Thinking in Jazz

by Berliner, Paul F.

  20. Louis Bellson recalls Duke Ellington’s use of programmatic imagery in providing instruction, suggesting that he playa drum solo “imitat[ing] thunder and lightning.... He knew how to explain things; he knew how to put everything in its certain context so that you were always aware of what was going on.” Clark 1977, 12.

  21. Europe quoted in Anon. 1919, 28.

  22. St. Cyr quoted in Lomax 1950, 194–95.

  23. Holiday reference to Basie and her own directions for arrangements in Holiday 1969, 61–62, 59.

  24. Ellington quoted by Richard Boyer in Austin 1966, 287.

  25. Ellington quoted in Shapiro and Hentoff 1966, 225.

  26. Golson’s account is in Blakey, video 1987.

  27. Holiday describes her practice in The Sound of Jazz (video compilation 1957).

  28. “You Are My Everything” is on Davis, rec. 1956d.

  29. Whereas Chuck Israels recalls extensive plans for chord progressions—as well as the beginning, middle, and ending of pieces—when he performed with Evans, Evans informs Gregory Smith (1983, 59–60) that his regular trio rarely rehearsed for recording sessions, but would “layout a routine” at the studio and perform an extemporaneous arrangement. Similarly, although some artists recall the importance of detailed instructions during rehearsals when performing with Miles Davis, “Philly” Joe Jones reported that “we’d call a rehearsal but we never rehearsed all those years. We’[d] talk about the tunes at rehearsal but never play them.” Mansfield interview, cited in Stewart 1986, 187.

  30. Roach on Gillespie is in Gillespie 1979, 398.

  31. For a discussion of Coltrane’s directing role on the album Ascension, see Jost 1975, 88.

  32. Wells on Young is in Wells 1971, 62.

  33. Mention of Mingus’s verbal practices of directing is in Priestly 1982, 80.

  34. Byard quotation is in Monson 1991, 253–54, 257.

  35. For a detailed analysis of Morton’s arrangements, see Schuller 1968, 134–74. An analysis of multiple recorded renditions of pieces by the Creole Jazz Band indicates that the “content and form” of the front line’s “distinct but strongly interrelated polyphonic lines” represent largely fixed features of head arrangements with little improvisation or “spontaneous creation of ‘new’ material.” Rather, “frequent small scale variation occurs, with details changing while functions and essential structures remain the same.” Robert Bowman 1982, v. This is congruent with Johnny St. Cyr’s recollections of Oliver: “See, Joe, he got on the strictly legitimate side when he got to recording. It had to be just so with him and that cause the men to be working under a tension and they couldn’t give vent to their feelings, as they would like to.” Lomax 1950, 195.

  36. Count Basie arrangements discussed in Porter 1985b, 40.

  37. In the context of this study, I am using the term ‘scension band” to refer to the group of musicians with whom Coltrane recorded his album Ascension. Coltrane, rec. 1965.

  38. Practices in Charles Mingus’s bands similar to Lateef’s are described by Priestly 1982, 59.

  39. For an elaboration of the diverse practices of avant-garde jazz composition and improvisation, as well as the concepts behind them, see Such 1985, Radano 1985, Guralnik 1987, Jost 1975, and Wilmer 1977.

  12. Adding to Arrangements

  1. Although featured in early jazz groups and in those of the late twenties, the bass was commonly replaced by the tuba in the early twenties during the “era of acoustic recording.” Subsequently, the development of “electrical recording techniques” enabled the bass to be heard more clearly on recordings, contributing to the instrument’s resurgence of popularity. Shipton 1988, 302. Bassist Paul Barbarin recollects the tuba coming into jazz in 1922 (Barbarin interview transcript, page 14, Tulane Jazz Oral History Project, William Ranson Hogan Jazz Archive, Tulane University, New Orleans. This data is from the research of Ingrid Monson). The bass’s subsequent popularity was also the consequence of the growing taste for a “new kind of swing” that the instrument could produce with its lighter sound. Zardis, video 1993. Finally, within the variable constitution of early jazz bands, the choice of bass or tuba was also obviously influenced by the overall instrumentation of the group (i.e., a brass band would cover the sound of the string bass) and the nature of the social functions for which it performed (e.g., whether it was a stationary group performing for parties and dances or a marching group performing for funerals or parades).

  2. Shipton 1988, 302.

  3. Quotations on slap-bass technique from Bertram Turetzky in Foster 1971, xvi.

  4. Ibid., 76.

  5. Rudi Blesh’s observations on Foster’s countermelodies in ibid., xix.

  6. Reference to Mingus and the changing role of the bass is in Shipton 188, 302. Milt Hinton demonstrates various styles of bass accompaniment in Zardis, video 1993.

  7. Examples of method books for bass by jazz musicians are Reid (1977, 1983) and Davis (1976). Examples of transcribed bass lines, piano comping parts, and drum accompaniments can be found in the Jamey Aebersold and Advance Music catalogues (addresses provided in chapter 6, note 34).

  8. Reference to nineteenth-century antecedent of drum sets is from Brown 1988, 308.

  9. Ibid., 310.

  10. Ibid., 311–12.

  11. Ibid., 312. In the passages that follow, I give a synopsis of Brown’s useful overview. For an elaboration of the early history of jazz drumming, see also Brown 1976.

  12. Quotation regarding fills is from Witmer 1988a, 375.

  13. Brown 1988, 313.

  14. Gridley 1985, 91.

  15. Brown 1988, 314.

  16. Carvin quoted in Monson 1991, 146, 151.

  17. Ibid., 152–53. Monson reports that two-beat drum fills, taught to her as the drummer’s “bread and butter,” commonly conclude with the “strong articulation of the downbeat of the measure it leads into.”

  18. Figures used for this purpose are also known as “set-up figures” by some drummers. In rarer instances, I have heard drummers refer to them as turnaround figures (RSJ) because of their association with the turnaround sections of pieces’ forms.

  19. One aural analysis of group interaction describes drummer Bill Goodwin “reserv[ing] a heavier fill using bass drum and tom-toms to accent the end of the larger formal unit, the chorus.” Rinzler 1988, 158.

  20. Gillespie describes this in his conversation with pianist Walter Davis Jr. in Blakey, video 1987.

  21. Kay quotation from Balliett 1971, 166.

  22. Quotations on “Philly lick” in Davis, 1990, 199.

  23. The piano’s role elaborated in this chapter is, in some groups, fulfilled or rein-forced by another chording instrument such as vibraphone, banjo, or guitar. The variable place of the piano with respect to the latter two instruments in early jazz rhythm sections reflected such factors as the type and size of different groups, the particular contexts in which musicians performed jazz, the changing tastes of the public, the role of the recording industry, and social attitudes toward particular instruments. Some accounts by New Orleans players suggest that the piano was initially featured as a solo instrument in the red light district of Storyville, then gradually found its way into ensembles where it became an integral part of the rhythm section. Bassist Paul Barbarin recalls the piano joining the more conventional rhythm section of drums, guitar, and bass around 1915. Beyond the new musical challenges of accommodating the piano, Barbarin was uncomfortable with the new change because of the piano’s association with the red light district. Guitarist and banjo player Johnny St. Cyr remembers a recording session date in which the record company requested piano instead of guitar or banjo.

  Guitarist, mandolin and banjo player Clearance “Little Dad” Vincent reports that the piano was only used for indoors performances; orchestras that performed for popular events like outside parties favored guitar and banjo. He relates that some male players had an aversion to the piano because it was considered a women’s instrument and a “sissy” instrument, one
associated with homosexuality on the part of male performers. It was not uncommon for wives of the musicians to play the instrument as an addition to the group. With respect to the role of the banjo within the rhythm section, Vincent asserts that neither he nor St. Cyr wanted to play the instrument, but that they did so to meet the public demand for it. For this rich data, I am largely indebted to the research of Ingrid Monson. The source for interviews with players mentioned above is the Tulane Jazz Oral History Project, William Ranson Hogan Jazz Archive, Tulane University, New Orleans. See also Zardis, video 1993.

  24. Koch 1988, 313.

  25. Ibid., 314.

  26. Ibid., 313.

  27. Performance recalled by Jones is on Coltrane, video 1985.

  28. Byrd shared his view of rock drummers with me in a conversation in New York City, Summer 1986. See also Byrd’s collaboration with hip-hop vocalist Guru on Guru, rec, 1993.

  29. Hawkins’s remarks recalled by Budd Johnson in Gitler, 1985, 122.

  30. Over the history of jazz, particular pieces have served as exceptionally flexible vehicles, providing the framework for improvisations in styles that preceded and followed the style in vogue when the piece was composed. “What Is This Thing Called Love?” has served as the basis for improvisations ranging from solo stride piano to swing, bebop, and free jazz. Kernfeld 1988b, 555.

  31. Transcription and analysis of the band’s comparatively conservative interplay on “I Thought about You” appears later in this work. See ex. 13.25. For insightful accounts of this historic group, see also Carr 1984, 134–68 and Davis 1990, 271–80.

  32. Michael Carvin’s observation of the innovative drumming concepts introduced by Tony Williams in Miles Davis’s band is in Monson 1991, 148.

  33. Hancock quotation is on Davis, video 1986.

  34. Miles Davis recalls asking Red Garland to play like Ahmad Jamal at times, that is, using space and performing spare rhythmic patterns. Williams 1962, 166.

  35. Gillespie’s comments on Blakey, video 1987.

  36. This can be a sensitive issue unless artists are inclined to absorb the influences of their predecessors. When Lester Young followed Coleman Hawkins in the Fletcher Henderson band, he resisted the pressure he faced from the other members and from Henderson’s wife to “play like [Hawkins] did,” and was eventually replaced by a “Hawk man,” Ben Webster. Hentoff 1956, 9.

  37. Eckstine quotation is in Feather 1984.

  38. Davis’s comments on Davis, video 1986. Wayne Shorter and Art Blakey recall the egg-scrambler story on Blakey, video 1987.

  39. These are matters of taste, of course. Although Billy Taylor once described to me his adherence to this principle, others describe deviating from it. Barry Harris does not try to avoid the piano’s lower register. In fact, Coleman Hawkins used to request that Harris provide “more bottom” in his comping when they performed together.

  40. Morton quotation in Lomax 1950, 63.

  41. Byard discusses his view in Monson 1991, 253.

  13. Give and Take

  1. Only a few works have been devoted to the important features of group interaction in jazz improvisation. The most valuable is research presented in Monson’s dissertation (1991), an ethnomusicological study based in part on interviews with fourteen professional jazz musicians. Monson’s findings complement my own, providing rich data that amplifies the musical roles of the rhythm section instruments and the nature of collective improvisation. She situates her analysis within the framework of relevant issues in anthropology and interactional sociolinguistics. Other relevant works include articles by Keil (1966b), Rinzler (1988), and Stewart (1986). The last includes useful scores of group interplay, as do the dissertations of Owens (1974, 2:142–54, 207–31, 256–71, 279–306) and Kernfeld (1981, 270–77, 298–302). The subject has also been noted in Schuller 1968, 110; Schuller 1989, 234–35; Tirro 1974, 278–88; Jost 1975, 15–16; Gridley 1985, 26; Gushee 1981, 159; and Porter 1985a, 606–7.

  2. Striking a groove is also known as playing “in the pocket” (DF). For an early discussion of the importance of such matters as the rhythm section’s “build[ing] a groove or track for the soloist to get into,” see Keil 1966b, 341. A recent dissertation elaborates upon the concept of ‘groove’ and its emotional impact—emphasizing its qualities as a rhythmic pattern “collectively put forth by the individual parts played by the rhythm section instruments.” The concept has broad application with reference to distinct repertory genres (swing grooves vs. Latin grooves), as well as “to certain bands or individuals.” Monson 1991, 111, 166–69.

  3. Keil (1966b, 343–44) suggests models for the complementary meshing of parts by drummers and bass players that encompass different approaches to the beat’s interpretation. An example of playalong records for rhythm section instruments is Music Minus One’s 1970 production, Modern Jazz Drumming (MMO 4001), which includes Jim Chapin’s early drum manual (1948) as its accompanying booklet.

  4. Monson 1991, 237.

  5. Ibid., 151.

  6. See also ex. 13.13 for bass player and piano player harmonic interaction in relation to the soloist.

  7. For a documentation of similar interaction, describing Alan Dawson’s anticipating and reinforcing soloist Tucker’s “continuing triplet rhythms ... by playing a triplet-based fill between the snare, tom-toms and bass drum,” see Monson 1991, 238. A description of Bill Goodwin responding to Phil Woods’s use of double time in his solo by temporarily switching to double-time patterns in the accompaniment is in Rinzler 1988, 158.

  8. Concern with such features of drumming extend back to early players like Baby Dodds, who “was a percussionist more than a drummer. He thought of drums in terms of colors, and how to mix them. He was fanatical about tuning his drums, and he’d be on the stand a half-hour before showtime, tightening and tapping.” Bob Wilbur in Balliett 1977, 245. For a discussion of the sensitivity of contemporary drummers to the peculiar tonal and timbral qualities of the drum set instruments and their blend with features of the group’s melodic and harmonic musical fabric, see Monson 1991, 156–58. One analyst describes “Philly” Joe Jones’s imitative idiomatic response to a melodic phrase by Miles Davis, in which Jones initially “moves from the high-pitched instruments of his drum set to the low.” Then he transforms the pattern by eliminating particular rhythmic elements and reorchestrating others among the drum set’s instruments, which he gradually reduces to ride cymbal and snare drum. Stewart 1986, 188.

  9. Freddie Greene quoted in Shapiro and Hentoff 1966, 305.

  10. Monson 1991, 123.

  11. The quotation is from a musician in Sawyer 1991, 9. A description of one pianist’s development as a listener within a group aptly likens the challenge of carrying on multiple operations in this context to Charlie Chaplin’s hilarious misadventures on the assembly line depicted in the film Modern Times. Sudnow 1978, 30.

  12. These can reappear in different players’ solos or across the parts. An example is the shout pattern that recurs on different Miles Davis albums during the forties, fifties, and early sixties, not only in Davis’s solos and in a version of the group’s piece “The Theme,” but in solos by other group members such as Red Garland and Paul Chambers (ex. 8.14). See also discussion in main body of text and example commentary surrounding exx. 13.4a, 13.10b1, 13. lld2, and 13.17b.

  13. Roland Hanna quotation is in Monson 1991, 139.

  14. Ibid., 252.

  15. Terence Blanchard quotation in Blakey, video 1987.

  16. Bobby Watson in ibid.

  17. Floyd (1991, 277) discusses the “semantic” aspects of phrases in connection with “the values, sensibilities, and cultural derivations of the ring [shout].”

  18. One scholar describes ironic humor created through harmony by Eric Dolphy’s dissonant solo over “consonant rhythm changes” and the musical incongruity created during Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s parody of avant-garde composer Edgar Varese. Kirk “count[s] the band in with castanets” after breaking a glass in his composition, borrowing
a sonority from Varese’s “Poeme electronique?’ She appropriately observes that, for analysts, the meaning in such musical events can only be appreciated by analyzing “intermusical relationships” that are potentially “communicated through the full sonic range of the ensemble: rhythm, harmony, melody, timbre, groove, phrasing and gesture of all the participating musicians.” Monson 1991, 214–15, 219, 221.

  19. Freddie Green commented about Basie in Shapiro and Hentoff 1966, 305.

  20. For transcriptions and discussions of the “connecting” phrase as a fleeting transition and other such exchanges in which the “pianist seizes upon Mulligan’s last utterance, repeats it, adds to it something of his own, and uses that as his initial idea,” see Byrnside 1975, 242. Within the same performing context, practices like this allow for the absorption of ideas across generational lines. See reference to Red Norvo using the last phrase of Gillespie’s preceding chorus as recurring theme, unifying his own solo, Wang 1973, 541–42.

  21. Pee Wee Russell explains, “In lots of cases, your solo depends on who you’re following. The guy played a great chorus, you say to yourself. ‘How am I going to follow that? I applaud him inwardly, and it becomes a matter of silent pride. Not jealous, mind you. A kind of competition. So I make myself a guinea pig—what the hell, I’ll try something new.” Balliett 1977, 90. The interest in variety may also suggest that successive soloists adopt different strategies for their treatment of the melody, for example, avoiding direct quotations of the melody if the previous soloist has exploited this approach. Kernfeld 1988b, 557.

  22. The concern with balancing continuity and change can play itself out in endless ways between musicians. In one performance, Sonny Rollins returned to his earlier thematic material after the contrast provided by Max Roach’s solo, “build[ing] a kind of frame around the drum solo,” and subsequently Roach used thematic material from his drum solo within the context of his accompaniment of Rollins’s ongoing solo performance. Schuller 1962, 244, 248.

  23. For a penetrating analysis of these interactive and collaborate aspects of performance leading to musical intensification, see Monson 1991, 230–62.