I’ve been playing a lot more jazz bass lately, courtesy of a weekly gig at Euro Bistro. (Thursdays, 6-9pm, if you’d like to come.) The thing about me is that if I play a lot of a particular kind of music, I tend to also write music in the same vein. As our trio makes its way through hundreds of jazz standards, I begin to internalize the musical logic and think about ways I can incorporate ideas into my own work.
“Human, Being” is a groove-oriented song. That is, unlike many songs from The Great American Songbook, the chords in this move slowly, allowing for expansive modal improvisation. Think “Stolen Moments” or “All Blues.” Of course, in this demo, it sounds like a mash-up of Steely Dan’s “Do It Again,” a bossa, and smooth jazz.
