Subject: [Harp-L] re: Les feuilles mortes -- playing correctly

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Martin writes:
 
(and I like this short paragraph most especially out of his entire very  
well-written post): 
 
"Learn the tune and then improvise, would be a good general rule to the  
aspiring player. Not written in stone, of course, the point is to make something  
that sounds, interesting, beautiful or whatever is yr aesthetic."
 
...I've just returned from The Garden State Harmonica Festival, where I  was, 
once again fascinated by the improvisational ability of a few of  the jazz 
oriented players there.  This was precisely one of my main  questions (since 
I've "gotten lost" before despite not having the skills to  improvise the way 
these guys do and am much too timid to venture too far  afield)...."just how does 
one guarantee finding one's way back to the  melody?"...(I'd been listening 
to Chris Bauer, Charles Spranklin and Phil  Catabellotta, specifically at that 
point)....
 
Phil explained it ...saying that there were times one did get  "lost"...most 
especially if you did not keep the main melody in mind...that it  helped to 
have a great accompanist (Keyboard player, etc) to bring back  one's focus..but 
that learning the song thoroughly, "knowing" it inside and  out, usually helps 
you wend your way back no matter how far out into the  stratosphere you've 
gone.  Smo-Joe has told me the same thing when I've  listened in amazement to 
how far "out" he goes from the original song.   Their lightning fast runs on 
chromatics are so different from the saxophone  players I usually listen to; I'm 
still adjusting.
 
I'm rather sure Miles and the other great jazz improv artists knew  every 
note, nuance and phrase of every song they thereafter chose to cover  and make 
their own. 
 
Elizabeth
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