Poll: June Jazz tune of the month

[Pete Martin]

Folks have asked for some Django tunes, so here is the June tune of the month poll.

Minor Swing


Daphne - the head is played better at the end in this cut


Swing 42

[Pete Martin]

That last pic of Django, playing probably an L5 archtop, smoking the cigarette and the mangled left hand is my favorite.

[DavidKOS]

I'm not voting. I play all of these in my Gypsy jazz guitar act. All are good, "Minor Swing" is most famous and EASY, "Daphne" is fun, and "Swing 42" has the best melody of the three.

Besides, I never got around to recording the May tune.

[Jess L.]

I'm not voting. I play all of these in my Gypsy jazz guitar act. All are good, "Minor Swing" is most famous and EASY, "Daphne" is fun, and "Swing 42" has the best melody of the three.

Besides, I never got around to recording the May tune.

I'm not voting, nor recording, but for an entirely different reason: I'm not qualified to play this stuff. It intrigues me, but it's way over my head. I'd just mangle the tunes and inadvertently make them sound like fiddle tunes (I grew up playing fiddle tunes, that's really all I know how to do). In my ignorance I wouldn't know the difference, but it probably wouldn't be appreciated by jazz fans. So, I listen, but I'm not going to try to play this stuff, I think it's beyond my abilities.

[Pete Martin]

Hi guys. One reason I post this stuff is to get folks who don't play Jazz but would like to try an outlet to learn. Feel free to ask questions, as there are several players who will help.


So David, you going to post all 3 songs this month??

[Drew Egerton]

I have, somewhat, a handle on Minor Swing so I went with Swing 42. I am not recording most of these but definitely am learning from all the posts and materials shared. Thanks Pete and all

[DavidKOS]

So David, you going to post all 3 songs this month??

Uh...I probably won't have that much time - and I don't normally play them on mandolin so even recording one would be fun.

So I will vote.

[Teak]

I love and play all three and Pete, you had to make me choose, eh?

However, that 1938 version of Daphne bounces along with joy and I would love to hear how others handle it.

[Teak]

That last pic of Django, playing probably an L5 archtop, smoking the cigarette and the mangled left hand is my favorite.

Yeah, Django was the epitome of cool, smoking his cigarettes. Unfortunately, like my other musical hero Fats Waller, he died too young at the age of 43. (Waller was 39 at his death.)

[Scot63]

BTW, that's not a Gibson L5 Django is sporting. It's a Swedish-made Levin archtop, and went up for auction last May. Not sure of the result, however. https://www.musicradar.com/news/djan...up-for-auction

[DavidKOS]

BTW, that's not a Gibson L5 Django is sporting. It's a Swedish-made Levin archtop, and went up for auction last May. Not sure of the result, however. https://www.musicradar.com/news/djan...up-for-auction

Thanks for the clarification.

It doesn't really matter though which f-hole guitar is in a pic w/ Django - he pretty much used Selmer Petit Bouche models all his pro career, including adding a pickup after WWII.

[bradeasley]

I just sat in with a local gypsy jazz jam in my area tonight for the first time. I've been wanting to learn to play in this style for a long time but have always gotten overwhelmed. I can hold my own on chord changes so so, but when it comes to soloing, I struggle pretty bad. Only one way to get better I suppose, lots of practice and jumping right into the deep end!

I voted for Swing 42 because it's a cool and challenging tune, but I'm game for any Django/Swing/Jazz tunes!

[DavidKOS]

I just sat in with a local gypsy jazz jam in my area tonight for the first time. I've been wanting to learn to play in this style for a long time but have always gotten overwhelmed. I can hold my own on chord changes so so, but when it comes to soloing, I struggle pretty bad. Only one way to get better I suppose, lots of practice and jumping right into the deep end!

I voted for Swing 42 because it's a cool and challenging tune, but I'm game for any Django/Swing/Jazz tunes!

Gypsy jazz lead playing requires a lot of skills - very fast picking, knowing your arpeggios and scales, using a lot of downstrokes when possible, chromatic and diminished licks, and all done with verve and spit and fire and passion.

Make sure you have a thick heavy pick too.

For a guitar player like me, this style is heaven, and it's the only style of jazz based on guitar as a lead instrument!
Which works great for mandolins, which are a latecomer to the game as I don't recall anything recorded during Django's lifetime with mandolins.

One other point for you guys just getting into Gypsy jazz - if you are learning and going to jam sessions, try to distinguish between "authentic" Gypsy jazz and what I hear often passing for "Gypsy jazz", a string band jazz ensemble that does not really have the style.

Just having guitars and fiddles on the lead does not automatically make it Gypsy jazz. There is a distinct style involved, much the same as a Bluegrass band and an old-timey band may have the same instruments, but a different style.

Anyway have fun learning - lots of great youtube teaching vids.

[bradeasley]

In my neck of the woods, playing a similar repertoire is about as authentic as one can hope for. Which is to say, this jam is more of an informal jam for fans of the style than an authentic gypsy jazz ensemble. The line up last night included accordion, trumpet, guitar (it was a Selmer-style guitar), upright bass, and myself on mandolin. I'm coming more from the Grisman camp of blending styles and adapting them to mandolin as best I can, and any chance to play with others and stretch out is good experience. But I do have much respect for those keeping the tradition of Django Reinhardt and Gypsy Jazz alive.

[DavidKOS]

In my neck of the woods, playing a similar repertoire is about as authentic as one can hope for. Which is to say, this jam is more of an informal jam for fans of the style than an authentic gypsy jazz ensemble. The line up last night included accordion, trumpet, guitar (it was a Selmer-style guitar), upright bass, and myself on mandolin. I'm coming more from the Grisman camp of blending styles and adapting them to mandolin as best I can, and any chance to play with others and stretch out is good experience. But I do have much respect for those keeping the tradition of Django Reinhardt and Gypsy Jazz alive.

That's great...have fun and enjoy...but if you want, try to listen to as much of the original Django stuff and music by the top current Manouche players, it will help your "accent" musically.

Also this is useful, a Gypsy jazz fakebook:

https://geosci.uchicago.edu/~archer/...jango_2008.pdf

Great tunebook for the style.

[Teak]

Gypsy jazz lead playing requires a lot of skills - very fast picking, knowing your arpeggios and scales, using a lot of downstrokes when possible, chromatic and diminished licks, and all done with verve and spit and fire and passion.

One other point for you guys just getting into Gypsy jazz - if you are learning and going to jam sessions, try to distinguish between "authentic" Gypsy jazz and what I hear often passing for "Gypsy jazz", a string band jazz ensemble that does not really have the style.

Just having guitars and fiddles on the lead does not automatically make it Gypsy jazz. There is a distinct style involved, much the same as a Bluegrass band and an old-timey band may have the same instruments, but a different style.

Does the definition include a lack of lyrics? Or a given speed range; i.e., above 160 bpm?

In my limited experience, I notice that many people play jazz tunes (also Dixieland, ragtime, Gypsy swing, etc.) very fast. In other words, they don't sing the lyrics. However, when one considers trying to include the lyrics in the tune, the speed has to be lower. For example, try singing the lyrics to "Honeysuckle Rose" while playing at 210 bpm.

When my trio does an instrumental, we get some applause. When we do a tune with lyrics, we get more applause. Most audiences prefer tunes with lyrics; they are usually not there to hear "hot licks". I remember once reading about a Leo Kottke concert (all instrumental) and someone, it might have been Kottke himself, noted that the audience was probably 80-90% other guitar players who simply wanted to hear his hot licks.

I think that bradeasley and I are in the same neck of the woods, because no one else around here does tunes like Swing Gitane, Hungaria, or Dark Eyes, and even at the slower tempos, the audiences seem to appreciate something that sounds new and exotic. Maybe someday I'll play as fast as Angelo De Barre, but I doubt it.

[DavidKOS]

Does the definition include a lack of lyrics? Or a given speed range; i.e., above 160 bpm?

It shouldn't for any style of jazz - one should have a wide range of tempos and feels.

As for lyrics, well, the "jazz" side of me would rather hear the instrumentalists play solos.

But I know I am not typical in that respect.

In my limited experience, I notice that many people play jazz tunes (also Dixieland, ragtime, Gypsy swing, etc.) very fast. In other words, they don't sing the lyrics. However, when one considers trying to include the lyrics in the tune, the speed has to be lower. For example, try singing the lyrics to "Honeysuckle Rose" while playing at 210 bpm.

Some tunes are great fun as solo vehicles when played at "burn" tempo.

However this is a big dividing line in jazz music - the innovators are instrumentalists, but the public loves jazz singers.

When my trio does an instrumental, we get some applause. When we do a tune with lyrics, we get more applause. Most audiences prefer tunes with lyrics; they are usually not there to hear "hot licks".

Unless they are really there for the solos. This is not the average audience.

What sort of venues are you playing in? Are they dedicated jazz clubs or do they have a wider audience?

I ask because I get a different response when playing at a coffee house and when playing at the local jazz club.

At the jazz club they love the hot licks.

At the coffee shop, they were much less interested in jazz per se. They just wanted to be politely entertained.

the audiences seem to appreciate something that sounds new and exotic. Maybe someday I'll play as fast as Angelo De Barre, but I doubt it.

One of the best and a personal fave!

Yes, "exotic" has appeal.

[Teak]

We pretty much play on the patios of local restaurants, farmers market, benefits like walk-a-thons and bake sales, nursing homes and so forth; so yeah, non-jazz audiences who like to hear what they are familiar with. My hope is that by hearing us a few times a year they will start to distinguish between Ain't She Sweet and Honeysuckle Rose. I throw in a few instrumentals (e.g., Hungaria, Swing 42, and Swing Gitane), but do sing the lyrics to Dark Eyes; thus, a slower tempo in order to not rush the lyrics.

It's all fun. This little town is getting something different; and I am staying alive.

[Teak]

At the coffee shop, they were much less interested in jazz per se. They just wanted to be politely entertained.

My audiences to a 'T'.

[Pete Martin]

"Jazz, it's better than it sounds"

[Teak]

"Jazz, it's better than it sounds"

For sure.

What's that quip again?

Rock musicians know a dozen chords and play to thousands of people.
Jazz musicians know thousands of chords and play to a dozen people.

Sounds about right.

[des]

It's a lot of wrong notes .....

[BrianWilliam]

Ha! "Art form, art form...jazz is an accident waiting to happen."

[DavidKOS]

Shameless self promotion for one of my rare gigs:

https://northcoastbrewing.com/jazz/

June 2018

JUNE 8

DAVID BROWN’S GYPSY JAZZ

https://northcoastbrewing.com/jazz-event/david-brown-2/

Friday, June 8
Romantic Gypsy Jazz Guitar
6 & 8 pm Dinner Jazz performances
$10 Cover – Reservations recommended – Full Taproom Menu

It's a lovely jazz club with great food and award-winning microbrew beers.

now back to the mandolin portion of our program

[DavidKOS]

No posts yet?

Something has to be done about that.