Building Momentum Throughout a Solo Section
In one of my previous posts in the "Transitions" series I discussed some techniques for moving between soloists. In today's post I want re-examine how to transition between soloists, this time from the larger-scale perspective of how to build momentum throughout an entire solo section.
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| Chuck Redd! |
If you go back and read through my earlier post, you will notice that I discuss the possibility of the "smooth transition" between soloists, carrying the energy from one solo directly into the next solo instead of trying to start building momentum afresh in each solo. If you can do this same smooth transition through several solos, you can essentially create one large-scale climax in the entire song. It is easy to lose sight of this bigger picture when you are in the moment, and it takes a very sympathetic, mature, and sensitive group of musicians to really pull this off, but the results can be really thrilling.
I had the pleasure of playing with just such a group of musicians the other night (Chuck Redd on Vibes, Chris Grasso on Piano, Nicki Parrott on Bass, and Lyle Link on Sax), and the video of the beautiful Bossa-Nova "Once I Loved" at the top is a great demonstration of how this can work.
