What a difference a day made
Sunday, February 17th, 2008We had a band rehearsal yesterday afternoon; and armed with notes (in both senses), I took the trio through every single song that’s been uncertain thus far.
We went through the changes (technical jazz term for ‘chords’ ;-)) for the few songs that had fallen down spectacularly on gigs; we went through the arrangements for all the songs which go into time (as in, we start the song - or do it once through - out of tempo, and then go into tempo); I told them about following my lead at the end of songs, in terms of how and when to end them; and I talked to them about light and shade - making our ballads gentler, keeping endings soft if I have ended on a quiet note (erm, literally), and following my dynamic in general if and when a song builds, or ebbs, or whatever. In jazz they call it having ‘big ears’ - and I told the trio about this expression, about the need to listen, listen, listen to what’s going on around them, whether that be the dynamics changing or, erm, simply being in the wrong place in the song.
The main thing, though, was to clear up any hesitancies they were having over certain tunes, and to make us tight, tight, tight when it came to beginnings, endings, and any arrangements in between.
The result was quite astounding.
Last night we had, quite simply, our best gig ever. Because suddenly we were TIGHT. They followed my lead brilliantly; L (drums) counted in the tempos at certain points perfectly; Y (bass) was more confident, it seemed; and D (piano) had more light and shade to his playing than ever before. We felt together, we felt in the pocket. It was like a penny had dropped and suddenly, now, we’re making the music I want us to be making. It was wonderful.
Oh, and I also received my favourite song dedication card of the trip so far:
Fantastic.
