Student Jazz Group - Recommended Tunes.

[zfzgg]

Hello all :).

I am working on forming a small jazz group with some friends from school. All is set to begin, but we need to actually get a hold of some tunes to play first. I've had a look through various resources (The Real Book, etc etc), but I think some input from a more experienced generation could be of use.

What would you recommend as a few songs that would be appropriate for us to play? I'm looking for jazz standards. Nothing too fast, I'd like to keep it below about ~200bpm for now, preferably a bit less. Relatively simple chords would also be handy (Note: 7ths and other simple extensions should be fine, but perhaps C#9#5 should stay out of it..).

Our only goal for this is to have fun and hopefully sound good doing so. A couple of shows at school would be great, too:). I'm looking for tunes with simplish structures, that are easy and fun to improvise over, but not boring deathly boring.

I feel i should say that I'm a little worried about the impression i am giving you all. We are all capable of holding our musical ground, and are all comfortable and expressive on our instruments. Recent jazz performances for school have had us play a few different jazz standards, but I don't particuarly wish to recycle them for now.

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At our current stage, It seems we will be a quartet consisting of Piano, bass, drums and flute. I realise that this is an unusual lineup. Is there anything 'wrong' with such a group of instruments? Will the flute perhaps not mesh well with the other s?

Thanks for any help :). Please ask for clarification if I haven't been specific enough.

P.S. I really am terribly sorry if this same thread is posted over and over. I did try a search, but it appears I was struck with some form of 'fatal error' :\.

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

Oh man I'm terribly advanced with this but, So What from kind of blue should do you well!

[zfzgg]

Ahh, that was one song that i was considering. Lovely piece.

I think We should start with two or three for now, so another couple of suggestions would be excellent :D.

[myron]

Im not too knowledgeable on flute, unfortunately, but I would try things like Autumn leaves, fly me to the moon, blue moon, and perhaps a blues (straight no chaser, billies bounce, bags groove are easy heads) these are all fairly diatonic, move in 4ths, and easy to solo over. Blue moon is kind of boring though.

[Not_bajs]

Take 5 maybe?

Maybe blue in green but it has some pretty tricky chords for the piano. but i guess something smple like autumn leaves or maybe Georgia on my mind would do it.

[Lifes A Bath Sex Is Water]

autumn leaves
all the things you are
take the a train

[Yield]

Autumn Leaves is ace, and Take Five is great as well. Maybe you could find some Monk.

[TheClap]

Oh man I'm terribly advanced with this but, So What from kind of blue should do you well!

No sorry, the inconstiant changes throw alot of players off, and the open-ended aspect leaves the solos to be quite bad if you are not really good at your instrument. So, basically the song is garabage and boring for the audience unless you are working with some really talented guys (as I, being from Birmingham Alabama, almost always am)


autumn leaves
all the things you are
take the a train

Yeah, these are ok.

Autumn Leaves is ace, and Take Five is great as well. Maybe you could find some Monk.

Umm, no, as far as solos go, unless its the version that starts on C than no, the other version that starts on Eb is damn hard for the other instruments in the bridge. Also, 5/4 time is a terrible decision while trying to keep it simple, while a standard that you need to know, playing it should really only be at request from the audience.

[myron]

I think bassists and drummers forget how hard tunes like take 5, giant steps etc are to solo on. My drummer at uni thinks its hilarious to kick off giant steps at 250 bpm, forgetting he doesn't have those hard changes to solo with

[zfzgg]

Heh:). Thanks to everyone for your input. Take Five is a song that i love very much, but i'm concerned that the changes (and the time signature) might make it a bit of a hard choice.......for now;)

[TheClap]

Autumn Leaves

All blues

Strait no Chaser

BAgs groove

other assorted blues tunes.

[zfzgg]

Well, that should be plenty of songs to get us started :). Many thanks to everyone for your input.

But, the question of the flute still remains. I've never seen such a lineup of instruments before. Will it prove problematic somehow?

[myron]

The flute will be fine, it's just going to sound a bit strange to people used to saxes. I dont like the sound of the flute, in the jazz sense.

AQUALUNG!

[zfzgg]

Well, awesome:D. Thanks a bunch for all of your help, everyone :D. <3

[RyMac59]

Autumn Leaves, All the Things You Are, Mr. PC, Have You Met Miss Jones, Blue Bossa, Blue Monk, All of Me, So What, Impressions, Wave

[GhostNote]

No sorry, the inconstiant changes throw alot of players off, and the open-ended aspect leaves the solos to be quite bad if you are not really good at your instrument. So, basically the song is garabage and boring for the audience unless you are working with some really talented guys (as I, being from Birmingham Alabama, almost always am).

How is AABA form inconsistent? :confused:
It's a pattern like any other song. You just need a chord-chart if you're unexperienced with the form.

I'd say work on tunes with jazz-blues changes, like tenor madness, billie's bounce etc. Things like Summertime are always pretty easy. All the other suggestions seem fitting.

My Funny Valentine is a good tune too. Once you guys get more into it i'd suggest the Charlie Parker Omni book, do tunes like Anthropology and Ornithology, etc. Try Oleo, I Got Rhythm, etc etc. Rhythm changes songs are good to do, though i'd only do them once your soloists are experienced with soloing over the changes.


-GN

[RyMac59]

How is AABA form inconsistent? :confused:
It's a pattern like any other song. You just need a chord-chart if you're unexperienced with the form.

I'd say work on tunes with jazz-blues changes, like tenor madness, billie's bounce etc. Things like Summertime are always pretty easy. All the other suggestions seem fitting.

My Funny Valentine is a good tune too. Once you guys get more into it i'd suggest the Charlie Parker Omni book, do tunes like Anthropology and Ornithology, etc. Try Oleo, I Got Rhythm, etc etc. Rhythm changes songs are good to do, though i'd only do them once your soloists are experienced with soloing over the changes.


-GN
He was talking about the chords, not the form. But even so he's wrong. So What is a great beginners tune. Sure the solos won't be like the ones on kind of blue but beginner to intermediate players should have no problem jammings on a one chord vamp.

[GhostNote]

The chords are a part of the form, the changes, he said. When the chords change in relation to the form of the song.


-GN

[myron]

So what is a hard tune. young players get lost in the form very easily, and find it hard to come up with good lines when theyve only got 2 chords to work with