Alvester Garnett, an amazing jazz drummer, leads one of the adult ensembles in which I play. He’s so creative and you can actually see him melt into the music as he listens.
There are some pretty talented guys in this small group, but as we’re not professionals, we sometimes struggle to play together and make the music shine.
As he works with the group to improve our play on our charts, Alvester takes us through a process. We begin by listening to the recording, followed by him leading us in clapping out the rhythms and even singing while we listen and look at the sheet music on our stands.
Currently, we are working on a few Kenny Burrell pieces, Sugar Hill and Wavy Gravy (AWESOME tunes). Alvester looked at this group of avid fans and adult players and said, “It’s all about the FEEL.”
Chapter X is like that too. You might experience some flubs and faults, but the objective is to live in the flow of life and find your “feel.”
