I went to a workshop at the World Stage today. The energy was great, so many good musicians in one room, my friend was there who plays clarinet, guitar, and tap dances. I got to play my horn for a couple of minutes with the band, I was a bit disoriented and felt like I didn't know how to figure out what to blow. I wasn't letting go right away. Afterwards the teacher asked me what I was thinking about, so I told him how I felt. Then the session was over. There was a flautist, an alto, a few drummers, piano players, bass players, and more musicians in the audience. I didn't have a chance to set up my iPad, so there was no sheet music involved. I hope to have better luck next time at expressing myself in a more meaningfully in terms of the way I was playing. There's a lot more I wanted to do and say in that setting. It just didn't come to me today but what did was a lot of joy from finding my community. I really enjoyed meeting as many people as I could and I'm definitely going to go back to this to gain more experience. I intend to play my arrangement of "I'm Late" from Alice in Wonderland in an uptempo swing style if given the opportunity next time.
Here's the way I played it in my studio. I have a dream of playing this live with the others. And other songs too.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_vjz_0wuUY
Basically, your first experience with a workshop and you were nervous.
I commend your bravery for jumping in. It can only go better next time.
May I make a suggestion ? I think if your intent is go start showing up at the Jam and the Workshop regularly....
Start concentrating on working up less obscure tunes. Jazz standards, the ones usually called, have NOT REALLY CHANGED very much since I started playing them in 1976. Honestly....a bit baffling but true.
There was a guy I used to jam with in Portland, good tenor player...and while EVERYONE ELSE had Realbook 1 and 2, and the New Realbooks 1 and/or 2 sometimes....
....that is around 900-1000 tunes worth of material right there....
He had NONE of those volumes. What he HAD DONE, was create his own book of around 160 standards. That was his known repertoire, period.
70% of the time, and in two or three differently populated regular jams around town.... the songs in his book were the songs that got called. If you get my drift.
There ARE sorta 'core' jazz standards that are really good to know, even tho they might not necessarily be the priority tunes which match your particular taste or immediate desires.
So...
Looking back at all your recent recording threads, for example....
Stella By Starlight
My Romance
Absolutely straight down the middle, called all the time. Common, good on those.
I Never Had a Chance
I'm Late
In almost fifty years of jams, east coast, west coast, southwest...never....have either of those ever been called at a jam I attended, or just watched. Very strong chance should you prepare and waltz in with one of those, or the like...someone in the rhythm section is gonna call it/wave it off.
Not necessarily because they are being jerks, but because nobody really knows 'em and to dig the chart up of a tune a few members of the rhythm section have never played, might not be something they wanna do, is all.
('Ohhhhh, maaan - that new guy who always calls those weird tunes is here tonight' .....You don't WANNA be THAT guy...trust me ).
I cannot sift thru all your posted recordings here but if my old memory serves, there were one or two others which you did which were also quite obscure.
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