I wanted to put a provocative title on this one as this is a topic of some interest to me. When I watch and hear great bands that seem to be able to just play anything (think the original David Letterman band with Paul Schaffer and crew), I contemplate how much music is just IN them. Great bands like that just know so much that they can just play anything at the drop of a hat. Yes, they rehearse and play from charts, but when required to do so, they can shoot from the hip and never miss the mark.
One of my favorite teachers, the late great Neal Dunlap, once told me a story of working a big band gig at CSO Hall down on Michigan Avenue. The band members were downstairs hanging out in the locker-room for the CSO legends - Herseth, Jacobs, et al. Some of the guys were thinking how cool it was to be able to play in the CSO. Neal commented on the fact that, as fantastic as the CSO folks were, the folks in the big band were also wonderful and the the CSO musicians couldn't do what the big band could do, which included knowing so much music by heart that the entire big band could just fake full blown arrangements on the spot when demanded to do so. So the folks in the big band should take heart.
This is how I was brought up as a commercial musician. I love the fact that the ladies and gents I work with can just play tons of music and create full blown art at moments notice. When I was a young musician, I worked with those people Neal was referring to. I was fortunate enough to hang with the last bastion of truly experienced free lance commercial musicians. I shall forever be grateful for the chance to learn from those artists - Don Sohan, Warren Kime, Dom Geraci, Doc Marshack, Bill Porter, Byron Baxter, Joe Daley, Rich Corpolongo, Norm Krone, Joe Vito, to name only a very few. In my podcast "Duets From The Trenches: Musicians You Should Know," I interviewed Dave Frolichstein and Joe Lill and our parallel experiences were discussed there. It would be worth listening to those shows in addition to reading this blog. Here are the links.
As we march on further into the 21st century, I have to ponder how the music and musicians have changed. I am slightly saddened at the notion that so much talent from more "seasoned" musicians could get wasted or tossed aside. That just doesn't seem right to me. So, this blog is about considering what it once took to do this job and that most of us "baby boomers" can most certainly still do. I hope that putting my personal lists below, some of the brilliant next gen and millennial musicians can at least consider the worth of doing something like this on their own.
As a result of yet another podcast interview, I took a swipe at applying for a job with a jobbing band that has an interesting business model. They don't have a set "band". They have a deep roster of musicians and the front office assembles bands for prospective clients with the understanding that when the musicians get assigned to a gig, they are expected to go through the tune list provided and learn the music. I would submit to you that virtually every baby boomer musician I work with ALREADY knows most of the music on the lists, INCLUDING more current music. How? EXPERIENCE! This isn't intended to diminish the younger musicians in any way. They'll gain the experience as naturally as the rest of us did. Just don't forget about those who already have it.
I am going to include a list of the tunes that I KNOW - tunes I can play without a fake book or mobile device app, in virtually any key. I'm also going to include a list of pop/rock/R&B tune horn lines I can fake. The latter will include some big band charts that I can play without a chart. These lists are partial and I will add to them as things come to me.
Jobbing Tunes, Standards and Jazz Tunes - typical dinner music and background music fare:
These are in no particular order.
1.) There'll Never Be Another You
2.) Joy Spring
3.) A Night In Tunisia
4.) Moten Swing
5.) Jada
6.) Cherokee
7.) Someday My Prince Will Come
8.) Four
9.) With A Song In My Heart
10.) Footprints
11.) Bye Bye Blackbird
12.) Blue 'N Boogie
13.) Dizzy Atmosphere
14.) St. Thomas
15.) Now's The Time
16.) Billie's Bounce
17.) Au Privave
18.) Scrapple For The Apple
19.) Song For My Father
20.) And I Love Her
21.) Something
22.) Cheek to Cheek
23.) S 'Wonderful
24.) Tangerine
25.) Good Bait
26.) Blueswalk
27.) Caravan
28.) I Love Paris
29.) He's That Rainy Day
30.) Softly As The Morning Sunrise
31.) Close Your Eyes
32.) I Can't Get Started
33.) Round Midnight
34.) Work Song
35.) Five Foot Two
36.) Blue Bossa
37.) But Beautiful
38.) Chameleon
39.) Sandu
40.) My Little Suede Shoes
41.) What Is This Thing Called Love
42.) Paper Moon
43.) Tenor Madness
44.) Stella By Starlight
45.) Stolen Moments
46.) A Child is Born
47.) Broadway
49.) All The Things You Are
50.) Nuttville
51.) Little Sunflower
52.) Night And Day
53.) Stardust
54.) Tenderly
55.) It Might As Well Be Spring
56.) Perdido
57.) Love For Sale
58.) Alone Together
59.) Almost Like Being Love
60.) Sister Sadie
61. ) Up Jumped Spring
62.) They Can't Take That Away From Me
63.) Blue Skies
64.) Fly Me To The Moon
65.) Georgia On My Mine
66.) Hackensack
67.) Honeysuckle Rose
68.) If I Were A Bell
69.) in Walked Bud
70.) It's All Right With Me
71.) Jumpin With Symphony Sid
72.) Just In Time
73.) Mercy Mercy
74.) All Of Me
75.) Hello Young Lovers
76.) OnThe Sunny Side Of The Street
77.) Speak Low
78.) All Blues
79.) How High The Moon
80.) Lullaby Of Birdland
81.) Mood Indigo
82.) My Favorite Things
83.) My Romance
84.) Nardis
85.) Out Of Nowhere
86.) So What
87.) A Train
88.) Wave
89.) When I Fall In Love
90.) Green Dolphin Street
91.) The Nearness of You
92.) Makin' Whoopee
93.) Ain't Misbehavin'
94.) Pent Up House
95.) Days of Wine And Roses
96.) HaveYou Met Miss Jones
97.) Star Eyes
98.) I Can't Stop Loving You
99.) Corcovado
100.) Our Love Is Here To Stay
101.) I Have Dreamed
102.) A Nightingale Sang Berkeley Square
103.) Just Friends
104.) Bernie's Tune
105.) A Secret Love
106.) It's You Or No one
107.) There Is No Greater Love
108.) I'm Old Fashioned
109.) Yesterday's
110.) Nica's Dream
111.) When The Saints
112.) Doxy
113.) Meditation
114.) Watch What Happens
115.) Poinciana
116.) Lester Leaps
117.) Surrey With The Fringe On Top
118.) Don't Worry Be Happy
119.) Summer Time
120.) On A Clear Day
121.) Solar
122.) Someone to Watch Over Me
123.) I'm Beginning To See The Light
124.) Somewhere Over The Rainbow
125.) If I Only Had A Brain
126.) Cissy Strut
127.) Back Home In Indiana
128.) In A Mellow Tone
129.) The Lady Is A Tramp
131.) Rhythm-a-Ning
132.) A Foggy Day
133.) Hey Jude
134.) As time Goes By
135.) Misty
136.) Emily
137.) I Could Have Danced All Night
138.) Edelweiss
139.) Fascination
140.) Willow Weep For Me
141.) Things Ain't What They Used To Be
141.) Satin Doll
142.) Straight No Chaser
143.) Taking A Chance On Love
145.) Ornithology
146.) Forest Green
147.) Turkey In The Straw
148.) Londonderry Air
149.) For All Her Endearing Young Charms
150.) Dinah
161.) Amazing Grace
162.) Fungi Mama
163.) Black Orpheus
164.) Norwegian Wood
165.) Well You Needn't
166.) Never On Sunday
167.) That's All
168.) Moan-in'
169.) Samba D'Orfeus
170.) Down By The Riverside
171.) The More I See You
172.) Christmas Song
173.) Whispering
174.) Groovin' High
175.) Silver Bells
176.) Let It a Snow
177.) Donna Lee
178.) Dig
179.) Old Devil Moon
180.) Dear Old Stockholm
181.) Hot House
182.) Come Rain or Come Shine
183.) Beer Barrel Polka
184.) Melody of Love
185.) Lichtensteiner Polka
186.) Chicken Dance
187.) Tea For Two
188.) Frenesi
189.) Cherry Pink Apple Blossom White
190.) Blue Bayou
191.) Wunderbar
192.) You Are The Sunshine of My Life
193.) Hey Jude
194.) What A Wonderful World
195.) Lill Darlin'
196.) On The Street Where You Live
197.) String Of Pearls
198.) Moonglow
199.) Tarantella
200.) Laura
There are more, but this is all I could think of off the top of my head.
Horn Parts for Rock/Pop Tunes and Big Band Charts - horn parts
Again, these are in very random order.
1.) In The Mood - big band
2.) String of Pearls - big band
3.) Moten Swing - big band
4.) Superstition - Stevie Wonder
5.) Shake Your Body - Michael Jackson
6.) Play The Funky Music - Wild Cherry
7.) Uptown Funk - Bruno Mars
8.) My Girl - Temps
9.) Dancin' In The Street - Martha and the Vandellas
10.) Ain't To Proud To Beg - Temps
11.) Can't Help Myself - The Four Tops
12.) September - EWF
13.) Respect - Aretha Franklin
14.) Soul Man - Sam and Dave
15.) Sweet Home Chicago - Robert Johnson/Blues Brothers
16.) Hold On, I'm Comin' - Sam and Dave
17.) Soloff Trumpet Solo on Spinnin' Wheel - BS&T
18.) Cissy Strut - The Meters
19.) Vehicle - Ides of March
20.) Get Down Tonight - KC and the Sunshine Band
21.) I Feel Good - James Brown
22.) Higher and Higher - Jackie Wilson
23.) Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
24.) Proud Mary - Ike and Tina Turner
25.) Sweet Caroline - Neil Young
26.) Crazy In Love - Beyonce
27.) Celebrate - Kool and the Gang
28.) Signed, Sealed and Delivered - Stevie Wonder
29.) December 1963 - The Four Seasons
30.) Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
31.) I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
32.) I Will Survive - Donna Sommers
33.) Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
34.) Stand By Me - Ben E. King
Again, this is all I can remember from the top of my head. I'll pop back into this blog now and then and add to it as things come to me.
All of the music listed just above are things I can play on a gig with no music. Of course, I can sight read on the job, but, there was a time when jobbing tunes were all done without music. You simply had to know all of this stuff going into the job.
Another skill we had to learn was to think fast on the job and to pick up horn lines by ear on the fly. Often one member of the horn section would hear something on a pop tune and play a lick to the to the rest of the horn section and then we'd deploy it on the spot. This requires good ears and team spirit. Most of us when hearing a lick going down would pick up on it and jump in to fill out the section. Occasionally, one or two members of the horn section might refuse to join in. This was regarded as bad form and a bit of a sleight on the horn players trying to pull the section together. EXPERIENCED players know how to handle scenarios like this.
The last part of this blog is a comment on teamwork and camaraderie. EXPERIENCED players know and support the idea that the horn section is a team and needs to work together for a sense of harmony and joy. They listen to each other and quickly scope out the lay of the land and support the environment du soir. They recognize the difference between playing with confidence and being aggressive. This is hugely important on a jobbing date/casual.
That's it for this blog. As to the band I "applied to": I haven't heard anything back. It has been a week. I was told they have a HUGE roster of players, and they might not get back to me. I did look at their website. Judging from what I saw there, it will be really interesting to see if they ever do.
Those of us who have been at this game of jobbing (playing casuals ) for a very long time and at a top professional level, have volumes of music in us and a great deal to offer, and RIGHT NOW! It seems a shame to let that all just disappear like tears in rain.
Like the title of this blog says: "Experience never gets old."
Respectfully submitted,
Nick Drozdoff