Pick up the pieces on B3.

[Baldwin Funster]

With G,B,D &Sax. And me.

 

Ok who plays this and which part?

 

The funky guitar chord- sounds a little cheesy on organ.

 

The other guitar part- a little cheesy on organ.

 

Doubling the sax part.

Cheese and that ain't gouda (sorry).

 

It's the right parts and it fits but it ain't how I'm used to hearing this.

 

Who has this in their set?

[Adan]

I've done it all different ways on organ.  Didn't sound cheesy to me.  Which one you choose might depend on how the other players are nailing it, but doubling the Sax on melody would be my least preferred choice, but I've played it where I was alternating between the melody and the riff.  If you get the pocket right, people will be forgiving about the other stuff.

[PianoMan51]

Here’s what I played in a top 40s band while the song was on the charts:

 

LH: the picked guitar line

RH: double (and harmony) the sax line

 

Leave everyone else in the band to do what comes naturally.

[jeffincltnc]

I’m pretty sure Reezekeys plays this in his set since he’s…. ummmm…. the keyboardist for the Average White Band.  🙂

[stoken6]

3 minutes ago, jeffincltnc said:

I’m pretty sure Reezekeys plays this in his set since he’s…. ummmm…. the keyboardist for the Average White Band.  🙂

He does - when I saw AWB they closed the set with that (awesome). Rob played the picked guitar part on keys (using a guitar sample), plus some organ iirc.

 

If I only had organ at my disposal, I'd be quite tempted to play the harmony line under the sax, and add some "Cissy Strut"-style comping between the phrases. PianoMan51's suggestion is probably beyond my reach in terms of co-ordination while maintaining groove. And I'm not sure if the picked guitar part "conveys" well on organ - it really needs that muted one. (Percussion 2nd/fast might do it, but not sure...)

 

Cheers, Mike.

[jeffincltnc]

I’ve always doubled the horn riff on an organ with fast Leslie.

[JamPro]

I played this in the Soul-Dance band.  I played on the long held chord on the Intro, doubled the horn line, and comped on the solo section.  That worked fine in that situation.  YMMV.

[Delaware Dave]

My band plays PUP and I do the sax parts on my keyboard using a sax sample, not a B3 sound. 

[Baldwin Funster]

1 hour ago, Delaware Dave said:

My band plays PUP and I do the sax parts on my keyboard using a sax sample, not a B3 sound. 

I don't think my sax player would forgive me if I doubled him on keyboard sax. They're funny like that.

[timwat]

Calling all Reezekeys...

[Doerfler]

1 minute ago, timwat said:

Calling all Reezekeys...

[Adan]

Regardless what AWB does, you need to figure out what works in YOUR band, with its particular strengths and weaknesses.  

[ewall08530]

I did PUTP years ago in a band with 1 sax  I played the crunchy guitar chords on Clavinet while the guitarist played the signature lines and I used a sax sound to double the melody and play the harmony part at the end of each phrase.  And then organ on the extended IV chord before the V#9.  It worked. 

[Adam Burgess]

When I play with the club band (rarely these days 😞  )

 

• Guitar player keeps it tight and simple 🙂 

• Double our sax player (w/ harmony) with a sax patch for the melodic bits. Have trumpets on 'smash the keyboard' velocity for any 'subtle' accents 😛
• Our iPad drummer is bang on every time. So we know where these subtle accents are!
• I play one of the guitar parts-ish on clav for a bit movement when I can
• She plays a great extended solo - so I fill out with fast-Leslie B3 pads. I try to envelop the sax like a duvet. Maybe a bit movement on clav with LH if I feel it needs it.

 

 

[Reezekeys]

I think I might know this tune! Yes I do the single-note guitar part, also organ and a few horn stabs (we do the live version from the Atlantic Family live at the Montreux festival).

 

14 hours ago, Jr. Deluxe said:

It's the right parts and it fits but it ain't how I'm used to hearing this.

 

"Used to hearing this" is really the crux. If I were in a band without the personnel or tools to make it sound like we're all "used to" then I'd probably modify the parts so they lay on the instruments at hand a little better. I'm not so sure that playing the sax melody on organ, if you do the lower part, would sound too bad - if you're locked in with the sax player. By "lower part" I mean where they break off from unison in the last bar of the main phrase. Maybe just play organ there? Problem is if you're not really locked in, it might sound like "organist playing along with the sax" instead of a single line; I can see the cheese factor there.

 

The other thing I might suggest is to have the guitarist cover the single-note line and you can do a funky comping part on organ - not necessarily copying the rhythm guitar part of the original - but your own part.

 

I believe a band can sound worse when they try copying another band's arrangement with different instrumentation. It's definitely a challenge but I would be open to different ideas on the parts. The single-note guitar line probably needs to stay, as well as the basic horn melody - everything else should be on the table. That's how I'd approach it. Good luck!

[Paul Harrison]

I did a version of Pick Up the Pieces with a guitar/keys/drums trio a few years ago. I did the sax and bass parts on a Kurzweil SP4-7, and the second guitar part (and comping under the guitar solo) on organ. Here's a recording from a rehearsal where we were working up the arrangement (and trying to get it tight!  😣).

 

https://soundcloud.com/ozmusicman88/pick-up-the-pieces

 

 

 

[Bobadohshe]

I played this tune with Steve Ferrone 2 years ago at his clinic and I was utterly abashed when he had to teach me that the guitar line has a higher note on the first half of the phrase. I was playing it on clav and then playing organ for the whole note part. This is obviously the type of tune that has to be played by players that can get the right pocket. I wouldn't attempt it with many.

[CyberGene]

I can’t be useful here as a performer but I’ve listened to so many different versions by many talented bands and musicians (and I’m pretty sure it was pretty late when I discovered the original by AWB), so I really don’t care if it’s close to the authentic version. I only care if it’s funky enough 😎

[Reezekeys]

3 minutes ago, CyberGene said:

I really don’t care if it’s close to the authentic version. I only care if it’s funky enough

 

I heard a version by Candy Dulfer and it was definitely a little farther away from any"authentic" one, lol - it was pretty funky though!

[CyberGene]

14 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

I heard a version by Candy Dulfer and it was definitely a little farther away from any"authentic" one, lol - it was pretty funky though!

As a matter of fact hers is among the first I’ve heard although not the very first 😎 She’s a cool lady and I think her looks make some people underestimate her actual abilities. 
 

I’m pretty sure my first encounter with Pick up the Pieces is this one:

 

[PianoMan51]

In the Phil Collins Big Band version George Duke on grand piano provides a master class on integrating funk, gospel and jazz. Because of the video, you can see and hear how he interacts with each soloist. This is gold.

 

BTW, the gospel riffs he’s doing remind me a lot of Herb Alpert’s funky 70s song Rise.

[Reezekeys]

I was gonna mention that Phil Collins version - he sure belies his "prog rock" lineage there and is laying it down pretty hard. This is a great version!

 

Of course you have to give props to the "Atlantic Family" Montreux performance with the Don Ellis big band that featured one of the great (imo) Mike Brecker solos, which starts at around 17:00.

 

 

[Mills Dude]

I started up that Phil Collins video and in the first couple of bars thought "Oh that dude on piano is cooking, really brining the funk ... greasy".  Only to find out -- Duh, yeah, its Duke.

[Adan]

18 minutes ago, Mills Dude said:

I started up that Phil Collins video and in the first couple of bars thought "Oh that dude on piano is cooking, really brining the funk ... greasy".  Only to find out -- Duh, yeah, its Duke.

I love that in that arrangement they just said "do whatever you want, Duke."  Definitely the highlight of an otherwise overly straightjacketed version.

[Mills Dude]

I also love how that first soloist on alto seemed to tell the other featured soloists "Hold my beer" and proceeded to lay down a master class in weaving bop lines into a pop/funk tune.

[CyberGene]

4 minutes ago, Mills Dude said:

 

I also love how that first soloist on alto seemed to tell the other featured soloists "Hold my beer" and proceeded to lay down a master class in weaving bop lines into a pop/funk tune.

 

Well, that’s Gerald Albright who’s one of the baddest badass sax players 😎 I also think starting off with him is a bit nerve inducing for the other soloists and no disrespect for them, they all do great but he’s just so uncompromising!

[Baldwin Funster]

So the Sax dude wants me to play the single note guitar riff and double the part right before the 5. I think that's about what Reezekeys said.

That's pretty easy. Thanks to all.

[Theo Verelst]

The AWB with Brecker brothers quote above has a good e-piano part a few minutes in, which according to a album description would have to be R. Tee .

 

T

[TommyRude]

It's a small world.  OK... this is a real stretch, but why not 😁

 

Way back, I played a gig at the Roxy in L.A., and sharing the bill was this other band (don't recall the name), but Bekka Bramlett was singing backup vocals for them.  According to wikipedia, her mom, Bonnie Bramlett, suggested the name Average White Band to the guys back when they were forming.

 

So that brings me to around 16 degrees of separation from Reezekeys 😁

 

Side note:  we were up in the sound booth listening to the other band soundcheck, and goddamn Bekka sounded good.

[Adan]

6 hours ago, TommyRude said:

It's a small world.  OK... this is a real stretch, but why not 😁

 

Way back, I played a gig at the Roxy in L.A., and sharing the bill was this other band (don't recall the name), but Bekka Bramlett was singing backup vocals for them.  According to wikipedia, her mom, Bonnie Bramlett, suggested the name Average White Band to the guys back when they were forming.

 

So that brings me to around 16 degrees of separation from Reezekeys 😁

 

Side note:  we were up in the sound booth listening to the other band soundcheck, and goddamn Bekka sounded good.

Not a stretch at all.  I'd say that makes you basically a founding member of AWB.