Last night at the Bierhaus Urban another jazz session took place, and with it, many new challenges arose. When I arrived, there were already several saxophone players waiting to play, and some more arrived afterwards. Since they were all more experienced than me, the question was how to manage to play a bit without putting pressure on the host or making anybody uncomfortable.
I decided to let the host know I wanted to play, standby, listen to the others and pick my time. In the meantime, anybody could chime in and play a solo on the tunes chosen by other players, but that turned out to be quite tricky, because on one hand, I still have a limited repertoire of pieces I can play on short notice, and on the other there were two singers on stage, and some of the tunes they wanted to sing had to be transposed to their preferred key, which poses a big challenge for a player still not accustomed to playing all tunes in all keys.
After a few tunes, Siggy (the host, who plays alto sax, guitar and sings) kindly asked me what I wanted to play, and I went with Blue Monk. I think it sounded quite good and convincing, the group was really keen on the song at the chosen moment, and I think overall it was my first satisfying improvisation in my still very short path in the world of jazz. The audience reacted and a very cheerful manner and the party continued.
My second chance to play came on a blues written by one of the saxophone players on stage, and we all took a solo. I was able to go through it with much work, but the thrill of the challenge was too big to miss.
Overcrowded stage, unknown tunes, known tunes in unknown keys, unusual tempos, it is all part of it. Adapt or die. I think I am going to love it.