Jam Session @ The Hare and Hounds

Despite very short notice 11 people had a really good blow over Satin Doll (loads of II-Vs), Footprints and Ladybird. The room is bigger and cooler than at the Open House and the pub was really friendly. Parking is available 5 mins walk away behind London Rd. We managed without drums which did not stop us having an enjoyable session with some really good solos.

Fwd: gig a the Greenhouse Effect

I am playing with this band and I was wondering if I could place this
ad on the coop blog

thanks
Corrado

Out of the Bag - Playing at the Greenhouse Effect on Friday 8th May 8pm £5

Six-piece Brighton-based band.Their music is rooted in soulful jazz
and blues, with a sprinkling of funk. Their vocalist Iona evokes the
sultry tones of Claire Martin, the cool blues of Eva Cassidy and the
raw power of Annie Lennox. Come to their next gig and see what they
pull out of the bag

http://www.myspace.com/outofthebagjazz

Latest News

A big Co-op turnout for Alciona Mick last night at the Jazz Club. Some amazing key playing and great company.

Kjell took us through some interesting modern tunes as he always does. Passage by Tom Harrell was one of them. Check Tom Harrell out. A really interesting trumpet player.

Still trying to sort the Hare and Hounds for jam sessions. Will keep you informed. don't forget to check out Alice's band at the Babylon Lounge this Sunday afternoon.

The Brunswick Pub also has a jazz festival this weekend. The fantastic Ben Castle, son of Roy Castle and featured in the book 21 Lives, is on Saturday night (tonight).

Response to Simon

Simon

I'm sorry that you have decided to take offence. None was meant by anyone and an examination of what was said clearly indicates that no offence was intended. I do feel that you have a tendency some times to missinterpert things. For example the person that asked you for a gig for a Co-op band after you had made the offer(!) was not the committee chair (Py is) and, even if he was, what difference does it make? You ran two good workshops and were both paid and applauded for them. Was that not thanks enough? The fact that you made a proposal to radically change what the BJMC does and it was not accepted is just democracy in action really. Not something to get offended over! I seriously doubt any of us would want to stop booking you. You make an important contribution and I know that many of the members value what you bring. We are really up for a debate actually but lets keep it rational and not emotional as that is not in anyone's interest.

The comments by myself about the different ideas that different tutors bring to the workshops were examples to illustrate the benefit of diversity of approaches. They are all excellent ideas and of real value. It is unfair of you to imply that I was reducing what they do to these examples. I know that many members start to incorporate these ideas into their practice routines. Sometime people have to hear an idea several times before they start to use it.

I have seen many players develop and often then move on to bands or more demanding environments. I could name you half a dozen jazz pros that started at the BJMC. Of course the overall standard is not going to change that much. The BJMC is not a band. It is a workshop and learning environment. It is one of several learning opportunities in the locality and the large attendances reflect that it fills a wanted niche. In fact I think the current standard is higher than it has been for several years but that does present newcomers to improvisation with a problem if we are only going to meet the needs of those players as well.

I think that there is a place for a practice band that caters for the more advanced players. This would need consistent tuition along the lines that you propose. Why not start one up? That's what other people like Simon D'Souza have done. I think there would be a lot of takers.

Best wishes

Steve

Fwd: Simon's thoughts

Steve

I would like to respond to this, I do feel rather insulted. I was
offering a gig to the co-op to use as you see fit. It could have
featured workshop bands, and the whole lot of you on a couple of
charts like the one I did with you all. I wasn't suggesting you come
and play a few long notes on one of my tunes, therefore giving ME an
audience. There was no agenda, I was simply offering something to aim
for. My thoughts on the workshop as a learning vehicle are for the
benefit of the members. I have no interest in doing a season myself as
I don't have the time. I know of no other workshop that has two week
tutors, and quite frankly I don't feel it benefits the participants. I
have been doing the workshop for the past 9 years and i'm sorry to say
the level hasn't really changed by that much. You guys get a lot of
information, (some of it conflicting) and it lacks direction.

I fully realise the up side for the workshop of having different
tutors. It keeps things "fresh" and the "interest up" for the
participants. However I do feel Steve you have a tendency to pigeon
hole tutors, I refer to our conversation the first week. You mentioned
Terry does arrangements, I do Guide tones, Julian does pentatonics,
etc. This is rather one dimensional and on a personal level
patronising. For my part I bring five years of Jazz academia to the
table. Berklee, Leeds, Guildhall. Plus of course my playing
experience. I always give good value for money, come prepared and with
a lot to give (not a guide tone in sight this time) and for the most
part try to cater for all levels. But without a set goal, or an
overall direction it proves very difficult to give an honest,
informative two week session that is of any REAL value to the
participants. I am not going to stand in the middle of the room
recounting jazz anecdotes, and telling you all how fantastic you are,
its dishonest and not fair on you, me and more importantly the music.

Finally, I found it most interesting that when I first offered the gig
to the co-op, the chairman's priority was to hustle a gig for his own
band!! I have no shortage of high quality frontline players wanting to
do the gig, I felt it was a nice idea to feature BJC for a night, Tim
obviously did not. How many other tutors turn up with a program of
study, on time, overrun, and offer a gig?!!! (not one committee member
thanked me for the gig offer)

Whilst I realise this email means I wont be offered BJC again, I do
feel I couldn't not respond. Please forward to as many co-op members
as you think fit, or not...

Simon

Simon's Workshop

Simon Savage took us through the simple soloing sequence to the same tune as last week but with various ideas about alternative scales to use. One idea he used was to use the f blues scale over the f major section and then the c blues scale over the 251. The second half of the session was more advanced where he explained 10 sets of chord sequences that could be used as turnarounds.

Simon Says

Simon Savage has offered the BJMC a gig at the Hare and Hounds in Worthing. He suggested that we have only two tutors a term and that we use them to build a repetoir to lead to performance. This is an idea that has already been discussed on previous occassions in the Committee and has been done before when John Bailey used Laurence Jones to tutor the BJMC for a gig at the Brunswick Festival. The current feeling of the committee is that there are already a number of workshops that already do this. Simon D'Souza does it for his sax workshop. Geoff Simpkins runs his Saturday morning groups. And for the more advanced the Sussex Jazz Orchestra is effectively a gigging workshop (debatable?). The BJMC offers a safe workshop format where a variety of tutors bring a diversity of knowledge. This may, and often does, lead to the formation of bands. People may even form bands to perform at these gigging opportunities. Many past BJMC formed bands have performed at the Brunswich festival, including mine. Where tutoring the whole workshop for a gig has been tried in the past it has thrown up a few problems. Many people don't turn up on the day. Some people do not want to perform so stop going to the workshops. The relationship with the tutors changes. The BJMC is a rare, if not unique, learning environment and the view of the committee is that we need to retain the current formula. If you have a different view then please send us your comments below.

Simon ran a great workshop on Tuesday. 27 people turned up for it which meant not everyone got the chance to improvise. However it is the first time that I have heard the BJMC play arrangements at that tempo and sound so tight. It was really good.