From The Leinster

Dateline Collingwood: 4.3.18

Last Sunday the Jazz Jam at the Leinster arms Hotel reached a new nadir, a point where the bottom of the barrel had been scraped so much that the bottom was gone and the tunnel to China is now complete. No one is to blame but not much can be said about it other thank goodness it is over. The sound of a cat being strangled somehow has much more appeal now.

The attempt to play two songs from the Blue Note 1960’s jazz era namely “Black Nile” and “ Dolphin Dance” were vain attempts to introduce some level of interest but sadly it was too little too late.

If the jazz jam on Sundays is to continue at a new venue in some shape or form and attract and retain new people such as the agreeable newcomer Bassist/ Saxophonist Fulio of Italy, and others of various ages and who are of proficient musical ability then the whole standard and regular repertoire needs to improve. For instance, the Miles Davis piece “All Blues” is in 6/8. This means you have to get rid of a lot of notes to be able to play it in B# and would probably be better just playing the black notes now and again. Because guitarists normally have six strings 6/8 means they can only play now and again and not on the “8” bits per byte versions unless they are also singing.

One only has to attend other jam sessions around town to know there is a higher level out there like ashtanga yoga that has appeal to many people, who are meditating while playing in a different time key thing. But they are probably really good and can reincarnate as like sax players.

Now to turn a positive into negative or is it the other way around . . .?

It was good to see Ted Woollan back at the Keys and showing signs of life.

I might be seen at a Leinster Arms on a Sunday in April.

Colonel T

(Ed’s note: Not really all of it by Col T, I had to straighten out all the technical stuff about tempo signatures and key transinformation like)