Ramblin Man-Stuck in the midle-T.R.O.U.B.L.E
Funky Music-Superstition-Follow Me-Brown Eyed-Heaven (los lonely boys)-Live like you were dyin-FM (steely dan) & do it again-r.o.c.k in the usa-workin for a livin-Fire & Rain- Movin on (Bad Company)-margaritaville-some ccr songs like have you ever seen the rain & whole story-proud mary-
Rio - higher ground-abracadabra to name a few

[This message has been edited by DanO1 (edited 03-28-2008).]

Dan I would be in big trouble if I used that song list tonight..

I would be in big trouble if I used that song list anywhere I perform--including the nite clubs.

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

good luck with your new Duo give em hell baby!



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 03-28-2008).]

Not for the Senior centers but I can relate to all those songs. Do you have a hot guitar player?

LOL .... Kind of interesting...

I'm 44 ...not 64

These are the songs people my age know !

Since Maryland put a smoking ban in bars, I am more willing to play-sing & entertain.
Cigarette smoke in bars, was a hugh turn off for me.

I listed these songs to show that there is another market for folks my age

Yes .. put he is a firefighter, so he tends to put himself out a lot.

Dan, I play about half of those songs. Probably need to add some more. My audience at the club ranges from kids to ocoto/ ockto/ oktogen/ really old people, with lots in between.
DonM

We have more songs ... this was about half ...

Well of course. Your list was just an indication of the style of music you play.
DonM

I can not overstate the importance of clubs being smoke free. After I quit smoking cig's, having that smell on my clothes , hair etc.. really bothered me...

Have they banned smoking inside clubs /restaurants etc in Maryland yet Dan like we have here in NJ?

.x

[This message has been edited by Lucky2Bhere (edited 03-29-2008).]

Yes...

Smoking ban started Febuary 1st ....

My guitar player has been playing in bands for years , playing 3 hours , plus travel time, hauling gear, getting home late ... net pay $85 to $125.00 ... Not enough ...

Hence ..starting this duo ..

[This message has been edited by DanO1 (edited 03-29-2008).]

Arranger people... this was a funny joke

Get it ? Puts himself out a lot ? firefighter ?

lol

That list would work for me. Check my songlist.



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Cass www.cassponline.com/

Cass... .very simular indeed...


Love the S80 .. almost a vintage keyboard
by now !

That list, except for (ugh) the Buffet tune, is stuff I could and do use, sometimes. Good selections Dan, from a guy almost 20 years older.

Playing an arranger with a hot guitar player or horn is a blast!


Russ

DanO .. you're not going to be adding any 'stand-up' to your act are you ??? ...

t.

I agree with the buffet tune...

We will be standing and acting like were good.

Margaritaville is one of the most requested and well-received songs I do. I don't get what's wrong with it. I do a few more too, Livingston Saturday Night, Come Monday, A Pirate Looks at 40, I Like Pina Coladas, etc.
They are no worse in content than a lot of other artists' work. Am I missing something?
DonM

I'm not against it... it's when everyone starts singing assault - assault assualt ...and a fight breaks out...

Don, it's a simple matter of preference. If I played ANY Buffet music I would be laughed out of the places I work.

I really can't stand it. My people want Four, What are you doing the rest of your life, Song for my Father, Here's that Rainy Day, When Sunny Gets Blue, Masquerade, Got to get You Into My Life, Moondance, Chicken Shack and the like.

I'm a specialist, not a generalist, and, in my opinion, Buffet music is "fluff". Now, if I were an entertainer, I'd play them all.

But I'm not, so what I have to do is leverage musicianship to a very small but loyal audience to compensate.

If I had to play what I consider fluff, I'd quit.

I actually played whatever I got paid for years ago. Had to. I don't anymore.

I have become the jazz standard bearer around here, and I'm proud to try to keep this wonderful music alive and available to the public. Have to. All the really good jazz players have either died or quit in disgust.

Jazz is a powereful, lifetime quest, and I am in awe of it's complexity and meaning on so many levels.

Russ

Jazz players have a long history of taking some of the more banal pop tunes and turning them into jazz barnburners. Perhaps if you played Buffett like Buffett, sure, you'd score a goose egg, but play it like YOU, and who knows?

The S80 belongs to a friend who was playing at my retirement party. My band did a set, so I used it instead of carting my stuff in. That was almost three years ago and I think I had a PSR200 and a VR-760. Now it's the E-60 and a Hammond XK-1. I'm working on an arranger version of the Rascals' "Lonely Too Long." I hope to have it ready to record soon. The midis for that song suck and the arranger styles are not much better, but the E-60 has an 8bt that's not too bad.

If I played ANY Buffet music I would be laughed out of the places I work.

Russ,

Some guys can play Buffet tunes, and some can't! I can only echo DomM's statement about Buffet songs. I've even played them as instrumentals for background music at upscale dinner parties and they've always been very well recieved. Even my Louseville and Lexington, KY relatives requested them when I performed at U. of K. a couple years ago. I seriously doubt that your clients would laugh you out of the restaurant. It just ain't Jazz.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

I heard buffet is a hell of a jazz player .

You've got to pronounce it "boo-fay" if you're playing a jazz club...

There's an exclusive country club in my area that won't hire you back if you don't play some Buffett. And, after looking at your song list, I guess I offically qualify as an old fart. But I must say I'm a happy old fart who is as busy as I want to be.

Ciao,

Joe

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Songman55
Joe Ayala

Jazz - Pop - Oldies it really doesn't matter to me.... I love music, period ....

Russ Add:
Darn That Dream
All the Things You Are
Foggy Day
Round Midnight
My Romance
Where Is Love
Cocktails For Two
Harlem Nocturn
I'm Old Fashion
Body And Soul
Night Train
A few jazz blues charts, A couple hundred more up-tempo old Jazz standards and I'll move (Is it Kentucky)there and play tenor sax with you for free if you'll have me.
Let me know ASAP.
Boo
PS Sorry, but for some reason thinking Kentucky, I always thought you were a Ray Price type player. Boy did I have you wrong. Maybe I didn't read enough of your post or comments.
I will from now on.


[This message has been edited by brickboo (edited 03-30-2008).]

DanO ... would love to hear your version of "(How Far Is) Heaven" by Los Lonely Boys ...

Russ .. would love to hear your version of "Four" and "Song For My Father" ...
t.

PS: ... DanO ... I can remember when The Steve Miller Band came out with "Abra..." and Laura Branigan came out with "Gloria" ... around 1982 ... The band I was with played both of them for the first time at a high school 'father - daughter dance' ... the girls absolutely loved it ...

t.

[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 03-30-2008).]

Dan,

What keyboard are you using for the duo and what styles are you using for those songs like; Heaven, Ramblin Man, etc.?

Al

Boo, thanks. I play 95% of your list in my regular rotation.

I can't imagine anything you can do to a Buffet song to make it sound like anything but fluff.

Gary, you may be right. A Buffet instrumental might work at a restaurant. Not at a jazz club. Almost anything will work in a restaurant if arranged and played appropriately. Not for me. I can't imagine anyone who can hold a paying job who couldn't play Buffet. Some of us just choose not to.

I'm called for many of my jobs specifically because I DON'T play Buffet. Luckily, the management team of the largest independent upscale restaurant group makes "no Buffet" or the like a hard rule.

My change in approach is to replace as many arranger singles with jazz trio or duo jobs.
That way, playing each tune is an adventure, with every performance slightly different. And, I've got the chance to play with different people. Most who can play "Giant Steps" would never be happy playing fluff.

It's my intent to make work for those who have progressed to the "Giant Steps" level, and to support a significant population of upcoming jazz students coming out of programs run by a couple of friends at UK, Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky State and Morehead State University.

To me, playing jazz is an ultra-serious lifetome learning experience. And, it's worth the effort to keep the art form evolving and vital.

Russ

NOTE: My opinion ONLY. No intent to imply that this is the correct approach for ANYONE else. No intent to criticize arrangers, OMB's or players of other than jazz music.

I've made a very good living playing fluff! There are a lot of great jazz musicians around here. They all have day jobs.
DonM

Diki, even MILES couldn't get me to like Cindy Lauper's 'Time After Time'.

chas

Which he covered, in case you didn't know.

[This message has been edited by cgiles (edited 03-31-2008).]

Don, you're right. Sadly, that's why I have a day job, too!

You know that "fluff" applies to my opinion about what's appropriate for me and is no reflection on anything you do.

For jazz folks, the options are to starve trying to play jazz or "sell out".

You could easily get into the jazz arena, but wisely choose not to. That's smart. I'm just too far gone (read old and addicted to jazz) and such a poor entertainer that the die is cast.

R.

Morehead State. Isn't that where Monica Lewinsky went?

chas

What are you implying, Chas...that Morehead State really "sucks" (LOL)?

Don't really know, actually.

Russ

Boo, I do those songs as well, except Night Train and Harlem Nocturne. Harlem Nocturne only sounds right with sax. I do a lot of Jimmy Smith, Groove Holmes, Charlie Earland (a great friend of mine before he died), and always the 'blues in f' time-killer to blow off a little steam get in all the crowd-pleasing licks .

As to DonM's comment about all the jazz players having day jobs; it's true, but they're so HAPPY . and thin. and they get the most exotic ladies (ok, so they have to pay).

...and stop trying to get Capt. Russ to play Buffett; he'll hold out 'til they pry that B3 from his cold, dead, fingers. Way to go Russ.


chas

Good Question... I use the Ketron SD1.
We use midi sequences for heaven & ramblin man and most of the other songs too... I out to entertain and have fun.
I edit out piano & organ parts & guitar parts as well.One feature that is really handy on the SD1, is the "drum bass" mode .. which instantly takes all parts out , except drum and bass of a midi sequence.

I find that audiences react better to a song, when they recognize it & midi sequences do that quicker than styles.

When I create my own songs, I use styles.
When I play at Church I use styles. Entertaining a crowd ? I find the sequences do the best job....




[This message has been edited by DanO1 (edited 03-31-2008).]

chas ... I have to disagree on Harlem Nocturne ... while the 'standard' is with sax, I've heard some damn good B3 versions as well ...
t.

Dan, so sorry I hijacked your thread.

Just went a little nuts on something very important to me and that wasn't polite.


Russ

No biggie .... typical of jazz players

Get all worked up and bring disharmony to the thread

Tony, I've loved this tune since I was a kid. I don't think any other tune captures the essence of the Harlem Renaissance as well as this song. It may be the sultriest song ever written. HOWEVER, although I've heard it done over some incredibly soulful B3 and/or piano accompaniment, I'd have to say that if ever a tune was 'made' for a tenor sax, that was it. Still, I'd love to hear an example of an arrangement where the organ is the featured instrument. I'd love to hear Boo or any of our sax-playing members weigh in on this. Just a friendly discussion, now.

chas

My recently departed buddy Winston Walls could make people cry playing this one on the B-3.

Chas, you're right...this is the ultimate tenor showpiece.

Russ

Harlem Nocturne has always been among my favorite songs of all time. I wish I could play it well, but alas, I just don't have the talent.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

chas .. I guess I shouldn't have said I disagree with you, because the tune really is a sax tune ... it's just that I've heard good B3 renditions as well ...
while I know I probably won't ever have the opportunity to hear it, (and I am NOT, I say NOT goading you ), I'll bet you and the Captain would more than do it justice ...
t.