For Your Consideration: The Billy Batts Ensemble Plays Tutu and other love songs...

Like a fine after-dinner cordial, The Billy Batts Ensemble offers up a relaxing and slightly intoxicating approach in its swing, bossa, balladry, funk, and even R&B.  My son asked me, "What is R&B?"  I guess that term isn't used as often as it once was; it stands for Rhythm and Blues.  That could be switched out for Soul or even what it is thought of as Hip-Hop these days.  At any rate, this band can do it all.  I didn't even list country, folk, or rock, but you know we go there as well.  As a quartet that has the means to return to the well of improvised music with a penchant for not following any rules, this is band that can provide the perfect backdrop to any special event.

The group of Walter Austin (piano, synth), Brian Molin (guitar), Mark Letalien (drums, percussion), and John Hancotte (bass) chose to hit the group running with the Marcus Miller-penned Tutu.  Of course, this was a vehicle for Miles and brought the famed trumpeter/band leader a whole new audience in the mid-80's.  We love to play this slow-burning funk, with the displaced ostenatos and surprise twists of fresh harmonic centers.  It's a fun, modal workout that Miles obviously loved.  We do as well.  How about the crowd, you ask?  They like whatever we throw at them.  The trick is to do it with intensity but at a low volume.  This band burns at low volumes.  At social gatherings, folks want to have live music but wish to keep the volume down.  The trick is the control each musician brings from his previous experiences.  Fortunately, this band has what it takes to keep the levels in check.  That's one reason we have kept this gig at the club for so many years.

Super side note: I only took 1 picture that night.  Just to have a bit of fun, I decided to split it into 2 pics.  More interesting, no?  The original is after the 2 edits.  Let me know what you think.

Mark Letalien helps to keep the volume down with brushes.

Walter Austin leads us through some tasty ballad playing, including Stella By Starlight.

One songbook that is always kicked around is The Beatles.  We love to try their songs and attempt them in a different light.  Not exactly news to the jazz community, but the crowd enjoys them and we do as well.  One we discussed at the end of the session was Paul's magical Fool On the Hill.  As with many of his tunes, there aren't a whole lot of chord changes, but what great chords they are!  It's like with another one we've tried before, With a Little Help From My Friends.  It's almost just 3 chords, but they are turned around in such a way that they take on different roles within the form.  At any rate, I put all of this in here to remind myself to work on these.  I've missed the most recent date in October as the family was at Red Top Mountain.  You could say I was well on the way with my head in the clouds...  Must be prepared for November, if I'm lucky enough to be joining these players once again.

Sourced online - lyrics & chords
Haven't checked it yet, but I do know the bass pedals on the D
while the chords move from D6 (or Bm/D) to Em/D
Something to think about in the meantime.

As an added bonus, I thought I might share some pics that Mark shot on the last Billy Batts show.  He is a private instructor with a very insightful web presence:

http://www.learndrumslive.com/