=Causeway Performing Arts=
GCSE Music AoS 2: Shared Music (vol.4)
JAZZ
in conjunction with www.musicdepartment.info
JAZZ
When you think of Jazz music, what do you imagine?
You might think of a large Big band performing up-beat swing with a whole group of
musicians playing saxophones, trumpets, trombones and percussion. You may picture a
small trio of piano, double bass and drum, performing in a much more laid back style. Or
you may have seen a modern jazz group that has a different combination of instruments.
When you improvise you
create music on the spot,
as you perform. This can
seem like a very daunting
thing to do, but many great
improvisors simply play
around with short, familiar
riffs, scales and chord
patterns that they have
used many times before.
Jazz music encompasses a huge variety of styles and
ensembles. However, there are certain elements that bind many
of these different styles and groups together, the most important
of which is improvisation. Jazz performers in an ensemble will
often take turns to improvise during the course of a piece.
Sometimes the improvisation will be a short break that will last
a few bars in length, before someone else takes over or the
main melody returns (this commonly happens in bigger
ensembles), but at other times a whole piece can be largely
improvised.
When jazz musicians rehearse and perform without music, how do they know what to
play? How do they keep together as an ensemble? How does each player know when to
start improvising, and how do the other players know when that improvisation will finish?
Some of this will be determined in rehearsal (such as the structure of the piece), but other
aspects may only be found out in performance (such as the length of each improvisation).
As a result, jazz musicians have to listen carefully and respond to each other when they
perform. They must understand each otherʼs approach to performing and improvising.
They also have to understand the style of the music, as this often has particular
conventions that should be followed.
Jazz musicians sometimes perform from lead sheets. This is a type of score that provides
you with the melody, chords and basic structure of the piece. All members of the ensemble
know what role their instrument takes and create a part from this lead sheet accordingly.
For example, the drummerʼs role is to provide rhythmic support, so he will improvise
rhythms that are suitable for the style of music. The double bassist outlines the harmony
by playing a bass line that is based around the chords. The lead instrument will play the
melody.
Performing ideas
Try improvising on your own instrument or the keyboard. Take the 12 bar blues as your
starting point. The chord sequence for this, in C major, is:
C-C-C-C
F-F-C-C
G-F-C-C
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If you are a competent keyboard player, play these chords with your left hand.
Otherwise, ask someone else to play the chords for you or record the chord
sequence using one of the many pieces of technology we have in the department.
Try improvising over the top of these chords. To start with, go at a slow tempo and
focus on playing notes that belong to the chords. Then try adding some passing
notes. Donʼt be afraid to leave a lot of space between what you play - it is quiet
common to have rests in improvisation.
Can you use notes form the Blues scale to improvise?
To create an improvisation, a performer might:
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Decorate the melody by adding in extra notes and ornaments.
Change the rhythm of the melody
Take a fragment of the melody and base an improvisation around it
Focus on the harmony - change or develop the chords
Introduce arpeggios and scales
Play around with a short idea or chord sequence
Try to pick out these techniques as you listen to the following two songs.
LOUIS ARMSTRONG: BASIN STREET BLUES
Listen to Louis Armstrongʼs version of Basin Street Blues, recorded in 1928.
The band for this recording is made up of:
•Trumpet
•Trombone
•Clarinet
•Vocals
•Celeste
•Piano
•Banjo
•Double Bass
•Drums
The ensemble is quite clearly divided into two halves: those who play the accompaniment
and those who play the melody. The rhythm section (piano, banjo, double bass and
drums) provide a steady crotchet beat throughout the song, while the celeste, trumpet,
trombone and clarinet improvise around the melody.
Basin Street Blues starts with a solo on the celeste, after which the rest of the band enters
to support the celeste playing the ʻheadʼ (the main theme).
Louis Armstrong then plays a 12 bar chorus on trumpet before
When scat singing, the
the piano comes in with a swaying interlude. This leads into
singer sings nonsense
the vocals, which feature Armstrong scat singing and the other syllables instead of words.
players singing backing harmonies.
Another piano interlude sets up the main event, an improvised trumpet solo by Armstrong.
His opening arpeggiated phrase is followed by a few beats of silence. The phrases that
follow are strongly syncopated and played in the higher part of the trumpet register. The
solo has a vocal quality to it: Armstrong plays the trumpet like he sings (and sings like he
plays the trumpets!). The ensemble joins the trumpet for the final 16 bars, slowly getting
quieter before the celeste is left alone to wind up the performance.
This recording shows how the performance can be led by one person (Armstrong) while at
the same time having important contributions from all the members of the ensemble, who
are just as significant as each other.
For example, during Armstrongʼs vocal solo the two backing singers sing simple sustained
harmonies that allow Armstrong to be very free in his scat singing. A similar approach is
taken by the band when Armstrong improvises on the trumpet. This contrasts with the 12
bar chorus, even though Armstrong is also the soloist here; his part is less showy as he
plays the main melody, and the rest of the band play quicker-moving parts and
countermelodies to fit in with Armstrongʼs trumpet line.
Musicians in an ensemble such as this have
to work very closely together and always be
aware of what each other is doing. As there
is no conductor, they might follow visual or
aural clues from the bandleader. For
example, in jazz the head is usually played
at the start and end of a piece. Jazz
musicians sometimes give other the ʻheadʼ
cue by patting their hand on the top of their
head - which means that everyone should
play the head again.
Things to do
Listen to the improvisation in Basin Street Blues. What techniques are used by the
performers from the list earlier in this booklet? Can you hear any other techniques that
are not mentioned in the list?
DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET: AINʼT MISBEHAVINʼ
In jazz music the same song is often recorded over time by many different
musicians. One such piece is Ainʼt Misbehavinʼ which was written in 1929 and has
been recorded countless times since. Here we will discuss the version by the Dave
Brubeck Quartet with Jimmy Rushing.
The quartet is made up of piano, saxophone, double bass and drums. Jimmy
Rushing adds the vocals. Each member has a clear role within the ensemble:
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The drums keep a steady crotchet pulse, holding the tempo together and
providing a stable, basic rhythm against which the other players can freely
improvise around. The drummer occasionally decorates the steady crotchet
beat with swung rhythms.
The bassist plays a walking bass that largely moves in crotchets with the
drums, outlining the harmony of the music.
The piano adds interest to the accompaniment and helps to build up the
harmony by comping — playing short, simple chords and melodic phrases.
The saxophone improvises around the melody, playing short phrases. It also
helps to fill in the space between each verse by playing brief breaks when
Jimmy Rushing stops singing.
The singer has the main melody.
In a sense the rhythm, harmony and melody are shared out between the different
players, and by working together to combine these three elements the musicians
create a whole piece of music.
The accompanying quartet provides enough rhythmic and harmonic support for the
singer to pull the melody around a bit,but they also keep out of Rushingʼs way- the
texture of the music is thin and simple, allowing the vocal melody to take centre
stage.
Notice how the saxophone doesnʼt play during the piano solo, giving the pianist
space to improvise. The piano solo is also relatively short (eight bars long instead
of the 16 bars that the other soloists have). At the end of the solo, the pianist plays
a two—bar chord progression that clearly leads back into the main melody. It is
possible that this was the pianistʼs signal to tell everyone that his solo was about to
finish after only eight bars, and it was time for the singer to come back in.
Listening ideas
Continue to think about how the accompaniment supports the soloist as you listen
to further pieces of jazz. The following suggestions are by weIl known
contemporary bands:
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Paranoid Android by Brad Mehldau
Tuesday Wonderland by E.S.T.
High Heel Blues by Acoustic Ladyland
Test yourself
1.
2.
3.
What does ʻimprovising' mean? What techniques do performers use to
improvise?
Name the instruments commonly heard in a rhythm section,
Give an example of how the rhythm section supports the soloist in a jazz
ensemble.
Things to do
Make a list of the differences you can think of between performing as a soloist in a
Classical concerto and being a soloist in a jazz ensemble. Which would you find
more demanding? There may be no simple answer to this: both represent quite
different ways of working together as musicians and each will have different
appeals to you.
“Baxter’s top tips”
The first four volumes of this AoS guide has shown that when you are performing it
is always important to get the relationship between the soloist and accompanist
right. For example, the accompanist has to be careful not to play louder than the
soloist — but the soloist has to make sure that they play in time, so the
accompanist can follow them accurately.
If you have no idea what the accompaniment to your piece sounds like until you
play it for a recording, your performance will suffer. If you cannot rehearse with an
accompanist before the performance, make sure you listen to other performances
of the piece so that you are familiar with the accompanying part.
Before you perform you should agree with your accompanist:
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How you are going to start the piece (especially if both of you enter together).
What the tempo is, and whether there are any changes of tempo within the
piece.
What the dynamics are — even if these are marked in the score, you might still
want to decide exactly how quiet or loud your p and f are, and how dramatic
any crescendos or diminuendos will be.
What your interpretation of the music is — are you trying to create a specific
mood?
How the instruments should be balanced — is there any point in the music
when the soloist and accompanist swap roles?
Where the phrases begin and end —this is particularly important if you sing, or
play a wind or brass instrument. The accompanist needs to know where you
want to breathe in the music, so they can slow down slightly when you need
time to do so.