[TPIN] Autumn Leaves/2 down, 1 up

[Mike Vax]

Boy, Bob, you bring up some old memories with this post.  Things USED to be
pretty much the same all over, when there was lots of work.  Many of the top
leaders would use your first gig with them as a test.  They would call up
many standards and also many tunes that were a little more "esoteric," to
see what the new musician could do. One of the prerequisites for your being
hired again was how many tunes you knew right away off the top of your
head.  One leader that I used to work for a lot, used a 12-18 piece big band
set up, with music stands --- but NO music.  Not only were the musicians
expected to know the tunes, they were expected to make up harmony parts and
even backgrounds.  Another good "trick" for new musicians back then, was to
have the lady singer do her tunes -- which of course were NOT in the
original keys, to see how well you could "fit in."
Those strolling gigs at conventions, weddings, and the like, were really
interesting too.  We usually used guitar or accordion with bass and one
horn.  This same leader took pride in just asking each table for requests
that we were expected to be able to come up with.  (He usually played VERY
mediocre bass on these segments.)
One thing I do not know, is why on the West Coast, we always use fingers
down for flats and fingers up for sharps, but it is the opposite on the East
Coast........
Mike Vax

On Jan 7, 2008 7:57 AM, Robert DeSavage <allegro6192 at comcast.net> wrote:

> > Message: 6
> > Date: Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:41:25 -0500
> > From: trombaedu at optonline.net
> > Subject: Re: [TPIN] Autumn Leaves/2 down, 1 up
> > To: Bill Biffle <bbiffle at brgcc.com>
> > Cc: TPIN <tpin at tpin.okcu.edu>, Eric Bolvin <ebjazzz at comcast.net>
> > Message-ID: <47CDFDE7-709D-4467-9503-582E45CA1572 at optonline.net>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
> >
> > In NYC, up is flat and down is sharp. I know the reason, anyone care
> > to guess? :)
> >
> > Jordan
>
> This was the way in the Boston area as well. This Enquiring mind wants to
> know why.
>
> Some 50 years ago before piano players started lugging around their own
> keyboards, they (as well as the band) were at the mercy of the club or
> hall
> where in all too many cases the house piano was two steps above being in
> dilapidated condition. Usually, the pianos were the upright grand type and
> hardly moveable where the pianist's back would face the band. This made it
> difficult for the pianist where he or she would either get a whack on the
> back by a horn player for a new key change or have to turn around a bit to
> see any finger signals. A few of the pianists would carry with them a
> small
> mirror that they placed atop of the piano in order to see what was going
> on.
> Rarely did we call up the next song by name and just called the key,
> hoping
> the pianist knew the song. Be it anyone knew the song or not, we somehow
> managed to get thru many a 'tune playing' gig by 'faking it'. Hence the
> term
> fake book, a useful guide and tool when doing a general business gig that
> you walk into not knowing who you're working with or what comes next. As
> Mr.
> Vax mentioned earlier in so many words, the ability to easily memorize
> standards is a plus. Society orchestras like Lanin, Davis, etc. would
> consider this necessary in order to work for them. Part of a gig of that
> nature was 'strolling' from table to table during the guests meal. On that
> kind of deal, thumbing thru music is not an option. Usually the strolling
> group was a trio consisting of an accordionist, bassist and either a
> trumpet
> or sax player. Trumpeters all had to make sure that they carried their H &
> B
> cup mute and a rag to stuff in the cup. Not only that, since the society
> bands played for the rich and the famous, many of whom would see all the
> shows on Broadway on opening night, learning the new show tunes as early
> as
> possible was a must.
>
> BOB D
>
>

-- 
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.