The Urban Renewal Big Band presents a Celebration of Black History at Barnes United Methodist Church, 900 W 30th St. on Sunday Feb 19, 2023 4:00-6:00 PM.  Please join the Urban Renewal Big Band, together with members of the Barnes choir, in a musical celebration of black history, performing works of some of the most notable American jazz pioneers.

We will feature compositions by some of the great pioneers of American jazz, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard and Al Jarreau.

Admission is free to the public and everyone is welcome to join in this celebration, which is presented with the support of The Music Performance Trust Fund, Indianapolis Musicians Local #3, and the Phillips Music Guild of Indianapolis.  There will be a freewill offering in support of the church's sanctuary renovation project.

See additional information about this ensemble.

The 16-piece Urban Renewal Big Band will be performing 3:00 - 4:00 PM at a cerebration of Juneteenth at a neighborhood event on Indy's near north-side.  The band is presented with support from the Music Performance Trust Fund and Indianapolis Musicians Local #3.

The event is open to the public.  Seating will be limited, so we suggest bringing lawn chairs.

The performance by the big band will be followed by an open jam session.  There will be a pig roast and other food available with a freewill donation suggested.  Please bring your own beverages.

Location: 3426 N. Rural 

The Urban Renewal Cool Jazz Octet played 2 sets at the Jazz Kitchen. This video shows our arrangement of Horace Silver's "Nutville."

If an improviser wants to move beyond the basic jam session tunes (e.g. C Jam blues,, Bye Bye Blackbird, Satin Doll) it will be necessary to develop dexterity in more than the usual keys (C, Bb, F, G, Eb).  Ultimately the soloist should be able to play equally well in all 12 keys.  We have seen through this series that it is very common for jazz standards to use a familiar key in the "A" section, but then move to a distant key at the bridge.  This can lead to "bridge phobia" where players panic at the bridge and hope somebody else will take over there.

Most instrumentalists spend their formative years playing only in the familiar keys.  This builds a muscle memory that makes the less-used keys feel completely awkward.  The only way to solve this imbalance is to practice all the keys equally.  This exercise is a simple 8-bar progression, repeated 12 times, following the circle of fourths through all 12 keys.  Namely, the form is 8 bars in concert C, 8 bars in F, and so on through Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, B, E, A, D, G, and back to C.

The changes in each 8-bar section are:
   |  I       |  ii     V  |   iii   vi   |  ii     V  |
   |  I       |  ii     V  |   iii   vi   |  I7         |  (... on to next key a fourth higher)

The 8 bar progression is based on the major scale and is set to a relaxed tempo of 100 BPM, making this about the easiest 12-key study possible.  Nonetheless it is challenging for all but the strongest improvisers.  Here is a demonstration to help you understand how the exercise works:

Here is another holiday favorite from "Meet Me in St. Louis."  It is lovely melody dominated by major 7th tonalities.  The song form is AABA, 32 bars, so it is relatively easy to navigate.
In this particular arraignment, there is an extended intro section as the band gradually establishes the groove.  And after 4 full choruses, there is a 4-bar vamp you can use to stretch out.

This song is rather unusual  Most popular songs from this era (mid 1950s) that were covered by singers like Perry Como, Robert Goulet and many others after that either originated in a movie, or was featured in one or more movies soon after hitting the Billboard charts.  This one is different in that there are really no notable movie connections.  It became popular on the strength of the composition and the artists that first recorded it.
The song is a straightforward ABA form, 16 bars in each section for a total of 48 bars.  The two A sections are virtually identical, so it is relatively easy to learn. This is a vessel that lends itself to improvisations that are free and flowing, or you can simply play a variation of the melody.

When we say "Time After Time", most people will immediately think of the big Cyndi Lauper hit.  After all, even Miles covered that tune, and it is a good one.
But 6 years before Lauper was even born, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne collaborated to create a great ballad by the same name.  They wrote it for Frank Sinatra, but it has been covered by musicians from Chet Baker to Rod Stewart.  Although it isn't played as much as some tunes in the America Songbook, it is well worth learning.
It is a familiar ABAB form in 32 bars.  The chords aren't too treacherous, with the A section working the familiar soda pop progression of I-vi-ii-V.  This arrangement has some harmonic substitutions to give it more interest as a jazz ballad.

And here is the original Sinatra version.

No matter how much you enjoy swing and bebop, most players have to be able to play in other styles.  Here is a tune that was a big top-40 hit.  It isn't thought of as an "American Song Book" standard, but it is as worthy as any other tune in the book.  This is Neil Sedaka's brilliantly crafted "Laughter in the Rain".  It has strong lyrics, a very memorable melody and interesting harmonies.

This arrangement is a pop-funk style, so the soloist shouldn't approach it the same way one might go after "Bye Bye Blackbird" or "Indiana".  It might be worth listening to the Saturday Night Live band.  They often play grooves like this.  Generally the solos have fewer notes, allowing more time to develop emotion with timbre rather than a blizzard of notes.

The song is not terribly complicated.  It consists of three main parts.  After a catchy 4-bar intro, there is an 8-bar verse with simple chords in F major concert.  There is a 3-bar interlude ("I feel the warmth of her hand in mine.")  That takes us to the refrain ("Oh, I hear laughter in the rain. Walking hand in hand with the one I love. ...")  But Sedaka cleverly puts the refrain in a completely different key center (Ab major concert.)  The refrain is usually played as a 9-bar section (a one-bar extension to the last chord.)

In this arrangement the pattern is:
  Intro
    Verse - Interlude - Refrain
    Verse - Interlude - Refrain
    Verse - Interlude - Refrain
    etc.
 Intro played again to end.

It is also typical to simply repeat the refrain ad lib for the solos.  In that case, that is usually played as a repetition of 8-bar sections.

This is a standard that was probably more popular in the 1960s and 1970s than it is today.  It was actually written in the 1950s, but has a fresh, happy sound that is more typical of the following decades.
This song is deceptively simple.  The melody is interesting and memorable owing to some large interval jumps that remain within the diatonic framework (think "Somewhere Over the Rainbow").  And the song is a very conventional AABA form.

But don't get too comfortable in the A section because the B section (bridge) is in a completely different key center, presenting the same kind of challenge you get with tunes like "Have You Met Miss Jones?"
The A sections have very familiar changes in the key of F concert.  This uses the so-called "backdoor progression."  The usual ii-V progression in F would be Gm7-C7-F.  The backdoor progression is iV7-bVII7 or Bbm7-Eb7-F.  Many songs use this pattern, and it is well worth practicing this, just as you would practice a ii-V.  Here is a site that goes into more depth and lists a bunch of tunes where you will find this important little trick.  In addition to those jazz standards, there are many pop tunes that use the back door: e.g. Stevie Wonder "It Knocks Me Off my Feet" which goes straight to the back door in measure 3 and Billy Preston's "You Are So Beautiful" which is almost nothing BUT the backdoor progression.

So, practice the backdoor pattern to master the A section.  Then get ready to go with the flow in the bridge.  The first 4 measures are in the key of D major.  The next 4 measures are in C major, ending with a C7 to send us back to the key of F for the final A section.  Practice your scales in F, D and C to get warned up for this tune (and throw in some Eb practice to handle that backdoor business.)

Perdido is one of the most common tunes called at jam sessions.  It is a fairly simple tune of the AABA form.  In this case, the three "A" sections and 100% identical.  The "B" section follows the "Rhythm" changes (the bridge from "I've got Rhythm").  So it is a relatively simple tune to learn.

This song can be played in swing or straight Latin feel, with swing probably being more common.  This particular arrangement is in bossa style, so don't play swing 8ths.  However, you can impart a 'jazz feel" by emphasizing the offbeats while playing them in straight time.  The melody includes triplets, and you can integrate 8th note triplets and quarter note triplets into your improvisation.  Don't be surprised if it feels awkward to play this song without swinging the 8ths.  That is a good skill to practice.

There is a tag that is commonly played after the last chorus of this song.  That tag is included in this arrangement.

Here is the same song form in a swing style.  If you find one of these two styles distinctly more comfortable, that means you need to practice the other style more.