“...Every note you play is important! No filler. Respect the rhythm section. If you can't say it in two or three choruses...keep it in the case.”
It’s that time. Higher Learning Playlist Part 2:
Listening recommendations from Roy.
If you missed the first one you can catch up below, we reposted it.
Note: Clifford Brown Three Giants and Sonny Rollins Plus 4 are the same album - so either one will do :)
Higher Learning Playlist I (Repost):
Young musicians, pay attention. This is the first of eight playlists Roy made in 2018 with listening recommendations with you in mind.
Start listening 🎧 #higherlearning
“You have to love this thing man. You have to love it. And breathe it. It’s your morning coffee. It’s your food. That’s why you become an artist.”
- Roy Hargrove
“Bebop, man. Don’t ignore bebop. Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk, Bud Powell. Don’t ignore that, ‘cause that’s the basic language that you’re gonna have to learn to learn how to play. Lot of cats right now are ignoring that, because it’s such a vast world and you get intimidated. But the thing you have to realize going in is that it’s never ending (...)"
- Roy Hargrove
“Introductions, interludes, endings. All very important when creating music. A pianist should (have) at least ten stock endings in their arsenal of musical tools.
It happens a lot -- cats get to the end and no one knows what to do. Cadences: authentic, plagal, deceptive etc…”
- Roy Hargrove
From 2009 interview with Ted Panken. Click here for full interview.
Ted Panken: "Playing in big bands was a rite of passage for many of the older musicians who were your heroes, who came up before 1955-1960."
Roy Hargrove: "That’s why I think the music needs this. It creates some kind of humility. It’s very needed. Excuse me, but a lot of times, especially now, when I got to the jam sessions, people are so ego! I’ll give you an example. We’ll play an F-blues, and everybody with an instrument will get up and play, and it goes on for three hours. Each musician will play 100 choruses. There’s no humility there. Big bands, large ensembles create an environment where you don’t have to play for two hours and stretch out. Everybody can’t be John Coltrane! Sometimes you can just play half a chorus. Charlie Parker will play a half chorus and blow your mind! There’s something to be said about being able to trim it down—say less but have it have more meaning."
“Musicians should always look their best when performing. It shows respect. Also, professionalism. You never know who’s watching.”
- Roy Hargrove
“We would have better rhythm section players during jam sessions if horn owners were a bit more courteous. No more than three per song and fewer choruses. This will give the congregation room to breathe and thrive with positive energy.”
- Roy Hargrove
"Knowing songs helps us to understand the fabric of the music both melodically and lyrically. If you know the words you can interpret the feeling or mood of the song. Knowing melodies extends your improvisational tools from academic to memorable."
- Roy Hargrove
Young musicians: Get these records
Jackie McLean - jacknife
Blue Mitchell - blue's moods
Charlie Parker - bird with strings
Charlie Rouse - unsung hero
Clifford Jordan - glass bead games
- Roy Hargrove
