Waiting for My Turn

As much as I enjoy solo and small group performing, my favorite kind of guitar playing is big band rhythm guitar. On the surface, it may not appear very exciting. The guitarist in a big band rarely takes a solo. For the most part, you play quarter notes all night. On the other hand, you have to stay mentally sharp because the chords are coming at you a mile a minute, plus it's a lot of fun to be part of the whole big band sound. The guitar plays a very specific role in a big band, providing a clear pulse for the band and filling in the middle register of the rhythm section. The bass covers the low while the piano covers the high end. If you're doing it right, the listener may not even notice the guitar unless it drops out.

Although there are plenty of guitarists in town with better technique, I have an ace up my sleeve: I can read music. I'm living proof that you can be a guitar player and read music at the same time. Jazz band books typically have a lot of charts, and there's rarely time to rehearse any of them in depth. Another guitar player may have more impressive chops, but if he can't read music, or if he only has a rudimentary grasp of reading notation, it's going to take him a while to learn any given part. On the other hand, while I don't have lightning fast technique, I can read down most big band guitar parts the first time. This makes me very useful as a sub, because I can sight-read my way through a performance if necessary.

One of my goals is to be the regular guitarist for one of the big bands in Atlanta. Unfortunately, there is only one guitar player per band (and some big bands don't use a guitarist at all), so it may be a while before I earn a spot. In the meantime, I get as much experience as I can by subbing with the Sentimental Journey Orchestra and the Atlanta Swing Orchestra. I'm also working to get myself on the sub list with other jazz bands in Atlanta.

You get into many of these groups by simply hanging around long enough to be the last man standing. Essentially, I'm waiting for someone to quit or leave town. Sometimes I feel like a vulture waiting for a guitar spot to open. For now, I enjoy subbing, and I'm sure that my turn will come.