3/4 piece jazz group

[hellonwheels3]

hello you wise lot :)

I am next week commencing a small jazz group, comprising of the following:
me on tenor sax
female friend on double bass
female vocals and
her husband on acoustic guitar

the aim is to play nice quiet music from memory, in a pub type atmosphere. quiet listening music, non offensive, you get the idea.

we have talked over the sort of music we'd like to play, and so far the possible selection includes:
Fever
Cry me a river
dido - white flag and life for rent
every time we say goodbye
george michael - turn a different corner

we're not restricting ourselves to just jazz, we're open minded as long as it fits the feeling.

we'd like a few simple more up-tempo tunes to play. any suggestions, either to up tempo, or to down (?) tempo tunes??

they need to be well known, seems pointless to play otherwise. also needs to be quite straightforward and relatively easy to play.

we'll prob be doing a mixture of vocal pieces, as well as some some vocal lines played on tenor.

any help would be appreciated!!!

Thanks,
Helenxx

[Gandalfe]

Guessing that you want vocals for each piece:

The Waters of March by Susannah McCorkle has great vocals and guitar. Her I Thought About You has a sweet tenor solo to go with the vocals. You can transcribe these easily from her 'Most Requested Songs' CD.

I've always thought that Stranger on the Shore had great possiblities for a tenor too. I'm transcribing that for clarinet right now. Brain-dead easy and a nice sound.

I've been copying Pete Fountain's A Closer Walk off of his 'best of' CD which has potential as a vocal/tenor sax number too.

All of these can be listened to in part on amazon.com or purchased as a single song off of MSN Music.

[danarsenault]

Bossas seem to fit your bill. Agua De Beber, Wave, Ipanema, that sort of thing.

[hellonwheels3]

Hello again

It's not crucical that each has a vocal line, i suppose the general public would be more familiar with vocal lines.

We've discussed Ipanema and that is definately in, as a sax piece.

Any more?

Kind regards,
Helenxx

[airmouton]

A surprising number of people know old standards... e.g. songs Sinatra covered. An up-tempo rendition of A Fine Romance or Cheek to Cheek would probably go over well. Maybe a Ray Charles cover like Georgia? Also, in my experience, Beatles covers are always appreciated.

[martysax]

I suggest covers of GG Allin and of the Misfits.

[hellonwheels]

Hi guys

Well the band has been going now for approaching 2 months, and it's going good! We meet every other week and we really have gelled!

Current repertoire includes:
Ain't misbehavin
blue moon
norah jones - don't know why
dido - white flag and life for rent
dream a little dream
summertime
moondance

...plus a few others.

we have our first gig together in may, in a little coffee bar/wine bar. lovely place.

next dilemma : what should we call ourselves??? i'd like a sensible and cool name, but the vox and guitar want something quirky and comical. they've suggested 'The Bob Mackintosh Quintet'...(yes i know we're only 4, that's the gag).

All suggestions greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Helenxx

[groovesax]

Hi guys

... 'The Bob Mackintosh Quintet'...(yes i know we're only 4, that's the gag).

Helenxx

Be careful with a gag like that,... a prospective client may think he or she is actually getting a quintet and reduce your pay on the basis of false pretenses.

[Saxland]

Max Roach album from 1957. "Jazz in 3/4 Time"
with Sonny Rollins, Kenny Dorham, Ray Bryant.

http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=3231024

:D

[saxobari]

All Helen,there are so many good tunes you could do as How Insensitive,My Funny Valentine,Autumn Leaves,Bleu Bossa,My Favorite Things,Lover Man,Desafinado,In A Sentimental Mood,Stolen Moments,Summertime,No More Bleus,Tenderly,Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars,so many more.
Sincerely your's Saxobari

[hellonwheels3]

Hi guys

Well this week my quartet played its first gig together and it went really really well. it was in a quiet and relaxed coffee bar in my home town in Sussex, UK and was very well received by the public and the bar owners alike. We were asked if we had any CD's for sale, and have been approached for a booking and have been asked back to play at the coffee bar again in a few months time. Very exciting! 8-)

We have settled on the name The Coalhole Quartet, reason being that the vocalist and guitarist's kitchen/dining room is where we rehearse, and they converted it from a coal cellar.

We got quite a nice repertoire growing, it includes:
Moondance, Summertime, Ain't Misbehavin, Harlem Nocturne, Whispering Grass, Blue Moon, Fly Me to the Moon, Dream a little dream...plus a few others. We will soon be venturing into Beatles covers which i'm open minded to...

My job is to fill the gaps in between the vocal lines, plus play a few verses of ad lib solo here and there. Now, bearing in mind that the whole band works without written music (guitarist has chords but that's all), my solos are beginning to sound all very "samey" i.e. there is not much difference between each song. I run out of ideas. How do i get them to sound different AND interesting? Do i play around the tune?

Now please, i know that you will say practice this scale, practice that scale, listen to so-and-so. But i don't WANT to sound technical, this band is all about easy listening and appealing to non-jazz types.

Your ongoing help is proving a marvellous help :D

Helen xx

[whaler]

The reason they always say "practice scales, listen" is because you have to build a vocabulary. Your soloing will always sound the same if you have no vocabulary. It's a lot like learning a foreign language. You can't express yourself if you only know a few words that you repeat over and over.