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Put on the spot!

Taz

Busking Oracle
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Rugby UK
I was asked by a land lord friend of mine, if I'd like to play a couple of hours in his pub for Valentine's Day. Well without a thought, I agreed and put a bit of a set list together. That wasn't too hard as most of my backing tracks a fairly romantic.
I set up my gear in the pub and right in front of me was a group of people celebrating an engagement! Most of them are regulars in there and know me quite well from both the pub and Dark Side of the Wall as the land lord is one of our biggest fans!
Any way, I played my two hour set saving two of my favourite tunes till last. When I'd finished the table in front of me demanded one more. I apologised and said that I'd finished, when she told me that if I played one more song, she'd put £20 in the Air Ambulance fund! (The pub are BIG supporters!) Anyway, who was I to refuse. So I started looking through my tracks.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"I'm looking for a tune for you." Said I.
"Oh no you don't." She said
"I've paid for you, I'll pick the tune!"
Oh God! I thought
"I want Anerican Pie!" She demanded.
"I don't have the backing for it."
With that, someone produced an iPhone with the Karaoke version all lined up!
I nervously plugged it into the sound system and pressed play!
I kid you not, it was great. I know the tune to sing/whistle quite well and I think I got away with it. The crowd loved it anyway (they probably could'nt hear me over their own singing!)
With all that in mind, I felt up to recording it and just doing a single take to see if I could recreate what happened in the pub, so here it is, a one take wonder.

View: https://soundcloud.com/taz-16/american-pie-sax
 
@Taz you are a star and I've missed your recordings :)

Jx
 
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@richardr this is the man to start your 'Playing by Ear' thread
Richard will explain Taz :thumb:

Ps. Sorry Taz great playing as usual :)
 
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@richardr this is the man to start your 'Playing by Ear thread
Richard will explain Taz :thumb:

Ps. Sorry Taz great playing as usual :)
Now that is playing by ear. I'm amazed!
Trimmy is referring to another thread where I've suggested that we ought to start one devoted to playing by ear, just as @tenorviol has started a thread on playing from sheet music. The idea is not to compete with tenorviol's thread but, rather, to complement it. I play mostly by ear but I couldn't get anywhere remotely near to what Taz has just demonstrated and I'd like to improve. Also I've seen several posts from Members saying how they wish they could play by ear and maybe a thread would help them to make a start. If you want to see what has been said so far you'll find it interspersed with the usual banter in the thread titled "Targa Posts".
 
@richardr Im just off to busk this on the streets for the first time, but when I get back I'll have a look at your thread.
Thanks for the compliment too :yess:
 
TAZ - You are a sax stud! That sounds like something that you practiced for quite a while before hitting record and to think you improvised it on the spot upon request, wow! Being hooked to the dots I would be interested in an ear player thread lead by you as well..
 
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@Taz , I thoroughly enjoyed that, thanks for posting it. Took me back to my university days in a great way.
p.s. I have now listened to it three times.
 
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Great Taz. You are a talent player. Are you Rubys, UK answer to Booker T (B3 player, STAX, Mar Keys, Book T & the MGs). He was known for remember music quick. The guitar player in our band is also a guy that listen once or twice to a song and then he can sing and play it! Useful persons to have in a band. You sounds good on your Amati tenor as well.
 
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Cool - one band I play with puts me on the spot often - new, unknown tune, odd keys, etc. I just roll with it, and try to hit a few nice soulful whole notes with vibrato in there somewhere. Makes for thinking on your feet!
 
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I was asked by a land lord friend of mine, if I'd like to play a couple of hours in his pub for Valentine's Day. Well without a thought, I agreed and put a bit of a set list together. That wasn't too hard as most of my backing tracks a fairly romantic.
I set up my gear in the pub and right in front of me was a group of people celebrating an engagement! Most of them are regulars in there and know me quite well from both the pub and Dark Side of the Wall as the land lord is one of our biggest fans!
Any way, I played my two hour set saving two of my favourite tunes till last. When I'd finished the table in front of me demanded one more. I apologised and said that I'd finished, when she told me that if I played one more song, she'd put £20 in the Air Ambulance fund! (The pub are BIG supporters!) Anyway, who was I to refuse. So I started looking through my tracks.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"I'm looking for a tune for you." Said I.
"Oh no you don't." She said
"I've paid for you, I'll pick the tune!"
Oh God! I thought
"I want Anerican Pie!" She demanded.
"I don't have the backing for it."
With that, someone produced an iPhone with the Karaoke version all lined up!
I nervously plugged it into the sound system and pressed play!
I kid you not, it was great. I know the tune to sing/whistle quite well and I think I got away with it. The crowd loved it anyway (they probably could'nt hear me over their own singing!)
With all that in mind, I felt up to recording it and just doing a single take to see if I could recreate what happened in the pub, so here it is, a one take wonder.

View: https://soundcloud.com/taz-16/american-pie-sax

Hey, Taz. Great job on this tune and the first time I've heard a sax player take it on. No mean feat!
Jim
 
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Great Taz. You are a talent player. Are you Rubys, UK answer to Booker T (B3 player, STAX, Mar Keys, Book T & the MGs). He was known for remember music quick. The guitar player in our band is also a guy that listen once or twice to a song and then he can sing and play it! Useful persons to have in a band. You sounds good on your Amati tenor as well.

Booker T. Yes, a worthy comparison and maybe not far off the mark, thomsax. As a side note, or a footnote, I saw Booker T. and the MGs at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in October of 1970. I have no doubt that our Taz could have hung with them and held his own.
Jim
 

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