How Insensitive - Jazz Standard

[Spacejazz]

This has been on my front burner this week. And have been absorbing this standard by a few of the greats. I am no Wes, and I am no Pat Martino. That's alright...I bring what I can bring to it my way. Earlier, I posted about wrapping a flat pick in tape to produce more of a flesh to string tone. Well, yeah sort of. But I recorded a version of this with it, and I was not very pleased with the tonal response. It is better than without tape, but nothing is as good as straight flesh to strings IMO. So, I went back to ditching that pick, and I am happy for it. But you gotta try stuff I guess.

Anyway, this was very interesting for me. I cannot play very fast, but maybe that is less important, at least right now.
I had some good moments and a few spots where I drifted. That tends to happen to me because I am improvising and taking chances. Sort of knowing, but also sort of not knowing so I hit wrong notes sometimes. It's all learning. I really enjoy listening to Pat Martino talk about jazz.....he has such a profound and interesting perspective on all of it. He was such an intellectual dude.

 

[Dadocaster]

.

 

[Rene Asologuitar]

Lovely tone on your guitar, @Spacejazz !
This music is pure bliss, and I love this recording.
Thanks for this.
Rene

 

[El Gobernador]

That tends to happen to me because I am improvising and taking chances.

Brian. I love you brother.

But this happens because you do not absorb the tune before recording it. You need to spend time with the tune.

I'll spend weeks on a tune...even ones I write...before I record them for public consumption.

You need to do this. It will be eye opening and rewarding.

 

[Quikstyl]

This has been on my front burner this week. And have been absorbing this standard by a few of the greats. I am no Wes, and I am no Pat Martino. That's alright...I bring what I can bring to it my way. Earlier, I posted about wrapping a flat pick in tape to produce more of a flesh to string tone. Well, yeah sort of. But I recorded a version of this with it, and I was not very pleased with the tonal response. It is better than without tape, but nothing is as good as straight flesh to strings IMO. So, I went back to ditching that pick, and I am happy for it. But you gotta try stuff I guess.

Anyway, this was very interesting for me. I cannot play very fast, but maybe that is less important, at least right now.
I had some good moments and a few spots where I drifted. That tends to happen to me because I am improvising and taking chances. Sort of knowing, but also sort of not knowing so I hit wrong notes sometimes. It's all learning. I really enjoy listening to Pat Martino talk about jazz.....he has such a profound and interesting perspective on all of it. He was such an intellectual dude.

Great work on a great tune! I loved the Sinatra/Jobim collaboration with this song.

 

[Spacejazz]

And so we try again. This is a new recording. I hope I am getting better, I feel like I am but I always have stuff to work on. It's a forever thirst in my soul that won't let me stop.

 

[Spacejazz]

Getting sick of me yet? ha ha.

Today, I woke up and went straight into this recording....still wiping the sleep from my eyes. Not even a cup of coffee.
This may be the worst of all three takes, but here we go again. Trying to fit into a giant jazz world in a small way. I felt it....I was there, mentally, and spiritually. Was in that moment once again. Let's see what you guys thought. Just another day in this life. And the journey continues....

 

[El Gobernador]

Brian...play "with" the band. Be a part of it. Listen to "them".

 

[Spacejazz]

Brian...play "with" the band. Be a part of it. Listen to "them".

Chris, are you primarily talking about phrasing, or timing (or both)?

Let me know what is working good, and what is not so good....thanks Chris!

 

[El Gobernador]

Timing mostly.

This is meant to be constructive.

You rarely, if ever, play inside the tune. Always on top of it. This is because you do not spend enough time with the tune, and the backing track you use, in order to really be a part of it.

It's like driving down an unknown, narrow mountain road at 90 miles an hour. You're going to go off the road. You might wreck.

Now on a road well travelled by you, you'll know the dips, bends, and curves. You've been there before.

It's the same with music. If you travel down an unknown path...you'll get lost.

Learn the path. Play the music.

Improvisation is not unknown. You know the path.

 

[Seamus OReally]

Stop guessing at notes. Jazz players are not making mistakes and cleverly recovering from them… they know what the next note will do.

It isn’t jazz just because it’s dissonant.

 

[Spacejazz]

Stop guessing at notes. Jazz players are not making mistakes and cleverly recovering from them… they know what the next note will do.

It isn’t jazz just because it’s dissonant.

Yes, I know that. I do a lot of guess work....true. Somethings I make, other's I miss out on.

 

[Dadocaster]

Yes, I know that. I do a lot of guess work....true. Somethings I make, other's I miss out on.

Can you comp this song??

 

[Spacejazz]

Can you comp this song??

I think I can, but I have not done it. I could try and do that, and repost just comping it with chord work. I think I should be able to handle that.

 

[Dadocaster]

I think I can, but I have not done it. I could try and do that, and repost just comping it with chord work. I think I should be able to handle that.

My fingers wiggle quite well and I can blow and zip around over rock, blues, punk, but when it comes to music with more complex chords, I have to learn the changes. Learning the changes is where you start hearing how the melody fits, then play the melody and try to embellish, then try to play a lead.

One of the things I am working on now is not in my wheelhouse at all and I am having hell even comping it, but if I keep going, I will know that song and be able to play it, sing it, play a lead.

I assume that better players than I can just listen to some complex stuff, hear all the chords and play, but that's not currently my reality. Take me back to rock and roll, and I can do it easily.

 

[Spacejazz]

My fingers wiggle quite well and I can blow and zip around over rock, blues, punk, but when it comes to music with more complex chords, I have to learn the changes. Learning the changes is where you start hearing how the melody fits, then play the melody and try to embellish, then try to play a lead.

One of the things I am working on now is not in my wheelhouse at all and I am having hell even comping it, but if I keep going, I will know that song and be able to play it, sing it, play a lead.

I assume that better players than I can just listen to some complex stuff, hear all the chords and play, but that's not currently my reality. Take me back to rock and roll, and I can do it easily.

This makes a lot of sense. I try to lie to myself and think I can play it (or wing it), but it may hold up at moments, but my flaws will soon be realized. Once that happens, well....it's over I guess. An audience (whether it be online, or live), will hear the flaws and stop believing. That is a bad place to ever want to be....it's so vulnerable, risky, and I guess not very smart. Like in school, you can't ace a test by "winging it", you gotta do the homework. And learning to comp a song, is learning it from the inside. See...I already knew it!

 

[Dadocaster]

Thanks for sharing. You - and everyone else here - show a really healthy perspective on this.

This makes a lot of sense. I try to lie to myself and think I can play it (or wing it), but it may hold up at moments, but my flaws will soon be realized. Once that happens, well....it's over I guess. An audience (whether it be online, or live), will hear the flaws and stop believing. That is a bad place to ever want to be....it's so vulnerable, risky, and I guess not very smart. Like in school, you can't ace a test by "winging it", you gotta do the homework. And learning to comp a song, is learning it from the inside. See...I already knew it!

We all know it but don't always do it.

 

[Spacejazz]

We all know it but don't always do it.

I'm gonna do it, I may fall...but I'm gonna try my best!

 

[Dadocaster]

I'm gonna do it, I may fall...but I'm gonna try my best!

I suspect you and I are opposites. Even very simple changes that I can play easily, I sometimes spend half an hour playing three chords over and over messing with arps/scales/voicings.

 

[crankmeister]

Can you comp this song??

That’s a great question/point.