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Jazz gig/ 3 horns/unison head charts



 
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mike ansberry
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 9:47 am    Post subject: Jazz gig/ 3 horns/unison head charts Reply with quote

I am playing dinner music for an upcoming wedding. The other two horns are not really jazzers. They play well, but style?... Anyway, when I play head charts alone I jazz up the melody a little. The written heads are really square. But when there are 3 of us we play the head as written. This sounds really bad to my ear.

What do you do in this situation?
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Arranger-Transcriber
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is this a test?

Let them play the melody (or split the melody) fore and aft, and let you improvise a chorus in the middle? You don't mention anything about the rhythm section, if there is one. I'd resist using the same formula and mix it up to the extent possible.
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mike ansberry
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 9:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I apologize if this is a stupid question. But it is really bugging me. It is with a rhythm section. The horns like to play the heads in unison and then individuals solo.
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mrhappy
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 11:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dude, it's a friggin' wedding... suck it up and play the gig! Become one with it and try to have some fun!! It won't feel so bad when you cash the check! Haha! Hopefully you can make your artistic statement on a more appropriate gig.
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JayKosta
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 5:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If there's adequate pre-gig rehearsal time to get it 'figured-out' so everyone stays together, then fine. But don't get everyone else confused by your going off-road.

You don't want listeners to be thinking 'what a bunch of screw-ups, they can't stay together'.

Jay
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DaveH
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 6:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know it may sound somewhat trite, but I would do whatever is in the best interests of the occasion and the best interests of the ensemble as a whole.

The term "dinner music" would probably indicate the expectations of the occasion. Any time in the past that I have played with a group providing dinner music, it was to be unobtrusive, and provide background music for the more prominent activity of eating and talking.
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Richard III
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 7:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What are the other horns? I ask because that dictates the style available and maybe could lend itself to you playing another instrument to emphasize the contrast.
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TrumpetMD
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:54 am    Post subject: Re: Jazz gig/ 3 horns/unison head charts Reply with quote

mike ansberry wrote:
I am playing dinner music for an upcoming wedding. The other two horns are not really jazzers. They play well, but style?... Anyway, when I play head charts alone I jazz up the melody a little. The written heads are really square. But when there are 3 of us we play the head as written. This sounds really bad to my ear.

What do you do in this situation?

Three horns playing unison and taking turns soloing is a bit much ... unless you're back in high school band. Two horns would be better. Maybe trumpet and tenor sax, or trumpet and trombone.

You can mix things up on the heads. On some songs, one horn can play the "A" section, while the other horn plays the bridge. On other songs, one horn plays the head, while the other plays a complementary counter melody. On some songs, it might be okay to play the head in unison. And don't forget the rhythm section. Let the piano or guitar player play the head once in a while.

And as Arranger-Transcriber noted, mix it up. Don't use the same formula on every song.

Mike
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veery715
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I love to play harmony with someone else on the head. Doing this with three is problematic unless the third player has a really good harmony ear. Also the person playing the head needs to be comfortable enough that the harmony won't throw him off.

Barring a lot of rehearsal time, just taking turns and being willing to lay out a bit so you don't have a whole horn section playing the head sounds reasonable to me.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I may have overlooked it, but is there is a reason you just don't write it out?
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Ed Kennedy
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 5:04 pm    Post subject: Re: Jazz gig/ 3 horns/unison head charts Reply with quote

TrumpetMD wrote:
mike ansberry wrote:
I am playing dinner music for an upcoming wedding. You can mix things up on the heads. On some songs, one horn can play the "A" section, while the other horn plays the bridge.


Dinner music means soft and unobtrusive to me. In my wedding band we rotated two guys for dinner music and the whole group for dancing after.

MD's idea of trading off sections is a good one. You could also let the other horns play the melody and you can obbelgobbel with a harmon mute over them. You never said what the other horns are? Reeds? Can they double on flute? Can they sub-tone on the sax? They can play latin toys on bozza novas.
Just saying.
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mike ansberry
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess I wasn't very clear on what I'm talking about. I have no intention of playing "off road" while the other two are playing what is written. If we all play the head together, which I think doesn't sound very good, Then I would of course play exactly what the others play.

It just seems to me to make more sense to have one guy play the head and then we take turns soloing. Having one guy play the head and one guy adding harmony would be great, but with this group only the guitar player and the sax and I show up for jazz rehearsal. The bone player doesn't come to it.

I could write out the heads in a less square style, but it is 90 minutes of jazz and I don't have time before Saturday to write that much out and also do all the other things that have to be done.
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tptguy
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Assuming the horns can read or hear chord changes then on some sections, frequently the bridge, have 2 horns play footballs. That’s mezzo piano whole notes on 3rd and 7th of chord. Don’t jump from 3rd to 3rd to 3rd of course. Move from 3rd to nearest chord tone that is a 3rd or 7th. 3rd will often hold over to a 7th and vice versa.
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