So far so good!

Rehearsals have been to an extent consistent but when you're band contains so many people all performing in their own projects, plus another good few, getting a full band together is almost impossible. Reflecting back on the last few practices has demonstrated to me how much this individual project relies on others which makes me grateful that I have chosen such hard-working dedicated musicians.

As a band I now feel comfortable that 3/4's of the set is at the performance standard required for a degree project however I still feel there are areas that need polishing to grant me a reasonable pass. As my project topic is an analysis of the grooves of acid jazz I have been mainly attempting to arrange rehearsals with myself and the bassist to really get a solid, full groove. Work has also begun on my individual essay where I am at the stage of defining 'groove' and discussing the concept of acid jazz and its routes.

With everything generally in order I feel like progress has been extensively more efficient in this eased environment and am now looking forward to the end of year project. I hope to arrange a small live set of the songs we have been rehearsing to build on confidence in the live environment.

Progress shall be expressed in the next blog!

Potential Set List

Since lasts weeks expansion of Jamiroquai to 'The grooves of Acid Jazz' I have now researched into 3 seperate bands to include in my project. These three bands include The Brand New Heavies, Incognito and as before, Jamiroquai. Each portrays a unique style demonstrating the diverse range of stryles that make up the genre which will benefit my research greatly when it comes to analysing how the bass, drums and percussion play together. I have already gathered together a potential set list that demonstrates influences of Jazz, Funk, Cuban and Latin elements. One area that has weakened my show is the fact that I will have no Synthesizer present and so most of the electeronic sounds are being substituted on guitar and a limited keyboard. Although this may take away the authenticity factor it is not an area I wish to focus on as I prefer the idea of an original and personnal rather than attempting replication. This has already become apparent in rehearsals as we experiemnt with seperate ideas in an attempt to create the acid jazz feel with th instruments at liberty. With next practice this Sunday I am currently transposing a piece for the singers range while also notating out the important brass section that need to be inserted. Overall, band is coming together nicely and I am looking forward to the end product. I just with the holidays coming up I can manage my time sufficiently to create as effective an end product as possible.