Dear JGA friends, I have been absent for a few months, although I have been following some of the recorded videos of Marc-André's Q&A and Gabriel's Workshop. I have been participating in recent months in a combo formed at the Barcelona "Taller de Músics" (senior space) with whom I have just played my first gig (I am, in the dark, the third one starting from the left). It has been a formidable experience that I could not have done without everything I have learned in these two years here at JGA with Marc-André and many of you who have guided me. Thank you very much! We have played two pieces: Killer Joe (Benny Golman) and Watermelon Man (Herbie Hancock). For being the first time (after fifty years!) that I have played with a group, I am quite satisfied. And this will continue... And I hope to get back to the classes and live meetings with you when the European schedules allow me!

Help me understand this cord and it's function Song: there will never be another you Place: in the C-section, bar 28 what: a minor 2 5 cell, Am7b5 - D7 Okay, in the key of Eb, I would normally see bar 28 as a secondary minor 2 5 leading naturally into the iii cord which would be G minor. But, it's A Head fake of sorts and leads not to the iii chord but instead resolves back to the tonic cord where it begins the long turnaround. I'm not too disturbed by this as I understand that the three cord and the tonic along with the iv are in the same functional group of "home" type chords so I can see how that works. The question: That Am7b5 chord is clearly there to produce a tension leading into the turnaround, but I'm not sure how to understand and think about this. This cord is built off the b5degree of the key and I am wondering, is this odd little 2 5, or b5 chord, some kind of common device in jazz that performs a particular function in songs? I know that in this case it produces the tension needed to start into the turnaround. It's classic tension - whenever I hear it I think of Dudley do right frantically untying Nell from the railroad tracks as the train approaches. Again, what is this harmonic device and how should I think about it?

Hello all! It's taken awhile but the band I've been playing with finally had our first gig last week. We play Cure songs but in a jazzy way. This is from the Cure's first album and an interesting one to try and take an early new wave, indie song and try and make it jazzy. There's no way I could have ever attempted to arrange a song like this, let alone try and play it without everything I've learned doing JGA and getting feedback and advice from everyone on here, and of course especially from @Coach Marc-Andre Seguin ! https://youtu.be/2ZFoj59F6J8

I'm uploading this despite feeling like I'm not even at 80% (or perhaps just *barely*). This is by far the most difficult tune I've tackled since joining JGA, and it shows 😀. For the improv, targeting the 3rds in this tune is essentially playing the melody, so I strove for just playing some simple lines that sound musical. I'm still struggling to land the key changes at the ends of the A and B sections. I also had to slow the tempo down a bit as I couldn't quite keep up with the 168 BPM of the original. As always, feedback welcomed! @Coach Gabriel Sebrian @Coach Marc-Andre Seguin

Apparently is a no go … a few of us tried to join call unsuccessfully.