and pop - well, you know what's on air now. I tell people in Toronto that the dial is just jammed in Detroit with everything. I personally miss Wayne State's shows. I learned so much! How are you man?

I just took out a DVD from my local library last week, Horace Parlan By Horace Parlan. I would recommend it highly. Just Parlan and bassist Jimmi Pedersen. I was amazed (as a pianist myself) at the way he plays. I know, like everyone else, about th epolio and how his right hand only uses 3 fingers. I just was not aware of how he executes 80% of all of his playing with the left hand. It was revealing to see that and a testament to his strength, conviction and uniqueness. He says some pretty candid things about jazz, the business, racism, Charles Mingus etc. At one point Mingus's widow is on the DVD with him and it provides for a unique commentary. Horace's wife whom he met in in Denmark - and perhaps why he stayed there - is on the DVD throughout.

Frank Zappa Bob Marley King Crimson - Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp Brian Eno Devo The Residents Gary Newman The Stooges Lou Reed John Cale Parliament- Funkadelic Tom Waits Fugazi Frank Black Mike Watt Beastie Boys (instrumental) Steve Albini Ginger Baker Henry Cow Pere Ubu Henry Kaiser Diamanda Galas Bill Laswell

Don't forget that's in Canadian $$$ Probably equal to the $50 you made. It was a martini bar, and the 2 I had cost me a foolish $15. I'm not complaining, I am grateful for the gig even though it will be painful. At least I get to stretch out a bit. I guess what I was getting at is, that although he's not a good singer, he still plugs himself and manages to get the next gig. Something smart about that. I know a guy, now on the west coast, who did a gig with a singer and it was not a good time. He vowed never to follow up with the dude. A year later he was asked to sub for a band which happened to have the same guy singing. My buddy walked into the rehearsal and said "Oh no, ... I didn't know it was gonna be you" He still did the night.

HM still serves a purpose in my life! I too have debated the sophistication of jazz (now) vs. the youthful times spent with HM. But I think there is a primal rawness that HM contains and allows me to tap into that jazz does not. I listened to metal before jazz and it was cathartic at 12-13 years of age, just going into high school. Now I can only really take Back in Black, some Sabbath (Master of Reality and Paranoid, and maybe solo Ozzie) and as for Zep, now only Physical Graffitti. And this is after a few beers and maybe a hard day. Metal is very necessary and I am suprsied that in my mid 30s the need is still there. I think the blues is something different entirely. Blues is universal in its own right, however I think it lacks the association that some of us North Americans find in metal (car stereos, various finger salutes, basement rec-rooms, weed, long hair, hating preppies). When I now need to kick out the jams or purge myself it is most likely with Fugazi or Husker Du

LOL Sad reality: I got a call yesterday from this guy to do it all again. I'm on his "A" list. Will pay me about $125. Most likely I will still do it. Unlike a dead fish, we musicians still have to back to the trough...

The drummer post got me thinking about this. The second worst thing is performing with poor singers. This was really obvious to me a couple of weeks ago when I subbed for a piano player at club that hires duos. The singer has a repertoire, sort of, but he just does not have a good voice, or presence or phrasing at all. It was a painful 4 hours. But the real problem was he was such a nice guy. I just don't think he knew how bad he was. His wife and friends all came by to watch us. They were so encouraging. I knew all the tunes, but he insisted on a couple of rehersals. I did about 30 minutes with him beforehand; they were common tunes and I knew his keys. Just everything was lacking and it was so boring for me. No spark. Plus for some reason I played more than he sang. He kept missing my cues to come in for a second chorus etc. I'd play the whole tune in my solo sometimes twice. The audience didn't really know it. It was a martini bar at a restaurant so most people would hear only 3-4 songs. Plus he wanted to end every set with a ballad. AHHH If you could excuse the analogy, it was like making love to a dead fish! Anyone comments?

A friend of mine recently did a gig in Toronto's Skydome. This is where the the Blue Jays play baseball, etc. It seats 50,000 and usually the Rolling Stones are the only ones who could fill it. The gig was part of several bands performing for an Aboriginal event. Anyways, the drummer was told he did not need to bring his kit, as one would be set up there, fully miked etc. Of course this never happened. No kit whatsoever from the promotor. Luckily the drummer wisely brought his snare drum. So he has his snare on his lap with a mike hanging over it, and a mike on his foot hitting the ground (wooden stage) to act as the bass drum. I give this guy credit for turning around a situation rather than going home.

I would go to this blues jam session in Toronto every week, about 10 years ago, a really good one. The piano player let me do a couple of tune here and there, then it became a whole set, and more. I thought it was funny cause he was in the house band and was getrting paid. Then I looked down from the stage and I saw him drinking with 2 women who became Wednesday regulars! He wanted me to keep playing so he could keep "playing" as well. He got the cash and I got the experience of playing with many different blues muscians in town. However, I eventually tired of working for free... B)

Thanks Jim. I guess you do need 2 manuals. The hardest part for a piano player is losing the effect of sustain. Perhaps it concentrates your solos. Another thing pianist don't worry about is volume control, which is something that adds alot of contour to the organ's sound. When I had my Rhodes, I used a type of wah-wah pedal to get that phat funk/fusion sound. It took a bit to get good at it. BTW - I mentioned the Technics KN 7000 which I've access to. Have you seen these? Fantastic organ sounds as well as a digital drawbar. http://www.technics.com/kn7000.html

Since gigging is not my main source of income, I try now to do just the jobs that pay well (Jim I don't have teenagers yet, but my son is turning 9 soon). Luckily solo piano for private parties is the best outlet I've been tapping into. Not easy to crack into right away, but when you do a good job, the refrerrals happen. Lately I've been in the $250 range for about 3 hours at peoples' homes. In December I played a party for one of the original founders of Netscape. They had a 7' concert grand in the living room. It was heaven. I drank out of a scotch glass that cost more than what I got paid! From stale Chinese food to this.

Thanks for the left hand advice. What about sessions where you have a bassist? At some of the blues gigs I'd like to swith from piano to organ on my Roland FP3. There I don't know what to do with the left, so it does not sound too muddy. Soloing on my right is also different - you have to get the stock phases and effects down as well, something you really need a real B3 for!