Post on 20-Dec-2014
description
A Phenomenological Analysis Of Musical Engagement When Recording, Performing and Rehearsing With The James
Taylor Quartet
Dr Paul Carr
University of Glamorgan
This paper proposes to explore the creative listening roles
employed when working with the ‘Acid Jazz’ ensemble The James
Taylor Quartet (JTQ) during the years 1989 – 1990. During this
time the band recorded their 2nd album Get Organized (Polydor
Records 1989) in addition to undertaking several European tours,
releasing two mini albums, a promotional video and a single.
SLIDE 2 It is proposed that my dual role today as both an ex band
member and academic enables a unique opportunity to analyse
factors such as the impact of creative listening on the progressive
development of songs, arrangements, productions and performance
paradigms. Gioia’s (1988) comment that ‘jazz musicians cannot
look ahead at what [they are] going to play, but can look behind at
what [they] have just done’1 is pertinent, and this paper will apply
this philosophy by including my own and others reflections on the
creative listening process. As noted by Keith Sawyer (2007), ‘all
innovations result from a collaborate web’, and the epistemological
paradigms through which listening is an essential aspect in the
1 Ken N. Kamoche, Miguel Pina e Cunha, and João Vieira da Cunha, Organizational improvisation (Routledge, 2002), p.55.
group creative process will be discussed, drawing on personal
reflection and interviews with James Taylor himself. After
contextualising my role in JTQ, the paper will be constructed to
progressively examine research questions that have particular
relevance for performing musicians and composers as follows:
SLIDE 3
What are the means through which musicians employ
listening to recreate ‘pastiche’ sounds of the past?
How and why do musicians incorporate listening skills to
integrate authenticity into their work by ensuring specific
sounds, styles, production techniques and performance
conventions comply with the canon?
How does creative listening impact composition and
arrangement activities.
How do environmental factors impact creative listening?
As JTQ have a wide range of commercial recordings from this
period, both live and studio based, the paper will also include
textual and phenomenological analysis of selected compositions
and arrangements.
SLIDE 4 The James Taylor Quartet (JTQ) are a British based
ensemble formed by Hammond Organ player James Taylor
(b.1964) in 1986. Their debut single several months later was a
cover of Herbie Hancock’s ‘Blow Up’, and was released
independently through Re Elect The President, a forerunner of the
successful Acid Jazz label. This was followed by the band’s debut
album Mission Impossible (1987) the following year, a recording
that continued what was to be a long association with film music
covers themes, with pieces such as ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Mrs Robinson’
and ‘Alfie’ being amongst the works included. My personal
involvement with the group started around October 1988, soon
after the band had secured a record deal with their first major label
– Polydor Records. Having just recorded a third studio album Wait
A Minute (1987), it was apparent that the band at this point was in
a stage of transition, attempting to forge a more original, highly
produced funk based style that involved more original composition
and less pastiche than earlier efforts
James Taylor verified the transitory nature of the album when
stating
The various pressures on me at that time were enormous,
record company deadlines, band personnel, money, and
musical output. I had also just split with my old band,
including my brother, so it was a painful time for me,
therefore very rich artistically.2
After a short rehearsal period learning existing material and
auditioning new members, JTQ spent the end of 1988 doing a
number of one-off performances in the UK and Europe. These live
performances facilitated a testing ground to refine what was to be
the new version of the group, which undertook a number of further
changes during this period. This included auditioning numerous
bass players, in addition to reducing a three piece brass section to a
single saxophone. As JTQ’s recordings contained numerous
arrangements for full brass section, the ideal solution was to tour
with a similar line up. However, financial and logistical constraints
compromised this decision, and the impact this reduced and ever
changing band personnel had on band members’ creative listening
will be discussed later. Once the line up was reasonably
established, a period of intense rehearsal, touring and recording
commenced, which in the initial stages occurred simultaneously,
before touring commitments began to dominate. The dialogic
pairing of touring and recording is a tried and tested methodology
in popular music performance, in the case of JTQ being used as a
means of ensuring that the ‘permanent’ recorded versions of 2 Interview with the author. January 25th, 2010.
specific songs were not only performed well,3 but in an agreed and
acceptable stage of compositional development. Effectively using
live performance as an integral part of the compositional process.
As indicated by Sawyer, creativity occurs over time, with each
member of an organisation contributing small but important ideas
toward the ‘big picture’.4 Sawyer continues to discuss how these
collaborations remain invisible without scientific analysis, and how
successful innovation occurs when ‘organisations combine just the
right ideas in just the right structure’.5 By the time I had joined
JTQ there were no founding members left aside from James Taylor
himself, so it appeared to be an ideal opportunity to develop
material with new colleagues. Retrospectively, much of the early
rehearsal activity involved either recreating sounds from the
previous album - Wait A Minute, preparing for touring
commitments, or developing new material for the next album,
which was to eventually be entitled Get Organized (1989). This
dual role of appreciating and understanding past musical events
while simultaneously creating new musical relationships and
compositions was probably the most significant task that the new
ensemble had to achieve, and it resonates strongly with what
Sawyer6 describes as ‘deep listening’.7 The author considers this as 3 This was particularly important, as JTQ have a respected reputation as a ‘live act’.4 Robert Keith Sawyer, Group genius (Westview Press, 2007), p14.5 Ibid.6 At a later stage it is important to discuss how numerous other writers have used this phrase – although it does not always mean the same thing. 7 Sawyer, Group genius.
being the ability to focus not only on one’s own performative
actions, but also that of others, and this is possibly one of the main
listening skills that inexperienced or egocentric musicians do not
consider. As outlined by academics, historians and musicians such
as Lucy Green,8 Paul Berliner9 and John Stephens,10 music is a
social discourse, and it is proposed that the ways in which listening
was precipitated in JTQ was greatly impacted by the intentional –
extensional listening process and the social spaces the band were
working in.
8 Lucy Green, Music, informal learning and the school (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2008).9 Paul Berliner, Thinking in jazz (University of Chicago Press, 1994).10 John Stevens et al., Search and reflect (Community Music, 1985).
The Intentional/Extensional Listening Process SLIDE 5 (my
pic)
As I had been earning my living up to this point as a freelance
guitarist I felt comfortable with improvisational activities,
reproducing musical parts, or simply playing what was on the
notated page. As originally outlined by Chester, this
‘intentional11 /extensional’12 dialogic is important regarding the
expected autonomy a performing musician has, and it seems
logical to conclude that these factors must have a profound impact
on the ways that musicians listen to music. Whist the extensional
side is usually associated with notated music that often has little
room for creative interpretation, the complexity of intentional
music according the Chester is seen to be achieved by ‘modulation
of the basic notes, and by inflection of the basic beat’.13 Allan
Moore 14 continues this debate when discussing the potential
creative attributes of parameters such as tempo, dynamic level and
rhythm and pitch, regarding them as being ‘precisely the devices a
performer of intentional music will utilise’.15 However, it is
proposed that when copying these parameters from a recording for
a pastiche performance, they become extensional in nature (to the 11 Where meaning is considered to be ‘inside’ the music. For example a recording.12 Where meaning is considered to be outside the music. For example in a musical score.13 Simon Frith and Andrew Goodwin, On record (Routledge, 1990), p315.14 Allan F. Moore, Rock, the primary text (Open University Press, 1993), p23.15 Although he does cite the flat 5 substitutions of Howling Wolf’s ‘Little Red Rooster’ as an example of an intentional piece with ‘some extensional development’
musician) – the equivalent of replicating the notes and dynamic
markings from a musical score. During JTQ rehearsals it was
originally considered important to not only learn the notes and
recreate the sound of Wait A Minute, but also for each musician to
musically interrelate with new colleagues to formulate a fresh
unified voice for the new album, the latter often being an
intentional process. SLIDE 6a Both of course require very different
listening competencies from the musician and when combined
represent a tension that requires carful negotiation. SLIDE 6b As
no members of the original band were available, precisely
replicating previous sounds and style parameters from the earlier
album proved a difficult task, and although the current line up
comprised of numerous seasoned session players, it was
problematic to exactly recreate the raw style of the earlier band. It
is hypothesised that this is the reason why an unwritten code
naturally developed that enabled new band members to
indoctrinate their own performance idiolects (and listening
competencies) into the music, ultimately, but often unintentionally
forming translations of the original recording. SLIDE 6c In
retrospect, this was an important decision regarding the
progressive movement of JTQ from a mod sounding ensemble to
what is now considered a sophisticated funk band. The All Music
Guide seems to confirm this point, describing Get Organized as
‘the unexpected missing link between the James Taylor Quartet’s
early mod-cum spy theme sound and the later polished acid jazz
feel without sounding like either of them’.16 Regarding my own
creative listening role when learning these pieces, my first
impression was it sounded like music I had been aware of for a
number of years, despite its new Acid Jazz labelling.17 For
example, many of the pieces featured on ‘Wait A Minute’
employed a James Brown funk style guitar,18 which was often
played through a wah wah pedal.19 Additionally other tracks
featured Bossa Nova rhythms,20 blues based progressions,21 and
funk based grooves not unlike those performed by Jimmy Smith,
Jack McDuff22 and Maceo Parker. Although mine and my
colleagues’ performance styles were not the same as our
predecessors, the pieces provided a stylistic framework that we
were comfortable with, enabling us to straddle the divide between
intentional innovation and extensional replication. SLIDE 6d As
stated by Sawyer, ‘innovation emerges from the bottom up, [often]
unpredictably and improvisationally, and it’s often only after the
innovation has occurred that everyone realises what has
16 http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3cfqxqu5ldfe17 A term which James Taylor regards as ‘meaning different things to different people’/18 For example ‘Wait A Minute’, ‘The Natural Thing’ and ’Kooks Corner’.19 Indeed as a gesture of authenticity the album featured Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley, both of whom were members of James Brown’s band during the 1960’s 1970’s.20 ‘Indian Summer’.21 For example ‘Jungle Strut’ and ‘Fat Boy Stomp’.22 For example note the rhythmic similarities of ‘McDuff’s Wade In The Water’ to ‘Jungle Strut’.
happened’.23 In JTQ, it is proposed that innovation occurred
because the correct balance of extensional prescription and
intentional freedom was facilitated within our social space, which
was largely precipitated by James Taylor himself. Upon reflection,
it is apparent that when re arranging the earlier album’s material
the adaptation of musical parameters is often subtle, and although
extensional elements have a dominant gravitational pull, there is
space for band members to be creative within the framework.
Examination of freshly arranged songs such as ‘Wait A Minute’
and ‘Starsky and Hutch’ taken from an ITV broadcast reveal the
basic grooves to be similar to the recordings, however there is
enough autonomy for band members to input into some factors.
SLIDE 7 In the case of the guitar theme of ‘Wait A Minute’ for
example, small variations in melody and rhythm enable the melody
to comply with the slightly busier groove of the new version.
Additionally, the ‘out of phase’ guitar sound contrasts with the
original, as does the form of the piece, which is considerably
shorter. As stated earlier, some of these changes were not
conducted purely for musical reasons, but were logistical due to
the smaller ensemble line up. However, all of the changes enabled
and are proof of the ensemble engaging with the intentional –
extensional divide, with both requiring specific listening skills and
competencies. It is important to emphasise that all of the members 23 Sawyer, Group genius, p25.
of the new ensemble were employed as session musicians, so were
effectively being paid to perform to the requirements of James
Taylor and the record company. Regarding the latter, James Taylor
confirmed that Polydor threatened to drop JTQ unless he ‘split the
old band and put together a new one’, in addition to allowing
specific record company personnel to be involved in the record’s
production.24 As discussed later, these factors precipitate a specific
social space with associated listening styles and habits. However,
core members such as myself were also in a position to assist with
the song writing process. In my case resulted in a co written piece
with entitled ‘Touchdown’, which I will now discuss to illustrate
how intentional and extensional listening combines with social
factors to foster compositional creativity.
24 Interview with the author. January 25th, 2010.
The Potential Impacts Of Social Parameters on Music Making
SLIDE 8 – listen to track first
‘Touchdown’ entered the rehearsal studio as a series of fragmented
ideas that were based on a harmonic pattern similar to Van
Morrison’s ‘Moondance’. When listening to the up tempo swing
sequence, it is apparent that this groove would not be possible if all
participants were either not familiar, or able to be quickly taught
the stylistic conventions of the Hard Bop tradition. After jamming
through the sequence several times, Taylor was quickly inspired to
document the melody of the verse, a modal theme taught by rote,
and originally played on Hammond organ in unison with guitar.
After further experimentation, it became apparent that part of the
theme could be played as a fugue, a factor that would not have
been apparent without the creativity that Jamming precipitates.25
After playing the theme and soloing over the harmonic progression
a few times, Taylor struggled to find a complementary section for
the chorus, so I suggested a 7/8 melodic theme which was
originally intended to be part of another piece. Although not
stylistically similar, it was decided collectively that the section
provided important contrast and worked musically. These decision
making processes were rapid, and to quote Simon Frith, were
25 John Kao has written extensively on how business ideas benifit from 'jamming'. Refer to John Kao, Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity (Harper Paperbacks, 1997).
facilitated ‘not only through knowledge and interpretation of
musical forms, but also the social conventions in which they
occur’.26 Frith’s notion that the meaning of music for listeners can
change as it enters new social situations is also true for the
performing musician, who listen according to the environmental
factors they find themselves encountering. SLIDE 9 In the case
above, social factors such as record company pressures, the
informal rehearsal environment, current life experiences and the
personality/egos of the musicians, in addition to the fact that I was
working principally as a session musician, combined with the
intentional and extensional listening abilities of improvisation,
awareness of style, pastiche development and musical memory.
Eric Clarke discusses the importance of what he describes as an
‘ecological’ approach to determining musical meaning. Like Frith,
his philosophy is suited to establishing the means through which
musicians’ interact with their evolving musical environments by
reorientating and ‘tuning’ themselves to new situations, and how
the ‘goodness of fit between and organism and its environment is
not a matter of chance, [but a] product of mutual adaptation
brought about by an evolutionary process.27 This Darwinian
approach is pertinent to the situation all members of JTQ found
themselves in when undertaking rehearsals, performing past
26 Simon Frith, Performing rites (Harvard University Press, 1998), p.250.27 Eric F. Clarke, Ways of listening (Oxford University Press US, 2005), p.20.
material, composing new music and negotiating changing band
members. Although it may have been possible to reproduce earlier
sounds and textures more precisely, this adaptive approach is more
‘naturally selective’, enabling members to build upon their skills
and experience in order to develop something new, albeit based on
an established tradition. It is proposed that the means through
which all of this is achieved is principally through creative
listening, where the experienced performing musician develops not
only sensitivity to various conventions of musical style and the
playing idiosyncrasies of other performers, but also an awareness
of where and when to use these factors, depending on their social
setting. As Clarke states – ‘perception and action are inextricably
bound together‘(23) and this is often passive, with the results often
only being apparent retrospectively.
Conclusion SLIDE 10
To conclude, the ‘intentional mode’ of participation requires the
musician to quite simply listen more creatively, while the
extensional in its more contemporary perspective requires the
ability to ‘recreate’ not only notes on a page, but also textures,
timbres, style indicators, etc. In JTQ, it is noticeable how both the
arranging and compositional processes began with an extensional
stimulus (often the recording in the former, or a creative idea in the
latter), that then facilitated a degree of intentional autonomy from
band members. SLIDE 11 It is apparent that all songs on Get
Organised were either composed by James Taylor, or James
Taylor and another band member, although this was usually after
extensive development of the composition in the rehearsal studio
where everyone was involved in the act of concentrated listening.
This process required the ensemble to rapidly reference specific
grooves28, learn harmonic and melodic components quickly by ear
and be sensitive to sounds that referenced the JTQ tradition, in
addition to being aware of the social environment in which all of
this was occurring. Although many of these factors appear
intentional in nature when listening to the recordings, they are
often extensional to the musician at the time, as they often have to 28 Some pieces used existing music as a starting point.
be reproduced exactly. Regarding James Taylor’s own perceptions
of the listening experience, he commented
For me, music has always been a means to an end. That end
being a kind of merger and extreme level of emotional
engagement and connection with the listener/audience.29
This external ‘connection’ with the listener is of course only
possible if the participating musicians are communicating
internally, and Cahn’s observation that ‘in a cultural environment
where physically active “doing” is valued highly, it is sometimes
necessary to draw attention to mentally active doing’30 is
important. This paper has hopefully provided an insight into this
process. Final Slide
29 Interview with the author. January 25th, 2010.30 William L. Cahn, Creative music making (Routledge, 2005), p.49.