The year is 2002. The place is Charlie O's, a comfortable, somewhat-upscale jazz club in North Hollywood, Southern California, whose claim to fame is “great music" in the jazz universe. It is Thursday night and a jam session is about to take center stage.
Tonight, just like any Thursday night at Charlie O's, several musicians have listed their names and wait for a call to perform and intuitively integrate their sense of rhythm, harmony, and melody without any dress rehearsal. Jazz enthusiasts, respectfully quiet, stare at the performers in one-pointed concentration. After all, it is considered rude to chat during a jazz performance.
The jam session's artists start playing, not knowing what to expect. The rules of engagement are honored, unspoken. An agreed-upon melody establishes the theme and mood of the session. Then, the solo performances take over--the piano, the saxophone, the bass and the drums.
After the performers have showcased their skillful virtuosity at creating interest with chord tones and harmony parts, they mutually decide how to end the melody. Tonight, these musicians agree to stop at the same time with a tight cut-off ending.
It is a low-key, star-studded night. Earl Palmer, the acclaimed session drummer whose syncopated taps made the “Mission Impossible" theme a classic, says hello to Lou Rawls, Melissa Etheridge and other listeners. Among the musicians Palmer acknowledges for playing in tonight's jazz jam session is Tateng Katindig, a Filipino American jazz pianist/keyboardist, who shines like a rare diamond in the presence of these legendary world-class performers.
Tonight, just like any Thursday night at Charlie O's, several musicians have listed their names and wait for a call to perform and intuitively integrate their sense of rhythm, harmony, and melody without any dress rehearsal. Jazz enthusiasts, respectfully quiet, stare at the performers in one-pointed concentration. After all, it is considered rude to chat during a jazz performance.
The jam session's artists start playing, not knowing what to expect. The rules of engagement are honored, unspoken. An agreed-upon melody establishes the theme and mood of the session. Then, the solo performances take over--the piano, the saxophone, the bass and the drums.
After the performers have showcased their skillful virtuosity at creating interest with chord tones and harmony parts, they mutually decide how to end the melody. Tonight, these musicians agree to stop at the same time with a tight cut-off ending.
It is a low-key, star-studded night. Earl Palmer, the acclaimed session drummer whose syncopated taps made the “Mission Impossible" theme a classic, says hello to Lou Rawls, Melissa Etheridge and other listeners. Among the musicians Palmer acknowledges for playing in tonight's jazz jam session is Tateng Katindig, a Filipino American jazz pianist/keyboardist, who shines like a rare diamond in the presence of these legendary world-class performers.
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