That's me at yesterday's jam. I'm the guy you can see from back view standing on the left.
I only stayed for about 40 minutes, maybe a bit less.
The jam was controlled by one guy who set out the rules and also sang most of the tunes. The jam was set to run for two hours. Notice how everyone is reading music from stands. I've got to be mean and say that the standard of playing was not very high, so I suppose it's my own fault for having different expectations.
My expectation of a jazz jam is:
1) You don't have a music stand in front of you with all the music on it. Okay, sometimes the rhythm section might need to see the chord changes, but melody instruments don't really need to see that. Use your ears!
2) A tune is decided on by the majority, one that enough people know. If you don't know the tune, you should still be able to knock out a solo and maybe play some backing things.
Okay, maybe this jam was designed to cater for people with less experience. I should have stayed home and had some peanut butter on toast.
* * *
We (Shelley and I) are heading up to Greytown soon to see some old friends who have just become grandparents for the second time. We'll have a lot to talk about and grandparent notes to share with each other.
Sorry to hear that Rob is a bit unwell in the Philippines and his phone is wet - he should have learnt from Peter's clumsiness. I hope he's feeling better soon.
Okay, I'll leave it there.
Worry about how your music practice is going, not sin.
Ciao.
