We were a bit thin on personnel when this week’s workshop
began: Wes (tenor), Gene (drums), Steve M (alto) and yours truly. So we dragged
the piano out and I plunked out some chords until someone else came along who
could do it better; no one did. Soon enough, Tony brought his bass, and we had
a regular quintet. Steve M. called for one we had looked at the week before,
Hoagy Carmichael’s bluesy Baltimore
Oriole (II-34). We moved to Wes’ pick, the more mid-tempo Out of Nowhere (I-318). Because it was
on the next page, I started doodling on Paper
Doll (I-319), until others joined in. We then went with a sort of mid-tempo
version of Cherokee. Looking for
things I already had chord changes written out for, I asked for Here’s That Rainy Day. Wes wanted
something a bit more bouncy, so we turned to Red Top (III-332). Gene the
Obscure came up with No Moon At All
(III-303), which we all enjoyed. Robbin’s
Nest (II-330) was Wes’ next choice.
At this point, your scribe had to leave, but Steve M kept
tabs on the remaining tunes. Lullaby of
Birdland (I-256) from Wes, Straight
No Chaser from Tony, and When Sunny
Gets Blue (I-440) from Gene.
Participant Picks
This week we mourn the passing of alto saxophonist Phil
Woods on 9/29/15. Here are two bits, one from early, one from late.
Phil Woods 1960
Phil Woods Master Class, 2012
Enjoy.
--SJH
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