On Aug 24, 2006, at 6:17 PM, Tim Moyer wrote:
John Balding wrote:
Is there a possibility that the Jazz Jams could be divided
into two ability levels, i.e. - Pro and Beginner/Advanced?
To me, this would help alleviate some of the ego problems or
beginners' fear issues which may have surfaced in the past.
I don't support ideas that further attempt to divide people at SPAH
on any lines.
Me neither, we're supposed to be a team.
One of the beauties of the blues jam is the
egalitarianism, where an unknown first time attendee gets the same
number of bars to express themselves as a seasoned pro. You just
have to check your ego at the door. It helps to have a moderator
like Buzz Krantz, who while he can be a big teddy bear, can also
clamp down the thumbscrews when he needs to. I still remember that
look he gave me when I was shouting from the peanut gallery to
extend the solos to 24 bars. Sure shut me up.
I had this idea a long time ago. The premise was to have the players who
'thought' they were not up to pro? (ha ha) level to play Thu. and the
pros to play Fri. Here was my reasoning (at the time). To use Denver 2001
as an example: The players were Randy Singer, Mike Turk, Rod Paparozzi,
and Michael Polesky. And those were the ONLY players who played. Once or
twice, a lesser player got up and the tune was 'cut' at that point.
Due to the presence of these aircraft carriers and battleships of jass,
the intimidation factor was pretty high. Several top top players and
myself (a mediocre player) opted to sit it out. Another factor that was
present was that the players NEVER placed their mics back in the stand
and took a step back to show that mics WERE available. They basically
hung on to them through the entire tunes, therefore giving the impression
that they 'Had it', and no one else needed to apply. (I'm sure it wasn't
intentional) and they traded '16s' the whole evening. I had no problem
with it because I wanted to listen to some of the best. But several
people voiced their displeasure to me. Why me? I don't know. Maybe I was
wearing my collar backward.
Now I'm not saying that I couldn't have walked up and pried a mic from
someone. I'm just not that pushy and I didn't feel comfortable doing
that. At several Buckeye & Spah jass jams, I have had the good fortune to
play with Chris Bauer, Lee Oskar, Will Galison, JimLohman, and I didn't
feel that pressure because as soon as one of us would walk up to
participate, one of the 'Biggies' would hand us a mike without asking.
At the last Buckeye I played on a show (05), our jass jam went a mere 13
minutes. I had to play 2 tunes by myself. Finally Phil Gazell got up to
help me out. It was a fiasco. No one WANTED to play.
At THIS Denver, I and Phil Caltebellotta kept eye contact with each other
and each of us were ready and willing to relinquish OUR slot to anyone
who wanted it. As Timothy so aptly put it, egos have to be checked at the
door. Some people go to spah and want to play. That's only natural. But
some want to play continuously and get so engrossed they don't realize
that there are other people who would like to play too. One fellow even
made the statement: "I came a long way...I'm gonna play". OK, good, good
for you pal. Meanwhile. I had come 1717 miles to his 859. Some people
are self oriented, some are 'people' oriented. I happen to fall in the
second group. I even gave up my slot in the matinee because time was
running short and adjustments were necessary.
I go to spah for the comaraderie, I don't HAVE to play. I have as good a
time listening and learning.
Sure, some people find this too intimidating to play. To help with
this, Michael Rubin started a "pre-jam" to help newbies with their
jamming chops and etiquette, and Jimi Lee was running an afternoon
jam that usually had smaller groups. All these things have sprung
up from the grassroots to support the blues jam
Similar things can happen with the jazz jam if there is interest and
participation. I'm not saying that the jazz jams should be
structured this way at all. I like the idea of being able to maybe
sign up, and then call a tune, and share it with one or two or three
other players, rather than spending 30 minutes making the rounds
with one progressions, as the blues jams do. But my point is that
if people are encouraged to participate the jam can find its own
solutions to problems that might arise.
Yes, as long as the players don't make it into a contest. And as long as
they support each other. I stand on my suggestion yesterday as to how to
play at one of these things. As for who plays on what. That has to be
worked out (amicably) between the players. AND calling tunes that are
unbeknownst to most players because it makes you look 'cool' is not cool
under THESE circumstances. There, I got it off my chest and now I won't
dwell on it again.
smokey-joe
-tim
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_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l