Several years ago, some member (I think it may have been Gary Diamond) mentioned that he would continue to play as long as his rhythm held up (or something to that effect). The statement really alarmed me and obviously stayed with me, as I'd never thought about the effects of age on one's sense of rhythm. But it was enough to start me monitoring myself to see if what I'd always considered to be my "superb sense of rhythm" was starting to be compromised by age. And if so, what other "digital artifacts" age had added to my playing.

Re-entering the world of gigging only strengthened my paranoia, particularly since I was doing all the bass parts (organ trio). Our drummer, though very competent (with flashes of brilliance) plays very complex and sophisticated jazz patterns and does not always provide that rock solid "backbeat" that I'm used to when playing "fatback" jazz organ. I notice that I don't tend to have this problem when playing piano with drums and bass player. The solution may be to find a more conventional drummer but I suspect that part of the problem is my declining sense of rhythm brought about by age.

True, I have arthritis in practically every joint but this doesn't seem to have hampered my finger speed; hand speed, yes, but not finger speed.

Other things I've noticed is more mistakes, ie. one note in a chord will be off because a finger position wasn't "true". Harder to learn new tunes (not much of a problem as we do all standards) and harder to accurately recall old ones. Of course the more you dwell on it, the worse you get.

With the rhythm thing, I've never been able to tell if spending a lot of time playing arranger keyboards (or with a drum machine) actually helps or hurts. The arranger is especially adept at covering up small glitches, especially on (let me impress you) solos 'cause it's not going to lose the groove just because you did .

Still, I keep thinking of guys like Horowitz and Rubinstein and even Eubie Blake that played on into their 80's and 90's. So, I was just wondering; has anybody else noticed any ill effects of aging on their playing and if so, at what age, how did it effect you, how did you respond to it, and has/will it discourage you from continuing to play out.

chas (the concerned)

What was the question?

Ok, Attention Deficit Disorder. Anything else?

Like a fine wine !!



Although , I too sometimes feel it in the morning

Gary

Actually, I'm 57 and retired. I haven't gotten to that stage yet where I feel my playing is affected. I play and sing regularly in church so my chops and voice are pretty decent. I do find that my bandmates of the same approximate age, though, have slowed up a bit. The guitarist, mainly because of our layoff, is a little rusty, but not permanently. The sax guy, on the other hand, has really lost a lot of his voice and chops. His hearing is going too. I feel luck I can still play and sing almost everything by heart. Can't say much for lugging equipment around. Way too heavy (me) and out of shape.

Chas, excellent subject!
I'm 68 and here's my take:
-everyone takes me for 8-12 years younger but still that becomes a negative in the marketplace.
of course very young and very old sell best, so in a few years, especially if i start to look my age, i'll be more in demand. yeah, right.
-can't cut those 4/5 hour late night gigs anymore. but that fits in with the trend today for shorter earlier gigs. but the morning after any gig I'm wiped. owwwww!
-have increasing impatience for shlepping, setup, breakdown, lifting, etc. don't want to put anything in/out of cases, don't want to set up speaker stands, don't want a lot of components, don't want to lift anything over 30 lbs except amp on/off suv and then roll it, keep all cables
bungeed to amp and plugged in to amp for easy setup.
-not a pianist and never gigged on a real piano but still I hate that i had to sell my Steinway A and even my digital Technics 88 because after playing a weighted action for just 10 minutes my hands start to really hurt me and i gotta stop. arthritis? tendinitis? age? whatever, sucks!

-now for the good part:
- i NEVER practice. on saxes i never take them out until i get to a jam , sit-in , or gig (and i don't hustle sax gigs these days). what is weird, really really weird, is that my
playing just keeps getting better and better. go figure.
-i rarely practice my singing. the price i pay for that is
that it can now take a few tunes on a gig before i can
get a good vocal groove going-when i do get the groove going, i sing better than ever. go figure that, too.
-i spend a lot of time on my arranger, but not to practice.
i just play, play, play, fool with styles, tweak sounds, try
different setups, etc. keeps my mind and chops sharp. it makes sense i'd get better at this since i've only been at
it 7 years. but still my age has not impeded me.

I'm something of an aficionado of jazz and standards singers, and i've noticed that some get better with age
while others hit a peak in early middle age and then fall
sharply off. I have no idea why this is so, but here are
examples of those that just kept getting better:
Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Mel Torme, Eartha Kitt. here are some that fell off: Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como. there are many more in the falling off with age category than the better
and better category. I think it' s possibly just a matter
of luck and so I feel blessed to be in the age-improved
category (at least up to now) ONE NEVER KNOWS, DO ONE?
- I saw 85-yr-old drummer Roy Haynes recently kickin butt of his young phenom band. Hank Jones is pushing
90 and still playing his ass off. so there's hope.
-MUSIC KEEPS YOU YOUNG! ( we hope) later...



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Miami Mo

Not yet, at least as much as I can recall. knock on wood.

Scott

The playing and singing are staying right up there. BTW I'm 57. Where I find I'm slowing down is in how much I can do in a day. If I have a double or triple, I'm really feeling it these days. Other than that, everything else works just fine.

Ciao,

Joe

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Songman55
Joe Ayala

Mo, too bad you're so far away. You sound like my evil twin . I can relate to practically everything you said. The first hour or so, the a gig is fun; after that, unless it's one of those magical nights where everything comes together (the groove, the crowd), the rest of the night can be just short of drudgery.

Glad to see someone mention the old master, Hank Jones, arguably one of the most tasteful of all the jazz pianist. There are elements of his solo on Autumn Leaves (w/Miles Davis) in nearly everything I play (on piano). "The man just played so pretty" (Oscar Peterson referring to Nat Cole). I don't agree with you on Billie, though. Although the voice was gone, her later stuff with Peterson and Jazz at the Philharmonic had a poignancy and haunting quality that set the stage for all "stylist" that came later. Matter of taste, I guess. Still, I'm impressed. Along with Capt. Russ, you guys really know your jazz history.

Glad the age thing isn't impacting you too much. I'm starting to wonder about myself. Try this experiment. Start jamming with your arranger, then shut down the volume and keep playing. Turn it back on after a few bars and see if you're still in time. You may be suprised.

chas

I too am 57 and most think I'm in my 40's I have more energy, stamina and brainpower than ever before. I memorize everything I play and receive comments about that. I am very fortunate that I've taken care of myself, not drank much, eaten correctly, never smoked and always worked out (treadmill, weights and my favorite daily saunas).

I can set up and tear down in 5 minutes and go like crazy all day and night.

In addition to playing almost 70 times in October, I run my independent outside chemical sales business for a French company (3 states). Next year I'll drop off to only 25 - 30x per month to spend more sales time.

Thank you dear Lord. HE is the only one who can predict my days ahead, but I plan to make the most of what I've been blessed with.

zuki