I've been going to a lot of jazz clubs lately, to sort of acclimate myself back into the world of gigging. The experience has been humbling, to say the least. It is amazing to me how many SUPER-competent musicians there are, out there. Unless you've got your sh*t together, the Atlanta area is not the place to ply your craft. It's probably like how I envision Nashville for country musicians. These guys are NOT entertainers, they're musicians. What's worse (on the ego), is how young some of them are.

The keyboardist I saw the other night (playing a Motif ES 88key) couldn't have been more than 22-23 yrs old and his technique and mastery of the music was nothing short of astounding. Very humbling, indeed. Plus, he was very nice and modest to the extreme (no self-proclaimed King, here). He must have been one of those guys Scott alluded to that spent his time practicing instead of posting. I'm guessing he never heard of SZ. One interesting thing, he (appeared to) use only one voice all night (some el. piano). He probably could/should have used a digital (stage) piano. The rest of the group consisted of bass, drums, guitar, and female vocalist. Bassist and drummer were older (40's) guys, tasteful and rock solid; the guitarist (mid 20's) was spectacular, with the fastest runs I've ever seen on guitar (and he made it look effortless), the vocalist (30ish) was decent but not up to the level of the musicians (great looking, though). Anyhow......

After going through some mild depression in which I couldn't bear to touch a keyboard, I finally decided it was time to go back to some serious practicing. I also applauded my decision to do the "organ trio" thing, as there aren't many groups doing this format and that maybe I could at least be "king" of the organ players .

I always thought the musicians from my generation were better than todays batch; not anymore. Oh well, back to the basement to practice. Gotta work on some new licks that nobody can possibly duplicate.

chas (the humble)

[This message has been edited by cgiles (edited 09-17-2007).]

Chas,

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. Many of the younger musicians I've encountered lately were absolute masters on the keys and strings. It's very humbling to say the least. However, on the flip side I've encountered some young musicians that have come up to me at the end of the evening and said how much they enjoyed the music and vocals I provided and asked for business cards.

Good Luck,

Gary

------------------
Travlin' Easy

chas ... Providence RI has this 'event' called "Waterfire" http://www.waterfire.org/ ... At one location they have a "Jazz Stage" ... last year I saw a quartet - piano, bass, drums, sax - the OLDEST was 17 yrs old ... I told my wife those kids hadn't been BREATHING long enough to learn what they knew about music ... AMAZING ...
Fortunately, there are a lot of young, serious musicians out there ...
t.

Gary, that's the respect shown to someone who does what he does very well. That's a tribute to your professionalism.

chas

Don't feel like you have to be King. There is a lot of room for all of us pawns to have fun and make a few bucks. But keep practicing any way.

...but, but, but, I WANT to be king...like D.... Oh well, if I want to be king, guess I'll have to move to some small town in South Dakota (pop. 200), or maybe .....Destin, FL. Hmmm, now where did I put those Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops .

chas

Hey, you can take over for me. I'm actually thinking seriously about leaving SD for Nashville. Only my little town has 3000 people, but I'm confident you could with effort rise to the top here.

The true test of humility is whether you can say grace before eating crow.

Come on down, chas... all are welcome!

'Tis better to rule in hell...'

Nobody at all doing organ trio jazz 'round here. You'd be the de facto 'king'... Just as long as I can be the Jester...

Years ago, I was playing with my long-time partner and mentor, Tommy Johnston, at a supper club in Frankfort, Kentucky called the Midland Tavern.

A young guy was dancing...boots, jeans, etc., while everyone else was dressed nicer. Must have been about my age at the time, 22-23. Tommy was about 45 at the time.

He had a request for the Tennessee Waltz, so Tommy (the show-off) played it as a jazz waltz, like the Gravy Waltz.

The kid came up and said..."don't mess with the tune".

That pissed off Tommey, so he asked if the kid played. The young guy said he played trumpet. "Well, go get that bad boy". Tommy was going to bury the kid as he had done to many others.

The kid came back with a paper sack, coverig a beautiful Benge trumpet in a leather case. Tommy called "Four", smiled and asked the kid "What key"?

The kid said "stock", hit the first note running, and Tommy was scuffling like mad.the smirk had disappeared.

Turned out the kid was an Eastman graduate on tour with the Stan Kenton band. He was on vacation visiting his family in a nearby town.

The kid said he was not showing any disrespect, but that nothing was gained at playing anything but the "straight" version of that tune for the older lady that requested it.

There are some GREAT younger players out there, and, that night, my crusty old partner learned a valuable lesson.

So did I.


Russ