This page contains "real world" information that I believe jazz musicians should be aware of and try to follow whenever possible. It is information that is normally not touched on in most schools, and has been compiled from suggestions as well as my own experience as a leader, sideman, and jam session attender.

Leaders

1. Whenever possible, pay the band BEFORE you socialize or break down the equipment. This allows them to leave at their own liberty after the gig is over.
2. Whenever possible, pay the band AT the gig. If this ISN'T possible and they must be paid later, always let them know in advance.
3. Don't start a gig BEFORE the designated start time, and unless you're being paid significantly more for overtime, end at the designated time. It's better to leave the audience wanting more than to play too long.
4. Don't call a tune that more than one person in the band is uncomfortable with.
5. If you are performing for a "listening" audience (clubs, concerts, etc.), introduce the players at least once every set.
6. NEVER make your musicians play for more than one hour before taking a break -- also remember that the audience needs breaks as well as the musicians.
7. Decide which tune is next WELL BEFORE the last one ends, so you don't spend 15 minutes between tunes OR simply make out set lists.
8. Try to be as fair as you can with regard to how much you pay your musicians. If a gig pays very little, it makes more sense to simply divide the money evenly between the whole band (including yourself), rather than to take a chunk off the top and have your musicians make even less. You want to keep everyone happy, if you can.
9. When forming a band, always try to consult with the drummer OR the bass player about which drummer OR bass player they would enjoy working with. This tends to insure that the band will groove.
10. If a member of your group misses a rehearsal without an excuse, talk with the person immediately. If a member misses a GIG without an excuse or a sub, fire that person. Remember, NO ONE is indispensable.
11. If a singer asks (or DEMANDS) to sit in, be prepared to play "God Bless the Child," "Summertime," or "My Funny Valentine" in any key. 90% of the time, that's what they'll call.
12. Preserve your dignity. If a clubowner cancels your band more than once within a few days of the gig, STOP PLAYING THERE.

Always remember that you & your band deserve to be treated well. To do what we do WELL takes as much training and dedication as it takes to become a doctor.

Sidemen:

1. Don't complain during a gig. If you don't enjoy a particular gig, simply say that you're busy the next time you're called for it.
2. If you don't know a tune, READ IT. It's FAR more acceptable to play it correctly than to "look cool" by not reading and then screw a tune up because you don't really know it.
3. If you're not qualified for the gig, don't take it.
4. Be ready to play on time for downbeat.
5. Be economical with solo lengths. When you run dry of ideas, end your solo after that chorus. Be considerate of the drummer and bassist having to comp for a thousand choruses.
6. Never ask the leader how much money he/she is making for the gig. As a sideman, your business is only what YOU are making.
7. Listen to the other members' solos. Don't go and socialize during them.

In General:

1. When you attend someone else's gig, don't pull out your instrument until you're ASKED to sit in -- do not sit there noodling on your instrument.
2. If you call a tune while sitting in at a jam session, make SURE that you know it VERY well.
3. At a jam session, sit down after one tune unless you're asked to stay and play more.
4. After you play at a jam session, stay around for a while. It is rude to leave the minute you're finished playing.
5. Stay sober enough to play well throughout the gig. The musician community is small, and word travels VERY fast.
6. Know the forms on tunes. Always remember that "Autumn Leaves" is AAB, as is "Song For My Father," and "Jordu" is AABA. These tunes are FREQUENTLY called at jam sessions, and soloists frequently end their solos in the wrong place.
7. Make sure your instrument is in good working order before the gig.
8. The melody can be played by many intruments IF it is the type of melody that can be played in unison. Often, and particularly in slower tunes (i.e. ballads), it is best to have one instrument play the melody or split it up with another player (meaning someone else will take the bridge). On the slower tunes, everyone tends to have their own interpretation of the melody, and if it's played by more than one player it can sound very bad.
9. It is often customary for the person who plays the melody (as the "featured artist") to take the first solo.
10. Often, the bass and drum solos are last before the restatement of the melody "out." It's also customary, for the drum solo, to trade either "fours" or "eights" (depending on the tempo of the tune) with the rest of the band, with the first soloist starting his "four" first, and the soloists going in the order that they took their solos between drum breaks.
11. As a rhythm section member, be sensitive to the level of energy that the soloist is putting out. If a soloist wants to build energy, they will generally make it clear by the way they play. It is indeed rude to either NOT react to a soloist, or to try and force the energy level up (or down) without regard to what the soloist is doing. So, basically the rhythm section should ALWAYS be listening and reacting to the soloist.
12. NETWORK! This point cannot be stressed ENOUGH. Go to other people's gigs, support them, get to know them, and eventually sit in with them when they ask you. If you want to work, people have to know who you are, and that won't happen if you stay home.
13. Have a good time. That's why we do this, right? This ALSO cannot be stressed enough.
14. Here are some tunes that are commonly called at jam sessions. The keys listed are usually what they will be played in, but it helps to be able to play them in other keys as well: All The Things You Are (Ab), All Of Me (C), There Is No Greater Love (Bb), Days of Wine And Roses (F), Recordame (Ami), There Will Never Be Another You (Eb), Blue Bossa (Cmi), Ceora (Ab), A Foggy Day (F), Mother Of The Dead Man (JUST KIDDING!), My Romance (Bb), It Could Happen To You (Eb), Au Privave (F), Sonnymoon For Two (F), Straight No Chaser (F or Bb), Blue Monk (Bb), Alone Together (Dmi), Oleo (or any rhythm change tune -- usually Bb), Softly As In a Morning Sunrise (Cmi), Groovin' High (Eb), Well You Needn't (F), Misty (Eb), Song For My Father (Gmi), Mr. P.C. (Cmi), My Funny Valentine (Cmi), My One and Only Love (C), What is This Thing Called Love (C), I Love You (F), The Girl With Emphasema (F), Triste (Bb), Meditation (C), Dolphin Dance (Eb), Up Jumped Spring (Bb), Body and Soul (Ebmi), I'll Remember April (G), Someday My Prince Will Come (Bb), Jordu (Cmi), In a Sentimental Mood (Dmi or Bb mi), In a Mellow Tone (Ab), Autumn Leaves (in Emi. or Gmi), Green Dolphin Street (in C or Eb), Four (Eb), So What (Dmi), How High The Moon (G), Have You Met Miss Jones (F), Joy Spring (F), Solar (Cmi), Tune Up (D, but watch out), Blue Trane (Cmi), All Blues (G), I Could Write a Book (C), Black Orpheus (Ami), But Not For Me (Eb or F), Someone to Watch Over Me (Bb or Eb), Just Friends (G), But Beautiful (any key), Autumn In New York (F), Bye Bye Blackbird (F).

This list can go on and on, but you will DEFINITELY play or hear these at jam sessions all around the world.

© 1999 Ken Watter. All rights reserved.