April 2013
Dear Mr. P.C.: I hate it when people add all those extra chromatic chord changes on “I Can't Get Started," like in bar three starting on a B minor seventh. What a pointless pain in the ass!
-- I Can't Keep Going
Dear ICKG: You know those speed bumps they put on some roads? Sure ... Read MoreFebruary 2013
Dear Mr. P.C.: My teacher told me to practice with a metronome, but then I was getting ahead of it sometimes, and behind it sometimes. Where can I get a metronome that works?
-- Beats Me
Dear Beats: Don't be so quick to blame your metronome--you may have accidentally hit its “jazz" setting. That deliberately ... Read MoreJanuary 2013
Dear Mr. P.C.:
I was playing at a club in town, a pretty fancy place, the gig all the guys in town want. On the break a pretty woman in the audience came up to me and complimented my playing. So far so good! But then she asked if I play professionally! What should I have ...
Read MoreBest of 2012
Dear Mr. P.C.:
I've noticed that when a lot of the younger groups rearrange a standard or pop song, they take out a beat here and there. It keeps me off guard and if I don't count I lose track of the downbeat. But that's fine. What I'm wondering is: Where do those beats go?
Read MoreSeptember 2012
Dear Mr. P.C.:
Will there ever be a unanimous decision within the jazz world on who is and who is not “burning"?
Are there different levels of “burned"?
-- Gregg BC
Dear Greg:
“Burning," “smoking," “on fire...." It's all so different from the Cool Jazz of the Fifties! What has caused the radical shift? ...
Read MoreJune 2012
Dear Mr. P.C.: When people use big words to describe their music, is that supposed to make it better? Like I know a bassist who says he's “contextualizing" his music. Why does he do that?
-- Bassist Uses Lofty Language
Dear BULL:He's practicing Grantspeak, of course. A few decades ago, granting agencies grudgingly ...
Read MoreApril 2012
Dear Mr. P.C.:
I've noticed that when a lot of the younger groups rearrange a standard or pop song, they take out a beat here and there. It keeps me off guard and if I don't count I lose track of the downbeat. But that's fine. What I'm wondering is: Where do those beats go?
--Beats ...
Read MoreMarch 2012
Dear Mr. P.C.:
A big guy came up to me on my solo piano gig and asked for the theme from Goodfellas. When I told him I didn't know it, he yelled “Know it next time!" and walked away pretty angry. Should I fear for my life?
-- Tim, Memphis
Dear Tim:
Here's the ...
Read MoreMr. P.C.'s Best of 2011
Dear Mr. P.C.: Jazz is a finite resource, right? So when people write long compositions or take long solos, aren't they stripping the planet? What will be left for our children and grandchildren?
-- Saxophonists Against Future Exploitation
Dear SAFE: Of course there are the jazz depletion deniers who say we can always find ...
Read MoreAugust 2011
Dear Mr. P.C.:
I've been a professional jazz pianist for more than 20 years and have enjoyed many healthy, long-term relationships with musicians playing other instruments. Recently I played my first gig with another pianist, and I really enjoyed it and can't stop thinking about it. Does this make me gay?
--Bi-Instrumentally Curious
Dear BIC: ...
Read MoreJuly 2011
Dear Mr. P.C.:
F# or Gb?
--Jim L.
Dear Jim:
Sharp is more than; flat is less than. Sharps revel in shameless excess; flats suffer in dire need.
How can we promote justice and equality? In the Accidental Community the gold standard is, of course, the circle of fifths. In order to gain some ground ...
Read MoreJune 2011
Dear Mr. P.C.:
I just finished playing a gig on an army base. I thought it was going to be a social function for the soldiers. But it turned out to be a warfare convention called “BattleCom 2011." In the exhibit hall, vendors were selling lasers for nighttime shooting accuracy, flak jackets, and even grenades. We ...
Read More
