Close Enough For Jazz

"Close enough for jazz..."
That was a running joke between friends 35+ years ago. Its a phrase I still use today. Musically, I use it for whether I get a musical phrase right but more often, I use it in regard to tuning my instrument.

Most would believe that being in perfect tune is important. To that, I say BULLSHIT. I have a deep and abiding love for old blues, jazz, and hillbilly records. A lot of those are nowhere near concert pitch unless a piano was involved. Even then, its questionable.

Why? Back in the day, electric tuners weren't a thing yet. If you wanted everyone in tune together, you'd all have to tune to the one instrument with set pitch...like a piano. I remember doing that at home when I first started playing. Hell, I think I played guitar for almost 10 years before affordable electric tuners were available. Tuning forks were readily available but not exactly useful for solidbody instruments. Sure, I could have spent $300 (of 1980s money!) on a good strobe tuner...but that was the price of a brand new guitar or amp then. Wasn't gonna happen.

Probably unlike most guitarists, I didn't spend my time playing along with records or trying to pick out solos from records. That seemed tedious then and still does now. That said, I did try to perfect my pitch by tuning to the opening note of "Day Tripper" by Them Beatles. But here comes a lifetime WHOOPS! Either the recording wasn't in concert pitch or there was a slight drag in my turntable...so I basically tune automatically to somewhere in the neighborhood of E flat. It hasn't exactly slowed me down. It's only ever an issue if I'm working with someone using a set pitch instrument (piano, horns, etc). When necessary, I tune to them. And yes...I do use a tuner at most gigs simply because its just easier.

I love playing old blues and old country blues. LOTS of open tuning stuff. Again, concert pitch is rarely a concern. A lot of those songs sound better, more resonant and soulful in a less-than-perfect tuning. While discussing this phenomenon with Phil Alvin once, he described it as giving it 'the moan'. And as usual, Philip is correct.

While he could have easily (but thankfully didn't) go into the mathematics of it, suffice to say it simply has a more organic sound/tone. Listen to people speak. Listen to animals or the wind. Things are rarely in a perfect concert pitch.

I was just listening to an old Mississippi John Hurt tune. I wanted to figure a certain phrase he was playing, so I grabbed the nearest guitar. I knew roughly where on the neck he was playing but I also knew it was nowhere near concert pitch. So down I tuned...almost a full 1.5 steps down. But MAN it sounded killer. The low E string just had that BOOM! and the higher strings, where he was playing melody lines, had that moan!

So now my guitar is sitting here, in whatever pitch it is, and I've been playing different old blues and jazz bits and thinking
CLOSE ENOUGH FOR JAZZ!

Thanksgivus...again!

If you've been playing along with the home version, you should already know this. You should also know that I am, if nothing else, a creature of habit. That said, It's Thanksgivus Time!!!!!

Thanksgivus: that's what she called it. The 'she' in question would be a very short, loud, middle aged black woman with retardation who I supervised for years. Her name is Omega...fitting because she truly is THE END!

Omega didn't exactly have a speech problem but I think her hearing wasn't 100% on the mark, as certain words would get slurred together such as "Thanksgivus". Another fave was her version of Social Security, which often sounded more like "sociable secretary" (of which I've known a few).

Thanksgivus (which is what I now prefer to call the US holiday Thanksgiving) is the last Thursday of November (this is for my overseas friends who may not be fully knowledgeable of the subject). It is the holiday where we Americans give Thanks to God for giving us BIG tasty birds, punkin pie & cranberry sauce...all courtesy of a tribe that we soon took great pains to wipe out. In short, when those Pilgrims (essentially English religious nuts) 1st landed at Plymouth Rock, they didn't have a CLUE what they were doing or what they were in for!

After that 1st winter (what do you mean "No Central Heating"???), most of the Pilgrims had died off. A few hearty ones remained (probably by eating the others...but that story seems to have vanished in the annals of history) and it was looking bleak for them, as they didn't know SQUAT about farming North American soil. Luckily, the Indians (bite me, I will NOT be PC) took pity on them, showed them what to do and the Pilgrims survived. They did sooo well, in fact, they had a big feast and invited the Indians. When the Indians showed up, they realized that white folks are either really bad at planning feasts or are just stingy, so they sent some braves to go kill a half dozen or so deer....gotta make sure ya don't leave the table unless yer ready to burst....STILL an American Thanksgivus tradition. NOWHERE on the menu was green bean casserole....PLEASE make note of that! (the Americans reading this will get the humor)

Finally, sometime in the 19th century, after decades of confusion as to what this "New England" holiday was and when it was supposed to be observed, some mad woman wrote everyone in the colonies suggesting the last Thursday in November...just in time to mark the start of Xmas shopping season!

Now, contrary to what some of my English colleagues have been lead to believe, Thanksgivus is NOT the American Xmas. Trust me, NO ONE on this planet overdoes Xmas like the Americans! Here it is, the Sunday BEFORE Thanksgivus and I'm looking out my front door at my neighbor's Xmas lights! 1 month 5 days before we celebrate the Man's b-day (even though we have the date wrong)...1 month 5 days of looking at those damned lights! Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays as much if not more than most people...but I like things to be done for the right reasons...not just to be the 1st, best or brashest.

For the holidays, I wish you all peace, happiness and a full belly. May your homes be filled with laughter (and not just the canned version coming from your TV). May your pockets never be empty, maybe your fridge always be full (with at least 1 6pack of decent beer...in case I should stop by lol) and may your troubles be few & far between.

In fact, I don't just wish you these things for the holidays...I wish them for you all EVERYDAY.

I'm having a few friends over (as usual) this year for Thanksgivus. It might not be the fanciest dinner but I hope to guarantee all a good meal, a full belly and someplace to sit and digest and enjoy some good company after (and before...as long as they stay OUTTA MY WAY in the kitchen.).

We will revel in the death of a turkey. We shall take delight in the taters, which will be mashed. The rolls will hopefully not be slightly burned on the bottoms...but if they are, that's what butter, gravy & butter knives are for! The veggies will be plentiful and not overcooked. The pie will be chocolate cream...NOT PUNKIN! (my tradition...not yours, OK? ) And yes Virginia...there will most likely be cranberries of some sort...JUST NO DAMNED GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE...PLEASE!