Chatter is everywhere when the band gathers each week for rehearsal at the Bowen House. News, gossip, jokes. But the best conversations usually don’t involve words at all.
The Flood Zone — like most tight-knit groups of friends — has developed its own language. It is a shorthand in which a grin and a nod could mean, “Wow — great solo. Cool new stuff!” while a shrug and a chuckle could tell everyone, “Oops — sorry about that, guys. Coulda sworn I knew what key we’re in!”
But beyond gestures and facial expressions, the nouns and verbs of this wordless patter are notes and chords, rhythms and rests. This track from last week’s practice session is a perfect example.
Anatomy of a Groove
Regularly proclaiming rehearsal as the best night of the week, Charlie Bowen usually tries to help things along with his choice of the opening warmup tune of the evening. His selection this time was a jaunty old jazz standard.
Immediately, Danny Cox responds. Listen closely and you might hear the grins sailing around the room as his band mates enjoy the guitarist’s finding cool new twists in the nooks and crannies of the old familiar tune.
Jack Nuckols is the first to pick up on it, and right away he answers with innovations of his own, accents with his snare and high-hat cymbals that give the song a fresh shuffle.
Meanwhile, Randy Hamilton, whose solid bass line is the reliably rich and warm current under all the Flood repertoire, replies with a wink and nod — uh-huh — when asked if he’d that like a turn at the solos.
The infectious joy of this frolic in the Floodisphere is summed up in Bowen’s laughing out loud at himself when he grandly muffs the lyrics at one turn in the tune.
The point of it all is that, as in the spoken world, the best musical conversationalists are those who also know how to listen.
About the Song
The vehicle for this outing is Walter Donaldson’s jazz classic “My Blue Heaven,” which was introduced to the world by Eddie Cantor in the Ziegfeld Follies back in 1927, a year before it was a hit for crooner Gene Austin who sold a whopping five million copies of his rendition.
For the story behind this fascinating old tune, see our earlier Flood Watch report by clicking here.
More from This Year?
Finally, if you’d like to hear more of the musical conversations emanating from the Bowen House nowadays, check the 2024 edition of the Radio Floodango free music streaming service.
Conversations in 4/4 Time