Scott Henderson Discussion

[sermorel]

Hello, Scott.

First of all, I have to say that GuitarWank is awesome !! Great stories, great chat and great jokes !!


My question is about the rubato phrasing vs in time phrasing.

Some of my favorite jazz players do a lot of rubato phrasing ( Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Bill Evans,etc ) but I've found playing this way not so natural to me. If I'm playing in a blues, rock or any situation with some static groove, that's ok. I can alternate playing in time vs rubato whenever I feel like. But in a jazz context, especially in trio, I get lost every now and then. If I come up with some over the bar line idea and the bass and drums react ( and that's what jazz is about , right ??), I sometimes lost where 1 is.

I know that timing is a very personal issue and everybody feels different: some are better than others, some tends to rush,some tends to play behind. I use metronome and backing tracks when I'm studying. That's a matter of do more often ? Play more in live situations ?? Do you think that use Jazz backing tracks ( like Aebersold ) is a good thing ?

Thank you so much !!

[Scott Henderson]

Sometimes drummers play ideas which would be easy to follow if we were paying 100% attention to them, but if we're playing rubato while it's happening, we might not have an easy reference point to get back to, like when playing to a metronome or drum machine.

I can easily weave in and out from playing time to playing rubato if I have a solid reference point, but when I don't, I just stop playing until I hear where one is and continue. For us that can feel like a lifetime, but for the audience it probably just sounds like a nice space.

I do better when I'm tapping my foot - I don't remember practicing this, but somehow I got to the point where I'm able to play rubato while my foot is connected to time. I've actually played totally rubato phrases while the drummer is playing some crazy shit and we both came out in the same place. That's on a good night.

[sermorel]

Thanks a lot, Scott !

[countandduke]

Interesting question because there's a TON of Holdsworth tunes that I lose my shit on (timing wise) too but Allan seems to ALWAYS know where one is!

I saw Scott and Jeff in Chicago a couple years back holding down the beat while their drummer (can't remember his name, dude from Headhunters) was playing some SICK shit on this tiny drum set and Scott, you were laughing because I think both you and Jeff weren't quite sure which one of you had the right downbeat but it's THAT kind of thing that I LOVE about live music, especially the fusion stuff that Scott and crew do... I was REALLY bummed I didn't get to see you all in Chicago 2 weeks ago.. 😔😔😔

Best,
Chris

[BS]

Interresting discussion! I think stretching the time and playing around with the placement of the beat is a very important and typical element of the playing of a lot of modern players, maybe most notably guys like Sco and Metheny, creating a loose, yet extremely precise style. As opposed to players with bad timing, unintentionally floating around the beat, which is something completely different and not swinging at all.