Someone asked me that a couple of weeks ago, so here's the answer...
I've been checking out a variety of things lately as I gather information and inspiration for a new project. Lately I've really enjoyed listening to smaller-sized jazz ensembles, like the New Jazz Composers Octet. You have to think differently to write for a smaller group such as this - although it's easy to get more subtlety, it's way harder to get those big ensemble moments. This NCJO chart, "The Turning Gate," succeeds on both counts.
How about the Dave Holland Octet? Dave is a world-renowned bassist and composer; you can check out his exceptionally cool website. Over the last couple of years he's been active with a big band and an octet. Here's the octet performing "How's Never" at this year's Detroit Jazz Festival. Even his big band is a bit smaller than standard, with six brass, four saxes, and vibes instead of piano in the rhythm section: here's "Upswing."
Most of the time I'm arranging something; composing is a lot more work! So I'm studying these pieces and others like them as I try to get more into a composer's frame of mind. Bob Brookmeyer is always in a composer's frame of mind, whether he's writing or performing on valve trombone. I don't hear many school jazz ensembles playing Bob's stuff; it can be very demanding on the chops, and most of his work requires mature soloists to pull off. "Get Well Soon" is from a recent recording by his New Art Orchestra. I first heard this band on their recording "New Works," and much of this CD is taken up by the three-part "Celebration" suite which he wrote for Gerry Mulligan several years ago. I think I kept that CD in my car for six months and listened to it every day!
Lately I've also been quite into the Yellowjackets. Not a straightahead jazz group to be sure, unless your definition of "straightahead jazz group" means a band that plays with passion, eclecticism, and swing (even on straight-8th tunes). A local band teacher (thanks Tadd!) wanted to commission a piece from me, and during our discussions of material he suggested I check out the Yellowjackets' "Mint Jam." So that's been in my car for the last six months. Here's a poorly reproduced video clip of one of the cuts from that recording, "Tortoise and the Hare." That's written by the keyboardist, Russell Ferrante, and if you haven't checked out tenor player Bob Mintzer before, you should. He's also a composer/arranger, and you can really hear him composing while he plays - his lines are that logical.
That's a good cross-section of stuff. There's a lot of great improvisation in these recordings, but my focus is more on the tunes themselves and on how the writers turned them into great ensemble pieces. I hope to get my new project off the ground in 12-18 months...
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Big Bands: Count Basie Orchestra and the VJO
Hello! This week let's spend some time checking out a couple of large jazz ensembles. Let's start with the big band that really serves as the model for school jazz bands today - the Count Basie Orchestra. Here's a live performance from 1981, on Duke Ellington's "In a Mellow Tone."
Pay attention to the overall dynamics of the band through this performance. There are spots when the band is whisper-quiet, and of course there are spots where the band is playing so strongly you'd think the walls are shaking. I think one of the keys to making your big band sound great is the ability to play super-soft as well as super-strong. Can your band play the quiet stuff just as well as the shout choruses? And dig that saxophone soli!
From the same performance, here's Sweet Georgia Brown - it's the same arrangement by Sammy Nestico that many of you may have played with your own groups. Listen to the horn soli starting at 2:20, right after the tenor solo...can you hear how the horns are really punching the dynamics up as the line goes higher, and putting a little decrescendo on the line as it goes lower? And check out how the band doesn't sound like it's at full volume through here - that "power on demand" is saved for the horn punches behind the little solo breaks, first with unison saxes and then with the Count himself a bit later.
In a big band, it's not always necessary to play at full volume in a shout chorus. The most important thing is to make sure the melody line swings - that it's played cleanly in every part, that everyone in the sections follows the lead players, and that the lead players know enough about jazz phrasing to shape those lines just like the players in Basie's band.
And now let's listen to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Named for their weekly venue in New York City, the famous Village Vanguard jazz club, the VJO is arguably the model for many college, university, and pro bands. The VJO's book of charts includes pieces from the greatest big band writers in the world, including Thad Jones, Bob Brookmeyer, Bill Holman, and Jim McNeely to name a few. You need to know your stuff to make your band sound like the VJO!
Here's the band at the Hague Jazz Festival in 2008, performing Herbie Hancock's tune Eye of the Hurricane. Listen to the difference between the two tenor soloists - that's Ivan Renta up first, followed by one of my favorite tenor players, Rich Perry. Renta goes straight into some very driving work, with streams of long phrases; Perry starts off a lot more obliquely, with out-of-time phrases - the rhythm section plays a little more outside at first, in support of the mood he wants to set. The ensemble stuff is strong throughout - you can tell this chart isn't meant to be subtle.
And then there's Mean What You Say, an original tune by Thad Jones, one of the founders of the band back in 1965. Solos are by Michael Weiss (piano), Scott Wendholt (trumpet), and Ralph LaLama (tenor). Check out the out chorus (starting at 9:20) - same emphasis on making the melody line swing as I mentioned before, only the VJO is at full volume here because the chart calls for it.
You can hear more of the VJO on its YouTube channel or website. Check it out!
Pay attention to the overall dynamics of the band through this performance. There are spots when the band is whisper-quiet, and of course there are spots where the band is playing so strongly you'd think the walls are shaking. I think one of the keys to making your big band sound great is the ability to play super-soft as well as super-strong. Can your band play the quiet stuff just as well as the shout choruses? And dig that saxophone soli!
From the same performance, here's Sweet Georgia Brown - it's the same arrangement by Sammy Nestico that many of you may have played with your own groups. Listen to the horn soli starting at 2:20, right after the tenor solo...can you hear how the horns are really punching the dynamics up as the line goes higher, and putting a little decrescendo on the line as it goes lower? And check out how the band doesn't sound like it's at full volume through here - that "power on demand" is saved for the horn punches behind the little solo breaks, first with unison saxes and then with the Count himself a bit later.
In a big band, it's not always necessary to play at full volume in a shout chorus. The most important thing is to make sure the melody line swings - that it's played cleanly in every part, that everyone in the sections follows the lead players, and that the lead players know enough about jazz phrasing to shape those lines just like the players in Basie's band.
And now let's listen to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Named for their weekly venue in New York City, the famous Village Vanguard jazz club, the VJO is arguably the model for many college, university, and pro bands. The VJO's book of charts includes pieces from the greatest big band writers in the world, including Thad Jones, Bob Brookmeyer, Bill Holman, and Jim McNeely to name a few. You need to know your stuff to make your band sound like the VJO!
Here's the band at the Hague Jazz Festival in 2008, performing Herbie Hancock's tune Eye of the Hurricane. Listen to the difference between the two tenor soloists - that's Ivan Renta up first, followed by one of my favorite tenor players, Rich Perry. Renta goes straight into some very driving work, with streams of long phrases; Perry starts off a lot more obliquely, with out-of-time phrases - the rhythm section plays a little more outside at first, in support of the mood he wants to set. The ensemble stuff is strong throughout - you can tell this chart isn't meant to be subtle.
And then there's Mean What You Say, an original tune by Thad Jones, one of the founders of the band back in 1965. Solos are by Michael Weiss (piano), Scott Wendholt (trumpet), and Ralph LaLama (tenor). Check out the out chorus (starting at 9:20) - same emphasis on making the melody line swing as I mentioned before, only the VJO is at full volume here because the chart calls for it.
You can hear more of the VJO on its YouTube channel or website. Check it out!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Appointment in Ghana - Jackie McLean
Hello! Let's check out another all-star group including Jackie McLean on alto, Woody Shaw on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. The tune is McLean's hard bopper "Appointment in Ghana."
Check out the differences between the soloists: on this recording, McLean and Shaw tend to play shorter phrases (mostly 4 bars or less, a few longer than that) and to reuse little melodic bits within each phrase. Did you catch how Shaw starts his solo with the last little fragment of McLean's solo (at about 2:45-2:55 or so) and runs with that phrase for awhile?
McBee plays busy lines for most of his two choruses, but anchors each chorus by just playing the harmony in the last few bars each time, with longer note values for contrast. Tyner plays shorter phrases like McLean and Shaw before him - but listen to his trademark left-hand chording, which almost never stops, driving the harmony to new places and providing lots of energy upon which to build his melody lines.
Pro jazz players have learned enough different things to play during a solo that they can choose whatever is right for the current moment. For example, a soloist might choose to use many notes in a short span, or to use only a few notes in the same amount of time for a different effect. Or it could be to stay in a low register for a length of time, and to leave that register only after the end of the first section or chorus. A player might play "outside" only after deciding there's no more "inside" left to explore.
There are literally a gazillion choices to make! And those choices help determine your musical signature or personality. But when you're a young player who's still learning this music, how do you decide what to do?
John Moak is a tremendously gifted trombonist I know in the Portland OR area. We were on a jazz festival gig, and I asked him what advice he gives to young soloists trying to decide what to play during a solo. John asks them, "What's your plan?" In other words, what are you going to do during your solo? Are you going to play 2-bar phrases or 4-bar phrases? when you want to "peak" with the most intensity - how will you do that? Are you hip enough to the harmony of the tune that you'll know when to play certain notes that work really well - or maybe notes that will create dissonance because you want that dissonance? John thinks young players should at least have an idea of what to do in a specific solo before playing it.
I agree with John - it's absolutely OK to plan this sort of thing if you're young and still learning this music. As I've said earlier, it takes a fair amount of time to learn all the ropes, and the more listening and copying you do on a consistent basis, the quicker you'll get there.
For example, you might choose to use the blues scale for a blues solo, but use only 4-bar phrases that start on different notes each time. You might decide to play all your phrases in a specific rhythmic pattern. Anything you can think of that you can execute consistently and on purpose is fair game. Remember, one of the goals of soloing is for every note you play to be a note that you meant. Great solos don't happen by accident!
Check out the differences between the soloists: on this recording, McLean and Shaw tend to play shorter phrases (mostly 4 bars or less, a few longer than that) and to reuse little melodic bits within each phrase. Did you catch how Shaw starts his solo with the last little fragment of McLean's solo (at about 2:45-2:55 or so) and runs with that phrase for awhile?
McBee plays busy lines for most of his two choruses, but anchors each chorus by just playing the harmony in the last few bars each time, with longer note values for contrast. Tyner plays shorter phrases like McLean and Shaw before him - but listen to his trademark left-hand chording, which almost never stops, driving the harmony to new places and providing lots of energy upon which to build his melody lines.
Pro jazz players have learned enough different things to play during a solo that they can choose whatever is right for the current moment. For example, a soloist might choose to use many notes in a short span, or to use only a few notes in the same amount of time for a different effect. Or it could be to stay in a low register for a length of time, and to leave that register only after the end of the first section or chorus. A player might play "outside" only after deciding there's no more "inside" left to explore.
There are literally a gazillion choices to make! And those choices help determine your musical signature or personality. But when you're a young player who's still learning this music, how do you decide what to do?
John Moak is a tremendously gifted trombonist I know in the Portland OR area. We were on a jazz festival gig, and I asked him what advice he gives to young soloists trying to decide what to play during a solo. John asks them, "What's your plan?" In other words, what are you going to do during your solo? Are you going to play 2-bar phrases or 4-bar phrases? when you want to "peak" with the most intensity - how will you do that? Are you hip enough to the harmony of the tune that you'll know when to play certain notes that work really well - or maybe notes that will create dissonance because you want that dissonance? John thinks young players should at least have an idea of what to do in a specific solo before playing it.
I agree with John - it's absolutely OK to plan this sort of thing if you're young and still learning this music. As I've said earlier, it takes a fair amount of time to learn all the ropes, and the more listening and copying you do on a consistent basis, the quicker you'll get there.
For example, you might choose to use the blues scale for a blues solo, but use only 4-bar phrases that start on different notes each time. You might decide to play all your phrases in a specific rhythmic pattern. Anything you can think of that you can execute consistently and on purpose is fair game. Remember, one of the goals of soloing is for every note you play to be a note that you meant. Great solos don't happen by accident!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Carl Fontana - Trombone Master
Hello! Tonight let's dig into some Carl Fontana on the standard tune "I Thought About You." Personnel in the trio includes Pim Jacobs (piano), Ruud Jacobs (bass), and Peter Ypma (drums).
Fontana, who passed away in 2003, spent most of his pro career playing in Las Vegas house orchestras - not a bad way to make a living - and didn't start recording as a leader until the mid-80s. But he already had a reputation as a trombonist's trombonist, with unmatched technique and inventive playing. Listen to how fluid Fontana's playing is on this medium-tempo swing tune. Even when he's in the midst of double-time passages, there's no wasted motion. Did you catch his quote from "Peter and the Wolf"?
"I Thought About You" is a great example of a jazz standard. A standard is a tune that you're expected to know by heart as part of the tradition of being a jazz player. And that includes the melody and harmony, and maybe even someone's famous interpretation of the tune that has become the most accepted way to perform the tune. There's not really an official "list" of all the standards you should know, but there are certainly at least two or three hundred that most pro jazz musicians can play from memory. Some players know four or five times more tunes than that!
If you don't have access to a working jazz trio all the time (I sure don't!), then a good way to learn standards is to check the various Jamey Aebersold play-along recordings. I think the Aebersold Vol. 1 book does include a basic list of some standards to get you started. As part of your practice regimen, you should try to learn at least three or four standards a month. Most tunes aren't difficult to commit to memory, but of course it helps to play them as often as you can. If you have trouble deciding where to begin - an easy problem to have - please email me for suggestions, or ask your jazz band director. Get started!
Fontana, who passed away in 2003, spent most of his pro career playing in Las Vegas house orchestras - not a bad way to make a living - and didn't start recording as a leader until the mid-80s. But he already had a reputation as a trombonist's trombonist, with unmatched technique and inventive playing. Listen to how fluid Fontana's playing is on this medium-tempo swing tune. Even when he's in the midst of double-time passages, there's no wasted motion. Did you catch his quote from "Peter and the Wolf"?
"I Thought About You" is a great example of a jazz standard. A standard is a tune that you're expected to know by heart as part of the tradition of being a jazz player. And that includes the melody and harmony, and maybe even someone's famous interpretation of the tune that has become the most accepted way to perform the tune. There's not really an official "list" of all the standards you should know, but there are certainly at least two or three hundred that most pro jazz musicians can play from memory. Some players know four or five times more tunes than that!
If you don't have access to a working jazz trio all the time (I sure don't!), then a good way to learn standards is to check the various Jamey Aebersold play-along recordings. I think the Aebersold Vol. 1 book does include a basic list of some standards to get you started. As part of your practice regimen, you should try to learn at least three or four standards a month. Most tunes aren't difficult to commit to memory, but of course it helps to play them as often as you can. If you have trouble deciding where to begin - an easy problem to have - please email me for suggestions, or ask your jazz band director. Get started!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Cantaloupe Island
Hello! Tonight let's check out one of the greatest "all-star" groups you'll ever hear. This YouTube video is from the "One Night with Blue Note" recording. Blue Note is one of the most famous jazz record companies; back in the 50s and 60s, Blue Note was the hard bop record company. Many of the greatest players of the genre recorded for Blue Note - check out this web site and see the Table of Contents for a list of these artists.
The all-star group for this recording: Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Joe Henderson (tenor), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass), and Tony Wiulliams (drums). The tune is Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island," a straight-8ths tune, and a standard tune today.
All the soloists mix bursts of notes with bluesy motifs on this tune; that mixture is central to playing in a basic hard bop style, and of course there are an infinite number of variations on that mix. Hancock gets the most "outside" during his solo (between about 6:50 and 7:35 or so), in contrast to the more straight ahead work from Hubbard and Henderson. Can you tell the difference? Can you hear the points where Hancock starts to move away from the basic harmony of the tune? The ability to do that is important as a way to build tension during a solo, which is an important skill to master as you learn to play this music. The way you create tension in your lines and the way you relieve that tension is a major part of your musical personality.
We'll talk more about tension-and-release in future posts. For now...just dig this group!
The all-star group for this recording: Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Joe Henderson (tenor), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass), and Tony Wiulliams (drums). The tune is Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island," a straight-8ths tune, and a standard tune today.
All the soloists mix bursts of notes with bluesy motifs on this tune; that mixture is central to playing in a basic hard bop style, and of course there are an infinite number of variations on that mix. Hancock gets the most "outside" during his solo (between about 6:50 and 7:35 or so), in contrast to the more straight ahead work from Hubbard and Henderson. Can you tell the difference? Can you hear the points where Hancock starts to move away from the basic harmony of the tune? The ability to do that is important as a way to build tension during a solo, which is an important skill to master as you learn to play this music. The way you create tension in your lines and the way you relieve that tension is a major part of your musical personality.
We'll talk more about tension-and-release in future posts. For now...just dig this group!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Nick Brignola - Burnin' Baritone!
Hello! I realized I haven't featured a baritone saxophonist yet, which is kind of embarrassing since I'm primarily a baritone player myself. So tonight let's check out a little Nick Brignola.
Brignola has long been considered one of the great bari players; he's well recorded and easily found on iTunes and YouTube. This 1996 video showcases Brignola and his quartet performing the standard tune, "I Remember April." Band includes Phil Markowitz (piano), John Lockwood (bass), and Rick Montalbano (drums).
I'd describe Brignola's playing as fiery. Listen to the way he pushes the melodic lines with a relentless energy; his command of the altissimo on baritone is among the best in the business, although he always uses it musically and not just for show. He also has a true hard bopper's ability to create long, flowing phrases without sounding like he's repeating himself.
There's only one way to describe how to become as great a player as someone like Nick Brignola: practice. I think Charlie Parker once said - I'm paraphrasing here - "You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail."
With all due respect to Bird...that's what it may sound like to the listener, but I think it's not really quite that simple.
When you're soloing, you're making conscious decisions about the shape of the line, the notes you pick, the length of the phrase you're playing at that moment - there are hundreds of decisions you're making on-the-fly as you play a single solo. Practicing your instrument and developing the ability to connect it to your brain really does reduce the amount of time it takes for you to get the musical idea out of your head, out through your fingers, and then out the other end of the horn.
AND...the more stuff you listen to, the more ideas you'll generate on your own...so the faster you can sort through your musical choices, make decisions, and get the ideas out through your instrument, the better your playing will sound.
Enough about practicing! I'm sure you get it by now. Here's one other baritone video to check out - this is Gerry Mulligan with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster on a tune called "Who's Got Rhythm." This is one of Mulligan's most burning solos ever!
Brignola has long been considered one of the great bari players; he's well recorded and easily found on iTunes and YouTube. This 1996 video showcases Brignola and his quartet performing the standard tune, "I Remember April." Band includes Phil Markowitz (piano), John Lockwood (bass), and Rick Montalbano (drums).
I'd describe Brignola's playing as fiery. Listen to the way he pushes the melodic lines with a relentless energy; his command of the altissimo on baritone is among the best in the business, although he always uses it musically and not just for show. He also has a true hard bopper's ability to create long, flowing phrases without sounding like he's repeating himself.
There's only one way to describe how to become as great a player as someone like Nick Brignola: practice. I think Charlie Parker once said - I'm paraphrasing here - "You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail."
With all due respect to Bird...that's what it may sound like to the listener, but I think it's not really quite that simple.
When you're soloing, you're making conscious decisions about the shape of the line, the notes you pick, the length of the phrase you're playing at that moment - there are hundreds of decisions you're making on-the-fly as you play a single solo. Practicing your instrument and developing the ability to connect it to your brain really does reduce the amount of time it takes for you to get the musical idea out of your head, out through your fingers, and then out the other end of the horn.
AND...the more stuff you listen to, the more ideas you'll generate on your own...so the faster you can sort through your musical choices, make decisions, and get the ideas out through your instrument, the better your playing will sound.
Enough about practicing! I'm sure you get it by now. Here's one other baritone video to check out - this is Gerry Mulligan with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster on a tune called "Who's Got Rhythm." This is one of Mulligan's most burning solos ever!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Update tomorrow!
Hello! I spent most of today working on a commission, so I didn't get around to posting any new material. I'll be back tomorrow with more great listening!
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