AlChuck
Well-known member
Hey all, I've finally bit the bullet and advertised in the local Craig's List for other musicians to play with. My first goal is to find a flute or sax player or some such melodic intrument, and I will play comp while they play melodies of jazz standards, show tunes, etc., and then we will go get gigs in some local restuarants, hotels, parties, etc. -- classy, sophisticated wallpaper jazz, in brief. The goal is some $ on the side, not a living...
My second goal is to find some other players to jam jazz tunes with, hopefully in front of an audience. The only way I'm going to get good as an improvisor is to do this. For this goal a little renumeration would be nice but the music, the learning, and the interaction -- and the exposure -- is more important. I have some people I know, but they're all thirty miles away across a bridge, so it's hard to get anything too regular happening.
My third goal is to find some songwriters or composers that might need some guitar fills or rhythm parts or solos on their demos.
So the responses are rolling in, about ten-twelve so far in a couple of days.
My question is -- does anyone have any advice? I haven't done this for twenty years, and I'm a little nervous about it. And I've never tried to market myself to play the kinds of gigs I'm talking about -- I've only played in rock bands and I had little if anything to do with finding the gigs.
I can read and I can pretty much learn stuff fast, though I've never been great at being able to play fifty or a hundred or five hundred songs from memory. My reading is just shy of being able to do it comfortably by sight, and getting better all the time.
Thanks all. It's a scary time but exciting, too...
My second goal is to find some other players to jam jazz tunes with, hopefully in front of an audience. The only way I'm going to get good as an improvisor is to do this. For this goal a little renumeration would be nice but the music, the learning, and the interaction -- and the exposure -- is more important. I have some people I know, but they're all thirty miles away across a bridge, so it's hard to get anything too regular happening.
My third goal is to find some songwriters or composers that might need some guitar fills or rhythm parts or solos on their demos.
So the responses are rolling in, about ten-twelve so far in a couple of days.
My question is -- does anyone have any advice? I haven't done this for twenty years, and I'm a little nervous about it. And I've never tried to market myself to play the kinds of gigs I'm talking about -- I've only played in rock bands and I had little if anything to do with finding the gigs.
I can read and I can pretty much learn stuff fast, though I've never been great at being able to play fifty or a hundred or five hundred songs from memory. My reading is just shy of being able to do it comfortably by sight, and getting better all the time.
Thanks all. It's a scary time but exciting, too...