Django in June 2012: small jam session idea

HotTinRoof

klaatu wrote:

For you newbies, this is NOT to be missed. The Hot Club of Room xxx is a wonderful, time-honored tradition at Django in June, where Michael generously shares his incredible collection of vintage gypsy guitars with all comers. However, please don't take the mention of single malts and wine to mean that freeloading is the norm. If you plan to partake, you should contribute as well!

However *slightly* intimidating when Olivier, Gonzalo, Yanick, Benoit, Radaich, and Horrowitz are in the room .
Looking forward to this year. I don't play guitar for a living, so I'm cool with my shortcomings.

Kevin, I don't think you are being idealistic - it IS the teacher in you. Some people remember what it was like trying to learn and once experienced, want to pass down their knowledge via instruction in helping the more novice players. Be the experienced someone they never had. Others want to sit back and enjoy their level of experience/knowledge because they fought so hard to get there. Heck with the novice guys, "I got to the top of the heap, they should go through what I had to endure", etc, etc.

Michael Bauer

I guess, being one of the lesser lights, I appreciate when really good players help less experienced players learn. Barry Warhaftig of the Hot Club of Philadelphia facilitated slow jams when he was there. he could have been running with the other big dogs, but he took the time to help a bunch of us take the next step, and I was really grateful for that.

The beauty of Django in June is there is time for all of it. Time for the heavy hitters to play with each other and for the rest of us to sit back and watch...and learn. And there are jams with just newbies and many more where the company is mixed in terms of talent, and I think alot of players new to the style like to "hide" in larger groups while they sort things out. It's all a good learning experience. To get better we all need to play with guys who are better sometimes, and guys who we are better than.

One thing about gypsy jazz that has impressed me from the beginning is how generous the top players are with their time and knowledge with those who are learning.

And as far as the Hot Club goes, there are times when Kikteff and Wrembel or Gonzalo and Convert are holding court, and we all just sit back and watch in awe. But more often than not, there are just regular guys there who who want to sample a rare vintage guitar or a rare spirit. Everyone is welcome. If you can afford to contribute supplies or bring a special guitar, great. If not, come anyway. Everyone is welcome.

Passacaglia

I have very little experience in this music, and that includes festivals and jams. I will say the one thing I loved about attending our local summer fest, few years back, was how generous everyone was in the way Michael is describing. A particularly fond memory, beyond hearing some wonderful professional playing, was just sitting under the shade of one of the tents, plonking out my beginner's chords when a guy shows up, simply and kindly asks if he could join. I immediately found out his extraordinary ability, and we were soon joined by several others. That nice guy was Jack Soref, and that kind of generosity really was the timbre of the couple of days of the fest. I've found that sensibility pretty routinely, since. Looking forward to DIJ, all.

NewcastleBud

All very good points indeed, however Wim deserves a shout for this slice of brilliance, and I quote:

"- sometimes 2 or more guys both think it's their time to solo and it just ends up sounding like a bunch of skeletons having an orgy on a tin roof "

HotTinRoof

for the record, I have nothing to do with that.

Passacaglia

Everything looks fantastic, except I'm worried about single malts. I sit here a Speyside man, but when I play, it's Foxfire bourbon, aligoté, and if I'm uptown, armagnac - never cognac.

OK, I'm lying. Single malts, Fleurie beaujolais, cru Gevrey-Chambertin, these make me a better player, and a more amicable friend. Really.

klaatu

Wow, I thought I knew my Bourbons, but Foxfire? That's a new one on me, and I don't turn anything up on Google. Except that there is apparently a Bourbon recipe in the first Foxfire book. Are you running your own still, by any chance?

Look me up at DiJ. We'll have a glass of Woodford Reserve together. Finest there is.

klaatu

As to the jams, a bigger problem than the sheer size is the people who simply don't understand jam etiquette, and this can happen with four or twenty. Jams are less fun when:
- Someone doesn't understand that, if you can't hear the soloist over your own rhythm playing, you're too loud.
- Someone takes four or more solo choruses when everybody else pretty clearly only took one or two.
- Someone who hasn't gotten their bluegrass roots out of their system is playing a lot of open, ringing chords (OK maybe this isn't so much etiquette as is is just ignorance of proper technique, but it's bothersome nonetheless).
- As Wim says, people who keep constantly chucking in little rhythmic embellishments can become tiresome, especially if there is more than one person doing it.
- And then there are those people who drink lots of Michael Bauer's Scotch without helping to replenish the supply. Come on, you should give him some alcoholic beverages in return for letting you play his fabulous vintage guitars!

Passacaglia

klaatu wrote:

Wow, I thought I knew my Bourbons, but Foxfire? That's a new one on me, and I don't turn anything up on Google. Except that there is apparently a Bourbon recipe in the first Foxfire book. Are you running your own still, by any chance?

Look me up at DiJ. We'll have a glass of Woodford Reserve together. Finest there is.

Hahah - yep, you pegged it. I was shooting for "rustic."

Nope, former brewer, but never distilled anything. Too many stories from my Estonian in-laws of what one does to stay warm in Siberian winters.... :shock:

I will definitely look you up, Ben. I'll bring some Bulleit or Knob Creek and see if they can't become friends....

klaatu

Wonderful! Those are some of my other favorites. In fact, I was just about to pour myself a glass of Bulleit.

See you there.