[Harp-L] an open Invitation

[Joe Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Be it hereby known to all brothers and sisters of the brass, you are hereby invited to be a: participant/observer/witness at:

The OLDEST ESTABLISHED PERMANENT FLOATING JAZZ JAM.....at SPAH. Initiated by Randy Singer, supported by our president M. Tom (Strykeforce) Styker and the SPAH staff.
The jazz jams will be: Fri 12 Aug, and Sat 13 Aug following the gala evening shows. Exact times to coincide with the aforementioned.

In keeping with the spirit that Randy intended (i.e. "Be kind"), the following should be mentioned. There is only one rule. NO line jumping. 
Other than that. we are going to keep a loose goose and a cool tool. The following suggestions are in order. Keep in mind, these are  suggestions. 

1... Every side man I have ever known always has a tune or tunes ready of their own choosing. And although there is no guarantee that your tune will be played, we will make every attempt to have as many people play as possible. Considering time constraints and number of players.

1...(a)... If you call a tune and do the lead in, you will also be allowed to play on the tail out (if you wish), but please be considerate. Replace the mic for other players (if any), and stand to the side. Trust me, I will make sure you get the mic back. IOW no hogging. lol.

2... We shall use the musical chairs format. People wishing to play will queue up and players will take turns from chair #1, and if there's room, chair #2 will be on standby. And then yada yada. Here's where mutual cooperation comes into play.  

2...(a)... If players wish to play 2 or 3 at a time (in unison OR trading..such as 4s), make sure it's mutual. Some players don't like others playing while they are. To some, it mess up their ears.  

3... We will be playing with this band for the first time. And while I am too sure that they will be great musicians, they don't know us from a bag of hammers. So be patient.

3...(a)...We aren't sure if they know 'our' type of stuff, what key, what tempo.   

4... When choosing a tune try to imagine how obscure it may be. Especially for unfamiliar musicians. Remember, we are doing this impromptu and totally extemporaneously, so be patient. Example: IF you pick a tune such as a bee bop rendition of: "Roses of Picardy", don't be surprised if the band looks at you with a... "Whaaaaaaaa".

4...(a)...I will have both a jazz & standards real book with me just in case we get stuck for a tune...which, as my past experience has taught me...ain't gonna happen.

5... I don't think that we should do too many ballads, They are long and slow. Stardust (for example) takes too long for one go through because of the multiple part format (a,b,c,a), and by the time only 2 players do it, we are already into Sunday.  

So, we're going to keep it frosty and laid back, and the main thing is we're gonna have fun. No negative waves. There will be some big guns there. Some cruisers, battleships and maybe even an aircraft carrier or two. Don't be concerned. We're all in this together.
And the bigger the gun, the nicer they seem to be. :)

Questions? (oh, and I won't be here from 6 till midnight). 

smokey-joe & the Cafe s (at 'the Edison', Ft. Myers country club)