A Level Music

Jazz Scores and Workbook

Jazz Overview

You will study two pieces by three different artists. These pieces will form links

across the genres to help you better answer the Section C questions. The

general vocabulary and terms you need to know to help you answer the Section

A questions.

Louis

Armstrong

Charlie Parker Miles Davis

Genre Traditional Jazz Bebop Hard-bop

Jazz Standard Piece

When The Saints -1938 Decca

Records

Moose The Mooche (based on

I Got Rhythm) – 1946 Dial Records

My Funny Valentine – 1956

Prestige Records

Blues Piece St. Louis Blues–

1929 Okeh Records

Blues For Alice –

1951 Verve Records

Freddie

Freeloader – 1959 Columbia Records

The Blues

Half of the pieces you will study are based on 12-bar blues:

Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4

I I I I

Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8

IV IV I I

Bar 9 Bar 10 Bar 11 Bar 12

V IV I I or V

Write out the chords for a 12-bar blues in Bb Major:

Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4

Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8

Bar 9 Bar 10 Bar 11 Bar 12

JazzharmonyPartofthegreatappealofjazzisitspiquant,spicyharmony.Chordsareoftenmorecomplexwithvariousoptionsforadditionalnotestothethreenotesofastandardtriad.

Theseareoftensignifiedbyacombinationoflettername(fortherootofthechord)andnumbers(representingintervalsabovetherootnote).Forexample:

Thedefaultadditionsassumeaflattened(minor)7th:

Thismeansthatachordwithamajor7thhastobesignifiedeitherby‘maj’or‘Δ’:

Wherethe3rd(andthereforethewholechord)isminor,themostcommonchordnotationis:

The5thcanalsobeflattened,mostcommonlyinthechordofthehalf-diminished7th:

Thefulldiminished7th:

Onthemorecomplexchords(11thand13th)itisusualtoomitsomeofthelower notesinthechord:forinstance,the3rdisftenomittedinachordofthe11th.

TESTYOURSELFNowit’syourturn!Workoutthechordsrequiredinthisprogression.Youcandothisatthepiano,oronmanuscriptpaper…orboth!

LouisArmstrong

TheartistandhiscontextLouisArmstrongisoneofthemostinfluentialfiguresinthehistoryofjazz.The grandsonofslaves,hewasbornintoapoorfamilyinLouisianain1901and grewupinpoverty,spendingmuchofhisfreetimelisteningtobandsinthe brothelsanddancehalls.Mostnotableamongthesewasthebandleaderand cornetplayerJoe‘King’Oliver.

Inaraciallypunitivesociety,Armstrongdevelopedhistrumpetskillsplayinginthe bandoftheNewOrleansHomeforColoredWaifs.Laterheplayedinbrassbands andthenontheriverboatsontheRiverMississippiinFateMarable’sBand,an experiencehelaterdescribedasbeinghisuniversity.Herehelearnedtoreadmusic andbecameoneofthefirstmusicianstobefeaturedinextendedtrumpetsolos.This gavehimtheopportunitytoinjecthisowncharismaticpersonalityintoperformances whichcanbeheardnotjustinhisuniquetrumpetsound,butalsoasavocalist.

In1922ArmstrongleftNewOrleansforthethrivingcityofChicago.Herehe foundedhisband,TheHotFive,in1925;inadditiontoArmstrong’strumpet,this includedclarinet,trombone,banjoandpiano.Theadditionoftubaanddrums sometimesledtoa‘HotSeven’.Amongthegroup’searlyrecordingsare‘Cornet ChopSuey’and‘Hotterthanthat’whichbothfeatureprominentArmstrongsolos,the latter both on trumpet and with scat singing.

Scat was a new jazz way of using the singer’s voice often associated with Ella Fitzgerald – ‘The First Lady of Song’ – using nonsensical syllables in vocal improvisation. In the 1950s Fitzgerald and Armstrong made three albums together.Armstrong enjoyed a long career, playing and touring globally under the sponsorship of the US State Department, until just before before his death in 1971, only a month shy of his 70th birthday. In the first part of his career, the recordings were all singles; from 1951 he released 27 albums.Louis Armstrong was affectionately nicknamed ‘Satchmo’, an abbreviation of‘satchel mouth’, because of his particularly flexible facial muscles when playing the trumpet. His distinctive gravelly voice is a hallmark of his style, and is very easy to identify.

When The Saints Go Marching In - Louis Armstrong

‘St.LouisBlues’‘St.LouisBlues’(1925)wasinitiallypublishedasapieceofmusicin1914and wascomposedbythe‘FatheroftheBlues’WilliamChristopherHandy.Ithas beenperformedandrecordedbymanydifferentjazzartistsincludingGlenn MillerandCountBasie,thoughitwasthe1925versionrecordedbyLouis ArmstrongandBessieSmithwhicharguablybroughtittohighacclaim.This musicalsofeaturedinthe1929filmofthesametitlewithBessieSmithina starringrole.

Thesonghasan8-barverse(repeated)inGminor,andarefraininGmajorwhich followsasimple12-barblueschordpattern:

Therearevariantstothisbasicpattern,whichoffersomealternativesandmorechordchanges.

Hereisthevocalline:

InHandy’soriginal,recordedin1922asaninstrumentalversion,thetempoisquitebrisk.Youcanhearthebrassinstrumentstothefore;therearemultipleinfluencesincludingthehabanerarhythm,repeatingtriadsreminiscentoftango,andafewtouchesofragtime.

Listenout,too,fortheclarinet,whichbringsmuchoftheso-calledDixielandstyletothetrack.Notetheflattened7thinthefinaltonicchord–adistinctive‘blue’sound.Hereisalinktothisinstrumentaloriginal:http://bit.ly/StLouisBlues

TheLouisArmstrong/BessieSmithversionin1925ismuchslower,givingamore lugubrious,soulfulfeel.Therearevariouschangestomelodyandlyrics,andthe trackbeginswiththerefrainsection,allowingArmstrongtomakeacolourful contribution from the start, improvising melodic fills in the fourth bar of each phrase. The verse is then a minor key middle section.

In addition to Bessie Smith’s rich-toned singing and Armstrong’s florid trumpet playing, the harmonic aspect of the accompaniment is provided by Fred Longshaw on the harmonium – a type of reed organ often found in chapels.

The artist and his context

Alto saxophonist Charlie Parker – famously nicknamed ‘Yardbird’ or just‘Bird’ – was one of the most influential jazz artists in the mid-20th century. He was a leading figure in the development of a new concept or style in jazz called bebop,characterisedbyfasttempos,anadvancedharmonicvocabularyand dazzlingimprovisation.

ParkerwasborninKansasCity,Kansas,in1920;in1927hisparentsmovedtothe cityofthesamenameinMissouri,animportantcentreforAfricanAmericanmusic atthetime.Hetookupthesaxophoneattheageof11,oncesayingthathespentthe nextfouryearspractisingforupto15hoursaday.

ParkermovedtoNewYorkin1939and,frustratedbythestereotypedharmonic patternsofthemusichefoundthere,developednewideasabouttheharmonic underpinningtohisimprovisations.In1942hejoinedEarlHines’sbigbandwhere hefirstmettrumpeterDizzyGillespie.Afterhours,ParkerandGillespiewould indulgeinjamsessionsatMinton’sPlayhousewithotherprodigiousyoungtalents suchaspianistTheloniousMonkanddrummerKennyClark.Itwassaidthatthese youngmusiciansweresearchingfor‘amusicthattheycouldn’tplay’;‘they’being thewhitebandleaderswhohadprofitedfromadoptingbig-bandmusic.

Forawhilethedevelopmentshappenedundertheradar:astrikebytheAmerican FederationofMusiciansin1942–1944causedlittlerecordingtohappen.When Parkerenteredarecordingstudioon26November1945withMilesDavisandDizzy Gillespieandothersitledto‘thegreatestjazzsessionever’accordingtothe marketingteamattherecordlabel,Savoy.Amongthetracksrecordedwerehis versionof‘Ko-Ko’and‘Now’stheTime’.

Theperiod1947–1951wasthehighpointofParker’scareer.Overhalfofhis recordedlegacywasproducedintheseyears.Heworkedfornightclubs,radio,live concertsandrecordingstudios,andcollaboratedwithastringorchestra,Afro-Cuban bandsandhisownsmallensembles.HetwicetouredEurope.Hewasakeenstudent ofclassicalmusic,inparticulartheinnovationsofIgorStravinsky.

AddictiontoheroinandalcoholwasParker’snemesis.Itcausedhimtomiss performances,andheevenpawnedhisinstrumentsinordertobuydrugs.Inthe Fiftieshewasconsideredbysometobeunemployable,andhewasbadlyindebt.He twiceattemptedsuicide.HisfinalperformancewasatBirdland–aNewYorknight clubnamedinhishonour–on5March1955.Hediedaweeklater.

MilesDavissaidthatthehistoryofjazzcouldbetoldinfourwords:‘Louis Armstrong.CharlieParker.’

Musicalideas

HarmonyParkeroftenaddednewmelodiestoanexistingchordprogression.Forexample,

CharlieParker

‘Ornithology’(withitspunningtitle)buildsanewmelodyoverthechordprogressionofthejazzstandard‘Howhighthemoon.‘Thisprocessisknownascontrafact.

Somepieces–including‘Now’stheTime’,‘Billie’sBounce’,‘Bloomdido’and‘CoolBlues’–arebasedonstandardpatternsofthe12-barbluespattern.‘Barbados’isastandard12-barbluesinamamborhythm.

Chordpatternsyoumightencounter(definedinCmajor)include:

BEPREPAREDResearchothervariantsofthe12-barbluespatternandmakechordchartsofthedifferentoptions.Ifyouplaythepianoorguitar,tryplayingthemandinarangeofdifferentkeys!

Parkerdevelopedafarmoreelaborate12-barpatternwhichoftenincludesapairofchordsinasinglebarthatfollow a ii-V pattern.Chordii7b inaminorcontextthen appearsasahalf-diminished7th.

Thisenhancedprogressionisknownas‘BirdChanges’andappearsinvarioustracks including‘BluesforAlice’,‘LairdBaird’and‘SiSi’.

Thefollowingchartindicatesthechordsfor‘BirdChanges’:

MelodicpitchandrhythmThisfast-movingharmonicpaletteallowedParkertohaveafarwidervocabularyfor hismelodicimprovisations.Inaddition,hesawpotentialforallchordstobe extendedbeyondthecustomary7thofearlierjazz.Inparticular,hemadeuseofthe flattened9thandraised11th;healsointerchangedmajor,minor,augmentedand diminishedchords,andcouldanticipateorprolongchordsoftheprogressionwithin themelodicline.

TherhythmicdetailinParker’simprovisationscanrelateonlyobliquelytothe fundamentalsofpulseandmetre.Coupledwiththeoftenrapidtempo,theeffectcan beveryexcitingandairborne.

Parkerwasfondofusingquoteswithinhismelodicimprovisation.Therangeof sourcesincludepopularsongsandheavyweightclassicalcomposersincluding WagnerandBizet,aswellasjazzartistssuchasLouisArmstrong.

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32-bar Song Structure and Rhythm Changes

Moose The Mooche is based on I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin, which

he original wrote for his music Girl Crazy (this musical was reworks as

Crazy For You in the 90s).

32-bar song structure follows this pattern:

Section A – 8 bars

Section A – 8 bars

Section B – 8 bars

Section A – 8 bars

Here are the chords for Section A in I Got Rhythm:

Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4

Bb Gm Cm F7 Bb Gm Cm F7

Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8

Bb Bb7 Eb Ebm Bb F7 Bb

In the grid below write out the roman numerals that represent these

chords:

Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4

Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8

Here are the chords for Section B in I Got Rhythm:

Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4

D7 D7 G7 G7

Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8

C7 C7 F7 F7

What do you notice about the chords in Section B?

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13gtff!Q· p s

F- Bb7 E-

E- A7 D

19

Bird Changes

To create more of a bebop sound Parker often used his own version of a

12-bar blues using numerous chord substitutions to add in additional ii-V

patterns.

In the grid below write out a standard 12-bar blues in D Major:

Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4

Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8

Bar 9 Bar 10 Bar 11 Bar 12

Here are the Bird changes in D Major. Write in where you spot a ii-V

pattern using roman numerals:

Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4

D C#m7b5 F#7 Bm E7 Am D7

Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8

G7 Gm C7 F#m Fm Bb7

Bar 9 Bar 10 Bar 11 Bar 12

Em A7 D7 Em A7

In which bars do the Bird Changes have a chromatic shift and why?

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MilesDavis

TheartistandhiscontextTrumpeterandcomposerMilesDavis(1926–1991)isknownasoneofthemostinfluentialjazzmusiciansofalltime.Hismusicevolvedintandemwithmanykeychangeswhichoccurredin20th-centuryjazz,butmostnotablyhewasattheforefrontofthedevelopmentofthestyleknownasbebopandimportanttrendswhichfollowed,includingcooljazzandhardbop.

DaviswasborninIllinois,USAtoaffluentAfricanAmericanparents(hisfatherwasadentist).Hisearliestmusicalinfluencewasthegospelmusicsunginchurch.Helearnedtrumpetfromtheageof13withateacher,ElwoodBuchanan,whoinsistedonplayingwithoutthewidevibratothatwasinfashion.In1944theBillyEckstineBand,whichatthetimeincludedCharlieParkerandDizzyGillespie,playedinDavis’shometown;Daviswasinvitedtoplaythirdtrumpetwiththem.LaterthatyearheenrolledattheJuilliardSchoolofMusicinNewYork.

DavissoonlefttheJuilliard,preferringtodevelophisplayinginlate-nightjamsessionsinHarlemwherehefoundhisidol,Parker.IntheFortiesandFiftiesjazzchangedanddevelopedatarapidrate.Bebop,avirtuosicandcomplexstyleofjazz,movedawayfromswing,whichwaspopularfordancingandwasoftenrhythmicallypredictable.Amoremodernkindofjazzbegantoevolve,wherechromaticismanddissonancewerewidelyexplored.Tonalstructuresbecamemoredenseandcomplex,withmusiciansmakinguseofextendedharmonictechniques.

WiththedeathofCharlieParkerin1945,theeraofbebopdeclined.In1948Davis beganacollaborationwithCanadiancomposerGilEvans.ItledtoDavisaspiringto playwithatonesimilartothehumanvoiceinmuchmorelaid-backsolos,astyle subsequentlycalledcooljazz.Cooljazzhadembeddedwithinitsomeracialand politicalimplicationsinthatbothblackandwhitemusiciansworkedtogethermore frequently.Thisinevitablyhadanimpactonthewaythestyleevolved.Cooljazz tendedtosteerawayfromthecomplexharmoniesofbebopandwasalighterstyleof jazz.AleadingwhitemusicianincooljazzwasDaveBrubeck.

Theearly1950swasadifficulttimeforDavisthatincludeddepressionandabattle withheroinaddiction(whichheovercame).Itwasalsoatimewhenhisstyle developedagainintoastyleknownashardbop,whichinvolvesslowertemposthan bebop,butstrongerbeatsthanfoundincooljazz,andmoreinfluencefromtheblues.

In1955DavisformedagroupnowreferredtoashisFirstGreatQuintetwithJohn Coltraneontenorsax.In1959hebroughtpianistBillEvansintothegroupandmade thealbumKindofBlue,possiblythemostsuccessfuljazzalbumofalltime.A SecondGreatQuintetwasfoundedin1964withHerbieHancockatthepiano.

Davis’s music then became more influenced by rock and funk artists such as James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. A fusion period using electronic instruments followed, starting with the album In a Silent Way in 1969.

Miles Davis retired in 1975, but re-emerged in 1979 to make further albums starting with The Man with the Horn in 1981. His final album, Doo-Bop, featuring hip-hop influences, was released after his death on 28 September 1991.

Modes

Later in his career Miles Davis started to create true modal jazz. This style of jazz has an

ambiguous tonal centre and is based on the ideas laid out in George Russel’s book ‘The

Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization’.

However, in his Hard-bop phase Davis did experiment with the use of modes in his

improvisation, to move away from the usual scalic and arpeggio based improvisation of

Bebop.

Dominant Modes

In Davis’s early improvisation he uses modes over the dominant chords to emphasise the

dominant 7th. In major keys this is the mixolydian mode and in minor keys this is the dorian

mode.

The mixolydian mode is the fifth mode and can be worked out by playing all the white notes

from G-G. The difference between this and the normal major scale is that the seventh is

flattened giving the dominant (minor) seventh:

G Major G A B C D E F# G

G Mixolydian G A B C D E F G

The dorian mode is the second mode, D-D and is the same as the ascending melodic minor

scale, with a flattened seventh:

D Melodic

Minor (Asc) D E F G A B C# D

D Dorian D E F G A B C D

Another way to think of this is the natural minor with a sharpened 6th.

Write out the notes in the following modes:

C Mixolydian

D Mixolydian

Bb Mixolydian

A Mixolydian

G Dorain

A Dorian

C Dorian

B Dorian

Glossary

Word Definition 12-Bar Blues

Added Note Chord/Extended

Chord

Altissimo Register

Bebop

Bird ‘Parker’ Blues

Blue Note

Chalumeau

Register

Cool

Dorian Mode

Front Line

Harmon Mute

Head

Hot

ii-V

Improvisation

Jazz Standard

Lydian Mode

Mixolydian Mode

Polyphonic Improvisation

Post-Bop/Hard-Bop

Rhythm Section

Scat Singing

Solo

Straight

Substitution

Chord

Swung

Traditional Jazz/Trad

Jazz/Dixieland

Turnaround

Virtuosic