[Harp-L] Low Wattage Jazz at SPAH

[David Fairweather <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with everything Slim said about jazz harmonica.   If you don't have
a great appreciation for and understanding of jazz,  you won't be able to
play jazz piano,  jazz guitar,  jazz trumpet or jazz harmonica.   And
you're not going to get that foundation in a 1 hour seminar for beginners
at SPAH.

Another problem I see with a "beginner's jazz jam/seminar" would be
deciding who is already too advanced to participate.   I fully understand
the intimidation factor that often keeps beginners (including myself) from
getting up on the stand at the formal jazz jams.   That's part of the
reason I much prefer the hallway jazz jams.

By my count there were about three corners where hallway jams could develop
without audible interference from neighboring groups.  One corner was
usually occupied by beginners playing folk music - the "Red River Valley"
crowd.   Another corner was often occupied by blues players.

The jazz corner was the furthest away and hardest to find.    The first
night (Tues),  it actually had a real piano and that was wonderful.   Ron
Kalina and Sam Friedman provided live piano accompaniment to the jazz
jammers.    The acoustic piano disappeared after the first night (it was
moved onto a stage).    An electric keyboard showed up a couple of nights
later,  but then it also disappeared.    After that I provided some
computer generated accompaniment.   But because of the "floating" impromptu
nature of the jam and the difficulty in finding it,   there were quite a
few fine jazz players who never even knew it was happening or never knew
where to find it and they never dropped by.

So how about designating a semi-official jazz jam corner next time and
letting people know where to find it, and even providing a permanent piano
for it (either electric or acoustic)?    .