Comments on: A coveted support slot with Lisa Dominique

By: Dave Betts

Dave Betts — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:56:01 +0000

Or as John Thompson in his role as Jazz Club compere on The Fast Show once said:

“Acker Bilk… Sh*te”

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:44:38 +0000

As Tony Wilson said, at least Coogans interpretation of him “Jazz is the only time you’ll see the musicians having more fun than the audience”

By: Dave Betts

Dave Betts — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:10:10 +0000

“We in the jazz world”; a phrase to strike fear into the heart of anyone with a chronic fear of atonalism. But jazz is a broad church. A church I choose to avoid but recognise at heart is not a bad thing, but any form of music which requires heroin to really make it work (being mentally ill also helps) ain’t for me. God bless Miles Davies though, he contributed more to music than the self-proclaimed “King of Pop” ever did.

By: a_p

a_p — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:09:37 +0000

I like a combination of augmented and diminished chords — produces what we in the jazz world call demented.

By: Neil G

Neil G — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:01:19 +0000

A regular major chord is made up of the first, third and fifth of the scale, e.g. C is made up of C, E and G. An augmented chord has a sharpened fifth (nearly typed filth there), so C-aug would be made up of C, E, and G sharp. They add spice to a piece but you wouldn’t want to listen to them all the time, unless you’re a jazz musician, of course. They seem to love them.

By: Dave Betts

Dave Betts — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:44:40 +0000

There are bass chords though aren’t there? I wonder if there are augmented bass chords…

By: Steve Malkmoose

Steve Malkmoose — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:51:08 +0000

I play bass so chords are a mystery to me

That is one of the great all time rhyming couplets though, up there with the Bards finest

By: Charles Exford

Charles Exford — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:18:18 +0000

I think I remember a music teacher telling us that augmented chords were sort of like those dissonant single piano chords you get when the heroine gets distressed in an early 1920s movie. Or as the camera pans over no mans’ land in footage of the Somme.

Which, if I remember correctly, is not at all like the actual chords of this song. But I may be wrong.

By: Dave Betts

Dave Betts — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:57:37 +0000

Good point Malcolm. As a shockingly poor self taught guitarist I have no idea of the chords are indeed augmented but I’m sure someone knows.

I was thinking of HMHB’s tributes to ‘Metal’ on Saturday night when I found myself, as a result of some post stop-tap refereshment requirements, in the presence of Grim Reaper (the NWOBHM band, not the Pale Rider). “Thank you Swansea” to a couple of dozen people leads me to believe that the lead singer is suffering from delusions of grandeur. Good set of pipes on him though.

By: Malcolm of Arimathea

Malcolm of Arimathea — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:56:12 +0000

You’re right. It doesn’t bode well. All the internet paths seem to fade away in 2002 (at the latest).

I suppose I’m intrigued to know if the chords in the final verse are indeed augmented. As a flautist with only a grade 5 theory and o-level music understanding of chords, that’s a bit beyond me.