Elements of Jazz Composition

12/5/11 Elements Of Jazz: Composition: Performance
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Performance
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While an arrangement of a jazz composition specifies many of the details of a performance, it
usually leaves much to be decided upon by the performers. Some of the matters determined during
performance may include choosing the tempo, who will play the head, the rhythm section parts,
introductions and codas, the order of soloists, and, of course, the contents of the solos themselves.
A Jazz Improvisation Almanac
Unit: Elements Of Jazz
Chapter: Composition
The Introduction
The Theme
The Solo Section
Accompaniment
Performance of Complex Arrangements
This is a preview of the educational program A Jazz Improvisation Almanac which is under development for the Outside Shore
Music Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, check
out the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.
Unlike in many other forms of music, an arrangement of a jazz composition does not usually specify
all aspects of the performance, so two performances of the same arrangement may differ
considerably. In addition to improvised solos, which almost always differ between performances,
some details of the arrangement itself may be left open until the time of the performance.
The Introduction
The first aspect of a composition to be finalized during performance is the tempo or speed. An
arrangement may suggest a tempo in broad terms such as "slow", but the leader of the ensemble
will have to count off a specific tempo to let all the players know what the pulse will be. The same
arrrangement might be played at different tempos for different performances, and this can affect how
the musicians play their parts. Everything from the swing feel to the style of accompaniment can be
affected by tempo. For example, here is an excerpt from a slow performance of a jazz composition:
Here is that same arrangement performed faster:
Tool Windows
Contents
Index
Workbook
Glossary
Scales
Examples
References
Help
The arrangement may specify an introduction. If it does not, the performers often supply one
anyhow, using any of a number of standard devices. Here is an example of a introduction provided
during performance, based on improvising over the last four measures of the tune:
The Theme
Once the performance has been started by the count off, there are many more decisions to make. In
a head arrangement, the theme may be played in unison, in which case it is usually played as
written, or one musician may take the head himself, which allows him to take more liberties with it.
This is particularly common in ballads. For example, here is a theme played in unison by the trumpet
and saxophone:
And here is that same theme as it might be interpreted if only the saxophonist were playing it:
Sometimes, in an AABA or similar form, one musician will take the A-section, and another the
bridge, in order to provide contrast:
In short tunes like blues forms, the head is often played twice; otherwise, it is usually played only
once.
The Solo Section
During the solo section of a head arrangement, it is common to not decide the order of the soloists
until it is time for the solos. The leader of the group may point to someone as they approach the end
of the head to indicate that person should solo first, or someone in the group may decide they want
to solo first, and simply step forward to indicate this to the others.
Often, the first solo is begun with a break - the rhythm section stops playing for the last two measures
of the head while the first soloist improvises unaccompanied:
This may be called for in the arrangement, but it is also commonly decided upon during the
performance by either the leader, the first soloist, or someone in the rhythm section. A visual cue is
often employed to make sure everyone knows there will be a break.
Sometimes the arrangement specifies how many choruses a soloist should take, but in many cases
this is left to the discretion of the soloist, who often does not decide in advance how many choruses
he will take but instead simpl stops when he feels he is done. As a result, solos may differ in length
from performance to performance. And of course, since the solo is generally improvised, solos will
differ in content between performances as well.
During the first solo, the musicians usually decide amongst themselves who should solo next. This
is usually done in the same manner as the decision as to who should solo first. While a solo break
may be used to introduce each solo, it is more common to use a break only to introduce the first
solo.
The tendency in head arrangements is for the leader to solo first, followed by any other horn players,
then by the pianist, and then possibly a bass solo or a drum solo. Most bands make a conscious
effort to vary this solo order between compositions during a performance or on a recording,
however. The solo order for a performance of a composition can thus be affected by the solo order
in the compositions played earlier - if the saxophone soloed first on the previous tune, the trumpet
might solo first on the next.
Sometimes, a band will engage in collective improvisation during the solo section. More than one
player may improvise at once, forming duets, trios, or larger collections within the ensemble:
Before returning to the theme, musicians occasionally will elect to trade fours, which can be
signalled by someone holding up four fingers. When trading fours, the rhythm section continues to
provide accompaniment based on the original chord progression, but soloists take turns improvising
four measures at a time. Usually the exchange follows the original solo order, although the cycle
may go around several times. Here is an excerpt from an exchange of fours:
Often when trading fours, particularly if there was no drum solo during the solo section, the drums
will take four measures between each of the other soloists:
At the conclusion of the solos, the ensemble may return to the head. The visual signal for this is
universal: the leader, the last soloist, or any another musician points to his own head. The theme is
then played as described earlier.
After the final time through the head, the arrangement may specify a coda or ending. If not, the
performers may devise their own. There are a set of standard endings known to most musicians, so
usually all it takes is for one musician to start playing one of them and everyone else will be able to
follow along. Here is an example of a common ending, created by playing the last four bars three
times:
Accompaniment
Throughout the performance, accompaniment to the theme and to the solos is usually provided by
the rhythm section. This accompaniment is normally improvised and will vary between
performances. This is especially true during the solo section. The accompaniment may be
improvised during the head as well, but since the head is similar if not identical from performance to
performance, the rhythm section often falls into patterns that are similar between performances as
well. In some cases, the arrangement may specify particular accompanying figures called "kicks" to
be used for the head:
The accompaniment during the solos may then employ some of the same kicks as the
accompaniment for the head, in order to keep a sense of continuity to the performance:
Often, however, the rhythm section will switch to playing a more generic accompaniment behind the
solos, based only on the chord progression and not the specific kicks used for the head:
The rhythm section is usually free to respond to what the soloist is doing in creating their
accompaniment. This can work both ways - sometimes the rhythm section may initiate an idea that
the soloist responds to. Or one member of the rhythm section may play something that is built upon
by the rest of the rhythm section. Each member of the ensemble improvises their part based on what
is happening around them, as well as the chord progression:
Unlike the soloists, who usually stop playing when not playing the head or soloing, the rhythm
section generally plays the whole time. However, in order to maintain interest, the pianist or guitarist
may stop playing for a few choruses in order to give the soloist a sparser sound to improvise over.
This is called laying out, or strolling. For example, the pianist in the excerpt below lays out for the
second A section and the bridge of an AABA form:
Sometimes the drums will lay out as well. This creates greater contrast, and provides the opportunity
for an even greater release when the drums reenter:
Bassists lay out more rarely, but it generates an even more dramatic effect when they do.
Sometimes the pianist provides accompaniment, but sometimes the soloist is allowed to play
unaccompanied:
Because the bass is usually somewhat limited in its ability to project its sound while soloing, and
because the usual accompanying pulse provided by the bassist is missed during a bass solo, the
other rhythm section players generally accompany in a more subdued fashion during a bass solo:
During a drum solo, there is normally no accompaniment at all:
In a head arrangement, the rhythm section improvises its parts based on the chord progression of
the tune. There is usually some indication as to the general style of the composition - swing, ballad,
bossa, funk, or whatever. The arrangement specifies the desired feel, but does not always provide
information on how to achieve it. Occasionally a notated arrangement such as one for a big band
will contain suggested written parts for the rhythm section, but they usually provide chord symbols
as well to allow the musicians to improvise their own parts. Rhythm section players are expected to
be able to adapt their accompaniment to the style of the composition being played. In order to do
this, they usually have a vocabulary of different patterns they can apply to achieve different feels. For
example, here is a chord progression played with a swing feel:
And here is that same progression played with a bossa nova feel:
Performance of Complex Arrangements
Some arrangements allow for more freedom in performance than others. While simple head
arrangements allow the rhythm section to create their own parts and allow the horns to decide when
and for how long to solo, more complex arrangements (such as of long form compositions) may
require more specific structures to be followed. There may still be ample opportunity to improvise,
but the arrangement may specify something more than just a success of solos based on a single
repeating chord progression. There may be notated parts interspersed with improvised ones
throughout the arrangement. There may be passages where some musicians are playing written
parts and others are improvising. Improvisations in such contexts do not necessarily take the form of
solos, where one musician is clearly leading and the others accompanying. Here is an excerpt from
such a performance, in which collectively improvised sections and notated sections are intermixed:
It can be difficult to tell simply by listening to a performance of such an arrangement where a given
musician is improvising and where he is playing written parts, since one cannot simply assume that
the first phrases played are the theme and that everything the follows is improvisation. There are
often clues to the listener as to which is which, however. For instance, any passage that more than
one instrument plays in unison (melodic or rhythmic), or one that is repeated, is almost certainly
notated:
There are not always such obvious clues, however. Also, some composers blur the distinction
between notation and improvisation, using their own systems of notation that do not specify the
exact pitches or rhythms to be played, but provide enough information to the player to suggest what
they should play. A shape notation may be used to specify the general contour of the line. For
instance, here is a notated shape, and an example of how it might be interpreted in performance:
And here is another example of how that same shape might be interpreted:
Shape notations tend to be specific to each composer that uses them, so it is difficult to generalize
about them.
Improvised sections may also be simply marked as free or open improvisation, with no more specific
notation, in which case the musician is free to improvise whatever he feels will complement the
music in that spot:
Whether improvising over a chord progression, over shape or other nontraditional notations,
improvising freely, improvising an accompaniment to a soloist, or simply deciding upon a solo order,
jazz musicians enjoy considerable freedom in the performance of a composition.
Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella
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