Too Much Solos in Jazz?

Posted on 18. Jun, 2010 by Hector Aviles in Blog

I recently wrote about my impressions or Terence Blanchard at the Bellevue Jazz Fest, indicating that I found a certain part of the performance less that exciting because of the long and consecutive solos. This had nothing to do with the virtuosity of Terence and his band, which I found to be integrated by extraordinary musicians, but with keeping the audience engaged during the song at hand. Can there be such a thing as too much solos in jazz?

Jazz Solos and the Format Used by the Band

In a couple of consecutive songs, Blanchard used the same formula of doing a trumpet and saxophone solos back-to-back, not necessarily in the same order, and even a 3^rd instrument solo before the band would go back to the hart of the song. I found my interest fading on the 2^nd song performed with this same format. I could appreciate the virtuosity of the musicians, but I started getting bored. Could it be that I “think” I like straight up jazz and I really don’t? Could it be that I haven’t educated myself to appreciate these lengthy back-to-back solos? After all, improvisation is what makes jazz the fun music to listen that it is, and maybe I need to understand more of the origins of this.

I wasn’t the only one with this reaction of boredom. I was sitting in the back row of the theater where this concert took place, which wasn’t very big, and I had a good view of the audience and the band. A woman in front of me rested her head in the shoulder of the man that was with her. Some people left the concert early. Others had an unengaged body language.

The Jazz Band and Audience Connection

So was it the audience, the band, or a little of both?

I suggest that part of the problem is that musicians need to establish a tighter connection with their audience. In business, we are told that a good presenter needs to know their audience and present accordingly. Does this mean he has to change his message? Not necessarily. Does he has to change the way he delivers the message? Most likely.

I truly appreciate a band leader that educates the audience, particularly when they do something that may not be commercially popular. It helps the rest of us understand what is going on and then appreciate more the music played. The leader has to balance this education with playing, as the audience went there for a concert, not a lecture. But having a little education along with the music is what makes a live performance worth going and paying to see.

Angel Cachete Maldonado

I remember when the Afro-Caribbean Jazz band Batacumbele formed and started playing in Puerto Rico. There was a small part of the many Salsa fans in Puerto Rico that actually liked or would follow regularly this type of music. So band-leader, Angel “Cachete” Maldonado knew he had to cultivate an audience. The roots where there with this mass of people that liked Salsa; Cachete just needed a way to these two types of music had the same origin, what it meant, how it evolved differently than Salsa. Cachete would take a couple of minutes between some songs to explain some of this (depending on the venue in which Batacumbele was playing). With good music, and the audience understanding the music they were listening to, Batacumbele’s popularity grew exponentially.

Give a Little, Get a Lot

There are places and times where a musician can take time to educate the audience and bring them along for a ride, and there are others when its not. I think a concert is a good place to do it. A TV show, where time is money, not as much. Musicians need to find ways to bring their audience along, and the audience will respond by being more engaged and becoming true fans of the artists and their music.