Yeah, I know it's past it's prime but it still gets MY juices flowing. No doubt about it; playing with some guys you're on the same page with plus feeling comfortable with your instrument......just nothing like it. I've been following this guy for years and always loved his funky style. This is the type of thing we do, just not quite as well......well maybe on a couple of tunes . May not be your cup of tea but I think you'd have to say that these guys can play. Anyhoo, listen with big speakers or good phones, otherwise you'll miss the gist of it.

Russ, dust off that that jazz guitar, rub some Ben-Gay on those fingers and come on down. I've got two good horn players......we can do this, baby. Heck, we may even let you do a slow vocal ('What are you doing....the rest of your life') if there are any 'honeys' in the house .

Anyhow, check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9sJ-PDQYpA&feature=related

chas

Cgiles,

These guys are not your typical "SELF TAUGHT" musicians. OK? If they are, they are what is known as geniuses. You can bet the house with the toilet connected to it that what I state here is fact. Too many scales, blues, pentatonic, lydian, dorian etc. for self taught. This has traces of “Julliard” or it’s equal. I can’t even pronounce all of the scales they’re playing. Maybe Scott or “The Captain” can help us out with the technical names of the scales and how to pronounce them.

The wife just ran out of the house and wanted to know “what in the hell was I doing.” She caught me in the pick-up getting ready to roll over my Buescher Tenor. I came real close this time. Maybe tomorrow morning when she’s not keeping an eye on me.

I prefer tenor sax over alto, however I've never heard an alto sax man play as much in the lower register as this guy does. Most play in the upper register and I don't enjoy the high sounds all night long. I could listen to this guy all night.

If you and your band can play like this let me know. I will rob a bank fly to where you're located and all I want to do is sit-in for maybe 3 tunes a night. OK?

I’ll be surprised if you get any negative comments on this. If you do, don’t pay it any mind. Whoever finds something wrong with this “anything” they are either deaf or tone and rhythm deaf. Ha ha!

I love “Jazz Funk.” Really, I like anything that’s done musically well. Man how can you not like “Friends In Low Places.” It even has diminished chords here and there.

Good post. I listen to lots of Jazz with earphones while falling to sleep. I’d just let the CD play without the earphones, but it would drive the wife nuts, and just one who is nuts is enough for any family.

Boo, this is pretty much ALL we play in the clubs we play. They're all jazz clubs or clubs that feature 'jazz night' one or two nights a week (plus a 'blues night' and even a 'country night' but strangely, no 'rock night'). Usually it's just organ, guitar, and drums if it's a weekday with sax and vocalist if on the weekend.

I've been playing this stuff (we called it 'fatback' back in the day) for as long as I can remember....or at least since the heyday of the organ trio/quartet (think Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Groove Holmes, Jimmy McGriff, Don Patterson, Shirley Scott, and countless others). We all played out of Philly and Atlantic City (Groove went to San Francisco), and we all knew each other. There were some absolutely phenomonal organ players that no one ever heard of (sort of like New Orleans). I could tell you stories that would make you actually salivate for the 'good ol' days'. I guess the best thing about them is that we were all YOUNG. Oh well. Glad you enjoyed the clip. As I'm sure you know, the nice thing about playing at jazz clubs is that 1. you don't need to 'play it like the record' 2. you don't have to pack the dance floor (just keep them drinking ) and 3. you can play the same 50-75 tunes for an entire career....just play them differently every night.

Also Boo, want to try some tunes with beautiful structure and killer changes......try Monk's 'round midnight, Benny Golsons 'I remember Clifford', the Beatles 'Yesterday', and our own Capt Russ's 'What are you doing the rest of your life' (he didn't write it, just played the hell out of it).

chas

Chas,
I do "Round Midnight" around the house, Harlem Nocturne (with all of the original licks). Lots of guys play it but leave off much of the licks that make it a great tune.

I do "Mood Indigo" and many others that I put in BIAB. There's also a Fake Book for BIAB with close to 1000 tunes. I've learned many of them.

The problem is where I live I have to do the POP stuff. Can you imagine a guy with denims, a plaid shirt and scuffed up cowboy boots requesting "My Romance," "My One And Only Love," "Darn That Dream," "Perdido." Ha ha!
I can get by if I stick with "Night Train."

Chas not trying to find fault or put you on the spot, but is your group pretty tight like this group you posted? I've heard groups play the chart very tight after playing it many times. However, sometimes the improvisation lacks.

These guys are blowing free and on spot just like Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, and Coltrane use to do. Only these guys didn't do the "Funk" charts, but no one blew freer and swung any better than Dex and the boys.

And I bet this group you posted doesn't play the same solo over and over every night. That is very hard, not to play the same improvisation over and over. To be spontaneous is hard playing night after night. You start playing the same licks over and over. I've done some 5 and 6 night gigs in the 1800's. I think in trying to prevent this from happening, and trying to keep up, caused a bunch of alcoholism and drugs in my day. And especially in the "Hey Day" of Charlie "Bird" Parker, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins and the list goes on and on. These were geniuses.

So are the guys you posted Julliard graduates or just plain geniuses too? that's an excellent post. put up an other like it.

Oh! I almost forgot. It sounds like they had the best experts with the best acoustics and gear to do the recording and video. Man these guys are really working hard with their axes too. I need to give another listen

That's fantastic. What awesome playing. I can listen to this over and over and never get tired of it.

Boo, I play with several different horn guys and occasionally a different drummer (our regular drummer's wife is a very prominent local singer and when she gigs he always defers to her - she works with piano and upright bass). With a horn-augmented organ trio, the secret to sounding 'tight' is a killer 'pocket' drummer combined with a good organ-type bass line. Also, try to have a (well-rehearsed) ensemble part that allows you to EXPLODE out of the break for your solo. Sure, it's pandering to the crowd but hey, it works. Other tips....stay off the mic, jazz audiences hate that. You're supposed to entertain them with your playing, not your talking. The only exception to that was James Moody who probably could have been a stand-up comic if he hadn't been such a musical genius (Moodys Mood for Love is still one of the most recognizable jazz tunes of all time).

Ok, enough jabbering. Go back and practice those scales .

Nigel, yeah, there's something 'organic' about watching guys like that play. You can sense that they're in it soley for the music. Thanks to guys like Pierre, Tony Monaco, Joey Defrancesco, and a few others, this art form continues to remain viable.

chas

Jimmy McGriff used to play a 1990s XB3 too, its a bit hard sounding but a great instrument and very good to see one still being used as it should be. Thanks for the link, some very tight musicianship.

Not only viable, this is the pinnacle of musicianship. This is what every musician should aspire to, even if they can't reach it. But just trying to will improve our performance skills. This is music performance at its very best. I love it.

I heard Joey Defrancesco live a little while back opening for Steely Dan. Both were a musical treat.

chas ... thank you, thank you, THANK YOU !!!
nuff said ...

... except when are you going to get a vid cam like Gary's and post some of your group's stuff on here ?!?!?

I just finished watching the YANKEES take another game from the mets, and then tune into S-Z to hear this ... what a GREAT night !!!

Tony, I've got lots of Video gear, mostly prosumer quality, my latest being the JVC GY-HMZ1U 3D video camera. Waiting for a Stereo Base Extender for it to expand/enhance the 3D effect. It's kind of a hassle (and a little risky) to try to get good footage in the club (I'd have to get someone else to do it) so maybe I'll just do a rehearsal. I'm sure you'll understand why I'm somewhat reluctant to post MY image on THIS board. I'll have to think about it. If it were just you, Russ, Takei, 124, Boo, Nigel, Diki, SqueakD, and Spalding, I'd be fine with it.....anyhow, I'd be happy to send you a clip in PM. In case you hadn't noticed, this isn't one of the more popular musical forms here and I, for sure, am not one of it's more popular ambassadors (partly my fault, I'm sure, I haven't always been a model citizen ). Anyhow, glad you liked it. BTW, did you notice; this was a great jazz audience as well. They knew they were getting something good and it was obvious that they came to listen and enjoy. I'll PM you as soon as I get off my lazy duff.

chas

chas ... thank you ...
Yes, it is always great to see an audience APPRECIATING good jazz ...
I've said it before, but I was brought up in a household that listened to ALL genres of music, but really started listening to jazz at about the age of 16 ... I saw Maynard Ferguson, Ahmad Jamal, and a bunch of others at a jazz fest in Madison Square Garden back in the day and that certainly piqued my interest ... I really regret not making the time to study it more ...

A bit OT, but still on the jazz theme ... the sax player in the band we had in NY (Frank Ascone) was ALWAYS into jazz ... well, at least from the age of about 10 ... he never liked 50's RnR even though we grew up right in the midst of it and played it for years
Frank spends some time in Sarasota during the year and always finds jazz jams to play at ... He is the sax player in the photo ...
http://kenfrancklingjazznotes.blogspot.com/2012/05/wonderful-tradition-22-years-and.html

Just thought you might find it interesting ...

Speaking of listening to all genres of music, we are in the process of purchasing tickets to see IL VOLO in Boston in September ... QUITE a change of pace ...

Chas,

I am a bit surprised at the list on names above, if you posted work on SZ and it was bad, there is not one member that would say so, silence might well speak volumes and you will never know, people on SZ are rather reserved when it comes to using the word "Crap", take may word for it I am right. It is nice to see peoples work, whatever it is, good or indifferent.

And how do you know that Russ, Takei, 124, Boo, Nigel, Diki, SqueakD, and Spalding, would be all positive, just a thought.

Good luck with it Chas

Sorry Tony, you missed the gist of what I was saying (old folks get confused easily ). I'm not concerned about negative OR positive critiques of my musical posts, in fact, I've posted lots of stuff here and had very positive feedback (you were probably napping at the time ). In fact, I hold the current SZ record of being the ONLY musical poster in the history of SZ to get a positive (or any other kind of) critique from Rory, arguably the best pure musician on SZ. I'm kind of proud of that. The thing is, some people judge you by more than just your performance. The people I named are just people that I think would just view the performance as a performance and comment on it accordingly, good or bad, and that their comments wouldn't be tainted by what they thought of me on a personal basis. I base this on how they generally represent themselves on this board. Of course, a couple (like Russ) I have met in person and think of them more as personal friends. Hope this clears it up for you......Tony, Tony....are you awake?

chas

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz hrr zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


Got you Chas, Wilo, Roger, over and out Captain

Just got back from a trip overseas; turned on the computer and have been sitting her with the happiest/saddest things going on in my head.

HAPPY, because, for me, this is what I LIVE to play.

SAD, because, in most parts of the country, while you can find a little work playing this classic B-3 style, it's really hard to make a living doing it.

My trio (me on B-3, my grandson on drums and my son on bass) is lucky enough to have a "small but mighty" following of hard core B-3 folks. We're getting pretty tight, but what we make wouldn't cover the interest on the money I just made overseas last week.

Then, there's the issue of maintenance and transportation of the B-3 and Leslie. Luckily, mine "lives" at the club where it's used. The repair man "lives" on the repair/maintenance checks I send regularly.

Obviously, these folks are fantastic. Look at the joy on this guy's face. He's way better than the top recognized guys in this country.

Chas and Boo, we're sharing something here that most others won't understand.

Until you've "been there" you'll never know...

Just WONDERFUL!


Russ

And, Chas, it would be such an honor to play in ANY group that included you. Thanks so much for the nice things you have to say. BTW, you were mostly responsible for me getting back to guitar. You mentioned several places that you liked "What are You Doing The Rest of Your Life".

I was in such pain that I had all but given up the instrument. One day, I picked up the guitar and tried to play your tune. I SUCKED at it, but decided to get a version of it done that you would not laugh at.

And the rest, as they say, is history.


R.

This is just straight up great music . Thanks for posting this Chas . Its great to have you posting gain on the forum period.

Tony, Chas is spot on naming the ones here who would support this kind of thing enthusiastically. The brotherhood of people who are "living and breathing" this kind of music is unbelievably strong. It takes so much dedication to just appreciate it, never mind learn to play it.

This is a musical treasure, and is one of the things that makes my musical life so fulfilling.

It is also the thing that makes it impossible for me to play some other kinds of music and venues.

The money is NOT good, the venues are few and far between....and I can't imagine a career in music without this kind of material and this classic, wonderful, challenging style.

Thanks again, Chas,


Russ

Russ, wondered where you were. Did you catch those great 'Black Church' organ riffs at the end of the second tune. That boy's got soul, no doubt about it. Nothing like a Hammond to give you that big finish. Tony Monaco does this as well as anyone. BTW, I'm still waiting for my Leslie 3300. The Pro 145 just isn't cutting it; not enough bass without a sub. Wish I could get away with just putting a better speaker in it; I love the size. Anyhoo, drop me an email or PM re your latest gig/trip. Sounds exciting.

chas

Chas, many thanks for putting up that You Tube clip. I hadn't heard of this fella before, but he's on the radar now. I also have to say that I'm honoured to be included in such illustrious company as those you mentioned. I'm not so honoured to have to admit that I never followed my heart in pursuing this music in my younger years. Funny how life gets in the way of many things.

If you ever do record some of your stuff, do feel free to PM me a clip. I'd love to listen to it.

Best regards.

Hell Russ,

It sounds like a bag of drugs your all on, why can't we all share, never mind at least Tony Mads posted the Italian group so the thread was well worth it, IL VOLO made up for not having Chas's demo, they are great never heard them before, they are my kind of drugs. Looks like Italy may also win the World Cup, pity they are broke.

Cheers Russ

Tony

Relating this thread back to the "topic" of this forum:
Here's an "arranger keyboard" jam session that cooks too !
and It's the Real thing too . . .
Robert Messier and Sandro Fontanella

With all due respect, Scott, I think you're comparing apples and oranges and in any case, I didn't post this so people would scour the internet looking for a comparable arranger performance. I just posted it because I enjoyed it and thought some of our resident organ players and hammond enthusiasts would too. No 'pissing contest' intended.

If I'm being honest (not disrespectful, just honest), I wouldn't walk across the street to listen to something like you just posted. If that's your idea of 'jamming' or 'the REAL thing', then that's fine, different strokes for different folks. Frankly, I don't think too many jazz organist are going to share your enthusiam for that performance nor do I think it would go over very well in any jazz clubs that I know of.

Hey, nothing wrong with the T4 or any other arranger keyboard; I've heard some great (or at least very good) performances done on arrangers (not too many in 'style' mode, though), but holding up a T4 simulated jazz organ played by non-jazz players to a REAL Hammond played by a smokin' hot, balls-to-the-wall jazz-funk player, is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. BTW, don't try to feature a 'Hammond' sound (especially jazz or gospel) on ANY kind of keyboard without an expression pedal hooked up to it.

Also, when I said REAL, I meant the player (playing ALL the notes) and the instrument (playing ONLY the notes played by the player). But again, this was a post about a player and performance that I thought was exceptional and decided to share it, not about the superiority of one keyboard over another; that will always be subjective. If you're a lousy player, both are going to sound like crap. If you're a great player, then the choice of keyboard starts to take on more of a role. A keyboard sounds best when it's doing what it does best; a synth or workstation sounds best in the studio, a piano sounds best in a concert hall, a Hammond/Leslie sounds best in a Black Gospel Church, a Jazz club, or a Rock concert, an arranger sounds best in a uh, uh, wait, I'm thinking, oh yeah, a Nursing Home. Just kidding..........sort of.

Scott, for the record, I'm not a big fan of Barbara Dennerlin's either. She is probably THE most technically gifted JAZZ organist out there, but the soul just ain't there. After three minutes of being amazed at her footwork, I'm ready to leave; but that's just my opinion. Man oh man, wish I had her skill and my soul, I'd be cooking, baby.

chas

Chas.....that was very enjoyable the "FUNK" keeps me interested would of loved to see a small horn section eg: TOP to just put this over the top, but the energy, groove, and musicianship shines thru in this performance giving the audience and listener a real treat.

In a perfect world today & if I didn't have to be in the trenches as a OMB to make a living so missing my 7pc band days I would definitely be doing something like this on Hammond/ KB's with my own twist. thanks for sharing ....Good Stuff !!

Hey me too. But I would be so very happy to have you post it publicly on the forum. I think you would be surprised how many here would appreciate it. It is such a pleasure to listen to jazz.

Scott,

Thanks for posting this video. I saw it about a year ago and was real impressed with both the playing and the Audya. I lost track of it, but recorded it this time around. Those guitars are incredible in that Audya, not to mention the sax and the harmonica. Thanks again for resurrecting the demo.

Mark