“The Jazz Messengers” by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers from 1956
I grew up with this LP. Recently, I listened to this CD with the added tracks and realized how influential these tunes, the writing and the solos were in my teens and early twenties. In listening, I was transformed to being nineteen and sitting at a piano at IU showing Dick Washburn these fantastic chords and harmony. How exciting to be able to figure out a little of what was going on by the pros 62 years ago.
Being a guitar player with a piano or keyboard player in your band can be one of the trickier situations to deal with in jazz. This mostly becomes a problem when we are discussing accompaniment or “comping.” Now, in my experience, most of the old-school cats will tell you that only one of you should be comping at a time. However, there are some opportunities for the two to have some interaction. There are some considerations to be observed when approaching this. A quick look at the keyboardist and you can decide who is going to comp for which soloist. Sometimes, the guitar player will be the main accompanist and sometimes it will be the keyboard player. Today, we will talk about a few of those including textures, rhythm, and voicings as a guitar player trying to add to what the keyboard player is already doing. It is important to always listen and only contribute when you feel that there is space for something. Many fellow “compers” will prefer it if you do not add anything to what they are doing. Therefore, it is important to check in with them once in a while and try to keep eye contact with your band mates in general.