All bands pick songs differently. Some set up one Set List and play those songs for an entire tour. Others pick from a list of fan favorites, sometimes the day of the gig. In the case of the AZ Swing Kings, we do things a bit differently...
You would think with a name like the "Swing Kings", this would be easy! All you do is play favorites from the classic "Swing Era", right? Well, sometimes that's true. For example, we have scheduled a "Return to Swing" night event that fits that bill. But there's a key word in that sentence..."Event". And the fact is, we book a number of different kinds of these events.
So, the first thing I have to consider is this: "What kind of event are the client and audience expecting?". I always discuss this in advance with our clients. Sometimes, they are looking for a seasonal event, based around a holiday. This year, we have events scheduled aroung the Winter Holiday season, the 4th of July, Valentines Day, and Veterans Day. Sometimes a church is looking for an exciting concert as part of their annual "concert season". Our "Great American Songbook...and All That Jazz" concert is often ideal for these occasions. Or, sometimes we play Fundraising events with a theme. This may be a dance, a dinner, or, as in the case of the "Return to Swing" night, a special event for Seniors to provide Turkey Dinners for those who are without at Thanksgiving. Wait...maybe this one is Seasonal after all! :-)
Obviously, two things are required to create set lists for such a wide variety of events. First, it requires skilled, versatile musicians, who are experienced enough to learn new music quickly, without weeks of rehearsal. Check! Second, it requires a large and diversified music library. Check again! Due to the generosity of our Director Emeritus, Len King, and a number of other friends, I am still sorting through a very large "book" of music. Someday, I may actually know everything that's in there!
OK, after I have established the kind of event and the theme (if one has been requested), it's time to dig in and make that Set List.
In general, I assume that most of our "charts" will take about 5 minutes on average to play. For a typical concert of 75 minutes, that means a maximum of 15 songs. However, there is usually a short intermission or an offering (if we're in a church). or we may even be asked to play two or three short sets in the case of a Fundraiser. With this in mind, I always build a Set List that contains one or two more songs than what we need. It's always easier to skip a song, than to have the band scrambling to come up with one more at the last minute.
Next, I look at the flow. Where do the vocals go? How do we avoid playing two or three songs in a row that are too much alike? Again, this will vary depending on the options noted above. But, I usually like to start with the idea Miles Davis espoused about creating Set Lists: "Start and end Big, and half-way through...Start Over!". This keeps the energy moving throughout the event, and in my opinion, helps create a memorable "Concert Experience", as opposed to a random series of songs.
Finally. after all this has been considered, I work out my Introductions to each song. I choose not to write out any more than rough notes, as I want to be able to react to whatever is going on around me (both in the audience and in the Band!). This is a "Live" show, not a "Canned one", and for me, that's a lot more fun, too!
After all of that, I always need to remind myself that "No plan survives the heat of battle", and that's fine. Flexibility is all part of the experience, and spontaneity is part of playong Jazz anyway!
So, there you go! That was probably way more than you wanted or needed to know, so just get out to one of our events and forget all of this stuff!! :-)
Keep Swingin',
Jim
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