Welcome to the Blue Room JAZZ Jam Sessions Home Page!



This Week's News
and Tunes for the 2nd Set
Things Players Need To Know! Yahoo Group:
blueroomjamsessions
Photo Gallery The Tuning Note: lessons in piano, trumpet and jazz improvisation Links

WHERE ARE THE JAM SESSIONS??


Bolivia (Freddie Hubbard / Warsaw, Poland 1991)
HAIKU "JAZZ"
many notes are played
even those that are missing
are you listening?
- joey ventitelli -


This Week's News, Tunes for the 2nd Set and More (Next Jam: Wednesday, February 10, 2010):

News:
  • Thank you to those who came out to the last jam session. Thank you to Nahum for hosting. Please spread the word!

  • Next jam session will be February 10.  I will be hosting.

  • Come early to the jam sessions...between 7:30 and 8:00pm we will be showing footage of various jazz videos and live performances (e.g., Miles Davis, etc.).  Come hang out early, have a drink and relax a bit.
  • Jam sessions currently are every Wednesday, and unless otherwise noted, are from 8-10:30 PM; call the Blue Room at the Capital City Hotel Cal Expo (formerly the Clarion) for updates (916-487-7600).

    Tunes for the 2nd Set (to be posted by Saturday morning following the most recent jam session):
    I'm excited as we move forward with a slight change in the 2nd half of our jam session. Below are the tunes for the next jam's 2nd set. These will be posted by every Saturday morning, allowing players a chance to work on them over the weekend. All tunes will be found in the Real Books or will be made available in the table below. I also encourage all those interested to also check to see if they are available on youTube...an audio reference can usually be a good thing.
    Tune Composer Album Fakebook Style
    Night Dreamer Wayne Shorter Night Dreamer (1964) Real Book 1; New Real Book 2 Jazz Waltz
    Mambo Inn M.Bauza, G. Samson, B. Woodlen Mambo Inn (in C)Latin
    On Green Dolphin Street (in Eb)B. Kaper, N. Washington Real Book 1; New Real Book 3 Latin/Swing
    Sky Dive Freddie Hubbard Sky Dive (1972) Jazz LTD Latin (Funky)
    Airegin Sonny Rollins Real Book 1; New Real Book 1 Fast Swing
    More to follow...

    Vocalists:
    Vocalists are of course always welcome! Especially for the 2nd set, unless you sing the tune in the 'standard key', please come prepared with charts in your key (at least concert key for the pianist and bassist; Bb parts are also cool to have for trumpet and soprano sax/tenor players).
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    More:
    Remember - keep buyin' drinks (sodas are fine too!) so we can continue to have a place to play!  We've always had a great time so don't miss a session!



  • *******************

    PLAYERS/SINGERS: A few notes to live by!!.....

    To be fair to others, please come up when you are called.   It will be also best for everyone if we limit the stage to 3 horn players per tune.

    Also...

    1) Please remember to bring at least 2-3 tunes as ideas to play with the house band - we don't have much time before the jam is over and we just can't sit there saying 'I don't know, what do you want to play?'!
    2) Also we must limit our choruses in our solos to give everyone a chance to come up more than once.
    3) And finally some of you are playing a full chorus of the melody at the end of your solos - DON'T DO THAT! Playing the actual full melody should be reserved for the very last chorus before we end the tune.

    Be sure to give me your e-mail address so I can get you invited to join our yahoo Group "
    blueroomjamsessions"! You can post messages, reply to messages, answer polls and more.

    Of course feel free to e-mail your constructive comments and suggestions.

    Also, be sure you check out the photo gallery - new pictures are always added when we have new players or special guests!

    Chet

    P.S. Click the following link to check out pictures from the great cookout/jam session I hosted up at my place on Nov. 4, 2006!  THE PARTY!

    *******************



    Thank you to all who come out to play. Even though we are limited on time, I think most get a chance to play at least once. And if you get there early enough, you may find yourself playing two or three times. But remember it's also about supporting each other too, so please keep your talking to a minimum and always clap after each solo. And remember, it's not as easy as it looks to keep things moving so if your name isn't called just let me know you're out there and I'll have an easier time getting you up if you think you've been sittin' too long. But so far I think everyone's been very patient and supportive of each other.


    Thoughts: Please understand the format we are trying to use. We are now bringing up two or three players at a time and will try to bring up guitar players and drummers sooner as well. However please remember it is only fair to those who have been waiting the longest to be called first.

    If you have any questions about how we are running the jam sessions, don't hesitate to come to me directly, or e-mail me.


    Tunes: Each week it is best to come prepared with 2-3 tunes to play. Unless you bring in music of your own to pass out to the house band, please choose your tunes from the Real Book (either old or new). Below is a sample list of standards in various styles (I'll add to it as time permits). Some tunes are so classic that their orginal arrangements are played as well, such as 'shout choruses', intros or endings (e.g., Recordame's shout chorus or the ending to Joy Spring):
    Swing...
    Autumn Leaves Bye Bye Blackbird
    Joy Spring Ballad...
    Darn that Dream
    Bossa/Latin...
    One Note Samba Wave


    This page is still kind of new, so be patient. We'll have a lot for this website, as well as our Yahoo Group.

    PLEASE NOTE: To join the yahoo group you need to receive an invitation. This will keep our yahoo group website limited to those who take the time to play at the jam sessions and otherwise want to learn about their own playing as well as learn more about this music we call JAZZ. Click the below link to send me (Chet) an e-mail if you're interested. Please include what instrument(s) you play and how often you plan to come out to the jam sessions. More about the Yahoo Group later.

    Come back often to check our updates and any news about surprise guests joining us and more.
    Any questions or want to join the Yahoo Group, just send me an e-mail.



    Things Players Need to Know!

    Again, thank you for taking the time to come out and play! That said, in order to make this the best experience for all there are a few things to be aware of, such as stage etiquette, as well as how to shape your solos, and much more. More on that to come soon...

    One such way to improve your playing is to occasionally incorporate some ii-V-I patterns. Here's a very nice pattern...I recommend you learn it in all 12 keys!:




    JAZZ BLUES (VS. CHICAGO BLUES, ETC.)
    ------------------------------------
    There are a few players who come out that are not as familiar with the chord changes for a jazz blues.  As a result, you will find below the standard chord changes for a blues, but a jazz blues:

    The below shows a jazz blues, but using Roman Numerals to show the root movement for each chord, "I" being the key you're in:
                 |    I7   |   IV7   |    I7   |    I7   |   IV7   |   IV7   |   I7    |   VI7    | ii min7 |   V7   |    I7          |   V7            ||
    
    
    
    Example 1:   |   Bb7   |   Eb7   |   Bb7   |   Bb7   |   Eb7   |   Eb7   |   Bb7   |    G7    |  Cmin7  |   F7   |   Bb7          |   F7            ||
    
    
    Example 2 adds 2 more chords in the turnaround, or last two measures...
    
    Example 2:   |   Bb7   |   Eb7   |   Bb7   |   Bb7   |   Eb7   |   Eb7   |   Bb7   |    G7    |  Cmin7  |   F7   |   Bb7    G7    |   Cmin7    F7   ||
    
    
    Example 3 adds still more chords in measures 7 and 8...
    
    Example 3:   |   Bb7   |   Eb7   |   Bb7   |   Bb7   |   Eb7   |   Eb7   | Bb7  A7 | Ab7  G7  |  Cmin7  |   F7   |   Bb7    G7    |   Cmin7    F7   ||
    
    
    There are many more examples, but the above are just a few to illustrate the differences in the Rock and Chicago-style blues chord progressions, as compared to a blues played in jazz.


    Suggested Recordings:
    It can not be stressed enough to just listen to the masters and how they phrased, interacted with each other, everything. Each time you listen to a recording, if you're really listening, you'll hear something new every time. Below are some suggested recordings to listen to (more added as time permits):

    Album NameArtist(s)Suggested Tune(s)
    Kind Of BlueMiles DavisSo What, All Blues


    Instrument Repair
    One contact I have is Fred Morgan, out of Rocklin.  His number is 624-0556.
    There's always Northridge Music, near Sunrise Ave. and Greenback.  Their number is 722-3434.



    Yahoo Group: blueroomjamsessions
    I've created the Yahoo Group "blueroomjamsessions" so that all of us who participate in the jam sessions can communicate more easily with each other, answer some polls, and more.  However it is by invitation only in order to keep it from getting cluttered by any outside junk mail, etc.  In order to join, just send me your name, e-mail address, what instrument you play and how often you plan to come to the jam sessions at the Blue Room.  It's sure to become a great site!
    Click to join blueroomjamsessions

    Click to join blueroomjamsessions










    WHERE?:
    The jazz jam sessions are held in the Blue Room, at the Capital City Hotel Cal Expo (formerly the Clarion), at the corner of Auburn and Fulton (2600 Auburn Ave.), right off the Capital City Freeway/Business-80 (right at the Fulton Ave. Exit), and run every other Wednesday from 8:00 to 10:30 or so.




    Keep listening and transcribing! See you next time at The Blue Room!