The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast

Trailer - The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast

• UK Music Apps Ltd. • Season 1

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Step into the vibrant world of jazz through intimate conversations with the artists who live it every day. The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast, hosted by renowned bassist, composer and producer Geoff Gascoyne, strips away the mystique surrounding jazz musicians to reveal the human stories behind the solos.

Each week, we sit down with both legendary artists and rising stars from the jazz world, exploring their musical journeys in ways both profound and playfully candid. Vocalist Emma Smith shares practice techniques you can use on your morning commute, while veteran saxophonist Alan Barnes breaks down Clifford Brown's iconic solos with the wisdom that only decades on the bandstand can provide. Guitarist Chris Standring reveals how a single lesson with Pat Martino transformed his relationship with music after 34 years of playing professionally, while young talent Freddie Benedict surprises us with his political impressions alongside serious harmonic insights.

What makes our podcast unique is the perfect balance between technical jazz discussion and entertaining storytelling. You'll gain genuine insights into improvisation techniques and harmonic approaches while enjoying plenty of laughs along the way. These musicians don't just share their musical expertise - they open up about the realities of hustling for gigs, life on the road, and the moments of connection that make a jazz career worthwhile despite its challenges.

Whether you're a dedicated musician seeking to expand your improvisational toolkit or simply someone who appreciates authentic conversations with creative minds, you'll find something valuable in these weekly episodes. Download the first four episodes now, and don't forget to check out the Quartet app for iOS to take your jazz play-along experience to another level.

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Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne
Series Producer: Paul Sissons
Production Manager: Martin Sissons
The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

Geoff Gascoyne:

Hello podcats. Geoff Gascoyne here. Welcome to The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast, where we take a deep- deep dive into the lives of both legendary and rising jazz musicians. This unique weekly series explores the highs and the lows of life as a jazz soloist, and my guests share candid stories about everything from hustling for gigs to life on the road, offering insights into jazz improvisation and technical expertise, and you'll hear them discuss and improvise their favourite jazz standards. Some of it is technical, but mostly just a great listen full of music stories and and plenty of laughs. Download the first four episodes now (Episode one My guest today is the wonderful Emma Smith. Hello.

Emma Smith:

Hello world.

Emma Smith:

Here is my voice.

Emma Smith:

It is the morning and I had a gig last night, so don't judge the husk. It is to go up on Locrian, down on Lydian, up on Dorian, down on Ionian, and we just flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, and it's something that you can do when you're on the tube. And how did you get involved in American record life? Honestly, through social media, and that's the power of socials. (Episode 2).

Geoff Gascoyne:

Today I'm in Leighton Buzzard to see an old friend of mine, Alan Barnes.

Alan Barnes:

Yeah, I've played for 50 years now. That's amazing. I've been through the pearls twice. I mean it's a bit like the oldest hammer in the world. Yeah, 12 new heads, 12 new handles. I play for Brown's solo on Pent Up House and there's a lick on there. I used to play it so much that Gerard Presencer and Dave, they could hear it coming and they'd play it with me, if you enclose.

Geoff Gascoyne:

So that's taking a note above and below. Yeah, the chord tone, the scale.

Alan Barnes:

Note above yeah, the semitone below you come down a harmonic minor scale.

Geoff Gascoyne:

It kind of sounds a bit like bebop, doesn't it? Yeah?

Geoff Gascoyne:

Yeah.

Geoff Gascoyne:

(Episode 3). Here he is, Chris Standring. Hello, hello, mate.

Chris Standring:

You've been living in LA for what 30 years now 34 years and a friend of mine said Chris, why are you coming back? He said you've got more gigs in LA than you've got over here. I never took one jazz guitar lesson in my entire life until about 10 years ago when I took a lesson from Pat Martino before he died. What I got from Pat was the permission to dedicate my entire life to the jazz guitar. So in terms of improvising, what's that?

Geoff Gascoyne:

LAUGHTER.

Announcement:

And episode four.

Freddie Benedict:

Freddie Benedict. How are you? Geoff Gascoyne? I know, come on in, I love the shorts. 29, yeah, 29. Wow, I'll be 30 next year. I think that's still young. It is young. That's half my age, half my age. I love the fact that you've got that descending sequence and yet you can have that articulated dominant pedal on the F. You know, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, and that F just fits beautifully underneath those four chords.

Freddie Benedict:

I started doing impressions and set up an Instapage and I was actually doing Boris Johnson and yes, doing stuff like that. And then, of course, if we go into the Orange Croissant guy, Mr Trump, who's a very unpopular person, Brazilians just have natural groove and rhythm and just amazing people. Yeah, fabulous, olé, olé, obrigado. One Note Samba. I love the guy, he's a great guy.

Geoff Gascoyne:

Fantastic, obrigado. One Note Samba love the guy, he's a great guy. Fantastic. The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is brought to you by the Quartet app for iOS, taking your jazz play along to another level.