About us
This group is for those who have experience playing over jazz standards, perhaps in the sister group , "Practice Jazz Jams (Novice)", and are looking to improve the more nuanced aspects of your playing and over more challenging standards
If you've never played with the group, please first come to any of the weekend afternoon open jam sessions at the novice practice jazz jams group - they happen every two weeks at the Vortex. See here: https://www.meetup.com/practice-jazz-jam-sessions/events/
Any questions please drop Xie a message
Upcoming events
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- £21.00

Intermediate setlist | 12-2pm July 26th, Vortex upstairs
Vortex, 11 Gillett Square, London, GBupdate: full for bass, guitar, 2 of 3 spots taken for lead instruments
Please use this link to sign up and pay
https://tickts.co.uk/events/intermediate-setlist-12-2pm-july-26th-vortex-upstairs(Note you must already be accepted as a member of this group, otherwise your ticket will be cancelled)
12-2pm rehearsal, Vortex upstairs
Note the format change to 2 hours / upstairs / 3 songs. I suggest the group begin with an informal warm up tune at the start of the session before getting into the set list.
Note: ensure you've practised these songs before the session. This includes confidently playing the head if you are playing lead instrument, common motifs for comping instruments and any specific bass lines or rhythms. Listen to a few versions of each song. Ideally be able to play the melody even if you're on guitar or piano.
Attendees would be expected to be comfortable playing at a novice session first before signing up. Please join one of the weekend afternoon open jams first to play a few songs with other in the group.
full list of scheduled sessions: https://www.meetup.com/Practice-Jazz-Jam-Sessions/events/What is it
a pre-selected set of jazz standards for each session that you can prepare for in advance, and rehearse live with others in a friendly and welcoming environment. See below for this week's setlist.The instruments are limited to up to: 1 drummer, 1 bass, 1 keys, 1 guitar, 3 lead instruments. The top of the description will indicate if there is an available slot for your instrument.
Playing the melody, or "head" - the responbility is shared between horns players (e.g. sax, trumpet), 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.
Tunes this week (July 26th)
- Tico Tico
(Barbash, Cohen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPt68q8BtaY&t=2702s - I Hear a Rhapsody
(John Coltrane) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhT3ljuYZc4 - Speak Low
(Clark, Coltrane) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4-TDkdu5ds
Everyone is encouraged to listen to a variety of recordings for each song, but please ensure you are familiar with the recordings provided as primary references.
Keys are not provided above. The intermediate group is expected to be able to play in the key chosen by whoever is playing the head. Most of the time this will be determined by the sheet music they have access to, but could also be from a particular recording that they learned from. Feel free to ask in the comments if you're looking at narrowing down the key, but it could be played in any key on the day.
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
Equipment
there is a piano, drum kit (no cymbals or high hat clutch), bass and guitar amps, stands, and microphones. Drummers: please bring cymbals (none available for rental) and hi hat clutchVocalists
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
No refund will be provided if you can no longer make the session. If the session is cancelled, a full refund will be provided.
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any questions do get in touch!5 attendees - Tico Tico
Past events
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