What do you think of my jazz band?

Question

I'm the drummer. Any suggestions? Anything you liked?

http://media.putfile.com/Battle-Of-The-Saxes (skip to 35 seconds)
http://media.putfile.com/Its-About-Swing-59 (skip to 30 seconds)

I know it's a bad quality recording, also If you could comment more on MY playing, it would be helpful. Commenting on their playing is helpful aswell.

Answer 1

As far as I can tell from that recording...

The band sounds pretty tight, though I can only really hear the saxes and brass stabs. You'd really need a better recording to be able to pick out more. I'd say you could use more dynamics, but that could be due to the fact your recorder was automatically making everything the same level. The first solo is good - but basic, they could do with studying more music theory as to what 'other' notes they could use, it sounds a bit too pentatonic to me. The other solos are not so hot, they need to play MORE notes in the chord! That's the thing with jazz, playing notes that aren't in the chord is great, but they have to be the RIGHT wrong notes. You have to know the rules before you break them. They should stick to pentatonics, arpeggios etc. until they know their way around better.

As for your solo it sounds OK to me (again the recording lets you down) but you could do with playing less. The thing with jazz is everyone thinks it's flying around your instrument belting out tens of thousands of notes. Miles Davis said the dots are the notes, the rests are the music. Try to include different levels - of volume and complexity (I know it's a short solo, but it's still possible)

Keep at it, keep practicing and you'll sound great. The written stuff is great but the solos need more work.

Answer 2

Wow the sound quality was so poor I could only listen to the first tune. Now for the good news the ensemble playing was very good.The tune being played I also liked and think it is an original . The solos were not good but obviously are something the soloists should do work on by listening to a lot of big band cds by bands like Count Basie ,Les Brown,Woody Herman,Benny Goodman and other big bands like that .Listen how the soloists in those bands just seem to flow into their solos and do not deliberate as to which note to play next.Thats what I sense in your soloists ,they are not sure of how to phrase their solo lines. Listen to those bands and the solos and then play along with the soloist and that will help in the development of good big band solos. Good Luck.

Answer 3

Well, i like the melody; its catchy, but at the beginning, and during the faster meoldies, the saxes are unsynchronized. I'd work on the timings and on just being more precise. The second solo in the first mp3 was bad. He was playing wrong notes that sounded too "out of place." You guys should study more about jazz replacement, pentatonics, and modes. It will improve your soloing by a landslide.

Answer 4

Well, first I noticed that you had a pretty strong sax section...until the solos. They just need to work on improv. a bit more. The bones could play a little louder too. But overall you guys sound pretty good. My assumption is that you are a high school jazz band? Oh, and drums sound good. :)