Re: Re: [Harp-L] Jam band harpmen - Jazz blues

[Garry Hodgson <garry@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Pierre <slavio@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Question for you out there, I often hear Jazz players playing at concerts 
> say:  "The next tune is a blues, blah blah blah ..."
> 
> Then when they play I find myself surprised because it just dosen't seem 
> like a blues to me at all; not even when I look for it. Is it just the chord 
> progression or what? Feel kinda dumb, but can someone explain this to me?

it's the chord progression.  but a jazz band playing a blues number will
sound quite a bit different than a guy sitting on his front porch blowin' 
his harp with his jug band friends.

> Here's another dumb one now that I've opened the can, what's a jam band, is 
> there such a style?
>   - is that like Led Zeppelin playing live or something?

no.  "jam band" is a sort of meaningless term that is a catch-all
for bands like phish, blues traveler, moe, govt mule, SCI, DTB, even the dead.
common threads include an emphasis on long improvisations, live performances,
encouragement of taping/trading, and an enthusiastic community of fans.
there is a lot of cross pollination between these bands, as members sit in
with other bands frequently (like warren haynes, who plays about 700 days
a year).

but there is no single "style" here.  these bands are wildly different in
what they play, from bluegrass to jazz to heavy power trio stuff.
you might check out http://jambands.com/ to see who the players
are, and then go to http://www.archive.org/audio/ to hear some of
their stuff.  there's a lot of *great* music out there, and they're more
than happy to share it.


----
Garry Hodgson, Technical Consultant, AT&T Labs

Be happy for this moment.
This moment is your life.