Why not more Big-Band Jazz?

[drumno5]

I've heard OLD/OLD lines swing like crazy, and I'd like to think that I was in a couple that did it pretty well... It can be done there are excellent proven methods... Having the horn line sing 8th notes using different syllables is quite helpful... Using the Do for the first and the Da sound for the 2nd 8th note... Do-Da-Do-Da-Do-Da then by weighting the first syllable more heavily you get DOO-da-DOO-da-DOO-da... soon your line will be swinging beautifully!

And I know folks who say to do it other way around - have your horn line sing doo-DA-doo-DA-doo-DA... leaning on the back half of the beat. Which method is "correct?"

I guess maybe there's more than one way to skin a cat - or swing a lick, in this case.

Fred O.

Edited September 13, 2010 by drumno5

[drumno5]

Having the horn line sing 8th notes using different syllables is quite helpful...

Posters have given quite a bit of consideration to the horn line. But no one has said much about the percussion side of the equation, which can be equally problematic - maybe even more so. Trying of establish and maintain loose, easy-swinging feel while still maintaining the high level of rhythmic accuracy inherent in our idiom is a challenging proposition.

Maybe that's why you hear more fast moving, double time jazz and not as much mid-tempo swing on the field. At faster tempi the eighth note tends to "straighten out," - somewhat easier to execute than the triplet-but-not-quite eighth note of the swing feel. I've heard a lot of square sounding ride cymbal beats and tickety sounding mallet passages, even among higher level groups.

Fred O.

[KFanti]

I'd like to see someone explore Buddy Rich music - and life. You'll need at least one REALLY good drum set player...

[oldschooldbc]

Out of sheer curiosity, I went into corpsreps, and looked up the performance dates, for some standards of the big band/swing era. I looked for the last performance by a World Class corps. Here is what I found:

The last rendition of Glen Miller's classic "In the Mood" was done ten years ago, by the Crossmen.

The last rendition of The Andrews Sisters ' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was eight years ago, by the Cadets. (That was the year that the Cadets did a WWII retrospective show.)

Cab Calloway's classic "Minnie the Moocher"? The last performance by any junior corps was in 1999.

The last rendition of Tommy Dorsey's "Stardust"? That was in 1984, by the Colts. (Stardust would make a tremendous ballad.) The last rendition of "Opus One"? 1978. (That was actually written by Lionel Hampton.)

I say......it is time for these tunes to be revived! Seriously, if a corps next year does these 5 songs for their repertoire next year, I will pay good money to see it. Heck, I would probably pay airfare, to fly to a show to see it! I might even go to Finals to see it! (Well, I'd probably skip LOS and go to Allentown instead.)

Sadly, I can think of perhaps one corps right now, who would do this. That would be the Scouts. I hope Mr. Komnick and Mr. Mason are paying attention here.

p.s., not all the great musicians and band leaders of the swing/big band era were white. Calloway and Hampton were both black. So this is not an attempt to bring back more music from "dead white guys". It is about preserving part of our musical heritage, that is vanishing from our collective conscience - quickly. I played a number of these tunes back during my youth.... and I don't want them to disappear.

[TAFL]

Just that whenever I hear "...it's not easy..." in this idiom I think of Jazz running at 220 playing 'teenths. Something tells me that most musicians have got "swing" in their blood, and it wouldn't be hard to get them to swing together. Certainly no harder than the books and charts they've produced in the last decade.

'Tis all.

Teaching swing is more difficult than teaching any straight feel figures. Most musicians do *not* "have swing in their blood."

It can be done, though. We have one experienced jazz player in our horn line, yet can swing decently now that we've spent time on swing charts. I marked the articulations on the parts instead of expecting everybody to automatically add them in, then taught syllables when we were learning the parts. It's still more mechanical than an experienced swing band would play, though loose enough to make for an enjoyable listen.

Edited September 13, 2010 by TAFL

[lindap]

Teaching swing is more difficult than teaching any straight feel figures. Most musicians do *not* "have swing in their blood."

It can be done, though. We have one experienced jazz player in our horn line, yet can swing decently now that we've spent time on swing charts. I marked the articulations on the parts instead of expecting everybody to automatically add them in, then taught syllables when we were learning the parts. It's still more mechanical than an experienced swing band would play, though loose enough to make for an enjoyable listen.

Swing plays loose, more dance to the groove than marchable, imo. Dr. Beat would be confused which might be why we there's not alot of big-band jazz in drum corps. When I was DM with the Alberta All Girls in 1977. We had 14 pieces of music of which 5 were big band. We used 8 pieces of the 14 for the field show, including 2 big band for concert, one of which was String of Pearls which lasted from 2 minutes to 2 1/2 minutes depending on the 'swing of the day'.

Our version had a bass drum intro, quiet ensemble, baritone highlight, jamming duet to a full ensemble swing. It was the piece the girls in the hornline, average age about 15, liked playing. As a DM, I got them started and let them play the way they felt that day. I'd snap my fingers or sway my hips and dance. The audience loved our version of String of Pearls. That's my flashback moment of the day

[oldschooldbc]

Sadly, only 1 corps has used String of Pearls since you, Linda. That was Blue Saints in 2002. That's almost impossible to believe. And really sad. Similarly, Pennsylvania 6-5000 hasn't been used since 1975.

Sadly, a big chunk of our musical heritage is vanishing. If these songs are not performed, then what are they? Notes on a page, kept in some drawer somewhere? Will they simply go disappear, like the WWII generation that first made them popular?

Sorry, this situation makes me both sad and angry at the same time.

[Jeff Ream]

When you say "dead white guys", it sure sounds like you have a problem with it

those are the words he used in the article that raised the concern he has/had

[CrownStarr]

Sadly, only 1 corps has used String of Pearls since you, Linda. That was Blue Saints in 2002. That's almost impossible to believe. And really sad. Similarly, Pennsylvania 6-5000 hasn't been used since 1975.

Sadly, a big chunk of our musical heritage is vanishing. If these songs are not performed, then what are they? Notes on a page, kept in some drawer somewhere? Will they simply go disappear, like the WWII generation that first made them popular?

Sorry, this situation makes me both sad and angry at the same time.

Who says these songs aren't being performed? Not by drum corps, maybe, but jazz as a whole is far from dead.

[bluecoats88]

Out of sheer curiosity, I went into corpsreps, and looked up the performance dates, for some standards of the big band/swing era. I looked for the last performance by a World Class corps. Here is what I found:

The last rendition of Glen Miller's classic "In the Mood" was done ten years ago, by the Crossmen.

The last rendition of The Andrews Sisters ' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was eight years ago, by the Cadets. (That was the year that the Cadets did a WWII retrospective show.)

Cab Calloway's classic "Minnie the Moocher"? The last performance by any junior corps was in 1999.

The last rendition of Tommy Dorsey's "Stardust"? That was in 1984, by the Colts. (Stardust would make a tremendous ballad.) The last rendition of "Opus One"? 1978. (That was actually written by Lionel Hampton.)

I say......it is time for these tunes to be revived! Seriously, if a corps next year does these 5 songs for their repertoire next year, I will pay good money to see it. Heck, I would probably pay airfare, to fly to a show to see it! I might even go to Finals to see it! (Well, I'd probably skip LOS and go to Allentown instead.)

Sadly, I can think of perhaps one corps right now, who would do this. That would be the Scouts. I hope Mr. Komnick and Mr. Mason are paying attention here.

p.s., not all the great musicians and band leaders of the swing/big band era were white. Calloway and Hampton were both black. So this is not an attempt to bring back more music from "dead white guys". It is about preserving part of our musical heritage, that is vanishing from our collective conscience - quickly. I played a number of these tunes back during my youth.... and I don't want them to disappear.

Actually the last rendition of In The Mood was done in 2004 by the Bluecoats. Also 2005 the Bluecoats played Caravan,