Ripples

A while back, I led a monthly jam session at Zen Tea. It was a casual Sunday afternoon session, open to musicians of all levels. We went around the circle, taking turns leading songs. Most of the songs were of the folk variety. I would usually lead an accessible jazz song. Some brought in their own original songs. The jam session is no longer being held, but I discovered today that it had a lasting effect on at least one person.

Early in the short history of the Zen Tea Jam, a trumpet player showed up a couple times. Then he stopped coming. He always seemed to have a conflict. I didn't think anything of it and assumed that he had lost interest.

That trumpet player called me today, asking for some music theory help. It turns out that, even though he wasn't able to participate in the jam session, his love for music was reignited, and he decided to get back to playing trumpet regularly. He is joining a band. He told me that some of his friends used to play in their school jazz band or concert band. They talk about how much they miss it, but they don't pick up their instruments. I was genuinely pleased for him. I congratulated him, telling him that a lot of people miss playing an instrument, but they don't do anything about it. He, on the other hand, is picking up his horn and joining a band.

This trumpet player was inspired to get back into playing. That would be beautiful enough, but I like to think that his example will inspire some of his friends to start playing again. Maybe their children will be encouraged to pick up an instrument. Maybe this short lived jam session had a ripple effect. I hope so.

Jamming with Students

This Sunday, one of my students, Grace, will be attending her first jam session. Aside from playing with me, she hasn't had any experience playing with other people. This is going to be a great learning experience for her. She'll be exposed to different genres of music, and she'll hear different styles of guitar players. She hasn't heard me play a lot of jazz, so that'll be a new thing for her. She'll also get to hear other good soloists and plenty of fingerpickers. Nearly half the musicians at this jam session are women, so I think Grace will also be inspired by hearing so many other strong female musicians.

Because this is Grace's first jam session, we've been working pretty intensely on handful of songs for her to play. Each song has a little challenge for her: a new fingerpicking pattern, a challenging intro, a new chord, and a new strumming pattern. She's met the challenge in each song, and she's ready for the jam session.

Grace is playing Summertime especially well. As a matter of fact, for the past couple weeks, she's been playing it so smoothly that I lose myself in the music and forget that she's a student. It's a real pleasure to work with a student who practices everything I assign, even the repetitive scale exercises, and it's paying off. She's only been playing a couple years, but she is beginning to develop a fretboard knowledge that is deeper than that of many older guitarists. This familiarity with the fretboard will pay off big time as her knowledge grows. It's one thing to mimic licks or use TAB to "paint by numbers." It's another thing to know exactly what you're playing and why it works.

I wish I could peek 10 or 20 years into the future and hear Grace play. I think she's going to be amazing. For now, I'm happy to jam with her in lessons and help her along in her journey.

We Be Jammin'

Earlier this afternoon, I hosted the first ever Zen Tea Sunday Jam. What fun! The turnout was higher than I expected. When I sent invitations, there were a few people I REALLY hoped could be there to kick this whole thing off. These folks expressed interested in coming to the next one, but they already had plans that conflicted with this first one. Aside from myself, there were only two people who confirmed they were coming, so I was thinking that this would be a tiny (but fun) gathering. As it turned out, 9 musicians showed up, and a few people wandered into the back room to enjoy the music.

Nine musicians may sound like a small amount, but frankly, I don't want the Zen Tea Sunday Jam to be much bigger. I enjoyed the variety of styles and levels, and nine was a manageable number. We each had the opportunity to lead several songs, take solos, and play along without getting in each other's way. The turnout will increase as the jam becomes more established, but I think I'd like to keep this at around fifteen participants – twenty at most.

I feel that this first Zen Tea Sunday Jam was a success. Turnout was larger than expected, there was a diverse array of styles and abilities, and, most important, everyone seemed to have a good time. I'm looking forward to the next one on October 28!

Zen Tea Jam

A couple months ago, I was talking to Connie, the owner of Zen Tea, where I play at least twice a month. We were talking about the back room, which she plans on expanding into a small concert venue. It struck me that the back room could also be used to hold a jam session. I was speaking hypothetically, but Connie's eyes lit up, and the next thing I knew, she had me agreeing to host a monthly jam session.

The first Zen Tea Sunday Jam will take place this Sunday (9/23) from 2-5, and I'm really looking forward to it. It'll evolve over time as I figure out what works and what doesn't, but for now, it is going to be a round robin style session. We'll go around the circle and take turns leading songs. There may also be instrumentalists who don't necessarily want to lead a song, but would like to play along. While we don't need everybody to be playing all the time, I do want this to be an inclusive group, so I'm asking the musicians to bring chord/lead sheets if a song has a lot of chord changes, or to walk us through a song if the changes aren't too complicated.

Ideally, this will be an eclectic experience. I've extended invitations to musicians of various backgrounds, including folk, jazz, and Latin. Several people will have original songs, too. Of course, the music being played ultimately depends on who shows up, but I'm hoping for a mix of styles.

I have no idea how many people will show up to this first jam session. Even if just four or five musicians show up, it'll be a start. I've heard from a handful of musicians who are already busy on Sunday but are interested in coming in the future. It may take a little while to establish this as a regular thing, but I feel that this will eventually become a monthly event that many people will look forward to.

Mainly, I want to use the Zen Tea Sunday Jam as an opportunity to support Zen Tea. It's such a lovely little place to play, and Connie is very serious about expanding the back room into a concert venue…basically a mini Eddie's Attic for you Atlanta music lovers. If we musicians do what we can to support Zen Tea and help bring in business, we'll be doing our part to help bring a new concert venue to life.

If you are interested in keeping up with the Zen Tea Sunday Jam, please visit www.facebook.com/ZenTeaJam and "like" our page.

Home at Zen Tea

It appears that Zen Tea is becoming a second home.

I usually play at Zen Tea once a month with Tea for Two, but last night I performed as a soloist. I didn't attract as many people as the full band usually does, but I still had fun. Two hours of singing and playing my favorite music at one of my favorite venues is a good way to spend a Saturday night. Although I didn't exactly fill the room, Connie (the owner) liked my solo show and asked me to book another one. Flattery will get you everywhere. I booked a date for September 1.

A friend of mine, Barbara Hotz, plays nearly every Sunday afternoon from 2-4 for a regular event…a tea tasting, I think, but I'm not sure. She doesn't play every single Sunday, so I'm going to be her alternate, which means I'll probably play an additional Sunday each month or so.

On top of that, it looks like I'll be hosting a monthly jam session at Zen Tea, which will start in late September. This is an experiment, and for now, we've only scheduled September 23 and October 28. If those go well, we'll continue. I'm not sure exactly how I'll run the jam session yet, but I do know that I would like this to be an eclectic jam session. To reflect my personal tastes, I'll invite musicians of all stripes to the event – particularly folk musicians and jazzers. Of course, the musical styles at the jam session will ultimately depend on who actually shows up, but I'll do my best to make it a melting pot.

I've been playing at Zen Tea for about two years now, and I've loved it since day one. The moment I first walked in, there was something about the place. The tension left my body, and I felt peaceful and at ease. Part of it is the decor, but mostly it's because of Connie, who calmly treats all her customers like friends.

If you're ever in Chamblee, GA and just need a place to sit down and relax a while, you should check out Zen Tea. Meanwhile, I'm thinking about setting up a cot in the back room.

In a Jam

Last night I had no gig scheduled. This turned out to be a good thing. I went to a friend's birthday dinner at Burnt Fork, a new BBQ place in town. Delicious! We all chipped in to buy dinner for Allison, the birthday girl. Humor ranged from physics jokes to adolescent snickering while others talked about rolfing.

Not surprisingly, everyone at the table was a musician, and Allison invited us to her place for an impromptu jam. Before we started, we ate some of Allison's birthday cake, which was baked "from scraps" by her 6 year old neighbor, Ben. We all wrote a thank you letter to Ben, and then commenced with the music making.

It's easy to have a good jam session when you're with Allison Adams, Cyndi Craven, Billy Gewin, Ashley Filip, Rick Diamond, and Lindsay Petsch from Maple Street Guitars. There was also a "new guy" who recently moved from Colorado. I'm embarrassed to say I don't remember his name, but he's a terrific player and a first class songwriter. He's been going to the Tuesday Night String Club at Java Monkey on Tuesday nights. I've missed the past two String Clubs, so last night was the first time I met him.

All these folks, in fact, play at the Tuesday Night String Club. The difference is that the String Club is more open mic-ish, with short sets of 15-20 minutes. Last night was a sit in the kitchen, round robin sort of affair. It reminded me why I moved to Decatur in the first place – to be around more musicians. When I first moved to Decatur 3 years ago, I started going to a Sunday jam at Kavarna, where I met many of last night's friends.

There's a strange phenomenon in most jam sessions. You know your turn is coming. Five people went before you, and you have plenty of time to decide what to play, but when it comes around to you, you inevitably draw a blank. Luckily, when it was my turn to lead, Billy made it easy for me. He had been looking through my songbook and lit up when he spotted All of Me. For once, I knew what I was going to sing when it was my turn.

I only played the one song last night, but that's okay. I got the nod to play a few solos on others' songs. When I'm waiting to play at the Tuesday Night String Club, I like to figure out the chords while other musicians are performing, so I've secretly learned some of my friends' music and was able to play along. (I was so happy to finally be able to play along, out loud, with I Wanna Be Like You.) I was able to find some riffs that supported the other singers, and if I was too lazy to figure out the chords, I just enjoyed listening to my friends while I pet Allison's pooch, Caleb, who was very happy to see everyone.

We all had a great time celebrating Allison's big day. She should have birthdays more often!