Kevin Keys777 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I've had the good fortune of getting a booking for a regular gig (once a week) at a country club/restaurant. This gig will require me to perform with a saxophonist as a jazz duo. I've never done duo work before. All of my jazz experience is in trios and quartets. I was hoping members who have performed in this aspect could offer some advice on such things as: choice of repertoire? (Tunes that shine as a duo) What are some tunes that dont work or are very difficult? What are easier to prepare tunes? Your overall happiness or displeasure with duo work? During your piano solos, do you keep the walking bass, use stride techniques, or play rooted or rootless chords behind your solos? Really any advice will be appreciated. Yamaha CP4 (Gigs) Kawai MP7 (home), Yamaha CP33(gigs), Yamaha P80(retired), 3 QSC K10's, Zed 10FX mixer, Sennheiser HD598, Bachendorff 45" acoustic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montunoman Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Even if you don't have vocals, I would suggest that you do tunes with melodies everyone will recognize. Pick songs Sinatra, Krawl, Bublé and other popular "jazz" singers have covered. Also consider covering some other popular songs from the 50's to present. Elvis, Beatles, Temptations, Elton John, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Whitney Houston, Sting, Sade, Bob Markey, Eagles.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorayM Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I've done a few sax duo gigs and found them pretty fun. I'll second the suggestion of recognisable melodies, we found a lot of jazz vocal standards worked pretty well with the vocal line translated onto sax. For solos, I used various stride patterns and careful pedalling to keep the sound filled out. Cephid - Progressive Electro Rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 First, a practical consideration... avoid to place the sax player very close to you. Not too distant either, but you know... you want to hear your instrument. Also, you're authorized to stop playing after the saxophonist has completed his 27th chorus.... Repertoire: The very 'melodic' tunes should work well, and also some 'bluesy' material. I would privilege relaxed tempos, with the option to go to double-time. The sax player could enjoy breakneck speeds, but it can become quite tiring for the pianist if there's no rhythm section. Also, in a duo format, you have much freedom. You can even play a few melodies rubato, starting time on the bridge or even on the solos. Technique: Walking bass in the l.h. + rootless voicings with the r.h. always work for jazz-blues material. When soloing, or filling with phrases and runs, you can use tenths in the l.h.. I tend to use a combination of tenths and walking bass. For more pop-oriented material, the bass can't move as much as in jazz, so you have to find other ways to keep the rhythm alive: Repeated chords, arpeggios, changing octaves, doing 'percussion' with the two hands, etc. Lastly, remember that the very first thing he should do is to tune to the piano! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I-missRichardTee Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 You are going to have to be flexible with what you play.. voicing wise and stride.. or bass line wise. I think you will discover fairly quickly what suits you when on that particular stage. You basically are on your own... what sounds good to you when you are in solo mode will likely be a major part of what you do when sax is added. Odd note here: ask sax player to not "aim" sax at you, but away from your head! You use the term "jazz". Since when are country club people jazz minded? Do you really mean jazz, as in modern jazz circa 1960- to now, or do you mean previous to 1960, where music was a bit more conservative rhythmically and harmonically? I do not find jazz, per se to be a great idea as the main focus. I find variety as your key. Some popular jazz tunes Girl from Ip Getz Desafinado Getz Take Five Try older swing music too. Maybe some 1950- 1970 pop music, including rock and roll or r&b or Beattles or Stones.. but popular melodies, not just a song that Sinatra did... a POPULAR song he did... remembering Sinatra recorded tons of songs. A trio I was in successfully did Whitney Houston ballad Savin All My Love Experiment with repertoire and different styles. The more I play where I am featured, the more I agree with other posters.. play popular songs from the distant and not so distant past. edit ditto to Marino on sax... and tell him ONE chorus is plenty. Better to shorten tunes and play 3 times as many tunes in an engagement rather than 3- 6 choruses.. bad idea!! Trust me. If the form of a song is short ( not Begin the Beguine! ) maybe 2 choruses of soloing per guy. With short solos and 3 or 4 times the number of songs and more genres you will much more quickly get a sense of what is working for your audience. And WATCH the VOLUME If they ask you to turn down... turn WAY down.. You should know better. Sax tends towards being sharp in pitch, not flat so much. You don't have ideas, ideas have you We see the world, not as it is, but as we are. "One mans food is another mans poison". I defend your right to speak hate. Tolerance to a point, not agreement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Keys777 Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Thank you all for the great replies. The type of jazz we specialize in is pre 1970. We have performed this type of music at this club many times as a quartet and trio and it goes over well. I will look into adding pop tunes(1960's-80's), popular Sinatra,recognizable vocal tunes, as well. Good suggestion. Most of the members are between the ages of 50-75 and would know the pop music of that era. I also like the idea of starting tunes in rubato and going into time on the bridge or at the solos. This might be a good way to add variety. I've had one rehearsal with the saxophonist and I cant say I love the duo yet. It feels to me that the bottom falls out whenever I take my solos. I guess I am just very used to performing with an upright bassist. Whenever I solo over my walking bass line I miss the chords, whenever I play chords I miss the bass line and the groove. Maybe I just need to get used to the lighter sound of the duo. The saxophonist is very happy with the general sound of the duo. So that makes me feel good about it Yes, keeping the tunes shorter, with less improvisation is also a good idea. I do have to remember that it is not a jazz concert, and that the people are not there to hear us. Playing more tunes that people recognize without overly-long improvisations might be the key to keeping the gig! And I really want to keep this gig! Yamaha CP4 (Gigs) Kawai MP7 (home), Yamaha CP33(gigs), Yamaha P80(retired), 3 QSC K10's, Zed 10FX mixer, Sennheiser HD598, Bachendorff 45" acoustic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I do a lot of jazz duo gigs and I don't play a lot of walking bass these days. I did in the beginning, but it became tiresome. Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 850 of Harry's solo piano arrangements of standards and jazz tutorials at https://www.patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I do a lot of jazz duo gigs and I don't play a lot of walking bass these days. I did in the beginning, but it became tiresome. I was thinking the same thing. Not too much walking bass. Maybe occasionally as a 'thing', but not as the de facto approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I-missRichardTee Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Re : to leave the left hand bass at home or not It depends on how well or not so well you do it. Now, as you likely know,, that principle applies in general... do what you do best as far as how you approach the piano. i do left hand bass better than stride.. so less stride for me! You don't have ideas, ideas have you We see the world, not as it is, but as we are. "One mans food is another mans poison". I defend your right to speak hate. Tolerance to a point, not agreement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmammal Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 In this situation I agree, to walk the bass or not is just a personal thing, it's not necessary just throw some lower notes in to fill out the sound. You also have the freedom as the pianist to realize what you're doing is not working or you just don't feel like it and simply seque into something else. Don't worry, the sax will follow you unless it's his gig... I did a duo for about 10 years at one point and for listening stuff being relaxed and loose is the key. I was so used to following the song forms from playing in bands for years it took me some time to realize that's not necessary in this situation. One sax player I worked with liked to do an intro sounding thing but it was really just an open vamp and I would throw some nice chords behind him until one of us felt like starting something. bob Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Bud Powell style left hand shells with occasional syncopation. Half note bass style with occasional pick up notes(half note hopping bass rather than walking 4 to the bar) syncopated stride with pickups (non traditional), syncopated arpeggios, see Dave Franks video on 15 essential left hand styles Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 850 of Harry's solo piano arrangements of standards and jazz tutorials at https://www.patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzwee Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Got reminded of this [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrknwjbrBeg Hamburg Steinway O, Crumar Mojo, Nord Electro 4 HP 73, EV ZXA1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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