Relaxin' at Camarillo

Repertoire: 8 of 965: Stella by Starlight

OK, enough faffing around...time to get back to some serious work (though do be sure to check out
"cocktail of the day" while listening to "Relaxin' at Camarillo" radio. I hope you like our improvements, we aim to make your time here as pleasant as possible).

Here's a very brief go at "Stella" that attempts to incorporate some of the principles from the Martin Taylor method book. It's primarily constructed from diads, triads and bass movement, with only three full "jazz" chords in the whole piece. I'm torn between liking the amount of space in this arrangement and thinking it sounds like an attempt to fake baroque playing in the pastoral-mellow section of a crappy acid rock album. That said, I've only ever heard one other solo guitar version of this song (by a professional guitar teacher), and - monomania alert - I think that mine's actually better. Anyway...

Stella by Starlight

Please leave your comments, as I'd be very interested to know what you think.

Gypsy Jazz Sundays

Someone has started a gypsy jazz videos group at YouTube.

 

(And find these and other rare and fantastic archival images kindly posted by Papi at www.Hotclub.co.uk.)

Dick Onstenk

Many of you will be familiar with Dutchman Dick Onstenk from his regular participation in jazz-related chat groups. He’s also one of the most-subscribed musicians on YouTube, and at 75 videos and counting, his generosity and passion for the instrument given us an unprecedented insight into his development as a guitarist. With fantastic tone, flawless bop lines, and a natural feel for jazz, Dick’s versions are essential consultation for anyone looking to learn new tunes, while anyone looking to be amazed should check out his series of Charlie Parker videos note-for-note.

Since first coming across Dick, I’ve been intrigued about how he got so good, so a couple of weeks ago, I wrote to ask if he’d mind answer a few questions for us about his playing, his practice, and how he thinks about the instrument. This is what he said…

How Long have you been playing?

I have been playing guitar for some 35 years but jazz only since I was 38 so that's 10 years now. I was a very late starter on jazz but was a proficient rock and blues player when I took my first jazz lesson…I got bored with it and wanted some more challenging material to play. So I dabbled with classical guitar and fingerpicking later. Then I moved on to jazz in my late 30s, for I had always been fascinated by jazz guitar. One day I simply called up a jazz guitarist for lessons and it was like coming home. Things went pretty fast.

Do you follow a strict practice regime?

I play every day though I do not practise every day. There is a difference. Playing is doing stuff you can and practising is doing stuff you can't. I'd say I play an hour a day at least but several hours is common too. These days I mainly work on tunes. I don't have a strict practise regimen though. I study an arrangement regularly or a guitar solo but there's no real planning involved.

Could you say a little about your approach to soloing. Do you have any particular strategies for soloing such as chord-scale relationships, arpeggios, or Jimmy Bruno’s “tonal circles”?

These days I just play but when I started out I used to the chord-scale relationship a lot. That's the approach my teacher used so I followed it. So I studied scales and arpeggios during the first years. But now it's just playing, I have internalized a lot. But if I study new sounds I still use it.

Do you do much transcribing?

No. There's no need really because there's so much available these days. I usually only study stuff others have transcribed to save time. So I use existing transcriptions. I do enjoy making the occasional chord melody arrangement though.

The Charlie Parker note-for-note videos must have taken a lot of study. What’s the most important thing you learned from that?

Probably his use of rhytmic variety to add interest to your lines.

You’ve recently started teaching. What, in your opinion, is the most important thing to impart to a beginning jazz guitarist?

Coaching and guiding. Making sure the work gets done.

What role does theory play in your approach to the instrument?

Though I have a rudimentary understanding of theory I have always considered myself an ear player. My ears tell me what sounds good and what does not. I never get deep into theory. In the end playing guitar is behavior rather than knowledge. You can know a lot about theory and still sound like shit. Theory is just a tool and something to leave behind quickly on that stage.

What are your short and long- term playing goals? What areas of your playing would you like to expand?

I'd like to get a stronger right hand with a more even attack. And grow more in the bebop vernacular of course. And I still have to make some time for Charlie Parker's “Donna Lee” one day ...

For me, a light went on the first time I heard myself play a b9 played over a V chord. Could you describe any of your own musical epiphanies?

The discovery of the melodic minor scale.

What’s the best piece of musical advice you’ve ever received?

Relaxing the right (picking) hand while picking.

What are you listening to right now, and what are your five must-have desert island jazz guitar albums?

I listened to Tal Farlow's "Chromatic Palette" album today;

1. The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow
2. The interpretations of Tal Farlow
3. For Django - Joe Pass
4. Pat Martino - El Hombre
5. Jimmy Raney - But Beautiful

Looks like you already own some really nice guitars, but if you had a blank cheque, what you buy tomorrow?

Probably an expensive 1950s Gibson Super 400, L5 or ES 350.

Do you particularly identify with a European jazz tradition at all?

Yes, I identify with the Dutch jazz guitar school a lot. The level of jazz guitar playing in my country is remarkably high. Jesse van Ruller and Martijn van Iterson are among the best players in the world. And there's a number of great other Dutch players too.

Anything else you'd like to add that we haven't covered?

I don't believe in blanket statements on learning how to play jazz guitar. You know, stuff like "learn all scales in all inversions in all positions." You just have to find something that works for you and that you dig doing.

...Here’s Dick playing the Charlie Parker solos – amazing. Cheers, Dick.

"An Exemplary Essay in Introspective Compatability"

...whatever that is. Revelling in my electricity, I've been catching up with my online reading, especially Rifftides the blog of award-winning jazz writer Doug Ramsey (his most recent book Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond just won an ASCAP Deems Taylor award). Anyway, his latest entry included this, two of my favourite musicians, Bill Evans and Kenny Burrell in a rare performance, Montreux, 1978.

Matin Taylor Not to Blame for Natural Disaster

Of all the people to be held accountable for this most recent blogging hiatus, Martin Taylor is definitely not on the list. On Thursday 12th October we were subject to a natural disaster -- the worst October storm to hit this area since 1886, bringing two feet of snow which in itself wouldn't be too bad, had not the weight of the snow on trees that hadn't yet shed their leaves caused literally hundreds of thousands of trees to fall, bringing down power lines, crushing cars and houses and making the roads impassable. The Governor declared a state of emergency and FEMA have been called in, which of course means it's all about to get considerably worse. After the snow had fallen, it began to rain, causing people's houses to flood, including Ramos' basement where all the Massif Central kit is kept including my Fender Princeton Chorus amp, which is now royally knackered and fit only to be sold to some sucker on ebay.

To celebrate power coming back on last night after six days in the dark, allow me to share a few memories. Here's our backyard:

Here's it is again with a view of the tree that fell on my neighbour's garage (he has an excellent collection of guitars, by the way, including a couple of boutique luthier-made classicals and a vintage Epiphone Broadway, none of which were harmed):

Another close-up of the lumber with which I became overly-familiar during the course of the weekend:

And finally, one of the street out front, which, like the others, doesn't really do full justice to the level of devastation we encountered:

You'd think that with six days of no distractions I'd get loads of practice in. Unfortunately, not the case as during daylight hours I engaged in backbreaking forestry work (and it turns out that I'm the only man on my street who doesn't own a chainsaw), while by candle-light I had to entertain Floyd who was bouncing off the walls. Added to the fact that somewhere during the course of it all I suffered a serious humour by-pass, there was little room for chord-fucking-melody.

I did, however, take time out to compare the versions of "Relaxin' at Camarillo" on two Joe Pass albums at different ends of his career: "Joy Spring" (1964) and "Appssionato" (1990). While I love the classic brown saturated tonal daubs of the first, the second is much more liberated and relaxed (fittingly), which I suppose speaks to the fact that Joe had seriously made it by then and had nothing to prove. Then the batteries ran out on my portable cd player. Curse you, heavens! Bless your electricity and check out Joe and Nils Henning Orsted Pedersen playing "Donna Lee" in '73

Martin Taylor

Judging from my recent visitor stats, the loyal and ever-obedient regulars at Camarillo took my last post literally and have been staying away in their droves. And neither can I blame them, but I've a good reason for going all boring, and his name is Martin Taylor.

Since posting the chord-melody vocabulary, the feedback I've received has got me interested in trying to find more fluid ways to play solo guitar that emphasize basslines and utilize smaller but no less effective chord voicings. Which is how I came to Martin Taylor and why I've been lying low.

Defying my own moratorium on buying new instructional material (and yes, I did cave in and buy Ted Greene's Chord Chemistry several weeks ago, and yes, I did find it completely overwhelming), I went and brought this, The Martin Taylor Guitar Method:

In contradistinction to my previous attempts to arrange chord-melody by finding chords with the harmony note on top for 75% of the tune, Martin Taylor's method involves focusing first on the melody and bassline, then adding harmonies sparingly to fill out the sound and support the other parts. Chords are pared down to their absolute basics -- even to the extent that you'll no longer recognize them as chords -- usually just the root and the third (played up an octave, so root and tenth), with the intention of producing arrangements that both move and breathe, and, unlike alot of more conventional chord-melodies, sound good played at tempo rather than just moody-rubato style.

So far, so good. There is, of course, a catch -- it's really flippin' hard. I've been at it on and off for two weeks and so far have only managed to play the first example, this blues.

The biggest challenge is thinking in terms of perpetual motion, as while the chord-centric style provides you with clear anchors that move from one place to another throughout a tune, this method requires you to think of melody, bass and harmony almost as three entirely independent but complementary lines. It's no surprise then that Taylor constantly defers to Bach, and a few lessons in counterpoint before you start wouldn't go amiss. There's the conceptual difference, but technically it's a challenge too, trying to re-educate the fingers away from the comfort of familiar grips and into the service of individual notes moving in different registers that requires greater diligence on the part of the right hand. In this sense, the technique is more like classical or ragtime. Added to that, there's the fact that I hate picking my way through transcriptions. Though it only usually takes me only two hours to come up with my own workable chord-melody arrangement, it takes me forever to learn pieces note-for-note. Never been much of a joiner, and hate to be lead I guess. I'm determined that this book won't end up in the to-do pile, though, so I'll keep you up-dated if you can bear to listen.

Added extras: here's an interview with Martin Taylor in downloadable PDF format, as well as the compulsory YouTube video worth $1.65 bn -- Taylor plays the Livingston/Evans composition "Mona Lisa":

Don't Bother to Read this Extremely Boring Gear Post

I can't stand gear talk -- or rather, I can't stand people who love to indulge in endless gear talk. Every one of them a tut-tutting, eyeball rolling, wife-beating, control-freak Star Trek enthusiast, their self-esteem over-invested in a fund of pointless knowledge. Frankly, I don't care about the impedence in your pots, your stereo cables or how tightly your PAFs are wound.

That said, I naturally like some stuff better than other stuff, and this week I proved my likes by re-stringing all my guitars with strings from Juststrings.com. Don't lose the will to live just yet...

My Samick now has D'addario .13 half-rounds. I changed from the Chromes because I'm almost exclusively playing chord-melody at the moment and I wanted something a little brighter. I also moved up a gauge as it's the manly thing to do. Eventually I'm aiming to play with mooring cables.

My nylon string guitar is this Yamaha APX-5NA. I bought it on Denmark St., London, six or seven years ago, and until I took delivery of my archtop was the guitar I played daily. Now it's my downstairs guitar. I've just re-strung that with D'addario Pro-Arte Extra Hard Tension classical guitar strings. I love the sound of new nylons, although it takes at least a week for them to settle down and stay in tune (even longer in summer). The extra tension makes them, er, tenser. Finally, I put some XL's on my Strat.

Still there?