Solo Guitar at the Palm Room
Sure I make this post a lot. But to be fair it is a great gig. I wish I played there more but my availability is somewhat limited. With a music school of nearly 200 students and a family and fly fishing to take care of. Oh ya I like to travel and take photographs and bird watch and maybe exercise and ….
Friday December the 15th was eventful only in that I started at the wrong time. To be fair to me Sunday to Thursday is an 8 pm start, Fridays Matinee is 4 pm Saturday Matinee is 3:30 pm later shows are 8:30 on Fridays and Saturdays.
I have really developed my repertoire through this gig. As much as I have learned new tunes I have also dug deep to play tunes I know already but never thought to play as a solo guitar piece. So, along with the usual jazz standards, I am also throwing in a lot of pop tunes, some classic rock, blues and soul music.
I have gone from bringing music to this gig to doing the entire 4 hours without music and without playing everything I know! Songs like; Prelude to a Kiss, Smoke on the Water, Ain’t No Sunshine, All Alone, I Say A Little Prayer for You, etc. Makes for a pretty diverse musical palette. With the jazz tunes I can really explore them and might spend 10 minute on one piece. With some pop tunes, like Every Time I Go Away or Groovin’ I can loop a short section and solo over it. With a tune like And I Love Her, the melody and harmony are complex enough to do some exploring while something like Sweet Home Alabama or My Girl, I am in and out quick.
So Come on down next time I am there and see if I know your favorite tune. If I don’t and I think I can get some mileage out of it, I will put it into my set.