After giving it considerable thought, one answer I came up with was that this was a time before recorded music was established and the general public were tuned in to live bands, (unlike today when they are tuned in to discos and recorded stuff). At that time if you wanted music, you would have to hire musicians! The scene therefore provided musicians with ample playing time which inspired development in the genre through interaction! These guys were sometimes playing three or four gigs a day, lunchtime gigs, tea dances, maybe some radio broadcasts, (live in those days), evening gigs and then, of course, playing at jazz clubs until the early hours of the morning. Also, you must remember that the pop music of the day was the jazz standards we play today.
I've been told that a number of guitarists lived in the same apartment block in New York, therefore if they weren't gigging they would be jamming. With all this activity their ability as jazz guitarists grew at an incredible rate. So, what's the important aspect of all this?
In my opinion it is INTERACTION!!! Jazz is an INTERACTIVE MUSIC.
Your ability as an improviser depends on interacting with other musicians! In recent years fashion has had an impact on our music, e.g. the introduction of modes into the teaching of jazz improvisation, although personally I do not endorse this system of teaching! Now we are in the computer age and it has become fashionable to learn off the web. Is the teaching of jazz guitar off the web good or bad? Well, how many of you have bought so called jazz guitar tutors and got very little out of them? Yes, as in books you will pick up a lick or two, but sorry guys, it just doesn't gel with me! To play jazz successfully both from the accompanying and improvising point of view, you are going to have to play in public sooner or later and your preparation for that moment has to be with a tutor or a player who is more advanced than yourself. From what I have seen on the web there is very little information about a structured approach to the teaching of jazz guitar and, as I mentioned before, the important word is INTERACTION.
If you are learning off the web you can't interact with a machine! If you are having individual or group tuition you are INTERACTING WITH OTHER MUSICIANS, and I feel that our jazz guitar club is already helping many of you in that way!
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAYING LIVE!
Well guys, I do my utmost to help a number of you achieve the necessary skills to become accomplished jazz guitarists by providing tuition, (at a reasonable cost), jazz guitar weekends in Wrexham, gigs for the more experienced players and places for the less experienced players to sit in! I'm sure you will agree that our jazz guitar club at Bijou has helped many of you on their way. However, in my opinion what is most important, as soon as your ability allows you, is to play live gigs in as many different musical environments as possible! This is how you discover whether all the stuff you are practising is working for you.
So my message to the less experienced players is: To prepare well by learning approx six jazz standards which can include a blues, (remember to learn the blues in all the popular keys), and get yourself out there! Of the tunes you have chosen you must be able to play the melody, chord sequence and have the ability to improvise. The house band would probably include a harmonic instrument, piano or guitar. If there is no harmonic instrument, take with you a friend who plays guitar or piano, preferably someone you have practised with. When on the band stand you need all the help you can get!
THE OBJECT OF THE EXERCISE IS TO GAIN EXPERIENCE AND PUT ON A GOOD SHOW.
Things to remember: In a jam session situation, after you have made your presence known and that you wish to play, when you are invited on stage have parts available, (normally chord charts), for the musicians who are going to accompany you. You call the tunes! Only play the tunes that you are familiar with! Never be tempted to play tunes you don't know! Make the other musicians aware of the tempo and the style of the music you are going to play, swing, medium tempo, bossa nova or ballad. Make them aware of any introduction and how you are going to finish. When you have played the melody and improvised, invite the other musicians to improvise and be prepared to play the melody out.
In the mid 70's when I discovered that jazz was the direction that I wanted to take, (prior to that I played in dance bands, pop bands, some theatre pit work and recording sessions), I used to travel all the way from Anglesey to the Hunts Cross pub in Liverpool, in the hope that I could sit in for two tunes. It was 90 miles each way but that was the nearest place I could sit in. You have to speculate to accumulate!!!
