Rehearsal, Gig, Thoughts, Piano

The rehearsal on Wednesday went well. I thought there was some good playing all round. Some nice interplay between the rhythm section behind the soloists and also a couple of blinding solos by the two Andys.

The gig in Stockton went fairly well. I was the first Thursday night jazz session at the venue so the audience could have been bigger but apparently those who were there had positive things to say... more importantly the guy who books the gigs was very complimentary!

I didn't feel particularly free when comping. I felt like I was just treading water a lot of the time - playing the same few ideas over and over rather than making any kind of meaningful statement. I think I need to spend a lot more time practising at around the 200 bpm and up tempo range. A lot of our tunes fall into that bracket so hopefully this will help.

My own soling didn't feel particularly good. I felt I was too tense and anxious to allow myself to play 'properly.' Again more practice should improve this. The tunes I solo on are all uptempo numbers so it might be good to solo on a slower tune instead which would bring out some different ideas. I also thought it might be an idea to do a free/open solo leading into one of the tunes.

Piano wise I am starting to get much more comfortable with the first half of the Bob Mintzer etude and I have now worked all the way through the Reinecke piece (at a verrry slow tempo) I now need to move onto the next section of the Mintzer piece. This has more varied voicings and different bass line so it might take a while!

I bought the new Mintzer big band CD this week.

Bob Mintzer = insanely talented and hard working genius... Me = none of the above

Pre-gig practice and more piano

Alter Ego have a gig tomorrow night so my drum practice this week has involved running through some of the tunes from that pad and trying to get a little more comfortable with some of the soloing/time playing that I need for the gig. There's a rehearsal tonight so I'm looking forward to seeing and playing with the guys again - its been a while since we were all in the same room together!

Piano practice has been a little more structured today as I have the day off. I've decided to limit my practice to little mini-sessions of 15 minutes at a time. There is no underlying musical or motivational reason for this. It is more a question of taking care of my back which has been causing me pain for the last week. Spending a few hours last Monday hunched over my keyboard and laptop seem to have set this off.

So far I've done four blocks:

15 minutes - Bob Mintzer Etude 1, first 12 bars at crotchet = 50. Not quite comfortable yet

15 minutes - Grade 2 Scales. Review G major 8 times then D major for the rest of the block. Both at crotchet = 50. I'm ALMOST comfortable with the fingerings over two octaves with both hands together.

15 minutes - Reinecke piece. Bars 5-8 then reviewing bars 1-8 at crotchet =40. Not quite there yet

15 minutes - Playing the Biehl piece at five tempos from crotchet = 72 up to 88 and then without click trying to include the ralls and dynamics a bit more. The rest of this block was spent reviewing the Mintzer Etude.

Getting better...

Having dusted off my keyboard chops I feel I'm actually starting to get better than I was before my little break. I bought the Grade 2 Scales book and although it was hard work I'm starting to get used to playing the scales over two octaves with both hands together. The tricky fingerings and coordination took some getting used to but a few short bursts of practice took care of things.

I've also started working on a second Grade 2 piece - Carl Reinecke's Allegro Moderato (First Movement from Sonatina in G, Op. 136 No. 2)

The combination of the scales and the new piece have had me practising the way I did when I started in the Summer: verrrry slowly indeed and going a step at a time. It can take a long time just to get a few bars to feel comfortable. I've had to take the same approach with the Bob Mintzer book but it really seems to pay dividends. Working on things that I can barely play forces me to improve. Things normally take shape after a few short sessions so it isn't too disheartening but it IS hard work. The path of most resistance seems to reap the greatest rewards somehow. Now if I can transfer the same approach to my drum practice...

I've been doing quite a bit of in-car listening recently and I still can't get over how phenomenal Steps Ahead Smokin in the Pit is. Listening to that album excites me in a way that only a few other performances ever have. In spite of my initial indifference I am now completely into the latest Yellowjackets CD too. There is some beautiful playing and writing on there.

My latest idle thoughts involve a sax/bass/drums trio to work on some different ideas. I'd really have to play some serious drums then - the path of most resistance indeed!

I think that's a much longer term project. I need to focus on Alter Ego and my quartet idea for now.

More piano, more drums and some arranging

I spent most of my piano-time last week getting back up to speed with some of my old pieces. I feel like I've now regained most of my (slightly rusty) skills.

I've also been enjoying plenty of drum practice - both on the kit and also on the practice pad. I really think I need to bite the bullet and get myself a set of Roland V-Drums (Electronic drums) very soon. The expense has always put me off in the past but it really is important to be able to practise at home. I can't see myself moving into a large soundproof detached house any time soon so I think electronic drums are the way to go here.

The Bob Mintzer piano book arrived this morning and it looks excellent. I've had the day off work today and I was just practising some Grade Two stuff when the Mintzer book arrived. It looks like it will take quite a while to play all the material and probably even longer to absorb all the ideas but it seems to be exactly what I have been looking for. I spent two thirty minute blocks working on the first study and then toying with some of the voicing ideas for other chord changes.

I then spent some time on the practice pad working on some Swiss triplet ideas and then moving between singles and doubles at a variety of tempos. My hands are starting to feel like they are in pretty decent shape now following a bit of a hiatus over the Summer.

I then started to work on a quartet arrangement of There Will Never Be Another You. I am hoping to do some fairly structured arrangements of a number of standards over the coming months. I would like to do some more small-group playing alongside the Alter Ego project. I want to avoid the usual Real Book jam sound and work on some really tightly structured arrangements with some nice hits/phrasing/voicings and background figures... The kinds of things that you HAVE to consider in a larger ensemble but can get overlooked in quartets/quintets. I also want to force myself to play in a wider variety of time feels and solo more - both unaccompanied solos and solos over vamps/background figures. I intend to do the arrangements in Sibelius and then mute the drums and practice along to them. When I have a reasonable number of charts completed I will try and get some guys together to play them.

I'm really pleased with the way Alter Ego has taken shape over the last couple of years but now I feel the need to create another playing situation to explore some other ideas. Hopefully the two situations will help me in different ways... I'll keep you posted!

24th September Drums/Piano

I managed to get a good hour and a half in on the drum set yesterday. I focused mainly on improvising using paradiddle diddles, mostly in a swing context - 4 bars time, 4 bars solo - experimenting with different phrasing ideas and orchestrations at a variety of tempos.

Today is a day off so I've been out and about this morning enjoying myself. I've just spent about 20 minutes at the keyboard. I ran through G major and D minor scales and G major Arpeggios and then worked the Song of Erin back up to speed. I then quickly revisited the Duncombe Gavot from Monday.

I also ordered Bob Mintzer's "Playing Jazz Piano." I've been curious to take a look at this for a while. Since it is now on Amazon with a 'search inside' option I see enough to tell that it isn't way beyond my capabilities. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into that. The Bob Mintzer connection reminds me that I really want to get back into some composition and arranging ideas - So much to do, so little time!

I'm about to hit the practice pad and then watch some more drum DVDs for a bit of inspiration.

Inverted Paradiddle & Back to Basics

I went to work early today and managed to get a good 40 minutes practice in before my first lesson. I focused on improvising using (mainly) different orchestrations of the inverted paradiddle and inverted version of what Todd Sucherman calls the "half paradiddle" working up the metronome and trying to start phrases in different places.

After work I got a quick game of tennis in and then sat down to get to grips with my (somewhat out of shape) piano skills. I've decided to review some old material to get back into the swing of things so I started with C major and A minor scales, hands separately at crotchet = 66 and C Major arpeggio at crotchet = 58

I ran through the Duncombe Gavot (the first piece I learned) and worked through it at crotchet 60, 70, 80, 90, 100. Things are starting to come back to me.

I only did fifteen minutes today but I'm trying to ease myself back into things and schedule around work, drum practice, tennis etc.

...off to the practice pad!

Keyboard Update/Jojo Mayer/Todd Sucherman/Inspiration

I'll start with the good news. Having left my keyboard to dry out for nearly two full weeks I dared to switch it on yesterday. I held my breath, closed my eyes, gingerly switched it on (at arms length) and... it works! Its as good as new. I'm really pleased about this and intend to get back into the swing of things as soon as possible.

A combination of things have recently given me a much needed shot of inspiration and motivation to get stuck back into some regular drum practice recently. Having been ill for a few months I had lost my way somewhat and had lost interest in hings a little. I lacked motivation and inspiration and this only served to make me more down about things.

At the start of the month I attended an afternoon masterclass and evening drum clinic with the incredible Jojo Mayer. I really enjoyed his playing but I was particularly inspired by his talk of 'non-mechanical' playing and methods to avoid 'licks.' The other thing that really interested me was the fact that Mayer seemed to have had a major re-think of his approach a number of years back and tried to really forge his own path as an individual and as an artist and really try to find his own niche and his own voice. Major kudos to any artist who achieves this.

I also ordered Todd Sucherman's DVD. The whole thing is fantastic. Beautifully shot, well thought out, Incredible playing and insightful comments throughout. The combination of Jojo Mayer and Todd Sucherman has me feeling excited about drumming again and I have that feeling of "I can't wait to get behind a drum set" all over again.

My drum practice has mainly been focused on applying some of Todd Sucherman's ideas. I've been experimenting with some of his preferred stickings and rudiments on the practice pad, working my way up the metronome and then applying these on the kit (something I haven't done in quite a while.)

I think it is really important to practise in a way that will translate into your real-life playing. I have found in the past that I can spend a lot of time practising and then become frustrated because none of the stuff I practised comes out in my playing. When I do try and shoe horn some of the practised material in it can sound too much like an exercise and disrupt the overall flow of the music.

What I try to do these days is find an idea - a lick or a motif or a sticking - and experiment with it. I try different orchestrations, extend it, develop it, find several variations, try it at different note rates and in different contexts... in short I PLAY with it.

I try to set up a stylistic context - Rock, Swing, Latin, Shuffle, Whatever and trade 4 bars time and 4 bars solo with myself. During the solo sections I consciously try and start the idea on different beats or on the 'ands' and I try and really improvise with the idea and think on my feet. The whole idea is to try and create an environment that is as close as possible to an actual playing situation so that when I am on a gig the practised 'licks' come out in an organic (hate that word as applied to music!) musical way. I also try to do this at a wide range of tempos.