Chris Sullivan

MUSI 6300 – Graduate Seminar

Professor Link, Professor Newman

September 28, 2015

Dick Oatts’ solo on “Bohemia After Dark” - 2012

Featured soloist with WDR Big Band

Navigating Harmony Through Contour & Chromaticism

In his solo on “Bohemia After Dark,” Dick Oatts creates tension through consistent use of two

primary techniques. The first method Oatts uses to depart from the diatonic harmony appears

in his solo break, one bar before the top of the chorus. On an E-7 chord, Oatts ascends up an E

minor scale, paying 1-2-3-4-5-7 before departing from the tonality. Once Oatts reaches the

seventh, he changes both the harmony and contour of the line, descending with C#-A# before

resolving to a B (the fifth) at the top of the form. I have named this the “scalar ascent,

chromatic descent” technique. Oatts uses this method several times throughout the solo. In

bars 7-8, Oatts again ascends up an E minor scale, this time playing 4-5-6-1, reaching the root

before descending and using notes outside the diatonic harmony.

This method is effective because he couples a tonality with a line direction, making to the

downward shift more significant as it simultaneously breaks the contour of the line while

introducing altered harmony. Chromaticism is common in jazz improvisation, however, the use

of line direction in Oatts’ playing is unique. It makes his departures more clear than if he

incorporated chromaticism within a line moving in one direction. Oatts frequently climbs to a

register on the alto saxophone that speaks more clearly than the lower, before navigating

downwards and outside the harmony. This use of range and contour are a couple of ways Oatts’

improvisational voice is easily recognizable. Oatts goes on to use this method in bars 22 and

25-26.

When analyzing Oatts’s use of chromaticism, it is clear that his note choices are not random.

Instead, used often as extended enclosures for target notes of resolution. In the first bar of the

solo, there are four notes beginning on beat two that all surrounding the target on beat four, G

(third). Oatts plays two notes below and two above before landing on this note. This method is

seen again in bar nine and ten. In this instance, there are twelve notes before landing on his

target on beat one of bar 11. Chromatic enclosures appear in bars 16, 23-24, and 26.