How to Sandbag a Band

[jhatpro]

I had to miss one of our Dixie gigs so I copied all the lead sheets for everyone and just heard that I somehow gave the Bb horns the C charts and vice versa.

The guitar player said "things were pretty rough until the guys figured out what had happened and started transposing."

So it goes when you have a band that doesn't know the book by heart and a leader who's watching a baseball game while he's copying.
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Jim Hatfield

"The notes are there - find them.” Mingus

2021 Martinus Geelan Custom
2005 Bach 180-72R
1965 Getzen Eterna Severinsen
1946 Conn Victor
1998 Scodwell flugel
1986 Bach 181 cornet
1954 Conn 80A cornet
2002 Getzen bugle

[mrhappy]

Yeah, that's the move... make sure they don't sound too good without you there!!
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MH

[jhatpro]

I'm busted!
_________________
Jim Hatfield

"The notes are there - find them.” Mingus

2021 Martinus Geelan Custom
2005 Bach 180-72R
1965 Getzen Eterna Severinsen
1946 Conn Victor
1998 Scodwell flugel
1986 Bach 181 cornet
1954 Conn 80A cornet
2002 Getzen bugle

[John Mohan]

That's funny! I did something similar for my Easter gig. When I sent the organist the music, I neglected to take a look at the organ part I sent her for Purcell's trumpet tune. I always just play the song by heart in the original key of Concert D (on Piccolo Trumpet with the pipe pulled out to A so the song is played in F on the horn). Well, apparently I sent her a dumbed down version that was written in Concert C. Thank goodness she wanted to run through it before the service (we've played it together on many occasions and I really didn't feel the need, but went along with her request). Of course it was a train wreck. This could have been a real predicament as it was only about 20 minutes until the service and she doesn't transpose. But fortunately, her pipe organ does. With two pushes of the transposition button she was playing it in D Concert. Wish I had one of those buttons on my horns...

[beagle]

I once arranged a piece for my band in a different key from the Real Book. The piano player didn't check that they were different and used his Real Book version rather than the chart I gave him. It was a Mingus piece so he thought that the clashing harmonies were intentional and actually it didn't sound too bad.
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Schagerl Sig. James Morrison
Selmer Paris Chorus 80J

[mrhappy]

[kehaulani]

I was working, as the composer, on a recording project with big band and soloist (I won't name them-you'd know them) and the project kept having more and more tunes piled into the same time frame by the producer. The day of recording came and it was so last-minute hurried, I was faxing the band parts at the last minute to the soloist who was then hand-carrying them from his hotel to the studio.

This was when music software was just being developed and I wrote the charts in this new format. I sent them unplayed and I had made a mistake on several of the latter charts and transposed the music incorrectly. They could use four of my earlier charts but three others were unplayable and the soloist and band were so bummed out, they didn't want much else to do with me.

World class soloist, professional band and studio time. That's a lot of money. I was afraid for about two weeks that the producer was going to sue me. Luckily, nothing came of it and at least I had four of my charts recorded, but . . . geez.
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"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[etc-etc]

Once upon a time, we played with a singer who was very skilled at transposing any key about 25 cents flat ...

[kehaulani]

I think we borrowed that same singer, from time to time.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[maynard-46]

Was working a quartet gig in my hometown a few years ago. It was at a Holiday in night club which was THE place for jazz groups in our area. As long as they weren't working it seemed like every musician around came to hear us that night. We worked out the first tune to be an "opener...Hammond B3 for a chorus...drums come in with him for a chorus...then the tenor player and my self join them on the band stand to play the head. Don't remember the tune but it was a blues in F concert. I took a breath to start the head and immediately lowered my horn as did the tenor player! Apparently the organ player didn't let the organ pre-warm up long enough and he ended up being a 1/2 step flat putting me in the key of F#!!! We kind of just faked a couple of choruses...let the organ player get the Hammond up to pitch...and then started a different tune! Embarrassed...YES!! But still laughable! To this day I still kid the organ player about that!

Butch
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TRUMPE: YAMAHA Lacq. "Shew Gen II" / Legends .585 "CatMaster" Top / KT "TKO" BB / Reeves #5.75 Sleeve.
FLUGELHORN: ADAMS Custom "F1" / Legends .585 "CatMaster FL.

[Turkle]

[deleted_user_02066fd]

Years ago when I was still teaching I was playing auxiliary keyboard for a city wide chorus concert. One of the songs was Mariah Carey's Hero and I was slated to sit that particular song out. During dress rehearsal I was asked to add a string part and the only extra music available was in a different key than we were playing the song in. I used the transposition button and everything went well. The next song was Club Nouveau's version of Lean On Me and I was playing clavinet after the piano intro. During the performance I forgot to reset the transposition button to the proper key. I come in with my funky clavinet and I'm a whole step higher than the rest of the band. Busted!!!!
The concert was filmed for local cable access. Good thing almost no one watches that channel.