Hi Friends. I must be the world's worst Blogger. More than a year has passed since my last post. I'll try to do better this year.
I'll be performing again with The Bernie Carroll Project on Friday, June 8, 2018 at The Jazz Room in The Huether Hotel, King Street, Waterloo. On so many occasions I've heard from musicians, both local and from abroad, that The Jazz Room is their jazz club of choice. There are many reasons that The Jazz Room has earned this reputation.
First and foremost is that it is a LISTENING club; no idle chatter is permitted during the performances. This is not only because it's polite for the musicians (which it is), but it also allows other listeners to really hear what's going on. Jazz is not only loud and percussive, but is often subtle and quiet. Jazz is also comprised of sound and silence, and both must be appreciated.
The second and subsequent reasons are related to how the musicians are treated by the management and the volunteers who keep the club going week after week. There is a designated sound person who looks after setting up all the microphones, the speakers, and particularly, the monitors which allow each musician to hear what's going on. Many non-musicians don't understand how difficult it can be for the musicians to hear each other on the bandstand. Jazz is a listening art. A great jazz performance depends upon how attentive the musicians listen to, and respond to, each other.
Sound checks are usually conducted in the late afternoon before the performance. The musicians use that time to run over some of their material while the sound person adjusts and balances each instrument.
Each performance is recorded by the sound person, and the recordings are made available to the musicians as desired. The musicians are fed from The Jazz Room menu between the sound check and the start of the performance. Photos are often taken of each performance, and within a few days, digital images magically appear in each musicians email. Some of the images used in my website and on my Facebook page are from those files, with full permission to reproduce them.
Now. Ask me why I look forward to performing at The Jazz Room. Did I mention that the musicians are also paid respectably?
The Bernie Carroll Project includes: Dave Wiffen (tenor sax); Doug Wicken (flute); Ralph Hetke (piano); Al Richardson (bass); and Bernie Carroll (drums). You can hear selected recordings of this band in the Sounds and Samples page of my website. www.dougwicken.net .