Another Question About Soloing

[Dan Gould]

I've wondered about this everytime I hear a kick-ass solo after which the crowd goes crazy. If you're the guy following the kick ass solo, how do you start, knowing that the crowd is applauding the other guy?

I'm not asking in terms of what you do to follow that, but more like, the first few bars aren't even heard-do you "coast" through those til you have the audience's attention again? Do you not even think about it?

[Robert J]

I think Jim Sangrey touched on this in the other thread:

So you find a way to transition from where he was to where you're going to be.

The first bars, irrespective of the previous soloist, I feel, should be an exploration of that transition.

When you are on stage, and it's really happening, or you are with a band you've known and played with, it can be compared as a fluid structure. You hardly even notice the audience when you are grooving. Your turn is up, and you usually just keep it going, find a path and hopefully stick to it. The audience, if they are truly responding, are impressed by the soloing, but they are also listening to the whole tune.

[Organfreak]

I've wondered about this everytime I hear a kick-ass solo after which the crowd goes crazy. If you're the guy following the kick ass solo, how do you start, knowing that the crowd is applauding the other guy?

I'm not asking in terms of what you do to follow that, but more like, the first few bars aren't even heard-do you "coast" through those til you have the audience's attention again? Do you not even think about it?

I like Robert J's answer, but I also use those few moments of clapping to collect my own ideas, begin slowly exploring, and find my own groove. That window of time is a godsend.

-OF

[Dan Gould]

The audience, if they are truly responding, are impressed by the soloing, but they are also listening to the whole tune.

My point is, we've all been in a crowd when the reaction to the previous soloist completely drowns out whatever the next guy does, sometimes for more than a couple of bars. So, its really impossible for the audience to be both "impressed by the soloing and listening to the whole tune."

I'm wondering if more of our musicians have the same view as Organfreak.

[Robert J]

OK, Dan. I wasn't being simplistic if it came across that way. I was just saying that in my experience I don't really think about it. I may play lightly while the clapping subsides, but am usually oblivious, and as I said, I explore the transition however that me be given the situation. I do think about the previous solo before I start, and often acknowledge my appreciation of the previous soloist with a nod or smile, but then to the tune. Maybe a deep breath as well. Even if it means not being heard.

I think of those smoking bebop sessions where you hear the loud applause but the next guy is just plowing right in there, heard clearly or not.

[Free For All]

I think that this is obviously a different situation than in a studio or intimate club where the connection of the solos is more consistently a part of the performance.

When I follow a soloist who's just gotten a big ovation I usually wait to start playing until the applause starts to subside. I do this for two reasons- first, to be respectful to the other player and let them get their due. Also, for me it creates a little "buffer" zone- a little break, perhaps, so both the audience and I can "prepare" to focus on a new event. Plus it's fun to start a solo in the middle of the form every now and then!

Also (we discussed this in the other thread) I usually try to take another "tack" to create contrast- I'm certainly not going to try to "top" someone at their own game. The second time is rarely as exciting as the first.

If the previous soloist was playing to a full-out rhythm section, I might have the drummer lay out for a while and start w/bass and piano or bass alone. This helps to empty the "sonic canvas" for a while and give ears a rest.

I think contrast is the best way to follow a large ovation- contrast in both approach and density of texture.

And it's always nice when YOU'RE the one getting the big ovation!

[JSngry]

It all depends oin the context/environment ad how you want to play to/in that. Sometimes it's best to wait and begin fresh, sometimes it's best to jump right on in and bump the whole thing up a notch. It all depends.

Again, that's the beauty of this music - when it's being done "right", it's part of a living, breathing organism that involves more, a LOT more, than just some players playing. It involves the audience, the collective vibe of the room and everybody in it, the unspoken message that the musicians are conveying (and the similarly but often less unspoken message about what the audience is wanting/needing to recieve), just all kinds of things other than the music itself, which is really just a tool. Read the situation right, and the audience becomes as much a part of the music as the players do, and that's a beautiful thing.

Every, EVERY move has a consequence for everybody involved (and that includes the audience, definitely), and the more attuned the players (and audience) to what those consequences are, the more "living" the music is. And the more "living" the music is, the more appealing it is for everybody concerned.