About us
This group is open to musicians of all levels who would like to learn and explore jazz standards & improvisation with others in a friendly & supportive environment
The "novice setlist" sessions are especially suited for those getting started with jazz, looking to build up a repertoire of standards and learning to improvise with other musicians in a relaxed environment. Each session is individual and there is no longer term commitment.
If you're already comfortable with the above, but are looking to improve the more nuanced aspects of your playing and over more challenging standards - then please come join one of the upcoming "Afternoon Open Jams", and discuss joining sessions at the sister group, "Practice Jazz Jams (Intermediate)".
If you're new to the group and had some questions on how it all works just drop me (Xie) a message!
A contribution is charged to cover payment of the room hire, meetup's monthly organiser fee, and my time in organising the sessions.
Upcoming events
8
Weekend afternoon open jam (free) + social | 13th Sep 3pm, Vortex downstairs
The Vortex Jazz Club, 11 Gillett Street, N16 8JH, London, GB(There will be a break in the open jams after this date, resuming again in December)
Afternoon jam and performances, free and open to a public audience and participants. Anyone at any skill level can join in to play (or sing) - mostly jazz standards.
There is no fixed repertoire, and what is played depends on what everyone calls - please put your name and instrument (or vocals) down on the sign up sheet, which will usually be on the downstairs bar.
Earlier arrivals will usually be asked to play first, so you may wish to plan to come early.
The house band will also play a couple of songs throughout the afternoon, including from the future standards repertoire - which everyone is also encouraged to call. Contact me for sheet music.
There will also be a possible break for a 30 minute novice+, improver or intermediate set.
Many people also come to the open jam, who are looking to join a novice+ or intermediate rehearsal for the first time, so I can get a sense of your playing first.
We'll likely go somewhere for food afterwards.
See you then
Xie25 attendees- £17.00
Weekday | 6.30-9.30pm Sep 16, 9M Studios
9M Studios, 9 Morecambe Street, London, GBfull for drums, bass, piano, guitar, vocals, 2 of 3 spots taken for lead instruments
Please use this link to sign up and pay
https://tickts.co.uk/events/weekday-630-930pm-sep-16-9m-studios(Note you must already be accepted as a member of this group, otherwise your ticket will be cancelled)
** The 9M Studios sessions are now 3 hours long. The group is encouraged to use the last hour to call additional songs that are not on the repertoire list - similar to an open jam, or to experiment with arrangements such as intros and endings for the original repertoire. **
full list of scheduled sessions: https://www.meetup.com/Practice-Jazz-Jam-Sessions/events/
What is it
The novice rehearsal sessions provide an opportunity for people who are relatively new to jazz, to play in a friendly, low-pressure environment. With a short set list that attendees can prepare in advance, it becomes a little less daunting to play and get the most out of practising in a group.
See below for this week's setlist. Please sign up before attending.
already full for your instrument? Please check back on Wednesday mornings, when new sessions go live. If you keep not being able to get a spot, please message the organiser (Xie).
Location: 9M Studios, SE17 1DX
Who's it for
anyone who has practised following the forms (chord progressions) of jazz tunes - maybe on their own at home - and would like to build up playing experience, expand repertoire and practice performing with other musicians.
There are various introductions on how jazz jams work - see e.g.
https://jazznightschool.org/pages/jam-session-basics
You don't need to get all these details right for these novice practice sessions. The set list format should offer opportunities for those at different levels of developing their playing.
While at the beginning one might struggle to follow/comp the chords or play through the melody, it gets easier over time and one can start to develop approaches to improvisation, harmonise lead lines, add intros/endings, work on communication between band members, and even listen to recordings together and pick up specific arrangements.
Bass players are expected to be able to play a walking bass line on swing tunes, and simple bossa lines for bossa novas.
Playing the melody, or "head" - the responbility is shared between horns players (e.g. sax, trumpet, violin), guitar and piano. Feel free to discuss among the group before each song - different parts of the head or the starting / ending heads can be played by different players. Some melodies will better suit several voices at the same time, whereas others are sensitive to variations in how they are played and may prefer a single instrument at a time.
What it's like
A relaxed and welcoming atmosphere - please put aside any worries of making mistakes if you’re thinking of joining us for the first time. To ensure the group is accessible for those at different levels, I ask that each novice session should work on only the below four songs of the set list, unless each and every attendee feels they prefer to move on.
Each novice session is limited to up to: 1 drummer, 2 bass, 2 keys, 2 guitar, 3/4 lead instruments. The tickts.co.uk page will have tickets available only for the instruments/vocals with spots remaining.
Tunes this week (Wed Sep 16)
St. James Infirmary in Dm (warm up)
(Louis Armstrong) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzcpUdBw7gsMoanin' in Fm
(Art Blakey) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv9NSR-2DwMWave in D
(Dexter Gordon) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0cJu8rQ7uEStella by Starlight in Bb
(Chad LB) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br23rzCwpQgEveryone is encouraged to listen to a variety of recordings for each song, but please ensure you are familiar with the recording provided as a primary reference. (Note the recordings provide stylistic reference, but may not be in the key listed, with the latter based on common real books)
Preparing for the session
The chordal form of each song follow the iReal Pro app as a common reference, or you can use sheet music from Real Books.
Resource for sheet music:
https://www.seventhstring.com/fbindex.html
http://therealbook.info/
Try to immerse yourself in the songs by listening to recordings by different artists on youtube, spotify etc.
Learn the head (main melody) of the song if you can. Don't hesitate to let the band know you can play it so you can start things off
Playing well together
The rehearsal groups are often quite large for a jazz ensemble setting. Please follow the below arrangements, which are designed to help the group be mindful of each other's volumes, and to build good habits for playing as a group
- Every tune should be played at least twice. Swap the bass, piano and guitar players between the two renditions (if there are two attending)
- Only one guitarist should comp - i.e. play chords - for each rendition (both guitarists can solo, and comp without amplification)
- After each rendition of the warm up tune, the whole group should take a moment together and help each other to check on volumes, including:
** Can everyone hear themselves?
** Are the drums too loud?
** Can everyone hear the bass?
** Is the guitar comping too loud?
** Is the piano loud enough? (staff at the office can turn this up)
** Feel free to revisit volumes after subsequent songs - For any song, if at least two people in the group feel it would be better, the guitar and piano should share the choruses for comping (instead of comping together) - e.g. guitar comps the first time through the head, then piano, then guitar, etc.
Equipment
there is a piano, drum kit (no cymbals or high hat clutch), bass and guitar amps, and microphones. Limited number of music stands. Drummers: please bring cymbals (none available for rental) and hi hat clutchPercussion
Percussionists are welcome to join with their instruments, alongside the drummer. Feel free to sign up to any session, even one that says "full for all instruments" at the top, unless it explicitly mentions "full for percussion".
Vocalists
singers very welcome though usually I suggest you come to the intermediate sessions where you can pick your own song and key (as chances are many of the above are not in the right key for your range)
Cancellation policy
Please try to make it to any session you sign up to, as the jams are organised around a particular mix of instruments. However, if things do come up and you can no longer make a session, please send a message to the organiser, Xie, as soon as possible.
Places are non-refundable if your plans change, but if you provide over 1 week notice it may be possible to carry over the fee for a future session.
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any questions do get in touch!
10 attendees
Past events
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