First time with a vocal soloist

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Wow, perfect pitch, you have my admiration! Great, well I just wanted to offer my help where I can. I have quite a lot of tunes in Bb or Gm on my repertoire, so I guess I'm a Bb girl myself.

Here are Ella and Basie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbXJvBI7s3g
 

Edited April 4, 2016 by page

[Gheorghe]

 Bb girl

Yeah B flat is a bop key, all those "rhythm-changes" tunes they in B flat, a lot of stuff. Now if I play a set, I try to avoid Bb, if it´s a rhythm tune I like Db , Eb, Ab those sound good. Db is more "pastel", Eb sounds a bit darker, and Ab even more, not only because it got a lot of black keys, it´s the "colour" of the key, how it sounds.

Noticed at least to tunes from your list are also on the list I got:

"I thought about you" and "No Moon at All".

I´m really curious how she does "I remember you". I played that tune, mostly medium tempo.

The bass player said me he will ask her if she also has some bossa , cause those are mostly swing tunes and ballads, at least "Ipanema" might be possible.

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Hm, that's interesting. I will pay attention to that. With the big band there were a lot of tunes in Eb and some in Ab. never in Db though, too many flats I think. I had this great transcription of a Sarah Vaughan song I didn't bring in for that reason. It was in Db, they didn't like that. I could of course transpose the scores but that is a lot of work to do for all instruments, my only problem would be the drummer part. I have no idea how to write that in Sibelius. So I would need some help. Another song with a transcription of Julie London with a big band was in A. They didn't want to do that either, although the hornparts didn't use all the sharps. I've always found it a pity. But maybe, some other time with another big band.

I do 'No moon" as a swing tune but Julie London/Barney Kessel did the verses in Latin and the bridge in swing which is also nice. In one of my originals I do the same. I do use her key on this song which is Gm (another Bb   ) I love those duets she did with Barney Kessel. I have a few transcriptions.

I agree with your bassplayer and would choose a few bossas for sure.

[Gheorghe]

Yeah, heard that ! Would be good as a bossa too, yeah.

 

First, some minutes ago just before I looked at that thread I listened to Doris Day doin No Moon at all , sure as a swing tune.

No I heard that in G minor, which sound natural to me. Wonder how it might sound in E-flat cause she mailed that she want´s it in E-flat. Not, that this might be a problem, but we´ll see. Maybe for some tunes she wrote the wrong key, but anyway I´ll fix it in E-flat too.

Listend to some other tunes. Time after Time by Ella. Until now, maybe from horn players first I knew this as a ballad, but nice with slow medium swing too.

Listened to Moondance, found only a Van Morrison version, but this might be cool .

She seems to like Doris Day, cause a lot of that stuff is Doris Day stuff. And I thought I´m an Oldie with all my "Manteca´s " and "Salt Peanuts"  the Monk Tunes, the Bud tunes, but live´s full of surprises.

Last thing: You say big bands almost never do D flat. Well maybe decades ago it was else. Heard Billie Eckstine´s band doin "Our Delight" in D-flat. Usually most dudes do it in A flat. And Jay McShann "Wrap your troubles in dreams" also D-flat

Tomorrow I´ll transcribe the tunes I didn´t know in the keys she wants (I mean the chord symbols, cause I can´t read a note even if it´s  as big as a house

You see, that´s the slower pace writin it down myself on a small paper, but that´s how I get it in my head.......

after that, I´ll have some brainstorming with the bass player

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Yes, I'm curious how that will sound too. I would be surprised when she would have given you the wrong keys than the ones she wants, but there are singers who don't know their keys, you are right about that.

Yes, I thought about Ella's rendition of Time after Time, another arrangement I got since one big band asked me for it. In the end we performed other songs. Ella did that in G and Ab since there is a modulation. Bb seems rather high to me for a lady singer.

I didn't mean that about every big band, just the one I worked with at the time. They didn't like too many flats or sharps for the horn players which is understandable. I could have easily done it a bit up or down, but since then all parts had to be written into music software that was a lot of work. I might still do that though, in case I want to do the song in another key than Db.

Edited April 30, 2016 by page

[Gheorghe]

Thank you so much @page. Well she mailed me Eb,

Now one thing, am I deaf or isn´t that version C minor ? Sure its not a good recording and maybe something´s with my speakers, but I was quite sure this is C minor ?

Well, I transcribed some of the tunes in the keys she wants. Anyway thanks for your advice not to trust the RB. One example: "I thought about you"...the RB chords are the Miles 1963/64 stuff, not really for vocalists. I got other chords, cause she might not be happy with the Miles thing, would´t be the right support for her....

Another thing. You from Netherlands right ? I remember many many years ago when I played at the International Jazz Festival Sibiu (RO) and the first band was a big band from Netherlands, they also had a fine young female singer. They did mostly swing stuff, the name of the band was something with Bouwkunde or Baukunde (???) Orchestra, I remember that well, they were very nice young people, the singer was a girl "Marlon", "Marleen" ? something like that. I think they were music students, that´s how it was announced....

Wait a minute, I remember the first tune was "Here´s the Band" something like that, as a starter......

Remember things that was 25 years ago but don´t remember what I did last week ...

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Yes, it is Cm. It isn't Eb it has a minor key. I can not think of a big band called that way, but I'll go search. I know a singer called Marleen but she'll be too young for the time you've said.

[Gheorghe]

yeah, the girl from the Dutch Big Band  might have been in her twenties in 1990, was nice to see all those folks in that fancy town, Barbara Dennerlein was there, Louis Sclavis was there....., great memories......

 

About Moondance:

Yeah Cm. Well anyway if she wants it in Ebm that will be allright. If she wants C minor it´s also okay.

A lotta tunes she wants in the key of C , Aint Missbehavin, Love´s her to stay , I thought about you, Tenderly, Dream a little dream, almost the half of her list.

Right now I heard Blue Champain by Manhattan Transfer, also great. On Dream a little dream anyway on the Doris Day version the piano is really audible, so I can figure out what she might want....

[Gheorghe]

Hello again !

The gig was really a dream gig, and I wanna thank you all for the great advices you gave me.

She´s really a very very good singer, great voice and beautiful delivering of the lyrics, and it was very very easy to work with her, I mean to support and not to clutter, as you told me.

It was  a real pleasure to work with her. Beautiful voice, and really easy to follow because she´s good and experienced and you can check out very easily  what she want´s and how she want´s it.

We did 3 sets, each set 8 tunes (2 instrumentals, 4 vocals, and again 2 instrumentals), and people really liked what we were doing. In general, I  don´t like to play  non-jazz events like weddings but this was really a "bebop-wedding" with a hip audience that dug what we were doing.

And the most important thing: She (the singer) liked what we did and felt comfortable with us and will use us on further gigs. Really makes me happy and needless to say I´m lookin´ forward working again with her.

[JSngry]

Glad to hear it went well. Playing with a bad singer is hell, but playing with a good one can be, if not always heaven, a peek inside it. And occasionally you get to go all the way in.

Onward!

 

[Gheorghe]

yeah, I´m looking forward playing again with her, and we can do our stuff and split the program, playin let´s say 2 bebop tunes, then 4 vocals with her, one bop/latin tune, again a vocal and the closer might be a simple theme song where she can rap with the audience , presenting the musicians and announcing intermission. Thought about "Don´t Stop the Carnival" , might be good for a closer, you can play along with a lower volume  while she makes the announcments.

We did something similar on the gig, just not to play only the music, but also doing it like a little show, stuff like that sells well and doesn´t interfere with the quality of the music.......

Though there where many "hard core jazz fans" in the audience, some were not but still dug what we did, maybe because we did it in a natural lively manner......, we even could bring an ultra rapid version of "Salt Peanuts" without people leaving the scene *smile*