SOTM October 2025 - SOTM - Autumn In New York

[mrblackbat]

Being new here, and seeing you might make the trip from Cheadle Hume (suggesting a degree of locality)...may I ask where these sessions take place?
cheers, Mark

Edit - oh - I guess you mean a jam with friends (looking at the pic) and not a public one in a bar somewhere! OK, sorry about that!

I run a monthly jam night in Mellor near Marple Bridge at Mellor Sports Club; next one is 13th November.

November 2025 - Hot Jazz Jam

Event in Stockport by Hot Jazz Jam on Thursday, November 13 2025

www.facebook.com

 

[Ivan]

Hello all,
I hope you all had such a wonderful autumn day like me here in southern germany.
I decided to go in the basement and play a little alto .....

https://soundcloud.com/taragot%2Fautumn-in-new-york_25_alt

View: https://soundcloud.com/taragot/autumn-in-new-york_25_alt


All the best
Dirk

Sweet, Dirk

 

[Ivan]

Here's a live take with a great rhythm section from my monthly jam night.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46if081jE-E


Andrzej Baranek on piano, Gavin Barras on bass, Phil Bennett on drums

Great combo

 

[Ivan]

It's been a while. Gently does it.

Autumn In New York​

Plaintiff... a lovely vulnerable style that does this tune justice

 

[mark_addy]

I run a monthly jam night in Mellor near Marple Bridge at Mellor Sports Club; next one is 13th November.

November 2025 - Hot Jazz Jam

Event in Stockport by Hot Jazz Jam on Thursday, November 13 2025

www.facebook.com

Oh - if I may, I'd like to come some time. My younger daughter met a lad from Mellor at 6th form in Manchester, and ended up going down there to guest-sing in a church choir from time to time. Old hymns are pretty normal in our family (my kids are probably unusual youngsters in knowing 'All the things you are' alongside 'Tell me the Old Old Story'), but surplices (if that's the right term) were a bit of unaccustomed luxury 🙂

 

[mrblackbat]

You’d be more than welcome!

 

[Taragot]

Hello all,
what a great entry phrase this song has - you here the words and it perfectly evokes the mood of a october day in central park!

After stating that I'd propably sell my king zephyr bari in another thread I undusted it the other day and gave it a blow. And loved it immediately! It feels like it was made for jazz ballads like this! At least for me...
Here's a recording.....

https://soundcloud.com/taragot%2Fautumn-in-new-york_bari_zephyr

View: https://soundcloud.com/taragot/autumn-in-new-york_bari_zephyr


All the best
Dirk

 

[GCinCT]

Now that I’ve heard all of these great recordings that have been posted, I don’t think I’ll do one. Ballads are my weakness. I don’t play nearly as well as any of you. I am enjoying listening!

 

[Jeanette]

Now that I’ve heard all of these great recordings that have been posted, I don’t think I’ll do one. Ballads are my weakness. I don’t play nearly as well as any of you. I am enjoying listening!

Please don't let that put you off 😀 besides improvement will come the more you play!

Jx

 

[mrblackbat]

Now that I’ve heard all of these great recordings that have been posted, I don’t think I’ll do one. Ballads are my weakness. I don’t play nearly as well as any of you. I am enjoying listening!

It’s not a competition!

I’d love to hear a recording from you, and recording and sharing is a great way to assess your own playing and get any pointers to improve. You never know, someone might have the tidbit of advice to turn that weakness into strength!

 

[mrblackbat]

Hello all,
what a great entry phrase this song has - you here the words and it perfectly evokes the mood of a october day in central park!

After stating that I'd propably sell my king zephyr bari in another thread I undusted it the other day and gave it a blow. And loved it immediately! It feels like it was made for jazz ballads like this! At least for me...
Here's a recording.....

https://soundcloud.com/taragot%2Fautumn-in-new-york_bari_zephyr

View: https://soundcloud.com/taragot/autumn-in-new-york_bari_zephyr


All the best
Dirk

Again lovely playing, Dirk! I agree that the Zephyr sounds great here. It almost has a bow like quality to it. Only comment on that front is I felt maybe the reverb was a bit much - made it a little mushier than it might be otherwise.

One point stuck out to me at the end of the head, I think you hit a wrong note in the final phrase which takes it away from the minor tonality and as it just hits that there for the first time, it sounds really obvious.

 

[Taragot]

Now that I’ve heard all of these great recordings that have been posted, I don’t think I’ll do one. Ballads are my weakness. I don’t play nearly as well as any of you. I am enjoying listening!

I thought that of my ballad playing, too. What I discovered is, that when I play around the melody, with some embellishements here, a passing scale there, it can really sound nice. You don't have to really improvise - one head can be really enough.
So please, give it a try!

 

[Taragot]

Again lovely playing, Dirk! I agree that the Zephyr sounds great here. It almost has a bow like quality to it. Only comment on that front is I felt maybe the reverb was a bit much - made it a little mushier than it might be otherwise.

One point stuck out to me at the end of the head, I think you hit a wrong note in the final phrase which takes it away from the minor tonality and as it just hits that there for the first time, it sounds really obvious.

Thank you very much for listening and commenting, Matthew! I developed the habit to add a reverb to the whole mix in the end (on top of the reverb of the sax track), and I will simply skip that step in the future 🙂 )

That wrong note - I'm not shure which one you mean. In the last ii V i on the ii-chord? Would be very nice if you could specify.

All the best

Dirk

 

[mrblackbat]

Thank you very much for listening and commenting, Matthew! I developed the habit to add a reverb to the whole mix in the end (on top of the reverb of the sax track), and I will simply skip that step in the future 🙂 )

That wrong note - I'm not shure which one you mean. In the last ii V i on the ii-chord? Would be very nice if you could specify.

All the best

Dirk

So you're playing the flat 7 (the C natural) over the ii, which sounds a bit weird to my ears there, as you have the raised 7 in the V chord next; and the other sound I sometimes will play over the ii of a minor 251 is the 6th melodic minor mode (would be E minor melodic here).

Your notes are G - Bb - C - D - F - F - G - E - D. The melody would normally be G - Bb - D - F - G - E - D.

 

[atwl77]

I think, similar to @GCinCT , I don't think I'll be able to do this song. Although I can play the song straight, but improvising over the chord changes throws me off, especially when they go into the "flatter" parts where I am not as familiar with the scale.

Last month's SOTM worked somehow, because I could mostly just hang with the notes of G major and occasionally throw in a flat note, but not here; maybe last month is a fluke, or maybe this one just doesn't work with my finger-running.

 

[etc-etc]

Found this Johnny Hodges' recording on "Used to be Duke". Hodges' alto solo starts at 2:05.

 

[mrblackbat]

I think, similar to @GCinCT , I don't think I'll be able to do this song. Although I can play the song straight, but improvising over the chord changes throws me off, especially when they go into the "flatter" parts where I am not as familiar with the scale.

Last month's SOTM worked somehow, because I could mostly just hang with the notes of D major and occasionally throw in a flat note, but not here; maybe last month is a fluke, or maybe this one just doesn't work with my finger-running.

So the first thing to try is to just play off the melody; embellish the parts where you’re comfortable with the changes, and stay simpler where you aren’t.

I can jot up some tone centre analysis if it will help, though I’m sure some of that will already be out there.

 

[atwl77]

I can jot up some tone centre analysis if it will help, though I’m sure some of that will already be out there.

Thanks for the offer, but I think that will likely be over my head. I'll just continue practicing this song during practice and see if I come up with something worth recording.

 

[mrblackbat]

 

[GCinCT]

Thank you for all the wonderful support. This is a terrific forum. I’m going to record and post. The main problem I have with ballads is my tone. It’s bright and edgy and doesn’t really suit these types of tunes. I’ve been working on reigning it in when playing a ballad and this will be good practice.