Roger Zee: How do your three jams differ?
Gary Schwartz:
Roger Zee: How do you pick your co-hosts for the jams?
Gary Schwartz: I choose my co-hosts or house band members based upon their desire and ability to both lead
and accompany in the styles of music performed at the session. For example, in a worst case scenario, no jammers
have shown up yet. The house band must provide quality entertainment to the customers until the jammers
arrive to join in the music-making. The house band must be willing and able to assist and encourage any
musician/vocalist who desires to improve their musical performance and interaction with other players.
Band members must posses a myriad of skills, including verbal communication, comprehension of musical
terms (form, rhythm feel, tempo, etc.), ability to lead a band as well as to blend with the ensemble,
finding a quality tone on the instrument, and generally accepted jam etiquette.
I have said for years to the co-hosts that I hire, that "jam duty" is 50% gig, 50% community service, and as
long as we all are aware of and accept that going in, we'll be good shape. The co-hosts share in the
responsibility of running a smooth, high quality, enjoyable session.
Roger Zee: Do you rotate your co-hosts?
Gary Schwartz: When I first began hosting jam sessions in 1995, I originally wanted to hire
the musicians in my band, The Blue Rays, to give them some additional off-night work. Family
responsibilities did not allow group members to serve on a regular basis, so I began a rotation.
I did not begin this initially to introduce variety, but rather to share the wealth among musician-friends who
I respected, loved to play with, and who worked well with me as a team. The by-products of this rotation,
though, were not only the variety of talents and individual energies, but also reciprocal calls to play drums
with their groups, thus widening my professional circle.
Rich Kelly, the top-notch bassist who was in that rotation, took a tip from the success of Geoff Hartwell's jam,
and suggested I try a steady house band. Both Rich Kelly (bass and vocals) and "Little" Marty Schechter
(guitar and vocals) have been the steady house band at my Wednesday and Thursday blues jams ever since.
Marty is currently fighting a battle with cancer, so our friends Pat O'Shea, Chris "V." Vitarello, Pete Hopkinson,
and Andrew Bordeaux have been filling in for him until he is again healthy enough to return to the fold.
Roger Zee: How do you put together your jammers?
Gary Schwartz: When building a line-up for a set, one needs to consider who is leading (calling or singing)
the songs. This may be one or more people in each set. One needs to have a strong rhythm section, so I try to
have the bassist or drummer be experienced -- if not both. I usually aim to have no more than two chordal instruments
(guitars, keyboards) play simultaneously. Unless the players are all experienced and versatile, the mid-range
can get muddy. Of these chordal players, I like at least one, if not both, to be strong, experienced soloists.
At my jams, sign-up order does not determine when you will play. If an individual has a hard cut-off time when
they must leave, I ask that they let me know and I do my best to accommodate. If someone has a particular
player (or players) that they wish to work with, I ask that they let me know and I do my best to arrange it.
Roger Zee: How do you balance bringing in the maximum amount of players with eliminating
the sub-par?
Gary Schwartz: Advertise! Advertise! Advertise! Have the club Advertise! Advertise! Advertise!
Use all the FREE sources: Facebook, maintain and grow e-mail list, hvmusic.com, lohud.com, etc.
Post fliers at the club and in music stores. Treat customers and musicians, club-owners with respect.
Be cool, it ain't that hard!
All levels are welcome. I mix in the less experienced players with the more-so, to raise the level of the players who clearly are interested in improving. As long as an individual treats me and the other jammers/customers/proprietors with respect, they are encouraged to perform at the jam. Players who disrespect others, are overly pushy, or won't follow rules of the jam (adjusting volume when asked, tuning before stepping on-stage, acting with common human courtesies) will wait longer to play, if they do at all. Above all, encourage the feeling of "community" among those who support the scene and continue to make live music viable. Don't take the existence of an active, vibrant, music scene for granted. The world becomes an emptier, more silent place without it.
©2011 Roger Zee