My favorite weekend of my musical year has come & gone, and I thought I’d tell you how it went. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out my post from a couple of weeks ago called “The First Week of August. (At least that’s what I think it is called.)
Anyway, the place was packed. There were about 500 tables reserved for each of the three nights. Each table was for between two & 19 diners. It was a big crowd. I had a little cold the first two nights, but I was not about to let a few sniffles put a damper on my favorite weekend of the year.
We had lots of requests that I expected (“When the Saints Go Marching In,” “I’ll Fly Away,” Yea Alabama,” “War Eagle,” “What a Wonderful World,” “Happy Birthday,” etc.) and a few that I didn’t expect. A group of Navy vets in their 80s asked for “Anchors Away” and “Tutti Ma is a Big Fine Thing.” (I’ve always wanted to play Tutti Ma,” and it went pretty well. ‘So fun.) We were asked to play “The Fishin’ Hole,” and that was fun. I’ve been watching reruns of The Andy Griffith Show since I was 12, so it felt good to play the show’s song.
Overall, the whole weekend was a blast. Going from table to table playing great ol’ tunes on tenor banjo for great people with two fantastic musicians—What’s not to love?
Edited by - Compass56 on 08/07/2024 11:12:12
At the end of the third night, we decided to do one final song in the restaurant’s quiet little bar. As soon as we walked in, a gentleman asked us if we knew the theme song from “The Andy Griffith Show.” We kind of knew it, and we tried it. The man who requested it just sent me this (very) rough video of the first chorus of our take on that tune.
Edited by - Compass56 on 08/07/2024 11:12:32
Nice sounding trio.
quote:
Originally posted by Hot Club ManNice sounding trio.
Thanks Hot Club. We sound pretty on tunes we know and have played before. This one I don't think I've ever done, but it was fun. Thanks for watching.
I’ve gotta say- three fine musicians but the banjo is the icing on the cake!
quote:
Originally posted by Laurence DiehlI’ve gotta say- three fine musicians but the banjo is the icing on the cake!
Thanks Laurence. I do a lot of gigs every year, but getting to do that gig every year is such a special gift, and getting nice comments like yours is the icing on the cake.
Bass, banjo, trumpet: rhythm, harmony (and rhythm),melody. I would not have thought of these three instruments as a combo but each has a clearly defined role, stripped down to the essentials. I love the uncluttered sound It’s a beautiful concept.
That's really a cool trio. Hard working banjo, cause it's acts both for keyboard and drums.
quote:
Originally posted by TB4That's really a cool trio. Hard working banjo, cause it's acts both for keyboard and drums.
Thanks Marco. Coming from a master like you, that means a lot!
Tony, this is really, really good! You might find a fairly recent recording by mandolinist Jacob Joliff interesting: “Standards on Mandolin, Bass Clarinet and Snare”. Great stuff, including takes on “Ornithology” and “Giant Steps”.
Your work makes me a little wistful, because it’s my inability to do something like this, to be able to play probably hundreds of songs, that keeps me from being a real musician—certainly a real jazz musician.
Improvisation (composing on an instrument) is the easiest thing in the world for me, and I can usually hear my way through a lot of stuff in jam sessions of various kinds. But to be able to just play the Real Book and all sorts of requests…I fight not to freeze up under those circumstances.
Well done. This is inspiring stuff to hear.
quote:
Originally posted by L50EF15Tony, this is really, really good! You might find a fairly recent recording by mandolinist Jacob Joliff interesting: “Standards on Mandolin, Bass Clarinet and Snare”. Great stuff, including takes on “Ornithology” and “Giant Steps”.
Your work makes me a little wistful, because it’s my inability to do something like this, to be able to play probably hundreds of songs, that keeps me from being a real musician—certainly a real jazz musician.
Improvisation (composing on an instrument) is the easiest thing in the world for me, and I can usually hear my way through a lot of stuff in jam sessions of various kinds. But to be able to just play the Real Book and all sorts of requests…I fight not to freeze up under those circumstances.
Well done. This is inspiring stuff to hear.
Rudy, I'm glad you enjoyed my silly posts about the Bright Star. I just love doing that gig so much, and I love telling folks about it. On another note, I have a strong suspicion that your tune knowledge runs deeper than you think it does. I've got all kinds of tricks to accelerate the learning of tunes. Send me an email if you want to talk about that stuff. Anyway, thanks for watching, and I'm going to Jacob Joliff as soon as I put down the phone
quote:
Originally posted by Compass56quote:
Originally posted by L50EF15Tony, this is really, really good! You might find a fairly recent recording by mandolinist Jacob Joliff interesting: “Standards on Mandolin, Bass Clarinet and Snare”. Great stuff, including takes on “Ornithology” and “Giant Steps”.
Your work makes me a little wistful, because it’s my inability to do something like this, to be able to play probably hundreds of songs, that keeps me from being a real musician—certainly a real jazz musician.
Improvisation (composing on an instrument) is the easiest thing in the world for me, and I can usually hear my way through a lot of stuff in jam sessions of various kinds. But to be able to just play the Real Book and all sorts of requests…I fight not to freeze up under those circumstances.
Well done. This is inspiring stuff to hear.Rudy, I'm glad you enjoyed my silly posts about the Bright Star. I just love doing that gig so much, and I love telling folks about it. On another note, I have a strong suspicion that your tune knowledge runs deeper than you think it does. I've got all kinds of tricks to accelerate the learning of tunes. Send me an email if you want to talk about that stuff. Anyway, thanks for watching, and I'm going to Jacob Joliff as soon as I put down the phone
I just reread this post, and I noticed that the last sentence has the term "Jacob Joliffe" in it. I didn't mean those words to be there. I assume I tried to write the word "practice," and I misspelled it at which time autocorrect took over and did its thing.
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