So last friday was a busy day. It’s not very often I get 3 gigs on the same day. But when it happens I’m happy! …..And tired!
The first was in the afternoon at La Moda with Nik on sax this time. Much the same as wednesday. Just enjoying the music, the coffee, and the superficial women ignoring us…… haha!
There was a table next to us who had come in to take pictures of a model. The fresh flowers with the drinks and cakes really seems to attract a lot of attention. I think every time I played there it’s full.
Early Set
Then I had the early set at JZ club with Antonio on trumpet/vocals, Johnny on drums, and Scott on guitar.
This was my first time playing with Johnny Joseph and man…. It was amazing! The connection he has to playing music is just on another level. I looked back there, it just made me laugh. He’s just having too much fun! And he’s constantly mixing up the groove, ebbs and flow. It’s such a great pleasure when the drummer is phenomenal. Just makes it so easy.
The other musicians I should also give a wrap. Scott's comping is really tasteful. At times he was doing this thing with a volume foot control. Takes out all the attack and the chord just eases in. Pretty cool! And Antonio is just a character! They say music is a language, well Antonio is always 'saying' something! Not afraid to speak his mind, and let you know if he doesn't like something too. Tonight he seemed to be happily satisfied.
Main Set
The main set was the big band. It was nice to relax a little and wait around till the late night jam. Enjoy watching the JZ big band.
There were a few surprises on this night. The first one was that June was playing electric bass! He plays a little on some jam sessions, but he's primarily a jazz guitarist from South Korea. A very musical guy, he plays some piano and drums also. When I heard the news, a few pieces of a puzzling phone call became clear.....
Brian who is normally the solid house bass player called me about a week ago. He was very direct….. Something like “Hi, Do you read music?” I was like... "mmm, I’m still kinda working on it" and that was basically it. Too be honest, reading has been something I have been meaning to get into my daily practice, but because I don’t ‘need’ to do it very often, it gets put back in the priorities.
So when I found out June was playing bass, it clicked. Oh, they need someone who can sight read. Good for June, he sounded good too!
Usually when I do get given a bunch of music that I need to learn before a gig, I kinda stress quite a bit, and then I end up pretty much memorizing the music. Then counting to stay focussed, I look for cues to guide me through. I guess it’s still reading because readers need to memorize the notes and the rhythms to be able to play. But one thing for sure is that this is not ‘sight reading’.
So, I’m going to try and start doing a little sight reading everyday, so that next time I get asked that question I can say yes. I also hear that there is a calibre of musician who 'only' play with people that read. Anyway it's a skill, and the more you have, the better you become.
I found out later that Brian got injured running and will be out of action for a few weeks. Hope he gets better soon. He’s an amazing double bass player with mountains of experience.
The other surprise were the singers Gilbert and Boyanna. I guess I always thought of these singers as more in the funk/soul vein…. But they pulled it off in style!
Gilbert is also leaving Shanghai soon, which is sad. He’s been here for 17 years!
JZ jam session
This was the last song of the evening. Antonio Ximenez (trumpet/vocals) had a go of my bass during the break, and told me how easy it felt to play. So he had a go playing it for the last song. All the customers had left at this point, so I went and sat in one of the booths that are usually for people paying a certain a lot of money.
After about 5 mins I hear a Oweeeeennnn!!!! It was Antonio.... I guess he had enough. Haha! But there is something to be said here about some songs on a jam session can really go on for 20 mins or longer. It’s a test of stamina, and also a bit of a challenge to play the changes in different ways. It’s not easy….. But that depends on your attitude too. Sometimes if you’re tired or you aren’t enjoying the moment too much, you just get bored.
Anyway, I walked back onto the stage and we ended the long night.