For years, I’ve played sax + bass duets with my friend Don Barnes. Covid and health issues sadly put an end to that gig. I miss Don and I missed playing music.

At almost exactly the moment that door closed, David Hutchinson asked if I would join a quartet: Randy Nims on trombone, Tyler Higley on guitar, David on saxophone and myself on bass. And we have an upcoming performance.

What: Westminster Presbyterian Church Gala and Art Show
When: February 21, 2025 7 pm to 9 pm
Where: 1624 NE Hancock, Portland, OR 97212

We’ve met a few times and I’m pleased to say the group works. That isn’t always the case. Starting a band is interesting. Sometimes it doesn’t work. There can be differences in competency, genre, temperament, and logistics.

Competency

For a band to work, everyone needs to have a minimum level of competency on their instrument. I originally wrote talent—but that’s a nebulous term with a shifting definition. To be competent means playing the desired note at the precise moment.

Competency means a heads-up approach to music. It’s not just about you, it’s about listening to everyone in the group and adjusting what you are playing to fit what they are playing.

For a band to work, everyone needs to be progressing at the same pace. Playing music means getting better. If one member is heads above everyone else, that member is going to be looking for a new group. The original group won’t last long.

Genre

This is the bump in the road for many jam sessions. I play jazz. I can play bluegrass. I really can’t play country+western or funk. It just isn’t there for me. I’ve encountered guitarists fascinated by Kenny Rogers or Glen Campbell. It’s painful. I’ve met up with jazz guitarists and experienced something completely different. Same instrument, same competency, different genre, different results.

Temperament

How many bands have imploded when members don’t get along? Consider the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, so many others. Some groups break up early, some when the pressures of touring become overwhelming or when one or more members experience life changes.

Bands start by appreciating what each member brings to the group. Hopefully it continues.

Logistics

The where and when. Rehearsal spaces are hard to come by. Big bands have somewhere between twelve and twenty-five people and are noisy—not something appropriate for an apartment. Duets can meet almost anywhere.

Along with finding a space is finding a space within range of everyone in the group. I live in the east side of town and am less than enthusiastic about driving an hour to attend a two-hour rehearsal. I also have to factor in the time I need to load bass, amp, music, and music stand into the car, then unload, then load, then put everything back in the house. So a 7 pm to 9 pm rehearsal means I have to load my gear by 5 pm and won’t finish until 11 pm.

That’s enough

I’m hoping you’ll come hear us on February 21st at the Westminster Arts Gala. You’ll get to hear a band in the early stages of gelling as a group. That should be interesting!