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Marketed as The King of Jazz, Paul Whiteman led an orchestra that was more of a
theatre pit orchestra than what would later become the standard jazz orchestra.
However, because of the way he was marketed, the American popular music industry put
him as a central figure in the late 1920s. The music, however, combined the jazz sound
emerging in the 1920s within the context of a theatre orchestra setting that included
trumpets, cornet, trombones, alto saxes, bari sax, violins, piano, bass, banjo, tuba,
drums, and ensemble and solo vocalists.
Changes November 1927
Personnel: Walter Donaldson, comp.; Bill Challis, arr.; Bing Crosby, vocal; Bix
Beiderbecke, cornet.
Instrumentation: 2t, 1c, 2tb, 5as (3 w/ bari), 4vn, p, bj, tba, b, d, 6mvoc.
Commentary: The introduction composed for this piece is interesting because
it uses a series of descending steps which are sequenced 4 times, each repetition
leaping up a perfect fourth. This sound is rather spooky, suggesting that the music to
come might be minor/diminished sounding. This, however is not the case. Once the 8
bar introduction is complete, the music reaches a major tonality and the melody begins.
This piece is really divided into two distinct sections. The first section comprises
the first half of the tune that is purely instrumental. It includes the introduction
described above followed by the entire form of the piece (32 measures), which takes a left
turn during the last 2 bars in order to setup an instrumental shout chorus complete
with heavy brass punctuations. This 16 measure shout serves as the introductory
material to the second section of the piece. The first section is diagramed as follows:
Intro [instr] (8), A [bari/strings] (8), A [bari/strings] (8), B [trpt/bari/strings] (8), A
[bari] (6), Trans [instr] (6), Shout [instr/brass] (16)
The melody in this section is passed around among instruments, first played by
the bari sax and the string section during the A sections, then traded between the
trumpets, bari, and strings at the bridge. The bari takes the last A section, and the alto
saxes and violin begin the transition. Heavy brass punctuations fill out the shout
chorus, which serves as the transition to the second section of the piece.
Section two of this piece begins with the male vocalists entering with the melody
and words to the tune. The vocalists sing the entire form of the piece (32 bars). Bing
Crosby then enters with a solo vocal line for 16 measures (A sections), backed up by the
oohs & aahs of the other male vocalists. Bix Beiderbecke takes a 16 measure trumpet
solo over the A section changes. This transitions the piece back to the instrumentalists
who take the bridge, which is repeat of their bridge from the beginning of the tune. They
band then finishes out the last A section of the piece which becomes rubato for the last
few bars. This section is diagramed as follows:
A [vox] (8), A [vox] (8), B [vox] (8), A [vox] (8), A [Bing] (8), A [Bing] (8), Trumpet Solo
[Bix] (16), A [instr] (8), A [instr] (6) Coda (rubato)
Bill Challis, creates a mesh of styles in this piece, as well as in the subsequent
track Lonely Melody. On one hand, the instrumentation of the band suggests a theatre
orchestra setting, while on the other the arrangement is complete with jazz syncopations,
such as dotted quarter eighth note figures, and players, like Bix Beiderbecke and Bing
Crosby. But where Bix and Bing really swing in almost unprecedented fashion, the band
and other male vocalists do not. The um-pah of the bass, drums, and banjo certainly
dont help, and neither does the classical sound of the celeste, although Ellington would
use this sound to his advantage in his writing. It is interesting to note that the drummer
does play the rest with a choked cymbal in the third bar of the first bridge of the tune,
although this was most likely in Challis arrangement. However, it foreshadows a style of
drumming made popular by the great Mel Lewis with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis
Orchestra almost 40 years later. The tempo of this piece is moderate, good for dancing,
although that may not have been the intent.
Notes:
overuse, although great sax soli writers would use this same rhythmic effect to hip
outcomes in later years. Challis uses an interesting shimmer effect combined with a
pyramid in the last 2 measures.
The strings and band finish out the bridge and final A section, respectfully, and
the piece ends with a coda that sounds like it includes a clarinet, although it could be the
c-melody saxophone.
Here is a form diagram of the piece:
Intro [band] (8), A [band] (16), B [band] 8, A [band] Trans [strings] (8), Soli [band]
(16), A [trumpet solo Bix] (16), B [sax/bone] (8), A [trumpet solo - Bix] (8), A [sax soli]
(16), B [string] (8), A [band] (8) Coda [clarinet?]
As far as the rhythm section is concerned, not much is different from the previous
tune. The splashes and choked cymbals are still running wild in the drums, something
that would not subside until the death of swing era. The bass player however, does play
some rather rhythmically interesting lines, which lead me to believe that they are
composed in the arrangement rather than improvised. If they are improvised, this
particular bass player was far ahead of his time, rhythmically speaking. Particularly of
note are his lines during the trumpet solo and sax soli. During these two sections he
plays many drops on beat 2, which adds an interesting pedal-like effect.
The tempo of this piece is almost identical to that of Changes, and the band really isnt
swinging any harder than just a few months earlier when they recorded Changes.
Notes:
straight off a Louis Armstrong record. Even the guitar player behind Bings vocals plays
some nice, swinging syncopated rhythms that Still probably composed.
The band however, still plays the figures with a squareness, particularly the
intro, until measure 3 of the tune, where Bix plays a lick that seems to be a composed
answer to the melody. It is not the actual lick that is interesting but the unbelievable
swing it is played with that the band immediately responds to. Upon hearing that
irresistible swing, the saxes and violins stating the melody begin to stylize it and swing
much more. The band seems to slide back into that squareness until Bing begins to
sing. The band cant resist his swing either, and the tune starts to feel good again.
Still also begins to use sections of the band for different purposes in this
arrangement. The saxes and strings are used to play melodies while the brass are used to
play answers to these melodies (trumpet), play long tones (trombones), background
figures, counter lines (end of the tune), and muted punctuations (this is the first place we
hear a muted trumpet). Percussion effects like chimes and celeste are also used as
effects, something that Duke Ellington would do in the late 1920s and 30s at the Cotton
Club all the way through his Sacred Concerts.
One of the most notable things about this tune is the changes the rhythm section
has undergone between 1928 and 1929. The tuba plays a much less important role. In
fact, he lays out completely under Bings vocals and Joe Venutis solo, which really gives
these sections a much more swinging feel. The absence of the tuba, especially during the
violin solo, accompanied with the fact that Venuti really swings hard (for this time
period) makes the rhythm section really loosen up. If only the bass player had walked
four to the bar, then this section wouldve really swung. Either way, this section truly
shows how archaic and heavy the tuba makes everything sound.
Another first is the appearance of guitar, which adds to the more modern sound,
although the banjo is still present. The guitar is most noticeable under Bing Crosbys
vocals and Joe Venutis solo. Under this same solo, the drummer moves his beat up to
the hi-hat (although hes playing the pattern backwards with the open sound on 2 & 4
rather than 1 & 3), a sound that seems new to this music, but would become a staple
sound among Swing drummers like Jo Jones and Chick Webb.
This is also the first time on record we hear the use of a solo break, a device
where everyone playing cuts out except for the soloist, who is left to show their virtuosity
for measure or two. The break in this arrangement happens in the seventh and eighth
bars of the violin solo, and Venuti smokes it. Breaks like these became a standard and
clich device used ever since in jazz, but most notably in the bebop era, where players
like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie would use these breaks as introductions to their
solos and dazzle listeners with their incredible virtuosic talents.
A few interesting harmonic moments occur in this piece, where William Grant
Still uses parallel descending chords to embellish the rather bland changes. The first
occurrence of this is around the 0:50 mark, as the brass play this figure to wrap up the
almost one minute long instrumental intro that introduces Bing Crosbys vocals. The
rhythm section uses the same idea again under Joe Venutis solo. After the violin solo
the same idea repeats itself a third and fourth time when the whole ensemble restates the
melody.
The last lick the saxophone plays uses triplets nicely, something we havent heard
much of up to this point. The stinger on beat 3 played by the band is also indicative of a
stylistic trait many big bands like Ellington and Basie would use in their signature
endings (although their stingers were on beat 4).
The tempo on this tune is notably slower that the first two tracks and the
recording technology is extremely better, adding to the more modern feel of the track.
Here is a form diagram:
Intro [strings] (2), Melody [sax/string w/ trpt.] (18), Trans [woodwinds] (2), New
Melody [strings w/ brass] (12), Trans (4), Melody [vox-Bing] (18), Trans [strings] (2),
Trumpet/bone solo [Bix & Bill Rank] (18), Trans [saxes/strings] (4), Violin solo [Venuti]
(20), Melody restatement [ensemble] (18), Coda (2).
Notes:
here by 3 years. Hendersons band sounds much less like a theatre orchestra playing jazz
arrangements and more like an early swing band. The music is much less overture-like
and less symphonic. Part of this is found in simple instrumentation because Henderson
did not use strings, although he did use clarinet whereas Whiteman used more alto sax.
Another reason for this shift in sound could possibly be that the trumpet is used to carry
the melody more in this tune than in the Whiteman examples where brass are used for
punctuations and the winds and strings are generally reserved for melodic purposes.
Other notable features of this track include Louis Armstrong, of course, who
swings hard throughout. He sounds very smooth and his sound and feel must have
influenced the band on this and subsequent recordings. During the beginning of the
track, after the 16 measures of introduction someone is either tapping their foot or
clapping their hands, helping to accent beats two and four. The drummer is noticeably
absent here. He is either not playing, playing very soft, or the recoding technology of the
time just didnt pick him up. Later in the tune, the drummer begins to imply a danceable
beat when he splashes and crashes on two and four. The banjo still um-pahs away for
the whole tune. Finally, this is the first time we hear a trumpet growl used as an effect.
Although this sound certainly existed in the blues playing of many players before it was
written into this arrangement, it shows that arrangers and composers are beginning to
realize the endless number of sounds and effects brass players can conjure from their
instruments. This sound occurs at the 1:15 mark during the trumpet soli.
Finally the backgrounds behind Buster Baileys clarinet solo near the end of the
tune show a much more melodic approach to background writing than the Whiteman
band. While Whitemans arrangements tended to use more long tones as background
figures, Redman uses the trumpets behind the clarinet solo in a riff like fashion. This
sound helps keep the solo from stagnating and is really ahead of its time.
The largest criticism I have of this arrangement is that the end is very weird. It
just ends and almost sounds like it got cut off on the track of the CD. It is a very
uninteresting and abrupt ending that really doesnt fit the tune.
Here is a form diagram of this tune:
A-Intro/Theme 1 [Ens] (8), A-Intro/Theme 1 [Ens] (8), B-Melody/Theme 2 [Clarinets]
(12), B-Melody/Theme 2 [Clarinets] (12), B-Trumpet solo [Louis Armstrong] (12), ATheme 1 variation [Ens] (8), A-Theme 1 variation [Ens] (8), Trumpet soli (16), AIntro/Theme 1 [Ens] (8), A-Intro/Theme 1 [Ens] (8), Trombone/Clarinet solo [Charlie
Green/Buster Bailey] (24), Clarinet solo [Buster Bailey] (16), A-Intro/Theme 1 variation
(8), A-Theme 1 variation (3), A-Intro/Theme 1 variation (7), Coda (3)
Notes:
both in the sax and clarinet solos as well as in the clarinet soli. As discussed previously,
this device would be used throughout the Swing years and well into the bebop era and
beyond. During the cornet solo, Redman arranges some spooky sax backgrounds that
foreshadow the clarinet soli to come.
The drummer slaps two and four on choked cymbals during most of the tune,
which creates a much more modern feel than anything we have previously heard.
Another notable moment in the drums occurs right at the end of the tune where the
drummer and tuba player sting beat 4 of the last measure. This is notable for two
reasons. For one, it is an indication of things to come in the signature endings of Swing
bands like Basie and Ellington, as discussed earlier. Second, it is also the first time we
hear a drummer hit a choked cymbal on beat 4 at the end of a tune, a vice that drummers
and arrangers alike wouldnt move away from until the death of Swing. It is an
extremely unnecessary sound, and at times can almost mar the end of a well arranged
tune because it is entirely unnecessary, although in this particular tune it serves a
purpose.
Here is a form diagram:
Intro & Cornet solo [Ens & Joe Smith] (16), A (16), A (16), A & A - Sax solo [Hawk] (32),
Trans (4), Cornet solo (minor tonality) [Joe Smith/Rex Stewart] (30), Piano break &
Trans (4), Clarinet soli (minor tonality) (30), Cornet break (2), Cornet solo [Joe
Smith/Rex Stewart] (major tonality) (16), Ensemble shout (14), Coda (2).
Notes:
the energy level of the tune is much higher because the um-pah feeling between the
bass and drums is now gone. Speaking of the drums, the drummer seems like he is
playing with brushes or a brush. It almost sounds like he has a brush in one hand and a
stick in the other because he plays some time on the hi-hat but also on the snare drum.
Either way, the time feel is lighter and is beginning to move up to the cymbals more and
more. The time feel is solid 4/4 and it swings nicely, particularly the accents and slaps of
the hi hat. This particular drummer also fills the ends of some phrases on the snare
drum, a sign of many things to come for the men behind the kit. At the end of the piece
the drummer cannot resist (although it may have been in the written part) and he plays a
choked splash right as the band cuts off their last note.
The arranged parts swing nicely with modern syncopation. The interlude (0:30
mark) between the two trumpet solos is a nice example. The saxophone backgrounds
behind the soloists, although barely audible represent riffs that are energetic and swing
nicely.
The soloists on the piece, particularly Bobby Stark, Rex Stewart, and J.C.
Higginbotham seem comfortable and sound much less clumsy in their improvisation.
They even begin to use licks than become clichs in the swing era and are beginning to
find their way around the changes with scalar licks rather than broken triads. A good
example of this is the trombone solo at the 2:00 mark, which is filled with do-wats.
The rhythmic vocabulary of the soloists is also much more advanced. Coleman Hawkins
sounds like himself and doesnt use as much syncopation as the other players, although
his tonal vocabulary seems a bit more advanced than the rest.
Finally, the ratio between written parts and improvisation is way off balance from
where all previous examples have been. Almost the entire piece from the beginning to
the 2:35 mark is all improvisation, with the exception of the sax backgrounds behind the
soloists and the interlude at the 0:30 mark that separates the two trumpet solos. At the
2:35 mark the entire band reenters with a shout chorus that is composed. This is a
particular interesting section because the shout chorus is repeated 3 times, each time
growing in volume and intensity. This is one of the earliest examples we have of a
composer really using dynamics to his advantage in creating excitement. The triple
repeat of a shout chorus, each time growing in volume, is also a gesture that becomes
clich among the swing bands.
In conclusion, this piece sounds very much like an early Swing era recording,
although the Swing era is still a few years off. One of the biggest reasons for this sound is
the way the players are beginning to articulate their rhythms, most importantly the longshort sound of two adjacent eighth notes. The only major difference between this piece
and a Swing era piece is that the form of this piece is still a ragtime through-composed
form, something the music of the Swing era deviated from.
Notes:
10
11
something that drummer Mel Lewis would become famous for doing with the bands he
played with.
Saxophone is being used as the primary woodwind instrument, although the
introduction to the tune uses clarinet with saxophone accompaniment. There also seems
to be clarinet behind, or possibly playing harmony with the trumpet during the A
sections, although this is hard to hear. The harmonic shift of major chord to minor
chord in the intro is also very interesting.
Hawkins, the only soloist on this piece, sounds a bit more sophisticated than on
previous examples. He uses scalar material nicely and even quotes the melody of the
tune at the end of the B section of his solo and at the very end of his solo.
Within the rhythm section, several interesting things are going on during this
tune. As customary for a ballad or down-tempo tune, the bass plays on the first and
third beats of every measure, implying a two-feel. The guitar however plays in direct
contrast to this and chunks on every beat of the measure, implying a steady pulse.
These two forces in opposition to one another create an uneasy groove, especially since
the guitar is so loud and out of balance with the rest of the band. The fact that the drums
are basically inaudible for most of the tune doesnt help either. Another interesting trait
of this tune is that the bass sounds like it is bowed rather than plucked. This helps to
smooth the sound out and actually almost makes the bass sound like a tuba. It is actually
a rather attractive sound for this piece, as a pizzicato two-feel in the bass would make a
slower piece like this sound ricky-ticky, and would create an unwanted um-pah effect
when juxtaposed with what the chunking of the guitar. Finally, the bass lines show
advancement in the harmonic conception of the instrument. Henderson, the arranger,
makes nice use of chromatic bass lines between the second and third measure (chromatic
slide down) and at the end of the fourth measure (chromatic walk down) of the A section.
Although these bass lines sound composed (the same figures are played each time the
music reaches those particular spots, respectively), the fact that the chromatic notes are
present show advancement in the conception of the bass. Once again, the drummer
catches the end of the tune with a choked splash. Will it ever end?
Notes:
12
13
14
second set of figures. The notes on the beats are almost ghosted, a style the Swing
players would come to solidify.
After the trumpet solo, the style of call and response seen in Down South Camp
Meetin comes back when the clarinets are used to respond to the brass figures. These
two sections do battle for a few bars in order to transition into Baileys clarinet solo.
After the clarinet solo comes perhaps the squarest part of the tune, the sax soli. During
this eighth measure soli, which really serves as a transition to the final ensemble section,
there are two problems. First the figures are written as sixteenth notes, rather than
triplets or eighth notes, which would have really made this swing. Second, the sax
section plays these sixteenth with extremely short articulation, making it sound rickyticky. It is also played sloppily. This portion of the tune is really the only giveaway that
one is listening to a pre-Swing era band, otherwise this sounds like an early Swing chart.
When the brass section enters after the sax soli the chart swings nicely until the
chromatic ensemble lick right at the end of the chart that becomes a Swing clich.
Notes:
15
16
17
Intro [Ens.] (7), A [Ens.] (16), A [Ens.] (16), Break [Brass] (2), Sax Solo A (16), Sax Solo
A (14), Break [Saxes] (4), Soli [Saxes] (16), B [Ens.] (8) + [Trumpet solo] (8), B [Ens.]
(8) + 5/4 [Ens] (4) + 4/4 [Ens.] (2), C [Ens.] (10), Bone Solo (8), Full Ens. Soli A [Ens.]
(16), Coda [Ens.] (2)
Notes:
18
19
played over each chord change of the form. These syncopated riffs were also highly
common in playing of Swing charts and were usually made up on the spot rather than
written into the arrangement of the piece.
About one minute before the end of the tune, a shout chorus begins at a mezzo
piano and grows to forte by the final bar of the piece. It starts with a nice call and
response between the brass and the saxophones. The drummer even gets a piece of the
action and plays a few well-placed splashes at the ends of phrases on beat 4. This kind of
backbeat playing became an institution in the Swing era in tunes like Benny Goodmans
Sing, Sing, Sing. In the last strain of the tune the drummer even interacts with the band,
playing a complimentary rhythm on his splash cymbal to what the band is playing.
Finally, at the 14th bar of the final strain, Gifford, the composer, tacks on a coda that
ends, of course, with the idiomatic and highly clich splash cymbal solo.
Notes:
20
21
response between the quick syncopations of the brass section and the quick-fingered
licks of the saxophone section. This type of shout chorus would later make its way into
the arrangements and tunes of Count Basie and two of his most prominent arrangers,
Neil Hefti and Sammy Nestico.
Overall, this tune is ahead of its time, except for the archaic sound of the piano
solo; an irony considering that the pianist, Count Basie, would lead the charge as an
innovator and frontman of his own very influential and groundbreaking orchestra just a
few short years later.
Notes:
22
Page really begins to dig in (you can hear the strings snapping against the finger board)
during the last 30 seconds of the tune.
Again, the solos on this tune are firmly planted in the Swing era style. All the
soloists play far fewer notes than earlier soloists in other bands. They seem to really get
to the point, probably because each soloist, with the exception of the Eddie Barefield
(alto sax), is given a relatively short amount of time to solo. The note choice is also more
highly refined, and the soloists have found ways to weave melodic lines through their
solos rather than arpeggiating chords in the ragtime style.
The shout chorus of the tune is also very Basie-esque with every horn player
playing a unison rhythmic line. This portion of the tune swings harder than any other
section primarily because the horn players are all using the same style of articulation and
the length of notes is unified among sections of the ensemble. The band sounds tight
and rehearsed, something that Basies band would also pride itself on.
Finally, it should be noted that this tune is a contrafact of Youre Driving Me
Crazy.
Notes:
23
24
25
26
27
28
including the rhythm section, plays a unison line into the final fermata. The drummer
even sets up the last 2 notes of the tune with an almost inaudible splash on his cymbal,
something we have rarely heard up to this point. Miraculously, there is no splash
cymbal stinger on the end of the tune, a clue that drummers and arrangers are
beginning to move away from that clich.
Notes:
29
riff section comes back to finish the final A section. What follows this A section is a nice
surprise. All of a sudden the dynamic level drops to subito piano. The brass drop out,
but the rhythm section and saxes continue, playing an ascending and descending blues
scale pattern that grows softer and softer as Hines plays an ascending scale in octaves on
the piano. The tune ends with a tag reminiscent of an Ellington-style ending.
Notes:
30
introduction is also functional, unlike many of the introductions up to this have not
been. Budd Johnson, the arranger, uses one motive and repeats it three times, moving
around the ensemble three times, transposing the motive to a different harmony each
time it is repeated in order to set up the top of the form and Billy Eckstines vocal at the
end of the 8 bar introduction.
One of the most satisfying elements of this arrangement is the tempo. Although
it is still at ballad tempo, it is not too slow; the reason for this being that people still had
to dance to this tune and if it was too slow it would be too long and much harder to dance
to. The tempo also presents more options for the composer. Because it isnt a extremely
slow, Johnson writes some licks in the brass during the bridge that swing nicely beneath
Eckstines vocal. The rest of the background figures in the arrangement are fairly
standard: the saxes play pads behind the A section of the vocal with the flute
answering the vocal line with a composed motive taken from the introduction.
Budd Johnsons short solo over the A section gives the listener a short break from
the vocal, but it certainly could be longer; he plays some variations on the melody that
show his maturity as a player and it would have been satisfying to have heard a full
chorus from him. Eckstines vocal re-enters and finishes the lyrics to the tune. The
outro to the tune is just as well composed as the intro. The band plays a highly
percussive eighth note motive that is played straight rather than swung; another example
of the technique heard in Cab Calloways Zaz Zuh Zaz. Eckstine sings a few more notes
accompanied by saxophone chords, and after they come to rest, the brass section plays
one more closing motive. The coda (outro) to this piece is notable because it is one of the
first examples on this compilation (with exception of the Duke Ellington material) that
present a section of music that must be conducted in order for the ensemble to be
together. The necessity of a conductor would become more and more common in the
post-Swing era and particularly with more contemporary ensembles such as the Stan
Kenton orchestra.
Notes:
31
The first 4 measures are not consistent with the rest of the intro. Nevertheless, after 4
measures Hines is joined by the rest of the rhythm section which plays a 12/8 shuffle
pattern. The bass in particular, with its triplet rhythms gives this feeling to the trio. The
drummer, who is almost inaudible is stirring on the snare with brushes. Rather than
chugging straight through the intro and into the first bar of form (where Eckstine begins
singing), the trio plays an anticipation into the 12th bar of the intro and lets the note ring;
the bass player adds the finishing touch to this intro and plays the lower octave of the
root of the chord on the and of 2 of the 12th bar of the intro. The intro to this tune is
much more delicate than intros to other tunes and it really takes its time. Thus far, most
of the intros have been relatively short, usually lasting no more than 8 bars, if that. This
intro really takes its time and sets the tune up well.
Eckstine is not the bluesiest singer, but the addition of the electric guitar
commenting on the vocal line adds the blues touch that is missing. The saxophone
pads beneath his vocal are also a nice touch, but its the guitar here that is really
playing the blues. The arrangement begins escalating in intensity in the final two bars of
the first 12 bar vocal chorus when the horn section plays a motive that interrupts the
vocal. In the second chorus, the saxophones and brass section begin alternating
background figures, commenting on the vocal line but also answering one another while
Eckstine sings over them. This chorus keeps crescendo-ing until the final two bars of
this chorus, when the horns again play another motive (different, but similar than the
first) to round out this chorus. Then, like a shot out of a cannon, the drummer nails beat
one of the next chorus and Shorty McConnell comes blaring in with a barrage of high
notes. They continue through the first 4 bars of the chorus while the rest of the ensemble
plays stop time, the first example of this technique heard so far. Also notable is the
way the drummer fills the fourth bar and kicks beat four, setting up the band and leading
the rhythm section back into playing time under the trumpet solo. Although this isnt
completely uncommon for this time (1942), it is done very tastefully and in a way that
very few drummers could do; with the exception of Chick Webb. Shorty continues to
wail as the band plays some swinging backgrounds behind him for the first chorus. In
the second chorus the ensemble parts escalate to a full blown shout chorus, complete
with the drummer playing a backbeat on his snare drum. Here the saxes play a
countermelody to Shortys solo as the brass play shorter, stacatto figures above them.
The shout chorus settles down slightly at the 5th bar, but the drummer keeps playing his
backbeat. At the end of the second chorus of Shortys solo, the arrangement takes a left
turn with a 4 bar extension that segues smoothly into a 4 bar coda, climaxing with a
rhythmic unison line in the horns and a stratospheric note by Shorty.
As a side note, the feel of the rhythm section in this chart is fantastic! The
drummer sets up the band going into the first chorus of trumpet solo, and he lays into a
backbeat during the second chorus of the trumpet solo. The bass player walks four to the
bar almost the whole chart and really lays the time back with the drummer, especially at
the shout that occurs during the second chorus of trumpet solo.
Finally, this chart is notable because it is one of the first examples on this
compilation of a vocal tune that is not really a vocal feature. Eckstines part on this tune
is almost an afterthought. The chart really showcases Shorty McConnells prowess at
high register trumpet playing and the bands ability to swing their collective you-knowwhat off!
Notes:
32
33
1st Chorus:
2nd Chorus:
3rd Chorus:
4th Chorus:
5th Chorus:
no solos
Bridge (8) Trumpet
AA (16) Trombone; B (8) Sax; A (8) Trombone
AA (16) Trumpet; B (8) Clarinet; A (8) Trumpet
B (8) - Sax
The shout chorus of this tune, which comes around the 2:30 minute mark is
notable because of the way Chick Webb fills the spaces in and around the ensemble
figures. He also plays a fill at the end of the trumpet solo that sets up the top of shout
chorus. This was very rare among drummers playing in 1934, and Chick was one of the
first truly modern big band drummers in his conception of the role of the drums in a big
band.
The end of the tune is slightly interesting because it doesnt end the way most
other arrangements of Stompin end. Instead of having a fully orchestrated fermata at
the end of the tune, Edgar Sampson, the composer and arranger, chose to have the piano
echo (in octaves) the final motive played by the saxophone section; quite a playful ending
to such a stompin tune.
Notes:
34
the first solo chorus (at the 1:20 mark) where Chick not only catches the figure but plays
a setup in the rest preceding the figure. To this point of the compilation, no other
drummer has played such a clear and precise setup for the band. Although it seems
miniscule and insignificant, this idea is absolutely revolutionary to the future of the big
band drummer; and it all begins with Chick Webb. Also of note is the fact that Chick
seems to be playing time on the hi-hat, rather than with brushes, for most of the tune.
During the last forty seconds of the tune, the most revolutionary and important
moments occur. At the end of the trombone solo, Chick plays a fill that sets up the top of
the shout chorus. During the first two A sections of the shout, Chick is filling, kicking,
and setting up the band, as well as playing crashes on beat 1 of every two bars. When the
bridge arrives we hear the first drum solo of this entire compilation, a barrage of quick
triplets and eighth note rhythms accompanied by stop-time figures in the horns. During
the final two bars of the bridge the horns re-enter to set up the last A section. Here,
Chick not only plays then figure with the horns but also sets them up by playing cymbal
crashes during the rests, a very musical, revolutionary, and mature sound that would
make its way into the playing of drummers like Mel Lewis (particularly the cymbal crash
during rests). With Chick in the drivers seat, the band swings hard during the final A
section, which is marked by stinger played by the brass, to which Chick adds a cymbal
splash that actually has a purpose!
Notes:
35
Much like Stompin and Dont Be That Way, the solo choruses are broken up
amongst a variety of different soloists in order to feature as many players as possible.
The solo order is as follows:
1st solo chorus: AA (16) - Tenor Sax; B (8) Clarinet; A (8) Tenor Sax
2nd solo chorus: AA (16) Piano; B (8) Bari Sax; A (8) - Piano
3rd solo chorus: AA (16) Trumpet; B (8) Trombone; A (8) Trumpet
4th solo chorus: AA (16) + Coda (8) Drum solo breaks
Among the solos, three are notable. First, it can be stated now that by 1937 the
clarinet has become a solo instrument and a common double for saw players, but no
longer carries the importance as a section instrument that it once did in the years
preceding the Swing era. It is only heard in this tune for a mere 8 bars. The piano solo is
also interesting because all the other instruments except piano and drums drop out. The
pianist plays the three A sections of solo in a ragtime-esque style. Chick Webb switches
to playing on his rims, further invoking the ragtime style. This is perhaps the first time
we hear a player, and in this case two players, intentionally draw on the sound of an
earlier era for a soloistic effect. Not only does the piano utilize ragtime in his solo, but
Webb responds with the appropriate stylistic drum accompaniment, a true sign of a
master drummer at work.
Finally, and most notable is the drum solo. These breaks are clearly an arranged
drum solo, in a similar style to Dont Be That Way, but slightly more elaborate. Rather
than simply writing a stop time chorus for the drums to solo over (like Dont Be That
Way), Edgar Sampson sets this drum solo as a section where Chick Webb trades with
the full ensemble. Webb takes the final two bars of the trumpet solo and plays a raucous
drum fill that sets up the top of his solo chorus where he trades 2 bar sections with the
band for 8 bars, which then segues into a mini-shout chorus that quotes the melody and
lasts for another 8 bars. All the while, Chick is filling, kicking, and setting up the band
effortlessly. He even plays cowbell and woodblocks during his second solo break, a
sound that many Swing drummers, including Gene Krupa (on the famous Sing, Sing,
Sing) and Sam Woodyard (Ellington), embraced. Chick plays fully orchestrated solos,
using not only his snare drum but also his bass drum and toms (as well as the previously
mentioned toys) to fill out the sound of his solo breaks and fills. The last 8 bars are a
departure from the rest of the tune. Sampson employs a pedal point here and omits the
piano and bass from the ensemble, leaving Chick free to splash and crash his way
through the horn figures into the end of the tune. The form of the drum solo is as
follows:
|| A (8) Trade 2s w/ ensemble A (8) Mini-shout with drums soloing
Coda (8) Pedal point with drums crashing ||
For the entire tune (save the piano solo), Chick plays time on an opening and
closing hi-hat, a more modern sound even than what he plays on the previous tunes from
3 years earlier. For most of the tune (except the bridge of the melody) the bass player is
playing a 2 feel, which seems to work underneath the A sections of the head of the tune,
but could have switched to a 4 feel during the solos. When the bass player does walk,
during the bridge of the melody, he plays a lot of repeated notes, a slightly archaic sound
for this time period.
36
Notes:
37
horns licks. Chick even accentuates the backbeat in bars 9-12 to fill in the space between
the alternating offbeat entrances of the trumpets and saxes. The last four bars of the
shout chorus are odd because rather than writing ensemble figures, the arrangement
calls for a quick saxophone solo to transition back into a repeat of the shout. The second
time the shout is played, Chick Webb ups the ante, playing a few more snare drum fills
and crashes. Rather than a saxophone solo, Webb takes the last four bars of the shout
which end in a blistering flurry of 32nd notes.
Ella re-enters with the bridge, played exactly as before. The final A section is also
a repeat of the in-head, except that the final two measures are cut off, and instead the
arrangements segues directly to a coda. Here, the saxes back up Ella with whole note
chords for 8 measures. Suddenly, the feel switches to half time for a rather bluesy
sounding ending. Notable here is the doubling of the descending bass line in the low
brass and how the trumpets lay back their entrance on the and of beat three in the first
bar of half time.
Overall, the arrangement is rather sophisticated, utilizing many techniques and
colors while showcasing a budding young vocalist. The arrangement also does an
excellent job of balancing the importance of the singer and the band. While earlier vocal
arrangements of such groups as the Paul Whiteman Orchestra (with Bing Crosby) and
the Cab Calloway Orchestra tended to focus solely on the vocalist with very little playing
time for the band, Van Alexander finds a way to include a swinging shout chorus and
even utilizes all the horns behind the vocalist, something many other arrangers did not
do.
Notes:
38
39
One notable feature of this tune is the expanding orchestration pallatte arrangers
like Willie Smith are using. The brass section uses many different types of mutes in this
tune, and clarinet is also used as a double for the saxophone. Although the range of
orchestrational possibilities is expanding, Smith still chooses to use each section of the
ensemble as a unit in the arrangement. He does not combine colors (i.e. a trumpet and
clarinet playing the same part), but rather separates the different motives, melodies, and
countermelodies by assigning them to specific sections of the band. Smith also utilizes
the effect of the rhythm section coming in and out to great success in this arrangement.
A few more things are notable about this piece. First the melody is almost always
present throughout the entire tune. In fact the melody is only absent for approximately
24 measures (give or take) of the 74 measure tune. Secondly, this piece marks the first
appearance of the vibraphone (right at the end of the piece) on this collection; an
instrument that would come into vogue with the Benny Goodman band, featuring Lionel
Hampton.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro [Full Band] (4) Melody [Brass w/ woodwind countermelody] (16) Ensemble
Interlude [Horns only] (4) Trumpet solo 1 [w/ sax bgs.] (16) Trumpet solo 2 [w/ sax
accomp. only] (8) Continue Trumpet solo [add rhythm section] (8) Shout chorus
[melody in saxes] (8) Sax soli [w/ brass bgs.] (4) Trumpet Soli [trombone bgs.] (6)
Notes:
40
Intro [Full Band] (8) ||: A [Trumpet w/ sax bgs.] (8) :|| B [Saxes w/ brass bgs.] (8)
A [Same] (8) Intro [Full Band] (First 4 bars only) ||: A [Simile] (8) :|| B [Sax
solo w/ brass bgs.] (8) A [Simile] (3)
The final A section of this half of the tune is interrupted midway by a dissonant,
stinging brass chord, which is held for 3 measures, finally resolving when the trombone
enters. The following 8 bars present a chromatic decent that segues into a timpani solo
punctuated by rhythmic figures in the horn parts. Interestingly, the drum plays the
breaks on timpani rather than on the drumset, the first time on this compendium that
timpani can be heard, especially in a solo context, a rare occurrence in the jazz idiom. It
seems as though the timpani solo is the first four measures of a new A section, because
after the timpani solo, the band comes charging back in with what sounds like the last
four measures of the A section as an ensemble shout. Here is where the transitional
section of the tune ends and the second section begins. The transitional section is
diagramed as follows:
Trans. [Brass] (5) Chromatic Transition [Full Band] (8) Timpani Solo [w/ horn
accomp.] (4) + Ens. Shout (4)
The second section of the tune, which begins after the 4 measures of ensemble
playing succeeding the timpani solo are marked as such for the following reason:
Although the section of the timpani solo sounds like the return of the A section it is not
included in the form of the tune. Rather than playing one more A section (8 bars) of
shout after the timpani solo before moving to the bridge (in keeping with the form), the
arrangement is scored as two more A sections (16 bars) of shout, which means the top of
the form returns after the timpani solo and not at the top of the timpani solo.
The
bridge comes back here as a saxophone solo with brass backgrounds and the last A
section of the tune is again played as a shout chorus before the tune transitions into an
extremely weird coda that begins with two measures of a downward spiraling figure in
the saxes. What sounds like 14 more measures of coda follow this figure, marked by the
bass players constant quarter note pulse and many intricate and intertwining motives in
the horns. Unfortunately, the splash cymbal at the end of the tune is back. The second
section of the tune is diagramed as follows:
||: A [Ens. Shout] (8) :|| B [Sax solo w/ brass bgs.] (8) A [Simile] (8)
Coda [Ens.] 2 + 14.
Notes:
41
the pyramid figures in the bridge. The biting staccato style of saxophone articulation is
used in this arrangement and is very similar to the articulation and sound of the
saxophone section on Mood Indigo. The saxophones swing the first A section with
authority, phrasing and articulating in a modern fashion. The brass take the second A
section, and notably lay back all the figures, effectively turning the eighth notes into
drag triplets or quarter note triplets with staccato articulation. This same figure is
used repeatedly throughout this second A section, and it is really the first time we hear a
brass section really lay a figure back (although it was probably written in the part by Sy
Oliver). The pyramid figures at the bridge are hip and a new orchestrational texture that
arrangers and composers begin to use more and more in the Swing era. The saxophones
take the melody on the last A section, aided by brass.
Next comes a full band soli that moves away from the chord progression of the
melody, although it does seem to use the bridge. Here the brass and saxes trade riffs,
licks, and the saxes even take two 4-bar breaks. Interestingly, this soli is 40 bars long
and is in the following form: C (8), D (8), D (8), B (8), C (8). The letters C and D are
used because the chord progression here is different from both the A sections and the B
sections of the melody, however, B is used here because the bridge returns at that
particular point.
The first trumpet soloist (Sy Oliver?) is perhaps the soloist who shines the most
on this tune. He chooses his notes carefully and almost sounds like Louis Armstrong.
He even comes within one note of perfectly quoting Mary Had A Little Lamb in the first
few notes of his solo. Oliver takes the first two A sections of the tune, followed by tenor
sax with ensemble backgrounds and the bridge. These backgrounds are dynamic in
nature, utilizing both long and short notes with dynamics; particularly of note are the
large swells on the longer notes. The final A section is taken by another trumpet player,
this time with a mute. Notable here is how the soloist uses the last lick the saxophones
play in the bridge (it overlaps with the first measure of the last A section) as the opening
to his solo. Also of note is the fact that the drummer drops out (or is playing so quite
that he is inaudible) during this solo. He almost isnt even missed as the guitar
chunking really grooves and feels great!
Immediately following the muted trumpet solo, Oliver presents an 8-bar
interlude where the rhythm section drops out and only the horns play. This section has
the highest trumpet playing heard thus far. After the interlude the form returns and is
treated as an outhead/soli/shout chorus. The trombones play an 8-bar soli with horn
backgrounds over the first A section of the tune, loosely quoting the melody. Again, the
trombone is rising in stature, becoming an equal voice that arrangers are beginning to
write solos and solis form. During the second A section we hear the saxophones and a
clarinet play a 8-bar soli with horn backgrounds and accompaniment, although the
melody is not quoted. This is the only time in the tune the clarinet is heard, and for only
8 bars, further indicating its stature as a doubling instrument for a saxophone player
rather than the main woodwind voice (as it once was) in a big band. The bridge is played
by solo saxophone in a very archaic and hokey staccato style which almost undermines
the swing and groove of the last two minutes and fifty seconds of the tune. The last A
section is a shout section where the brass and saxophones alternate riffs in a typical style.
During this entire 32-bar outhead/shout chorus the rhythm section swings superbly
beneath the horns. The tune ends, of course, with the obligatory splash cymbal.
42
One final note: the most important feature of this tune is the arrangement itself.
Oliver uses many new orchestrational techniques such as the pyramid effect, the rhythm
section dropping out, etc. that change the mood and feel of the tune and vary the texture
of the ensemble in interesting ways. The final 32-bar chorus is the most inventive
because rather than simply presenting the outhead in a similar fashion to the inhead,
Oliver instead crafts a superbly arranged section of music that shifts quickly between
sections of the band, soloists, riffs, and backgrounds, effectively creating the high point
of the piece at the very end which certainly left this listener wanting more.
Notes:
43
with rhythm section accompaniment. The tune ends with the bari player playing a
typical bass tag line and, of course, the obligatory cymbal, however, in this
arrangement played with a soft mallet and allowed to ring, rather than the choked sound
at the end of almost every single tune from this time period.
Notes:
44
Although this the form of this tune is essentially the same 8 bar section repeated
over and over, Sy Oliver again works his magic and keeps it very interesting. The first
two times (16 bars) we hear the full ensemble playing the melody orchestrated
throughout the ensemble. The second two times we hear a variation on the melody with
a countermelody in the low brass and bari sax. A similar countermelody is also present
in Benny Goodmans Sing, Sing, Sing, recorded around the exact same time as For
Dancers Only. This countermelody then becomes the basis for the trombone soli the
fifth time around. The trombone soli then becomes the background for a sax solo the
sixth time around. The seventh time around is part shout chorus (4 bars) and then sax
soli (4 bars), segueing into the eighth time around which finishes the sax soli (w/
backgrounds). The ninth and tenth repeats are a stratospheric trumpet solo (w/
backgrounds). The eleventh and twelfth repeats are the shout chorus, complete with
backbeats and crashes on two and four.
A few notes: Obviously the range of the brass section is expanding. The
pedal/bell tones in the trombones and the high register trumpet playing on this tune are
prime examples. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this is perhaps the first tune on
this compendium where the articulation is completely modern throughout the entire
tune. Gone are the musical vestiges of an earlier time. The Swing era, although still in
its infancy, has spawned an articulation style of its own, a style that will set the standard
for decades to come.
Notes:
45
A (8) [Saxes & Drums], A (8) [Full band], B (8) [Brass w/ sax solo], A (8) [Brass vs.
Saxes] Shout chorus / Transition (8) [Full band]
Immediately at the top of Trummy Youngs vocal the texture shifts to stop time, a
technique heard before in some of the Chick Webb Orchestras repertoire (during Chicks
solos), but here it seems much more sophisticated and understated, played and arranged
in a much cooler manner. Stop time is used for the verse (8 bars) that introduces the
idea of the tune. The time feel then shifts back into a 4 feel for the A sections which
present the vocal refrain to which this song owes its title. The vocal refrain sections (A
section x 2) is an excellent example of a Swing era clich; having the band and featured
vocalist alternate lines in a call and response style. The bridge is sung almost entirely by
the band, with vocal comments made by Trummy Young. The final A section is the
same as the first two vocal refrain sections. The form of this vocal section is as follows:
Stop Time (8) [Vocal solo], A (8) [Call & response vox], A (8) [Simile], B (8) [Band
vocal], A (8) [Call & response vox]
Following the final A section of the vocals, we hear a saxophone solo with brass
accompaniment over the first A section of the tune. The repeat of the A section ups the
ante, with the drummer kicking the band and delineating the form by setting up the
repeat of the A. Here, the saxophone solo is replaced by riffs in the saxophone section ,
responded to by riffs in the brass section while the rhythm section swings effortlessly
below. This riff chorus ends at the bridge which is marked surprisingly by a drum solo
which, rather than lasting the length of the bridge (8 bars), is extended to 10 bars (the
band re-enters on the last two bars), heightening the tension before releasing it into the
final shout chorus of the tune. The tune ends oddly, with the band playing a clean cut-off
as the drummer continues to solo. This may have been a mistake on the drummers part
or it may be an ill-conceived ending, but it is the only sloppy part of the entire tune. It
almost seems as though it may be in the style of what later drummers, particularly the
Bebop and post-bop drummers, would do at the ends of tunes; play a final fill and a
crash to cap-off the end of a tune after the horns had already cut off their final note.
The form of the last section of the tune is as follows:
A (8) [Sax solo w/ brass bgs.], A (8) [Riff chorus], B (10) [Drum solo], A (8) [Full band
shout]
A final note on this tune is that the rhythm section feel is excellent and very
modern. The drummer plays time almost exclusively on the hi hats (with exception of
the intro) as well as sets up sections, catches brass figures, kicks the band, and even takes
a solo. The bass player keeps the 4 feel going on the entire tune (with exception of the
stop time) and hardly plays any repeated notes. The guitar is very understated and is
played in a Freddie Green style that propels the groove forward and is not intrusive.
Notes:
46
47
48
rest of the drum playing in the tune picks up on things drummers like Chick Webb and
Papa Jo Jones were doing around this time, such as playing the rests on drums/cymbals
and catching brass hits. The section in this tune that is particularly of note comes near
the end, just before the clarinet solo. Here the drummer catches some of the brass
figures on his cymbals, one of the first times weve heard a drummer catch things on
cymbals rather than on the drums. Secondly, he also plays a rim shot right in the rest,
nicely setting up the horn lick that follows.
Notably, and obviously, the clarinet has returned, but as a solo instrument, a role
it would remain in until after the Swing era when it was largely faded out, except as an
occasional saxophone double.
Finally, one of the most important moments comes at the end of the tune. Rather
than playing the obligatory splash at the end of the tune as an after thought, the
drummer catches the final note of the horn parts on a cymbal the way a modern
drummer does. Although this seems miniscule, it really ties the end of the piece together
nicely.
Notes:
49
the background figures shift, and the brass and saxes are juxtaposed in a call and
response fashion beneath the solo trumpet melody. A four bar transition, which includes
the drummer kicking the band and filling in spaces, shifts the tune into a saxophone soli.
Benny Goodman then enters with trombone backgrounds for a solo that is marked by
interaction by the drummer. All within the first minute!
Following the clarinet solo is a swingin trumpet solo. Here the drummer beings
chopping wood and plays a groovy backbeat accompanied by a heavy bass line and
rhythmic backgrounds figures in the saxes. Then we get a trombone solo. Notably, the
trombonist uses a dotted quarter note hemiola in the beginning of his solo; a rhythmic
motive that permeates jazz history, particularly small group music, but also has found its
way into the trick bag of many arrangers. After the trumpet solo, the shout chorus of the
tune begins, first at a softer dynamic level, gradually rising in volume and intensity with
its riff structure. Finally the shout chorus really kicks in with the saxes and brass calling
and responding to each other while the rhythm section trudges on and the drummer fills
the spaces. The tune ends with a typical Swing era tag that is reminiscent of a New
Orleans brass band.
Notes:
50
doesnt set up the shout chorus very well. It almost sounds as though the drum solo is
coming down in dynamic each time he plays it and then, WHAM! the shout chorus rips
the listeners face off; especially at the very end of the tune when Krupa launches into a
tyrade of rimshot triplets for 16 bars.
This tune really swings hard. And although the licks, riffs, and melodic lines
played have now become old hat and are completely clich, this tune was a remarkable
feat of arranging when it was conceived. The band plays with an intensity that hasnt
been matched thus far by any other group on this compilation. The jazz phrasing and
articulation in this tune is very modern. The articulations across the band are precise.
Although the time feel is mainly played on the drums (rather than cymbals), it doesnt
sound dated for some reason, probably because the groove of this tune is so timeless. It
just works no matter what decade or century it is played in.
Notes:
51
solo form when Harry James plays is perhaps the highlight of the tune, especially when
one listens to the reaction from the crowd.
The rhythm section feel on this tune is completely modern. The drummer plays
time on the cymbals, utilizes modern techniques and musical ideas (fills, crashes, kicks,
etc.). The bass player walks four to the bar the entire tune (although there are some
repeated notes) and thee guitar player can be heard chunking a la Freddie Green the
entire tune. At the end of the tune, the drummer does play the classic extra note on a
cymbal, but this time it is accompanied by a bass drum and is played on a larger crash
cymbal rather than a splash cymbal as heard in the past. This is also a much more
modern sound, and drummers would continue to play the stinger this way throughout
the Swing era, and even into the Bebop era at the ends of tunes where a fermata was
placed.
Notes:
52
Intro (6) [Full Band] + (2) [Guitar Break] A1 (16) [Guitar over trpt. & sax bgs.], A2
(16) [Guitar over sax bgs], A3 (16) [Guitar over full ens. bgs.], A4 (16) [Guitar over full
ens.
shout
bgs.],
A5
(12)
[Guitar
over
full
ens.
shout bgs.] + (4) [Guitar Break] A6 (16) [Clarinet over full ens. shout bgs.] A7
(12) [Guitar over full ens. bgs] + (4) [Guitar Break] Coda (Fermata)
Another notable feature of this tune are the breaks. Although weve seen breaks
before, the breaks in this tune are four measures long and are the longest breaks up to
this point. By the time this tune was recorded, breaks were already a staple in
arrangements that intended to showcase the stars of the band (like Charlie Christian).
These breaks would gain even more importance in the Bebop era, as virtuosic soloists
like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie would covet these breaks to showcase their
incredible talents.
Finally, this tune is the first tune on this compilation that includes a modern
saxophone section of 2 altos, 2 tenors, and 1 bari. It also features four trumpets,
something that many of the previous tunes have not.
Notes:
53
legato notes as the rhythms in the background figures. For the second 8 bars, however,
Eddie Sauter staccato background figures, creating a nice contrast between the
antecedent and consequent phrases. When Peggy Lee enters the legato notes return for
the first 8 bars while Goodman plays a solo behind Lees vocals. Again, Sauter switches
to shorter background figures (saxes only) for the second 8 bars. For Peggys second 16
bars, the same formula is used, although the backgrounds on the second 8 bars are not as
staccato as before, but are still shorter than the whole notes of the first 8 bars. After she
sings this verse, Sauter uses a two bar extension on the form to transition into a full band
shout chorus for the first 8 bars of the form. Goodman then takes a clarinet solo (with
backgrounds), which last for 7 bars. In the fourth measure of this solo, Sauter writes a
rhythmically interesting background figure. As heard before, the notes here are played
staccato, but what is interesting about the figure is that the eighth notes are played
deliberately straight, rather than swung. This marks one of the first times we hear a
band play in this fashion; not swinging on purpose, for dramatic effect. And it works!
Finally, the clarinet solo transitions into a coda that utilizes a similar stretto effect as the
beginning. A short rudimental drumset solo, punctuated by a unison rhythm in the
horns ends the piece; and, unfortunately, the drummer plays the clich splash cymbal.
What is also interesting about this piece is that the vocalist is treated like a
featured soloist rather than as the main attraction. Peggy Lee doesnt really get much
more face time than anyone else in the band. Goodman still takes a solo and after she
sings her two choruses she never comes back in again. The vocalist that really became
the main attraction was Frank Sinatra with the Harry James Orchestra, which will be
discussed shortly.
Notes:
54
Intro (16) [Trombones vs. Trumpets] A1 (16) [Saxes w/ Bone countermelody & Brass
bgs] B (16) [Clarinet solo w/ band bgs.] A2 (16) [Simile to A1] A3 (16) [Sax Soli]
B (16) [Clarinet & Piano soli] A4 (16) [Band soli] A5 (16) [Clarinet solo w/ sax
bgs.] A6 (14) [Shout Chorus] Outro (16)
The trumpets are used in this tune primarily to play one pitch over and over
again in a riff-like fashion, this occurs both in the A and B sections. In fact, they only
start playing other pitches in the fourth A section, which presents a hip full band soli,
and even then they return to playing the same pitch for the final 8 bars of this soli. The
saxes are used in this tune as the primary melody carriers and for background figures on
the B section behind Goodmans solo. The trombones are used to play the motive that is
used for the intro and outro, they also present a countermelody during the A sections
when the saxes have the melody and finally, they team up with the trumpets for the soli
and shout chorus.
Notes:
55
56
57
The instrumental parts of the arrangement are self-explanatory. The arranger of this
tune uses the same horn backgrounds over all of the A sections (but with different
endings to adhere to the harmonic structure of the tune). The ensemble soli that follows
the last A of Sinatras vocals is almost too short; it leaves the listener wanting more. The
soli is simply the brass stating the melody, which the saxophones respond to in the gaps
between phrases. The band takes the first 12 bars of this A section and Sinatra finishes
off the A section by singing the final line to the melody (All or Nothing at All). For the
entire tune the rhythm section just keeps a nice swinging 2-feel, although it is a little
um-pahy in the piano part because of the chords being played on beat 2 and 4 of every
measure. The tempo of this tune is similar to Benny Goodmans Sometimes Im
Happy; although they both are ballads, the tempo is not too slow and the time feel has
a bounce to it. Obviously this is because the song needed to be danceable. Any slower
and it would feel sluggish and probably be too long. One must remember that dance
tunes were usually shorter and too the point so that dancers wouldnt get tired out
dancing to one tune. The point was to keep people on the dance floor for as long as
possible, and one way to do this was to keep the set moving from number to number
quickly.
Notes:
58
first two A sections is played by the saxophone section with brass interjections every two
bars. The roles are reversed at the bridge. Finally, the last A section is presented in the
same manner as the first two.
Harry James takes the first solo and wails! Meanwhile the horn players play rifflike backgrounds in a call and response fashion behind him for the A sections, and
longer, legato backgrounds over the bridge. During the last A, the drummer really lays
into the backbeat, helping the background riffs groove harder and propelling the tune
into the first four bars of the new form which are a quick ensemble interlude. An alto sax
solo completes the second four bars of this A section. Then, all of a sudden we hit the
bridge for a piano, skipping the second A section of the form. It almost seems silly to
have the alto player solo for only for bars when Harry James got an entire chorus; clearly
he was the star. The pianist plays the bridge, which brings the tune back to the A section
where shout chorus is presented.
The shout chorus is quite interesting because of how it builds. For the first 8 bars
the melody is in the trombones with saxophone accompaniment. The second time
around muted trumpets are added. Both eight bar sections are played fairly quiet. The
last two bars of the second eight are occupied by a triplet drum fill that crescendos and
kicks the band into the final 8 bars of the shout chorus. Here the melody shifts back to
the saxophones. The trumpets and trombones playing riff figures over the melody. A 2
bar extension is added to this final 8 measure section which then segues into a 4 bar coda
to end the tune.
The form is as follows:
Intro (4) [ens.] A (8) [Saxes w/ brass bgs.], A (8) [Same] B (8) [Brass w/ sax bgs.]
A (8) [Saxes w/ brass bgs.] AABA (32) [Trumpet solo w/ ens. backgrounds] A (4)
[Ens. interlude] + (4) [Alto Sax] B (8) [Piano] ||: A Shout Chorus (8) [Ens.] :|| A
Shout Chorus (10) [Ens.] Coda (4) [Ens.]
Notes:
59
||
|////|////|////|////|////|////|
|/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / |
| / / IV |
IV
|////|////|
| / / / / ||
Instead of maintaining this form, the second chorus of the tune reverts to the
standard 12-bar blues form. Here the first four bars of the melody are quoted as
background figures beneath a trombone solo. The saxes then switch to playing pads
for the rest of the trombone solo chorus. The third and final chorus of the tune goes back
to the original 18 bar form of the tune and passes the melody around the ensemble in
various orchestrations (solo trumpet, muted trumpet soli, clarinet and trumpet duet).
Meanwhile, the sections of the band that are not carrying the melody at any given point
are playing in the spaces between phrases or background figures behind the melody. A
tag of 3 bars of the IV chord, resolving to the I chord is added to the end of the tune.
Notes:
60
61
Intro (pickup + 2 bars) [Ens.] ||: A (8) [Saxes w/ brass wahs] :|| B (8) [Brass w/
sax accomp.] A (8) [Saxes w/ brass wahs] Vocal Interlude (10) [Vocal
conversation w/ sax bgs.] ||: A (8) [Female vox. w/ sax bgs.] :|| B (8) [Female
vox. w/ ens. bgs..] A (8) [Female vox. w/ sax bgs.] Vocal Interlude (10) [Vocal
conversation w/ sax bgs.] Trumpet Breaks (6) [Trumpet solo w/ trumpet/drum
answer] A (8) [Trumpet solo w/ sax bgs.], A (6) [Trumpet solo w/ ens. bgs.] Coda
(8) [Trumpet solo w/ ens. answer]
Notes:
62
(4) [Trumpet break] A (16) [Trumpet solo w/ bgs.], A (20) [Simile] + (2) [Piano
break] + (2) [Trumpet break] Coda (2) [Piano break] + Trumpet Cadenza + 4
Fermatas [Ens.]
After examining the form, it is clear that this piece is not really highly arranged.
It sets the melody in the same fashion as the Paul Whiteman arrangement. In the
Whiteman arrangement, the A section is 8 bars long and the A section is 12 bars long,
for a total of 20 bars. In the Krupa band arrangement, these sections (16 and 24 bars,
respectively) are doubled in length because of the tempo.
Notes:
63
band joins him for the final fermata. Again, Krupa plays the obligatory cymbal note, and
like the other tunes the cymbal is allowed to ring.
Most interesting in this tune is the simple fact that the melody is never actually
presented. Eldridge hints at it during the solo chorus that directly follows the
introduction and the band plays a snippet of it right at the end of the tune before
Eldridges cadenza, but other than that the melody is largely absent from the
arrangement, which is to bad because Rockin Chair is one of Bloomington native
Hoagy Carmichaels best tunes. Another interesting feature of the tune is that the 16
bars that make up the first half of the tune are really not A and A because the second 8
bars doesnt begin the same way as the first 8 bars.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (8) [Trumpet solo over full band harmonies] A1 and 2 (8+8) [Trumpet
solo w/ sax bgs.] B (8) [Simile] A3 (8) [Simile] B (8) [Trumpet w/ full ens.]
A4 (6) [Trumpet w/ full ens.] Coda [Trumpet cadenza w/ clarinet & piano] Fermata
Notes:
64
65
main melody, unifying the entire arrangement. This final section is interrupted after six
measures by a 4 bar coda that crescendos and ends the tune.
The feel in the rhythm section on this tune is part archaic, part modern. The
drummer plays time on the hi hat for the entire tune (with the exception of the tom-tom
intro), creating a more modern feel, although the stride piano doubling the bass line
during the 2 feel makes it sound slightly um-pahish because of the right hand comping
on beats two and four. Overall the tune grooves nicely.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Solo tom-tom] + (12) [Clar. & Sax over tom-tom w/ band interup.] +
(4) [Full ens.] Head (16) [Trombone w/ sax bgs.] Sax soli (8) + (8) [Brass bgs.] +
(8) [Pedal point 1 w/ brass accomp.] + (8) [Pedal point 2 w/ brass accomp.] Shout
Chorus (24) [Full ens.] Trumpet Solo (24) [Sax bgs.] Head (8) [Trombone w/ sax
bgs.] + (6) [Trombone w/ sax/clar. countermelody] Coda (4) [Full ens.]
This song is notably the first piece we have that is an arrangement of a tune
written by a renowned classical composer.
Notes:
66
segueing into an 8 bar coda that features the trumpet in a unison duet with a growing
ensemble accompaniment.
A few other features of this tune are notable. First, this is the first appearance of
the fantastic Buddy Rich on drums. He really kicks the band in this tune, and plays
pretty loud. Buddy plays time on the drums for the A sections, cracking the backbeat.
Following the A sections, he shifts to time on the hi-hats, a much smoother feel. Buddy
also lets loose with some chop-busting, Buddy Rich signature snare drum sixteenth notes
during the 4 bar transition that is between the trombone solo and the clarinet solo.
Buddy also catches the polyrhythmic figure played by the trombone soloist during the
9th-12th bars of his solo. During the piano, it sounds like hes playing time on both a
closed hi hat cymbal and on the hi-hat stand, something drummers would continue to do
throughout the Swing era. Buddy also plays a few splashes and crashes in the rests, the
first of which comes in the repeat of the A section on beat four of the first measure. The
second notable feature of the tune is the battle between the trumpet players. This is
notable because it was a popular arranging trick used during the Swing era in order to
feature two soloists and heighten the tension of the piece; and it certainly works in this
piece.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Trumpet solo w/ drum backbeat] A (8) [Full ens.] (4) [Trumpet solo]
(8) [Full ens.] (4) [Trombone break w/ accomp.] A (8) [Trombone/Sax soli] B
(8) [Bone solo w/ sax bgs.] + (8) [Add bone bgs] Transition (4) [Brass & drums w/
clarinet lead-in] C (16) [Clarinet solo w/ trpt. & sax bgs.] C (16) [Sax solo w/ bone
bgs.] C (8) [Piano solo] + (8) [Add sax bgs.] Modulation [Full ens.] (8) D (12)
[Trumpet trading w/ ens. bgs.] D (10) [Trumpet trading w/ ens. bgs.] + (2) [Trumpet
break] Coda (8) [Trumpet duet w/ ens. accomp.]
Notes:
67
trombone section over string and saxophone background figures while the rhythm
section switches to a 4 feel. The saxophone section plays the last two bars of the bridge
and takes the last A section as a soli. Oliver then moves directly to the bridge, utilizing a
popular arranging trick that truncates the form, something seen in arrangements prior to
this time. Here there is a brief 8 bar trumpet solo, the only improvisation in the entire
tune, with ensemble backgrounds. This segues in an 8 bar shout chorus over the A
section of the tune, culminating in an ensemble rhythm that sets up a break for the
vocalists to enter.
The trio of female vocalists sings the entire form of the tune with various
background orchestrations, including strings, brass, and strings with saxes. The last A
section uses the 2 bar extension native to the tune. Here the entire ensemble re-enters
and plays a tag, ending in a fermata.
What is strikingly absent from this tune is improvisation. The only improvisation
in the tune is the brief 8 bar trumpet solo during the instrumental portion of the tune.
Although a full chorus of solo would have been a nice addition to the tune, it isnt really
necessary, as the point of the tune was to set the melody in different orchestrations and
to feature the trio of vocalists.
Perhaps most notable in this tune is the unbelievably modern feel of the rhythm
section. This tune could be transported directly to the 21st century and not be out of
place in any way. The bass player and drummer are locked in the entire time, and the
guitar player plays in the style of Freddie Green. If one listens closely, one can even hear
the bass player play a few solo licks over the intro of the tune. The two feel is relaxed and
smooth, as is the four feel. The bass player plays no repeated notes and even embellishes
the 2 feel during the melody and during the trumpet solo. The drummer plays time on
the hi-hat and cymbals for the entire tune, sets up the tops of each section with simple,
but effective, fills, and even catches most of the rhythmic hits in the horn parts, most
notably the and of 1 on the last bar of the second A section of the instrumental portion of
the tune.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (8) [Bass solo? w/ strings + ens. accomp.] A (8) [Trumpets w/ sax bgs.], A (8)
[Simile] B (8) [Trombones w/ sax & string bgs.] A (8) [Saxes] B (8) [Trumpet
solo w/ ens. accomp.] A (8) [Full Ens.] A (8) [Vox. w/ string bgs.], A (8) [Simile]
B (8) [Vox. w/ brass bgs.] A (10) [Vox. w/ string & sax bgs.] Femata
Notes:
68
69
70
(12) [Saxes change riffs, trpts./bones continue riffs] Riff Chorus 3 (12) [Saxes change
again, brass continues]
Notes:
71
72
play do-wah, in much the same way as Duke Ellingtons It Dont Mean A Thing (If It
Aint Got That Swing). The bridge is just a sax solo over staccato brass background
figures. Again, like many other Basie tunes, this tune is simple and understated, but
unbelievably effective.
This tune features Count Basie playing two solos, the first is the 8 bar piano intro,
and later in the tune he takes an entire 32 bar chorus with rhythm section
accompaniment. This is perhaps the most Basie has played thus far on this
compendium. Basies solo is very compositional in nature. His solo is basically a bunch
of motives that are smashed together; he plays one motive or riff for a few bars and then
moves onto the next one. His solo is slightly busier than his previous ones, and the most
striking moment in the solo is when he plays a few minor seconds in a rhythmic pattern
during the last A section of his solo. The other important instrument that is featured in
this tune is the bari sax. This is the first tune on this compendium that features this
instrument, although the solo is only half a chorus long, splitting the chorus with a
trumpet solo. Following the piano solo is a Lester Young tenor sax solo that really
showcases the fact that he was way ahead of his time. I think I even hear a few bebop
licks in there The backgrounds behind Youngs solo are riffs that really heighten the
suspense of the tune. This segues into an 8 bar drum solo that kicks the band into a final
8 bar shout chorus. This shout chorus is again riff-like in nature, just like a majority of
Basies tunes. The tailgate trombone slide that leads into this shout chorus is
particularly amusing.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (8) [Solo piano] A (8) [Call & response b/t saxes & brass], A (8) [Simile] B (8)
[Sax solo w/ brass bgs.] A (8) [Same as other As] AABA (32) [Sax solo w/ brass bgs.
on As] AA (16) [Trumpet solo w/ sax bgs.] BA (16) [Bari sax solo] AABA (32)
[Piano solo] AABA (32) [Tenor solo w/ riff bgs. on As.] Drum solo (8) A (8) [Ens.
shout]
Notes:
73
recalls introduction which segues into a 32 bar trombone solo that also has no
background figures. The third solo chorus features Lester Young again in four bar
alternation with the band, who play riffs for the first 4 bars of the A sections. Basie takes
the bridge of this solo chorus. The fourth chorus is simply a repeat of the third chorus.
The tune then segues into a coda where 4 soloists each take a 2 bar unaccompanied solo
in the following order: Piano, Tenor, Bass, & Drums. This is followed by a 2 bar
ensemble tag that ends the tune.
Two other important facets of this tune are the fact that it features two of the
most influential players of the Swing era (other than Lester Young); the inventive and
wonderful drummer Papa Jo Jones and one of the most modern bassists of the Swing
era, Walter Page, who would only be eclipsed by the young Jimmy Blanton in Duke
Ellingtons band.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) + (4) AABA (32) [Tenor sax solo] Transition (2) AABA (32) [Trombone
solo] ||: A (4) [Ens. riffs] + (4) [Tenor solo], A (4) [Ens. riffs] + (4) [Tenor solo] B
(8) [Piano solo] A (4) [Ens. riffs] + (4) [Tenor solo] :|| Coda (2) [Piano] + (2)
[Tenor] + (2) [Bass] + (2) [Drums] + (2) [Ens. tag]
Notes:
Sent For You Yesterday and Here You Come Today February, 1938.
Personnel: Basie, Durham, & Rushing - comp., Earl Warren - alto sax, Count Basie
- piano, Herschel Evans - tenor sax, Harry Sweets Edison - trumpet, Jimmy Rushing vocal.
Instrumentation: 3t, 3tb, 2as (1w/bari), 2ts (w/cl), p, g, b, d, mvoc.
Commentary: This chart is a good old fashioned big band swinging blues chart in the
Old Testament Basie band tradition. Following the 8 bar intro which features 4 bars of
solo piano followed by 4 bars of a saxophone motive, the melody of this tune, a simple
riff, is presented in unison by the horns with an alto sax soloing in the space between
each riff, a very common technique employed by many bands. Next, Basie takes 1 chorus
of piano solo with background figures played by the ensemble every couple bars. A tenor
sax solo follows with riffs played by the brass as background. The last four bars of the
intro then return to transition the tune into Jimmy Rushings vocals.
Rushing sings the words to the tune, using the same riff melody the ensemble
presented in the first chorus of the tune. The vocals to this tune are in the Delta blues
tradition, using the AAB scheme where the first two lines are identical and the third line
is the payoff line. During both choruses, Rushing is accompanied by a trumpet soloist
responding to his bluesy vocals. The second chorus of Rushings vocals are accompanied
by two separate riffs, one in the brass and one in the saxes, that repeat for the entire
chorus. A four bar trumpet break is next, segueing into a full chorus of trumpet solo.
What is odd here is that usually when a soloist takes a four bar break at the top of the
solo chorus the band re-enters on the IV chord (bar 5) of the form, in order to preserve
74
the 12-bar harmonic structure of the tune. In this tune, however, that is not the case;
with the 4 bar break functioning as an anomaly within the form. When the band reenters they start at the top of the form and play one full chorus of the blues beneath the
trumpet soloist. Beneath this solo are riff backgrounds in the saxophone section.
Next, the shout chorus of the tune hits, and in true Basie fashion the arrangement
uses the Kansas City Steamroller effect that is also heard in One OClock Jump: 2
choruses (in the case of this tune; 3 choruses in One OClock Jump) of riffs that grow in
dynamic level and intensity. For the first chorus, the drummer keeps solid time on his hi
hat with a slight backbeat on the snare drum. At the end of the first 12 bars of shout
chorus the drummer starts filling and kicking the band on his cymbals and snare drum,
which he continues to do throughout the repeat of the shout chorus. The band responds
to his intensity, playing each riff louder and stronger until the end of this chorus. Here,
the tune shifts into a coda which is the last 4 bars of the introduction repeated twice; first
as is, and the second time with Basie playing a snippet of the melody.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Piano] + (4) [Add saxes] Melody (12) [Ens. unison w/ alto solo] Piano
solo (12) [Ens. bgs.] Tenor sax solo (12) [Brass riff bgs.] Transition (4) [Same as last
4 bars of intro] Vox. (12) [w/ trumpet solo] Vox. (12) [Ens. riffs] Trumpet break
(4) Trumpet solo (12) [Sax riff bgs.] ||: Shout Chorus (12) [Brass/sax call and
response riffs] :|| Coda (4) [Same as last 4 bars of intro] + (4) [Add piano solo]
Notes:
75
solo over new brass & sax riffs] :|| repeats 5 time (first 3 get louder, last 2 get
softer)
Notable first in this tune is the pyramid effect employed during the introduction.
Instead of the entire rhythm section starting together, Basie plays the first two bars of
the intro, then guitar is added for two bars, followed by drums for two bars, and finally
two bars with the bass added.
The first 32 bars of the tune are simply a set of two riffs, one in the brass and one
in the saxophones, played together over the A sections. The bridge is an alto sax solo w/
staccato brass backgrounds. The second chorus is a piano solo with the same riffs in the
brass and saxes, except the bridge omits the brass backgrounds that were behind the alto
solo. The end of this chorus is cut 2 bars short, where a trumpet solo break enters,
followed by a full chorus of trumpet solo. Beneath this solo the backgrounds change to a
different sax riff accompanied by a new riff in the trombones during the A sections. The
bridge features whole note backgrounds held for two bars each. Again, the last 2 bars of
this form are a break for a new soloist, Lester Young on tenor sax. Young takes a full
chorus of solo and again the backgrounds change to yet another new set of riffs beneath
the A sections. The bridge has no backgrounds.
After the tenor sax solo, the form of the tune breaks. The last fifty seconds of the
tune are simply six, 8-bar A sections. The first A section features a clarinet soloist and
trumpet soloist calling and responding to one another. Finally, the trumpet soloist is
omitted, leaving only the clarinet player to solo over a final new set of brass and sax riffs.
The Kansas City Steamroller effect is employed again, repeating this final 8-bar section
five times. The first two repeats grow louder and more intense, climaxing on the third
repeat at a forte dynamic level with splashes, crashes, and fills in the drums. The final
two repeats grow softer to end the tune.
Notes:
76
What is most notable about this tune is that one can hear that the voicings of
chords throughout the band are getting larger; utilizing 4-note and 5-note voicings that
will eventually be expanded even further in the post-WW II, New Testament Basie
band.
Below is a form diagram:
3 note piano pickup Chorus 1 (8 +10) [Piano solo] Chorus 2 (8 +10) [Trumpet solo
w/ sax pads] Chorus 3 (8 +10) [Vox. w/ sax bgs. & piano solo] Chorus 4 (8 + 6)
[Vox. w/ ensemble shout] Coda (6) [Vox. w/ ensemble shout]
Notes:
77
78
in horns] Riff Chorus 5 (10) [3 new riffs in horns] Coda (2) [Chromatic scale w/
cha-cha ending]
Notes:
79
sax solo with sax backgrounds, which are cut short at measure 7 for a 2 bar sax break.
The trumpets return for the last A section, playing the melody as before, but this time
they are accompanied by Coleman Hawkins blowing a solo over them. This section is
also cut short at measure 7 by a 2 bar sax break that ends the tune with an ensemble
fermata.
What is interesting about the drummer on this tune is that he plays time through
sections where the bass player isnt play. These include the entire intro, where he is
keeping time for the other instruments. This sounds a little awkward and would
probably sound better if he didnt play.
Obviously this tune is also important because Coleman Hawkins, one of the most
important Swing saxophonists who would influence many of the great bebop players, is
in the Basie band.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (2) [Brass w/ drums] + (4) [Saxes w/drums] + (4) [Piano w/ drums &
bones] A (8) [Trumpet melody w/ sax bgs.], A (8) [Simile] B (8) [Saxes] A (8)
[Trumpets w/ sax bgs.] Transition (8) [Saxes over bone pedal] A (8) [Piano solo w/
ens. accomp.], A (8) [Simile] B (8) [Sax w/ ens. bgs.] A (8) [Piano solo w/ ens.
accomp.] A (8) [Trumpet solo w/ sax countermelody], A (8) [Simile] B (2)
[Trumpet soli] + (2) [Trumpet solo] + (4) [Piano solo] A (8) [Trumpet melody w/ sax
bg.] Transition (4) [Saxes over bone pedal] + (2) [Drum solo] ||: A (4) [Ens. shout]
+ (4) [Sax solo] :|| B (6) [Sax solo w/ sax bgs.] + (2) [Sax break] A (6) [Trumpet
melody w/ sax solo] Coda (2) [Sax break w/ ens. fermata]
Notes:
80
tune, is used during introductions, transitions, and to create a textural shift. All three A
sections are orchestrated the same way, with the trumpets and saxes taking the bridge.
Here the drummer not only sets up every single figure in the horn parts, but also catches
them on his cymbals and bass drum! This not only shows a modern approach to playing
the drums, but also that the drums are being integrated into the ensemble rather than
just being a timekeeping instrument. The last A section of the tune is interrupted at the
7th bar where the trumpets enter over a pedal point in the rest of the ensemble for 2 bars.
The pedal point is cut off by a 2 bar piano break, making the final A section 10 bars.
What is ironic about the 2 bar piano break is that one assumes a piano solo is to
follow. Rather the listener gets a riveting saxophone soli complete with ensemble
accompaniment. This soli is really the first modern sax soli on this compendium; it
utilizes some bebop harmony and swings with a real sophistication. This is not a
surprise considering the great bebop trombonist J.J. Johnson arranged this tune and the
year is 1946; Bebop has already hit. The saxes then retreat to the background while J.J.
Johnson blows over the bridge and the last A of the form, playing some real bebop licks!
Interestingly, the drummer plays time on his hi-hat for J.J.s solo, something bebop
drummers would not have done, even in 1946.
Next we get a tenor solo from Illinois Jacquet with background figures in the
brass and ride cymbal time in the drums. Jacquet solos over the entire form. He gets
assistance from the brass, which play staccato background figures beneath the As, and
the saxophone section, who join in to play a different set of backgrounds at the bridge.
Following the tenor solo we hear the brass section play a 6 bar melody over a pedal point
in the rhythm section and the saxes followed by another 2 bar piano break, which does in
fact segue into a piano solo for 8 bars of changes that are neither the A section or B
section, but rather a 2 bar vamp, repeated 4 times. The comping of Freddie Green is
really audible here and it feels fantastic. This transitions into the shout chorus which
lasts for the first 2 A sections of the new form.
The shout chorus of this tune is completely modern in its conception, and utilizes
no riffs but instead is through-composed. The three sections of horns (trumpets, bones,
saxes) are used to play separate lines that compliment one another in a contrapuntal
fashion. This is a sign that J.J. was thinking horizontally rather than vertically. The
harmony here is more complex than any previous Basie arrangement. This A section
repeats twice; the B is a trumpet solo by Harry Sweets Edison with ensemble
backgrounds. Finally, the trombone melody with trumpet accompaniment returns for
the final A section, transitioning after 6 bars into an 8 measure coda which utilizes a
pedal point; finally culminating in an ensemble fermata. This fermata is held long
enough for the drummer to fill in a modern way, adding a stinger a in the bass drum as
the horns cut off, the most modern approach to the end of a tune heard this far.
What is notable about this piece are the many sophisticated concepts it includes:
1) A modern feel in the rhythm section
2) Bebop harmony
3) Bebop soloists
4) Pedal points
5) Drum setups
6) Through-composed background figures (no riffs)
7) Modern fermata ending with drum fills
81
82
the tune to cool off from the wailing shout choruses that preceeded the vocals. What is
also notable about the first and second choruses is that the drummer almost completely
drops out, allowing Freddie Green on guitar and the bass player to really set the time
feel. The second chorus of vocals is the lowest point of the tune, with only a sax soloist
accompanying Williams. The third adds sax and brass riffs as background figures and
the drummer comes back in with time on his ride cymbal time. He also catches the
figures in the brass on his snare drum from this point of the tune until the end. The
fourth chorus intensifies as the backgrounds are played louder. On the fifth vocal chorus
Williams ups the ante, singing the Nobody loves me line in the upper regions of his
range. The background figures respond to this intensity; the trumpets venture in the
upper range of their instrument and together with the trombones play some really bluesy
riffs with plungers. The single sfz notes in the brass really jump out during the fifth
through eighth choruses, particularly because the drummer catches them as rimshots on
his snare drum. The seventh chorus adds the saxophones, and together with the brass
they riff their way all the way until the end of the tune where a 4 bar ensemble coda
extends the eighth and final vocal chorus to 14 bars.
This tune is completely modern and swings so hard that the listener never wants
it to end! It is one of the best feeling tunes Ive ever heard.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Piano] + (4) [Ens.] Chorus 1 (12) [Ens.] Chorus 2 (12) [Ens.]
Transition Vamp (8) [Brass] Vocal Chorus 1 (12) [Sax solo & brass bgs.] Vocal
Chorus 2 (12) [Sax solo] Vocal Chorus 3 (12) [Sax & brass riff bgs.] Vocal Chorus 4
(12) [Sax riffs w/ brass bgs.] Vocal Chorus 5 (12) [Brass bgs.] Vocal Chorus 6 (12)
[Brass bgs.] Vocal Chorus 7 (12) [Sax & Brass riff bgs.] Vocal Chorus 8 (10) [Simile]
Coda (4) [Ens.]
Notes:
83
through-composed. The tune uses pedal points to facilitate the transition between the
melody and the solo section. Thad Jones, the trumpet soloist on this tune, is playing
nothing but bebop, a first on this compendium. Accordingly, the tune uses bebop
harmony as well. Even the backgrounds behind the trumpet solo are through-composed
and do not rely on riffs. Basies piano solo is true to form, minimalistic and not bebop.
The highlight of this tune is the four A sections of ensemble soli/shout chorus following
Basies 16 bar solo. The first 16 bars of this shout chorus start at a whisper and
dramatically crescendo and then quickly die down again for another dramatic crescendo
that culminates in a two bar drum solo that kicks the band into the final 16 bars of shout
chorus. The drummer really kicks the band here, filling up all the holes and spaces with
drum fills that heighten the excitement. This is the first truly modern sounding
drummer on this compendium. He uses the entire drumset to play his setup and fills.
Rather than being just a time keeping device, the drums are used as part of the ensemble
and the rhythm section, and in the post-WW II Basie band almost function as more of a
member of the horn section because the keeping of the time seems to be delegated
mainly to guitar and bass. My ear tells me that the drummer on this tune is Sonny
Payne, one of Basies greatest drummers.
The tune ends with an 8 bar tag, that comes way down from the previous 4
choruses of shout. Interestingly, the arrangement uses a false Ellington ending in
measures 3 and 4 of the tag before repeating the 4 bar tag one more time to end the tune.
This tune also has the longest ending fermata of any tune on this comependium.
Also notable is that this tune was recorded live and the sound quality is fairly
good.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (9) [Piano] A (16) [Muted brass], A (14) [Muted brass] + (2) [Drum solo]
Pedal Transition (6) [Saxes over bones] + (2) [Trumpet break] A (16) [Trumpet solo
over sax bgs.], A (16) [Trumpet solo w/ ens. accomp. & sax bgs.] A (16) [Piano solo]
A (16) [Ens. soli w/ piano fills], A (14) [Simile] + (2) [Drum solo] A (14) [Ens. Shout
Chorus] + (2) [Drum solo], A (16) [Ens. Shout Chorus] Tag (8)
Notes:
84
and it sounds as though these horn players were not used to playing these types of
harmonies, as the pitch on some notes in questionable. Either way, chords are voiced
with minor seconds, augmented fifths, etc. between players, sounds that had not
previously been used when voicing chords across an ensemble. The voicings are also
very dense, using 5, 6, and 7 note chords.
An important facet of this tune is the articulation and phrasing. Every note is
played in a very deliberate fashion and is unified across the ensemble. For example, the
first two measures of the melody are articulated in the following way: L S S S S L L L (S
= short; L = long). This pattern is maintained whenever this same melodic motive
returns. There is also a very deliberate crescendo intro the 13th measure of the melody,
with a conscious effort made by the entire band not to breathe between measures 12 and
13, but rather to connect these two phrases in a way that is very pleasant to the ear.
The rhythm section feel on this tune is laid back and very understated which
allows the listener to focus on the harmonies of the arrangement. The time is really
maintained by the guitar and bass rather than the drums, whose brush stirring adds a
nice color to the tune, but is not exactly in the groove. This is also a tune where
everybody is responsible for the time feel, because if one horn player jumps the gun on
any of the short, quarter notes in the melody, the entire groove would be undermined.
The tempo of this tune is notable because it is a ballad that is much slower than
the tempos bands played during the Swing era. The tempo here is obviously a cue taken
from the bebop era, when players slowed tunes down to lethargic tempos in order to play
highly complex and dense solos.
Notably, tunes are getting longer. Now that the LP has become the main medium
of recording, there isnt the strain of fitting tunes into a 3 or 3:30 minute time limit. This
particular tune almost reaches the 5:00 minute mark, a length unheard of for tunes in
the Swing era.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Piano] ||: Melody (16) [Ens. soli] :|| Trumpet solo (16) [Sax bgs.]
Melody (16) [Ens. soli] Tag (8) [Ens. soli] Ritard./Fermata.
Notes:
Splanky May, 1957.
Personnel: Neal Hefti - comp. & arr., Count Basie - piano, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis tenor sax.
Instrumentation: 4t, 3tb, 2as, 2ts, bari, p, g, b, d.
Commentary: Splanky is a Db blues that is basically a head chart with a unison riff
melody in the brass that during the second chorus gets harmonized by the saxes who
respond to the brass. Following the two choruses of the head, Lockjaw blows two
choruses of the blues before the shout chorus tears everyones head off. The shout
chorus to this tune is a tutti shout chorus, much like the way the melody of Lil Darlin
85
is a tutti melody. All the horn parts are homorhythmic, although the harmonies in the
shout chorus are complex. Hefti uses bebop harmonies over the simple chord structure
of the blues to enhance the shout chorus. Each chord has 5 or 6 notes in them.
The band sounds much more polished on this recording; the same polish went
into the articulation, phrasing, and dynamics on Lil Darlin. There is a deliberate
sense of playing in this tune. An example is the phrasing employed by all the horns
during the 5th and 6th bars of the shout chorus where beats 1 and 3 are deliberately softer
than beats 2 and 4, which are accented. The entire shout chorus also lays back, and the
rhythm section walks the fine line between staying on top of the time and laying back
with the band. The feel in the rhythm section is very sophisticated. Although the
chunking of Freddie Green still permeates the time feel, the bass lines are much
smoother and Sonny Payne really kicks the band during the shout chorus. Sonny Payne
almost never leaves the ride cymbal (except for the 4 bar transition back to the melody),
which adds a modern feel to the rhythm section. He also catches every single figure that
he is setting up, a very modern approach, similar to the way he played on Shiny
Stockings. There are also harmonics present in the bass line of Eddie Jones, something
that hasnt been heard up to this point. The bass is also amplified by miking the f hole or
else it would never be heard over the band.
One of the most dynamically satisfying parts of the tune occurs at the end of the
second shout chorus where the rug is pulled out from the band. At the 11th bar the band
suddenly stops playing and only the swingin, but quite, rhythm section is left to groove
for 4 bars before the melody re-enters. These sudden changes of dynamics were
something the Old Testament band rarely did; but here, the New Testament band
executes it flawlessly and it is extremely effective.
Finally, and of much importance, this is the first tune where the now clich but
classic Basie ending is employed; with its 3 staccato chords that lead to a full ensemble
fermata on beat four. Basie would use this type of ending on many other tunes and
composers and arrangers alike would pick up it as a jazz clich that has stood the test of
time.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (6) [Piano] Melody Chorus 1 (12) [Brass] Melody Chorus 2 (12) [Add saxes]
||: Sax solo (12) :|| Shout Chorus 1 (12) [Full Ens.], Shout Chorus 2 (10) [Full Ens.] +
(4) [Rhythm Sec. only] Melody (10) [Brass + saxes] + (2) [Drum build-up] Shout
Chorus 3 (10) + (2) [Basie ending]
Notes:
86
Commentary: This tune is also a 12-bar blues, but seems to add a few passing
harmonies into the simple I-IV-I-V-IV-I progression, much like bebop players had
already done.
The goal of the tune seems to be the juxtaposition of ensemble licks and shout
choruses with piano solos by Basie. It works marvelously because the ensemble sections
are so riveting and aggressive, but are executed smoothly. When this is juxtaposed with
Basies extremely minimalist piano playing it works marvelously. Basies piano soloing
on this tune is notable for a couple reasons. First, he hardly ever comps himself! Basie is
all right hand and his left hand is basically inactive. Secondly, parts of his solo harken
back to boogie-woogie playing and he even plays stride for a quick moment during the 7 th
and 8th choruses of the tune. This coupled with the modern swing of his rhythm section
creates for a wonderful feel and sound.
The structure of Neil Heftis arrangement is also masterfully conceived. The form
is simple: One chorus of ensemble figures (repeated twice) followed by 2 choruses of
piano solo. In effect, the ensemble and piano are alternating two choruses. What is most
interesting is that Basie respects this structure masterfully. Instead of playing a solo that
is completely cohesive across the entire tune, Basie basically plays 3 different solos.
Each time the ensemble interrupts him, Basie brings his previous ideas to a close and
moves onto something new. This is made most evident during the 7th and 8th choruses of
the tune, where Basie moves into playing stride. Also notable is the way Basie blurs the
bar line between choruses 11 and 12, effectively utilizing a motive to play over the
downbeat of chorus 12.
For the ensemble parts of the tune, Hefti takes 3 motives and uses each one as the
basis for the ensemble figures that are played during the tune. The first motive, labeled
Ens. A in the form diagram is repeated for choruses 1 and 2 of the tune. It also returns
in slight variation at the end of the tune for choruses 13 and 14, bringing a sense of
cohesion to the end of the tune. The second motive is labeled Ens. B and is used for the
5th and 6th choruses of the tune. The Ens. C. motive is used for the 9th and 10th choruses
of the tune.
The rhythm section feel of this tune is mostly modern. The drummer plays time
exclusively on the hi-hat for the entire tune, but changes from open hi-hat to closed hihat when the music moves from ensemble sound to piano solo and vice versa. The
drummer also catches all ensemble figures, most notable, every single rhythm played
during the Ens. B and Ens. C motives, respectively. The bass playing is also modern,
utilizing a walking 4 to compliment the four-to-the-bar chunking in the guitar.
Finally, an 8 bar coda is added, with the ensemble playing the first four bars,
followed by 3 bars of a piano pyramid, culminating with a fermata played by the entire
ensemble in the 8th bar.
Below is a form diagram:
||: Chorus 1/2 (8) [Ens. A]+ (4) [Piano solo] :|| ||: Chorus 3/4 (12) [Piano solo] :||
||: Chorus 5/6 (12) [Ens. B] :|| ||: Chorus 7/8 (12) [Piano solo] :|| ||: Chorus 9/10
(4) [Ens. C] + (8) [Piano solo] :|| ||: Chorus 11/12 (12) [Piano solo] :|| ||: Chorus
13/14 (12) [Ens. A] :|| Coda (4) [Ens.] + (3) [Piano pyramid] + (1) [Ens. fermata]
87
Notes:
88
bars and Joe Newman solos over a riff in the sax section (the only riff in the entire tune).
Finally the band plays a long crescendoing fermata, allowing Joe to add some plungerassisted blues licks in a highly stylized vocal fashion.
The feel in the rhythm section of this tune is dominated by the shuffle feel in the
drums. Without the dotted sixteenth groove in the ride cymbal and the backbeat on the
snare drum and hi hat this tune would not be categorized as a shuffle. The bass and
guitar both play in a four-to-the-bar style. The drummer sets up the shout chorus nicely
and interacts with the soloists, playing snare and bass drum accents in the spaces. He
also drops down to a whisper beneath the ensemble soli.
After examining the arrangements of the New Testament Basie band it becomes
clear that the post-WW II Basie charts must have been well rehearsed before they were
recorded or played live and were not as easily thrown together as the riff-based tunes of
the Old Testament band. Accordingly, the post-WW II Basie band used actual
arrangements; composer/arrangers like Neil Hefti wrote the music out rather. This is a
direct contradiction to the tradition of the pre-WW II Basie band, which memorized the
tunes and taught the book by rote to new members of the band.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Saxes/Bones w/ rhythm] Chorus 1(12) [Bones/Saxes melody w/ trpt
response] Chorus 2 (12) [Solo trpt./bone melody w/ sax response] Chorus 3 (12)
[Sax soli w/ trumpet response] Chorus 4 (12) [Trombone solo w/ sax bgs. & brass
response] Chorus 5 (12) [Ens. soli], Chorus 6 (12) [Ens. soli] Chorus 7 (12) [Ens.
Shout] Tag (4) [Saxes w/ bone quarters] + (4) [Bones w/ sax quarters] Coda (8)
[Solo trumpet over sax riff bgs.] + Fermata [Trumpet over ens.]
Notes:
89
Again, the ensemble soli that begins soft is wonderfully executed with a deliberate
subito piano at the beginning of the soli. This tune is different than the previous tunes
that used this technique. Instead of building over the entire chorus via dynamic
intensity, the ensemble soli shifts to a saxophone soli at the bridge. The saxes continue
through the last A section. At the top of a new form, an ensemble shout chorus hits and
man, does the band swing. The drummer kicks the band all the way through this chorus
and the tune rolls on like thunder. The shout chorus is arranged in two layers; the brass
in unison on top with the saxophones playing blues inflected shakes, groans, trills, and
riffs beneath them. After these 32 bars of shout the tune shifts into a coda, which is
basically one bar breaks for the saxophones, climaxing in a full band fermata.
Below is a form diagram:
||: A (8) [Piano only] :|| B (8) [Rhythm section] A (8) [Rhythm] ||: A (8) [Sax
melody w/ brass response] :|| B (8) [Trpt. solo w/ ens. bgs.] A (8) [Same as A]
Pedal transition (8) [Full Ens.] A (8) [Ens. shout], A (8) [Rhythm] B (8) [Muted
Brass] A (8) [Rhythm] ||: A (8) [Sax solo] :|| B (8) [Sax solo over brass] A (8)
[Sax solo] Pedal transition (8) [Sax solo over ens.] A (8) [Sax solo] A (8) [Ens.
soft], A (8) [Ens. cresc.] B (8) [Sax soli] A (8) [Sax soli] ||: A (8) [Ens. shout] :||
B (8) [Simile] A (8) [Simile] Coda (8) [Sax soli breaks] Fermata.
Notes:
90
91
Intro (8) [Spooky thirds in saxes] ||: A (8) [Solo trpt. over simile saxes] :|| B (8)
[Solo trpt.] A (8) [Simile to A] B (8) [Trombone solo] + (10) [Continue bone] ||:
A (8) [Clarinet solo over saxes] :|| B (8) [Brass soli]+ (12) [Continue soli] B (8) +
(10) [Clarinet over brass & saxes] A (8) [Solo trpt. over saxes]
Notes:
92
Melody (12) [Trpt./Bone over Ens.] ||: Sax solo (8) :|| ||: Trpt. solo (12) :|| Piano
solo (12) [Piano only] Trpt. solo (12) Continue solo (8) + (2) [Add ens.]+ (4) [Ens.
Funeral March Tag]
Notes:
93
Notes:
94
Commentary: New East St. Louis Toddle-O is basically a revision of the East St.
Louis Toddle-Oo of 1927. This version is much slower and is more modern sounding in
its conception.
Many of the same motives from the original are still prevalent in this new version,
most importantly the spooky thirds motive in the saxophone section that begins both
tunes. In this newer version, the saxes are accompanied by chimes, a special effect
unique to Ellingtons music. Another one of these effects is used beneath the melody,
when the drummer plays time on woodblocks. This texture continues until the trombone
soli midway through the tune. Ellingtons use of special effects such as chimes and
woodblocks stems from the time his orchestra spent in residence at the Cotton Club in
New York City. Between 1928 and 1931, Ellingtons orchestra was in residence there and
functioned as a pit orchestra that accompanied the many stage acts and floor shows that
were presented. Accordingly, Duke wrote and arranged music that used special effects in
order to depict what was happening on stage or on the floor. Chimes and woodblocks
were just two of these effects.
Cootie Williams reprises the role of Bubber Miley on solo trumpet presenting the
melody above the rising third spooky motive in the saxophones. Ellington also adds a
trombone part to the tune, orchestrating them in response to Williams bluesy melody.
The form of this version is similar to the original. Since this version is slower,
Ellington shortens the number of bars in the tune. The intro and first two A sections of
the tune are entirely preserved. The B section of this version is different than the
original, setting the melody as a sax and trumpet soli rather than a trumpet solo. The B
section is also different. Here it is arranged as a trombone soli (rather than solo) for 16
bars (rather than 18), which is enhanced by the addition of solo clarinet during the last 8
bars of the soli. The clarinet solo then continues over full ensemble backgrounds (rather
than just sax backgrounds in the original) in what is basically a quasi-shout chorus. For
the trombone soli, the drummer shifts to playing time with brushes on the snare, a
welcome change from the woodblocks that accompanied the melody. The woodblocks
return for the end of the tune, which is similar to the original, with the solo trumpet
melody returning over the ensemble.
Finally, notable is the change in the spelling of the title from Toodle-Oo to
Toodle-O. There must have been a reason.
Below is a form diagram of New East St. Louis Toodle-O:
Intro (8) [Spooky thirds in saxes w/ chimes] ||: A (8) [Solo trpt. over simile saxes w/
bone responses] :|| B (8) [Sax/Trumpet soli] A (8) [Simile to A] B (8)
[Trombone soli] + (8) [Continue bone w/ clarinet solo] A (8) [Clarinet solo over ens.]
A (6) [Solo trpt. over sax countermelody & brass bgs.] Coda (2)
Compare to the form diagram of East St. Louis Toodle-Oo below:
Intro (8) [Spooky thirds in saxes] ||: A (8) [Solo trpt. over simile saxes] :|| B (8)
[Solo trpt.] A (8) [Simile to A] B (8) [Trombone solo] + (10) [Continue bone] ||:
A (8) [Clarinet solo over saxes] :|| B (8) [Brass soli]+ (12) [Continue soli] B (8) +
(10) [Clarinet over brass & saxes] A (8) [Solo trpt. over saxes]
95
Notes:
96
For the Crescendo portion of the piece, Duke essentially reverses his technique.
The form for this half of the piece is a 12-bar blues, although Ellington adds a 2 bar
extension to the first 2 choruses. From the third chorus on (until the coda), the tune
holds the 12-bar blues form. What is most interesting about this half of the piece is that
it is more riff based than the previous portion of the tune. Duke starts with the clarinets
playing a riff based blues melody with an AAB phrase structure for the first chorus. The
trombones play backgrounds. This melody is only slightly varied for the second chorus.
The third chorus sets the trombones in a soli with clarinet background, reversing the
roles of the two sections. Next, a trumpet soli appears with a clarinet soloing in the
background. Another soli, only this time the clarinets with trombone backgrounds
follows the trumpet soli. This clarinet soli continues for a total of 3 choruses. Not only
does Duke use terraced dynamics over these three choruses, he also keeps extending the
range of the clarinet soli, going up and up into the higher register of the instrument. In
the eighth chorus, the brass take over, playing a 12 bar soli that really heightens the
dynamic and tension of the piece. Here the drummer adds a backbeat, driving the piece
into yet another clarinet solo, this time with brass riff backgrounds. Finally, the shout
chorus hits and lasts for 3 choruses. Here, Duke uses riffs, screeching trumpets, and
high register clarinets to heighten the drama and dynamic level of the piece. Finally, the
tune segues into a 12 bar coda that contains some dissonant chords and culminates with
a now clich rhythmic pattern.
Below is a form diagram of the Crescendo portion of the piece:
Chorus 1 (10) [Clarinets w/ bone bgs.] + (2) [Trumpet break] + (2) [Ens.] Chorus 2
(10) [Clarinets w/ brass bgs.] + (2) [Trpt. break] + (2) [Ens.] Chorus 3 (12) [Bone soli
w/ clar. bgs.] Chorus 4 (12) [Trpt. soli w/ clar. solo] Chorus 5 (12) [Clarinet soli w/
bone bgs.] Chorus 6 (12) [Clar. soli w/ brass bgs.] Chorus 7 (12) [Clar. soli w/ brass
bgs.] Chorus 8 (12) [Brass soli] Chorus 9 (12) [Clar. soli w/ brass bgs.] Chorus 10
(12) [Ens. shout] Chorus 11 (12) [Continue shout - louder] Chorus 12 (10) [More
shout louder] Coda (12)
One cannot discuss this piece without mentioning the legendary 27 chorus solo
played by Paul Gonsalves on this tune at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival that incited a
wave of mass hysteria in the audience.
Notes:
97
saxes on the first and third A to a solo trombone on the second A. The most interesting
part of the tune is the last 2 bars of the A sections (during the melody), where the rhythm
section and saxes join forces to play a sort of funky offbeat, straight eighth rhythmic
pattern. It doesnt seem out of place and it is a welcome addition to the tune.
The rhythm section groove of the tune is much more sophisticated than previous
tunes. The feel of the tune moves back and forth between a 2 feel and a 4 feel. The bass
player plays a pattern that includes some rhythmic skips and plays only a few repeated
notes. The guitar chunks four beats to the bar while the drummer plays with brushes
on the snare drum, although he is not stirring, but rather playing more percussively as
though he were playing on the hi-hat.
The soloists on this piece include the wonderful Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellingtons
right hand alto sax playing man who would stick with the Ellington orchestra for
decades. Hodges is extremely expressive on this tune, bending and shaping each note
with expressiveness unmatched by other lead alto players. Cootie Williams plays a
trumpet solo and the smooth sound of Juan Tizols valve trombone graces the melody of
this tune.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Rubato Piano] A (6) [Saxes] + (2) [Funky saxes/rhythm w/ trpt. solo] A
(6) [Solo bone w/ sax bgs.] + (2) [Funky saxes/rhythm w/ trpt. solo] B (8) [Saxes w/
trpt. solo] A (6) [Saxes] + (2) [Funky saxes/rhythm] A (8) [Sax solo w/ brass
bgs.], A (6) [Sax solo] + (2) [Trpt. break] B (6) [Trpt. solo w/ sax bgs.] + (2) [Trpt.
breal] A (6) [Solo bone w/ sax bgs.] Coda (2) [Saxes]
Notes:
98
introduces another riff theme, played by Tricky Sam Nanton on the trombone with a
plunger. The brass play staccato background figures. The saxophones then play a
variation of the original riff theme while the brass play backgrounds and Ellington adds
some colorful harmonies and scales on the piano. Next, the riff theme is moved to the
trumpets and the saxophones/clarinets respond. What follows is the most significant
portion of the tune, an entire chorus of bass solo breaks played by Jimmy Blanton.
Blanton is credited as being the first modern bass player in the history of jazz.
Following the bass solo, the band kicks into a shout chorus. Here the brass keep
repeating the same chord on the and of 4 of every other measure, holding the sonority
for 2 measures each time, while the saxes play a riff beneath them. The introduction
returns for 8 bars, followed by a rising 4 bar coda that crescendos and ends the tune.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (8) [Bari & bones] Chorus 1 (12) [Valve Bone w/sax response] Chorus 2 (12)
[Bone w/ brass bgs.] Chorus 3 (12) [Simile] Chorus 4 (12) [Sax riff w/ brass bgs. &
piano color] Chorus 5 (12) [Tpts. w/ clar./sax bgs.] Chorus 6 (2) [Ens] + (2) [Bass
solo] + (2) [Ens.] + (2) [Bass solo] + (2) [Ens.] + (2) [Bass solo] Chorus 7 (12) [Shout]
Intro (8) [Bari & bones] Coda (4)
Notes:
99
statement, adds plunger, which he removes on the second melodic statement. He also
changes his mute between the first melodic statement (which sounds like straight or cup
mute) and the second melodic statement (which sounds like harmon). The solo section
that follows the melody is just as interesting, with Cootie removing his mutes and
blowing in a very stylized African-American vocal style, growling his way back into the
melody, which is again played in a mute. During the second solo section, Cootie plays
without a mute and presents what seems to be another Ellington composed motive.
The rhythm section feel of the tune, save the drummers incessant time keeping
during the melody is much more advanced and sophisticated, with the bass player
walking 4 notes to the bar, few repeated notes. The feel is particularly groovy during the
trumpet solos, where the drummer and the bassist add an accent to beats two and four
that really makes the tune swing. The bass player also plays a few fills, most notably the
one going into the final A section of the tune.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (1) [Solo trpt. - harmon] + (5) [Ens.] + (1) [Trpt. pickup straight/cup,plunger]
A (4) [Trpt./Ens. call & response] + (5) [Simile, bass in] + (1) [Trpt. pickup - harmon], A
(4) [Trpt./Ens. call & response] + (4) [Simile] + (2) [Ens.] A (7) [Trpt. solo
open,plunger w/ ens.] + (1) [Trpt. - harmon pickup] A (4) [Trpt./Ens. call & response]
+ (4) [Simile, bass in] Transition (4) [Ens.] ||: B (8) [Trumpet solo - open w/
bone/sax bgs.] :|| + (1) [Ens.] + (1) [Trpt. pickup - harmon] A (4) [Trpt./Ens. call &
response w/ rhythm] + (1) [Trpt. & drums] + (1) [Ens. pickup] Coda (10) [Ens. w/trpt.
solo]
Notes:
100
Next, Ellington treats us to a brass soli over the first two A sections of the form.
Harry Carney takes the bridge, and Ellington himself plays an 8 bar stride solo over the
last A. A saxophone soli enters for the entire next chorus. This is perhaps the swinginest
and most advanced saxophone yet on this compendium, incorporating riffs, motivic
cells, almost licks that border on bebop; all played with exact articulation and solid
phrasing. Following is a shout chorus, the first two As of which separate the brass and
saxes into two layers; the brass riffing while the saxes play countermelody. The bridge
then shifts to a homorhythmic, unison texture in the horns. The final A restates the
melody and adds a stinger on beat 4 of the last measure to close the tune.
Perhaps, what is most notable about this tune is Ben Websters solo. It is a solo
of intense craft. Gunther Schuller write that the solo finds a remarkable balance
between a whole world of musical ideas: swinging eight-note phrases interspersed with
long and expressive held notes, some of these embellished with passionate vibratos and
shakes, tonal colorations ranging from soft hues to hot and raspy timbres, all a rich
mixture of the predictable and unpredictable.
Most importantly, this tune is a blowing tune; one of the few Ellington tunes that
could be at home in the bebop era on the bandstand with the likes of Dizzy and Bird.
This is obviously due to the fact that Rhythm Changes are used as the harmonic basis. It
is also notable that this tune emphasizes ninths and flatted fifths, two notes that would
be important in the bebop vocabulary. Either way, this tune re-affirms the fact that
Ellington is using improvisation as a key element of composition. Because Ellington
knew the playing of each of his band members inside and out, it can certainly be argued
that by giving a solo to a certain player in a certain tune he is essentially composing that
portion of the tune because he has an idea of how each soloist will play. Without a
doubt, this tune would not be the same without Websters solo.
Below is a form diagram:
||: A (8) [Ens.] :|| B (8) [Trpt. w/ saxes] A (4) AABA (32) [Sax solo w/ bgs. on
bridge] A (8) [Pedal], A (8) B (8) [Brass bgs.] A (8) AA (16) [Brass soli] B
(8) [Sax solo] A (8) [Piano solo] AABA (32) [Sax soli] AAB (24) [Ens. shout] A
(8) [Ens.]
Notes:
101
Duke orchestrates the melody in the saxophone section and trombone section,
with the bones responding to the saxes every line with their countermelody. Both the
call (saxes) and response (bones) are singable, highly melodic and memorable lines. The
rhythm section really swings during the melody; both Blanton and the drummer are
playing steady, heavy quarter notes. Blantons lines are entirely modern, and each note
has a length and weight to it that most bassists did not have in 1940. Blanton even plays
the descending melodic line played by the trombones in measures 15 and 16 of the first A
section. The drummer is also a rather advanced brush player for 1940. His stirring is
smooth and his accents are all right on the money.
Following the melody, Cootie Williams takes a masterful one chorus solo, not
only quoting the melody but also the background motives that the saxes are playing
behind him. This solo really ties all the motives (both backgrounds, melodies, and
rhythms) of the tune together in a way that is uniquely Cootie Williams. The saxophone
backgrounds behind Cootie are much more of a sax soli than backgrounds; they could
easily stand alone in a separate chorus without the trumpet soli because they are so
melodic and interesting to, particularly all the sixteenth note, non-swung motives that
characterize the last half of the 32 bar chorus. Following the trumpet solo, the entire
ensemble returns playing a straight, staccato pickup measure into the top of the form,
where a 4 bar ensemble soli sets up a Johnny Hodges alto solo. Hodges blows for 10 bars
with simple brass backgrounds. The last 2 bars of this 16 bar section are a solo break for
Hodges, which he executes masterfully. Ellington sets the break up wonderfully, with a
two bar ensemble crescendo right into an abrupt cutoff. The last half chorus of the tune
present Hodges blowing over sax backgrounds for 8 bars and then over the entire
ensemble playing the melody for the final 8 bars. Hodges solo is important because he
plays a mixture of single time and double time licks that are bebopish in their
conception. He swings like mad! Jimmy Blanton even responds to Hodges double time,
implying a double time feel in his walking bass lines this an absolute first and is
notable particularly because the year is 1940, 5 years before bebop even hits.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (8) [Bass solo over piano] A (16) [Saxes/Bones], A (14) [Simile] + (2) [Rhythm
sec.] AA (32) [Trpt. solo over sax soli] A (4) [Ens. soli] + (10) [Alto solo w/ brass
bgs.] + (2) [Alto break], A (8) [Alto solo over sax bgs] + (8) [Alto over ens. bgs.]
Notes:
102
Blue Serge is one of the darkest sounding tunes of the Ellington set of tunes on
this compendium, owing its sound to the rich harmonies composed by Mercer, but also
to the way the harmonies are voiced throughout the band. Mercer uses the entire
ensemble at once, mostly in a vertical fashion to play melodies, but also to lay dense
harmonic beds beneath soloists. The introduction of this tune, played by two alto saxes
and a clarinet is just a preview of the interesting and rich harmonies that dominate this
piece. Here, the winds are voiced in a vertical relationship, shifting and changing
together. The brass harmonies behind the melody paint a gorgeous landscape over
which Ben Websters expressive melody is laid. Following this solo, the entire ensemble
picks up the melody in a homorhythmic, unison style voicing for 10 bars. This is perhaps
the highlight of the tune, and together with the outhead show Mercers masterful
arranging style. The saxes then lay a bed of harmonies beneath Ray Nance over a repeat
of the chord changes beneath the melody. Mercer then adds another trumpet soloist,
playing harmonized melody with Nance for the second A section.
What is most interesting about this tune is what happens following the trumpet
duet. Here, Mercer abandons the form and the switches into a piano solo over a different
set of chord changes. Obviously, Dukes son shows the same penchant for abandoning
the rules as Duke does, and in this tune it works out gorgeously. Dukes piano solo is just
as colorful as the rest of the tune. He crafts a simple yet soothing melody over the
descending changes. Next, we hear a four bar transition, setting up a repeat similar
section to the B section (labeled B). Mercer then leads the tune back to the original
changes as the ensemble re-enters with the melody in a soli fashion.
Below is a form diagram
Intro (4) [Clar./Saxes] + (2) [Ens.] A (8) [Solo sax over brass], A (10) [Ens.] A (8)
[Solo trpt. over saxes], A (6) [Trpt. duet over saxes] + (2) [Piano solo] B (8) [Piano
solo] Transition (4) [Sax solo over bones] B? (8) [Simile] A (8) [Ens. solo]
Notes:
103
104
105
to his advantage. The entire underpinning of the tune is a single chord with a minor
third walking pattern in the bass that alternates between scale degree 1 and 6. Ellington
adds a piano accompaniment to this, and the drummer plays a simple stirring pattern on
brushes. Later the tune shifts into a 12 bar blues.
All of the parts to this tune are centered around train sounds. Ellington sets up
the tune with a barrage of dissonant chords during the intro that signals the all aboard.
Duke is accompanied by Jimmy Blantons extremely dexterous bass playing. The
ensemble then enters with the brass playing two different ostinati; a quarter, descending
riff and a wa-wa riff. Russell Procope the enters, playing the melody over these
ostinati. Procope shapes and bends each note, obviously with the sound of a train in the
back of his head, guiding his intonation and coloring of the melody. Procope wails like a
train whistle while the rest of the ensemble grooves beneath him. After 20 measures the
brass take over and dissonant sounds abound. Here the crunch of the clustered notes
voiced in the trumpets really emits the sound of a train whistle. The clarinet sonorities
sound as though a train is coming around the bend and is also extremely colorful. The
trombones then set up a grooving ostinato behind Procope and Cat Anderson, who do
their best to sound like trains. Cat is particularly effective, and emits a wail that sounds
as though a train with its horn blaring has just passed my living room window. His
masterful control of dynamics, crescendos and decrescendos is impressive.
The piano and bass trading section comes as a surprise after all the cacophony of
the beginning of the tune, but also offers a nice change of pace. Blanton is at his best
here, complimenting Duke with breaks that are highly tasteful and modern. The entire
ensemble then kicks back in and plays the most incredible sounding train whistle effect a
big band has ever played!
Next is a Russell Procope alto solo over some very interesting and color piano
playing by Duke, but it is basically a 12 bar blues. What follows is the melody that was
stolen and turned in the tune Night Train, although Duke obviously composed it first.
The melody in the saxes swings with a vengeance and the biting staccatos of the brass are
very aggressive. The repeat is played by the brass above the banchee-like wailing of the
saxes. The first 4 bars of the next chorus are an ensemble break that introduces an 8 bar
clarinet solo to finish out this chorus. Following the clarinet solo, is another chorus of
the blues that goes back and forth between 2 bar piano, solos in a similar style to the
intro, and full ensemble, 2-bar cacophonous sections that include 3 layers; a rising and
falling scalar motive in the saxes, an off-beat staccato figure in the trumpets and
trombones, and a screeching solo trumpet player. The coda of the tune alternates 1 bar
ensemble figures with 1 bar bass solos that decrescendo via terraced dynamics.
This is also one of the longer Ellington pieces thus far, clocking in at just under 6
minutes.
Notes:
106
107
Notes:
108
Notes:
109
110
Finally, the piece also employs a pedal point at the 9th and 10th bars of the melody (top of
the B melody) that is treated differently the two times it is heard. The first time, the horn
section plays two oscillating sonorities with the bass player changing his notes to
accompany them. The second time, it is actually orchestrated as a pedal point, with the
bass and bari sax playing a pedal tone beneath the same oscillating harmonies, now
voiced in the trombones. This second variation adds slightly more drama to the melody,
especially when the tension of the pedal point is released in the 3rd and 4th bars of the B
melody by a rising, glissando in the bari sax.
Finally, the tempo of this tune is also notable because it is so slow. This
represents a shift in musical purpose. Because of the tempo, the tune is too slow to
dance to, and thus was meant for listening. Although this became the case in the bebop
era, in is interesting to hear this slow of a tempo employed by the Ellington band which
was once one of the premier Harlem dance bands during the Swing era. Also because of
the tempo, the tune only repeats the form two times.
Below is a form diagram:
Rubato Intro (4?) [Solo piano] Melody A (8) [Solo sax over sax bgs.] + Melody B (8)
[Simile, add brass] + Melody A (4) [Simile] + (2) [Ens. lead in] Melody A (8) [Ens.
soli w/ sax lead] + Melody B (2) [Solo sax over ens. pedal] + (6) + Melody A (4) Coda
(2) [Woodwinds + Brass] + (4) [Solo piano, like intro]
Notes:
111
ending rhythm Woodyard plays just before the bridge of the second chorus of soli. The
feel in the rhythm section beneath the soli swings like mad. The first chorus is fairly
light, with Woodyard playing time on half open hi hats and comping with his bass drum
as mentioned. For the second chorus, however, Woodyard changes it up and goes to the
ride cymbal and adds a cross-stick on two and four. This really changes the character of
the tune, especially when combined with the addition of a muted trumpet on the soli
lines. Woodyard also catches a hit on beat 4 of the 4th bar of the second A section of this
chorus of soli, just before playing the Basie rhythm metioned above.
Following the two choruses of soli, the tune goes straight into a 9 bar shout
chorus that is quite interesting. Not only is this section of an odd length, but it does not
stick to the harmonies of the A section of tune, but it also is phrased in 3 bar increments,
alternating 2 bars of ensemble shout with 1 bar of drum solo. This happens twice, but
the third time we hear 3 bars of ensemble shout. This same shout chorus returns as the
very last melodic statement of the tune, just before Sam Woodyards open drum solo.
Another interesting part of the tune occurs after the shout chorus. The intro
returns for 8 bars, with Duke playing the same chopstick-like melody. This time
however, the trombones join the rhythm section in the last 2 bars of the intro, segueing
smoothing into the top of the form. Here, the melody of the original tune is finally
presented in the saxes, minus bari. The bari sax plays a staccato note in the spaces
created by the melody, and is echoed by rest of the brass. This is a unique effect and is
used effectively in this piece. The types of backgrounds and countermelodies that are
being used in the Ellington repertoire are becoming increasingly more important, and
sometimes are just as important as the melodic statements they are accompanying. Such
is the case in this tune, not only with this section but also during the ensuing bridge that
features a wonderful saxophone countermelody behind the brass, and again below the
chorus of trumpet trading between Willie Cook and Ray Nance. Interesting also about
the bridge is that it is played following only 8 bars of the A section. Gerald Wilson omits
the repeat of the A section in this arrangement, circumventing the expectation of the
listener. The saxes come back to reprise the melody in the final A section of this ABA
form. They are accompanied by the trombones, playing legato pedal notes in the spaces
left by the melody rather than the staccato notes they played during the first A section.
This creates quite a nice contrast.
Wilson then gives the listener another surprise. He cuts off the final A section
after 6 bars and goes straight into a 12 bar pedal point transition. Here he orchestrates a
crescendo, starting with just 3 or 4 people playing and slowly adding instruments until
the trumpets come in and push the crescendo over the edge, sending the tune off into a
clarinet solo.
Notable first about the solos in this piece is that there are a few more than usual.
Here, Jimmy Hamilton takes a full chorus of clarinet solo, accompanied by brass
backgrounds. Notable is the piano comping behind this solo. Duke sticks mainly to the
bottom third of the piano, playing a riff-like, open sonority pattern on the and of 3 and
the and of 4 in every other measure. Like the last A of the melody, the last A of
Hamiltons solo chorus is 6 bars and again segues into a similar pedal point transition (it
is extended to 13 bars) that moves into a chorus of trumpet trading between Willie Cook
and Ray Nance. Immediately, Sam Woodyard catches a lick played by one of the
trumpet players, mimicking him on the snare drum in a very modern way. Most
interesting about this chorus of trumpet trading is not the actual solo playing, but the
112
background horn parts. There is a lot going on beneath this chorus. The saxes play
countermelody while the trombones play in the spaces created by the countermelody.
The backgrounds to this section could almost stand on their own as a soli. The piece
then segues into an 8 bar trombone and bari sax soli; an combination of instruments that
have not been heard playing a soli together on this compendium. In fact for this entire
tune, the bari sax is removed from the sax section and functions as more of a low brass
instrument. Such was the case also with The Star-Crossed Lovers where the bari plays
the pedal point along with the trombones below the B melody played by Johnny Hodges.
The second A section of this form is a sax soli with a surprising, loud, and high brass note
on the and of 4 of the 2nd measure; a great effect that really startles the listener.
Woodyard catches this note in his bass drum and crash cymbal, making it that much
more effective.
Next, Paul Gonsalves plays a solo over the bridge and last A of this form,
accompanied by swelling, train whistle-like whole in the brass. These are similar to the
effect used on Happy Go Lucky Local. Gonsalves continues to solo for of the next
chorus, taking the first 2 As accompanied by riff backgrounds in the ensemble; the first
appearance of riffs in an Ellington chart in quite a while. The last A is taken by the
rhythm section, who play a similar section to the intro to reintroduce the melody. The
outhead is really a second shout chorus that uses quotes and snippets from the melody.
Here, all the horns play the same rhythms harmonizing each other for the first two A
sections of this form. Harry Carney takes the bridge with trombone backgrounds.
Wilson still has more surprises up his sleeve. He extends the bridge two 10 bars with a 2
bar ensemble crescendo that kicks into the 9 bar shout chorus heard at the beginning of
the tune.
Suddenly, the entire ensemble cuts off after the shout chorus and only Sam
Woodyard is left to play an out of time, open drum solo, the first on this compendium.
Here, Woodyard bends the pitch of his toms by applying pressure to the head a la Art
Blakey. This open drum solo style would become more and more popular for arrangers
to write in at the ends of tunes, particularly for superstar drummers like Woodyard, Mel
Lewis, and of course Buddy Rich. Ellington then reprises his chopstick melody by
himself, followed by an earsplitting ensemble fermata, complete with giant drum fills,
ending in a stinger played by the entire band; a neat effect.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (8) [Rhythm] AABA (32) [Sax/clar./bone soli] Continue soli AABA (32) [Add
muted trpt.] Shout Chorus (2) [Ens.] + (1) [Drum solo] + (2) [Ens.]+ (1) [Drum solo]
+ (3) [Ens.] Intro (6) [Rhythm] + (2) [Add bones] A (8) [Sax/bone mel. w/
brass/bari bgs.] B (8) [Brass w/ sax countermelody] A (6) [Sax mel. w/ brass bgs.]
Pedal Transition (12) [Sax/bone cresc.] + (4) [Add trpts.] Clarinet solo AABA (30)
[Brass bgs.] Pedal Transition (6) [Sax/bone cresc.] + (6) [Add trpts.] + Extension (1)
Trumpet trading solo A (8) [Sax bgs.], A (8) [Add bone bgs.] B (8) [Sax bgs.] A
(8) [Sax bgs.] Trombone/Bari soli A (8) [Brass bgs.], Sax soli A (8) [Brass bgs.] Sax
solo B (8) [Brass bgs.] A (8) [Simile] Sax solo A (8) [Ens. riff bgs.], A (8) [Simile]
Sax solo B (8) [No bgs.] A (8) [Rhythm only, like intro] Ensemble soli melody A (8),
A (8) Bari solo B (8) [Bone bgs] + (2) [Ens. extension/crescendo] Shout Chorus (2)
[Ens.] + (1) [Drum solo] + (2) [Ens.]+ (1) [Drum solo] + (3) [Ens.] Open Drum Solo
Piano chopstick melody Ens. Fermata w/ stinger
113
Notes:
114
The end of the tune is also significant because it is a board fade; the first time we
hear studio wizardry being used on this compendium.
Notes
115
the arrival of the bridge with a crescendoing tom roll, a nice touch. The final A section of
the tune has some interesting pointilistic backgrounds in the trombones for a few bars.
Also notable on this tune is the use of bass clarinet, which is heard best during
the pedal point of the A sections. Finally, the drum part is notable because in this tune
the drums are used primarily for color and not as a time keeping instrument, except for
during the second bridge, where the drummer moves to sticks and starts swinging. The
bass carries the time for the entire tune.
Below is a form diagram:
A (4) [Solo sax melody w/ sax countermelody & bone bgs.] + (4) [Pedal w/ sax & bone
accomp.] A (4) [Solo sax mel. w/ ens. bgs.] + (4) [Simile pedal] B (8) [Solo sax mel.
w/ sax accomp.] A (4) [Solo sax mel. w/ sax & bone bgs.]+ (4) [Simile pedal] B (8)
[Sax solo over ens. countermelody] A (4) [Solo sax mel. w/ sax & bone bgs.] + (4)
[Simile pedal] Coda (4) + ||:3x Tag (3) [Solo sax mel. w/ 1x & 3x bones; 2x muted
trpts.]:|| Fermata [Solo sax w/ bone & trpt. whole notes & drum fills]
Notes:
116
TGTT 1968.
Personnel: Duke Ellington - comp, arr. & keyboards, Alice Babs - vocal.
Instrumentation: ep & fvoc.
Commentary: T.G.T.T. is an acronym that Ellington once said meant Too Good To
Title. This piece was played on his Sacred Concerts. Notable first is the fact that this
piece is written for only two players and really doesnt qualify as a big band piece, but
alas, its Ellington and is simply wonderful.
Most notable is the fact that it utilizes electric piano, rather than acoustic piano;
the first actual electrifying of an instrument on this compendium. (Incidentally, guitar
117
and bass dont necessarily count because they were amplified by using microphones and
pickups, but were not replaced by electrified instruments like is heard on T.G.T.T.
There isnt much to say about this piece that it doesnt say for itself. Alice Babs
voice is used as a wind instrument in this piece. There are no words, and she simply
sings ahs and other syllables to express the melody. It is almost as if she is singing an
aria. Her voice, intonation, pitch and expression are simply breathtaking. Ellington
plays the subordinate role of a continuo player; accompanying Babs in a tradition style.
The piece is serene and seems to climax right before the 1:30 mark with an absolutely
gorgeous harmony that is held and embellished by Ellington. Ellingtons descending
chords near the end of the tune, as Babs holds her final note, are also a highlight.
Notes:
Heaven 1968.
Personnel: Duke Ellington - comp, arr. & keyboards, Alice Babs - vocal, Johnny
Hodges - alto sax.
Instrumentation: 5t, 4tb, 2as (1w/cl), 2ts (1w/cl), bari, p, b, 2d, fvoc.
Commentary: Babs is back on Heaven, another piece from the Sacred Concerts.
Here, she is accompanied by Ellington, again and as a welcome addition, Johnny Hodges
solos on alto.
This piece does have words and they are about, you guessed it, heaven. Below are
the lyrics:
A Melody
B Melody
A' Melody
Heaven, my dream
Heaven, divine.
Heaven, supreme
Heaven, combines
Lyric overlap
Every sweet and pretty thing.
Life would love to bring
Heavenly heaven
To be
Is just the ultimate degree to be.
What is interesting is how the melody and words line up. The A melody is sung
over the first two lines of lyrics (Heaven, my dream / Heaven, divine.. The last note of
this melody is dissonant with the chord below it; more specifically it is a half step flat of
where it should be, and it is absolutely gorgeous. The A melody is then repeated over
the second two lines (Heaven, supreme / Heave, combines,). What is interesting is
that although the A melody clearly gives way to a new melodic statement at the line
Every sweet and pretty thing, the lyrics are a continuation of the previous line that
ended the A melody, creating an overlap that doesnt usually occur in vocal tunes. After
the bridge, Babs sings the A melody.
118
Next, the rhythm section enters and Hodges plays a gorgeous solo with
saxophones playing diads behind him, some of which are clusters. The trombones also
join in and play some backgrounds. Hodges takes a full AABA, 16 bar chorus.
What happens next comes completely out of the blue. All a sudden Ellington
begins playing a double time, groovy piano part and the rhythm section kicks in with a
latin groove, in the style of a rhumba. Alice Babs comes back in with the A melody and
same lyrics as before. Here she is accompanied by the horn section who play gorgeous
countermelody and background figures. This formula continues for the full AABA, 32
bar (32 bars of double time; 16 bars of regular time) form. The harmonies move at the
same speed, but the feel is double time. After 32 bars (of double time), or 16 bars of
regular time, the ensemble stops and the rubato, piano/voice texture returns. Babs and
Ellington play a coda, with Babs singing Heaven, my dream; Heaven, divine reaching
up into her upper register. The band kicks back in with the latin groove and a horn riff
that vamps into a fade.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (2 Rubato) A (4 - Rubato) [Vox. w/ piano], A (4 Rubato) [Simile] B (4 Rubato) [Simile] A (4 - Rubato) [Simile] AABA (16) [Sax solo w/ bgs.] Transition
(1) [Piano in latin double time] + (3) [Add bass & drums] A (8) [Vox. w/ ens. bgs], A
(8) [Simile] B (8) [Simile] A (8) [Simile] Coda (4) [Vox. & piano] + Double Time
Latin Vamp (Fades)
Notes:
119
120
121
is treated to a riff-like interlude, with the melody in the saxes and chords voiced
throughout the brass. This sets up a solo break for Dizzy. What is notable about the
break in this piece is that it is only 2 bars when most other versions of the tune,
particularly those played by Gillespie and Parker in a small group setting, use a 4 bar
break.
Dizzy takes a solo (obviously Bebop) that even includes a quote of Thelonious
Monks tune Well You Neednt. Although the form of the solo is still AABA, 32 bars,
the latin-swing arrangement does not repeat. Instead the entire solo is swing. Behind
Dizzy, the saxes play backgrounds which are a variation of the bass melody of the tune,
exposing Dizzys penchant for threading melodies throughout a piece. Joe Megro solos
over the bridge and final A section on tenor with brass backgrounds (on the bridge only).
Following Megros solo is a very interesting 6 bar interlude that features 4
measures of the saxophones playing a rising motive over a staccato bass line played by
the bari sax. The great Shelly Manne then plays 2 bars of drum solo to transition the
tune back into the bridge, cutting off the first 2 A sections of the form; an arranging trick
weve seen countless times before. This bridge is arranged similarly to before. The saxes
play the melody, although this time it is slightly different than the inhead while the brass
play backgrounds typical of a shout chorus. The last A section is repeated similarly to the
inhead for 4 bars before the tune segues into a coda where the time breaks down. Here,
Robertson finishes the A melody and Dizzy takes a cadenza, accompanied by saxophone
chords on cue. The tune ends with a full ensemble fermata.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (2) [Bass melody] + (2) [Add bari] + (4) [Add drums & saxes] ||: A Latin (6)
[Bone melody over bass line & sax vamp w/ brass bgs.]+ Swing (2) [Ens.] :|| B Swing
(8) [Sax soli melody w/ brass accomp.] A Latin (6) [Bone melody over bass line &
sax vamp]+ Swing (2) [Ens.] Interlude Swing (12) [Sax mel. w/ brass hits] + (2)
[Trumpet break] AA (16) [Trpt. solo w/ sax bgs.] BA (16) [Sax solo w/ brass bgs. on
B] Transition (4) [Saxes] + (2) [Drum solo] B (8) [Sax mel. w/ brass shout] A (4)
[Bone mel. over bass line & sax vamp w/ brass bgs.] Coda [Solo bone mel.] + Trumpet
Cadenza [Chords on cue] Ens. Fermata
Notes:
122
The form for most of Boyd Meets Stravinsky is a 12 bar blues, although the regular IIV-I-V-IV-I progression of the blues is embellished with passing chords.
Following an 8 bar intro that features the saxophone section playing some
blazing eighth note lines accompanied by staccato figures in the brass, Dodo Marmarosa
takes a piano solo for 2 choruses, which notably uses the whole tone scale, almost a
foreshadow of what is to come. Next, Lucky Thompson takes two choruses during which
he quotes the opening line of Charlie Parkers Bebop and is accompanied by trombone
backgrounds.
Next, Ray Linn blows two choruses of energetic trumpet solo,
accompanied by sax backgrounds and brass figures. Marmarosa takes another two
choruses of solo accompanied by bone backgrounds. Next is a 2 chorus trombone solo
by Britt Woodman that includes a four bar ensemble send-off at the beginning and
backgrounds from both the sax section and brass. What is notable about this piece is
that there are so many solos(!), many more than usual; plus each soloist takes two fll
choruses. There is also really no melody to this tune until the Stravinskian section
discussed below. The last two bars of Woodmans solo are cut off by a 6 bar drum solo
which transitions the tune into the most important and musically interesting sections of
the piece.
Following the drum solo the tune shifts into half time with a quarter note, two bar
repeating bass line that is similar, and may actually be a quote, of one of Stravinskys
bass lines (possibly from The Rakes Progress?). The saxophones play a sixteenth and
eighth note melody, the first composed melody in this entire piece, that is derived from
the scale (whole tone?) used in the bass line. The brass then enter with a fanfare above
both the bass line and saxophone countermelody. All of the rhythms in this section are
played straight and are not swung at all. What is also important about this section is that
it comes out of the blue and is sandwiched in between choruses of the blues in a collagelike manner, much the same way in which Stravinsky composed.
Following the Stravinskian section of music, the two transitions back to two
choruses of blues via a 4 bar (of double time) drum solo. These two choruses are an
ensemble soli with the horns playing bebop lines in unison. The second chouses goes
into a coda and ends with an ensemble fermata.
Notes:
123
Body & Soul is one of the most well known ballads of all time and is a sure
crowd pleaser. This arrangement retains the form and harmonies of the original tune,
but adds some very interesting and weird touches in the form of backgrounds,
countermelodies, and instrumental sections. The instrumental introduction and coda of
the tune are the most fascinating sections of the piece.
This piece is notable for its instrumental parts. The introduction, which begins
with a beautiful harp glissando sounds more like a concert wind band than a jazz
ensemble. The woodwind section is playing flutes and double reeds and the drummer is
playing suspended cymbal rolls and figures on his toms that mimic the sound of timpani.
The brass play atonal interjections and countermelody to the beautiful woodwind melody
that is going on beneath. The first two measures of the vocal melody of the tune are a
very tense, but beautiful moment of the tune. Here the french horns hold a single note as
the woodwinds play a descending melody beneath the vocals. For a moment time is
completely suspended before the harmonies of the piece come in at the third bar. For
the first A section the entire ensemble is used in various combinations to play
countermelody and background figures. A brass countermelody for half the A section
transitions smoothly into a woodwind countermelody with a french horn over top. The
second A section includes some very weird diads played by the french horns, who
interrupt the vocal melody and sound almost like a car horn that is almost comical in
such a beautiful ballad. The woodwinds countermelody behind the vocalist. The bridge
uses muted trumpet behind the vocalist and a combination of trombones and woodwinds
to play backgrounds. The final A section maintains the muted trumpet while the harp
plays glissandi and the rest of the ensemble play backgrounds, culminating in some loud,
staccato figures in the trumpets, creating a break that segues into a coda. The coda is
similar to the introduction, but adds Ginnie Powell, who sings the first line of the melody
My heart is sad and lonely. The piece comes to rest on a satisfying major sonority to
end the piece.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (8) [Ens.] A (8) [Vox. over ens.], A (8) [Simile w/ horn interjects.] B (8) [Vox.
over ens.] A (6) [Vox. over ens.] + (1) [Solo vox] + (1) [Add sax] Coda (8) [Simile to
intro. w/ vox.]
Notes:
124
the singer, would absolutely have had to use a microphone. Because of the highly
dynamic and sometimes loud ensemble parts, particularly near the end of the piece, he
would not have been heard unless he was amplified.
The piece begins with an 8 bar ensemble introduction that passes the melody
around the ensemble, starting first in the saxes and working its way up the full brass
section, culminating in a sudden crescendo and forte dynamic in the seventh bar. Allyn
then enters in bar 9 with the lyrics and melody over a 2-beat feel in the rhythm section
and subtle countermelody in the woodwinds. Muted trumpets and trombones are added
near the end of the first A section and are used in alternation and simultaneously with
the woodwinds beneath the second A section. It seems as though this was a typical trait
of the tunes played by the Raeburn band: to use the entire ensemble behind soloists and
vocalists to play background figures and countermelodies. The bridge starts with just the
woodwinds behind Allyn, but quickly crescendos, adding the brass section by bar 4. The
bridge dies down again and segues into the final A section of lyrics which includes a
descending brass melody on the penultimate measure and a 4 bar extension that is in the
original tune. A solo trombone comes in with a melody on the final 2 bars of the A
section. Next, the bridge comes back, circumventing the first 2 A sections, an arranging
trick weve seen in many tunes. The first 4 bars of the bridge are carried by solo
trombone over woodwind backgrounds before Allyn comes in, singing the final 4 bars of
the bridge over the ensemble. He then sings the last A section again, accompanied by an
ensemble crescendo and explosion of marcato chords in bars 7-10. The coda is
highlighted by a woodwind figure that reprises the melody and a beautiful brass melody
over the final fermata.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (8) [Ens.] A (8) [Vox. over ens. bgs.], A (8) [Simile] B (8) [Vox over ens.
crescendo, decrescendo] A (10) [Vox. over ens.] + (2) [Ens.] B (4) [Solo bone over
woodwinds] + (4) [Vox. over ens.] A (10) Coda (4) Fermata [Brass melody]
Notes:
125
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
This piece is extremely interesting and is constantly moving and shifting, always
changing shape, texture, tempo, orchestration and dynamic level. Dissonances abound,
but the tension is always released when the piece changes to a different section. There is
most likely no improvisation in this piece, and unlike A Night In Tunisia and Boyd
Meets Stravinsky, does not feature any soloists. Conversely, the piece is much more
about the composition; the shifting textures, orchestrations and contrasting sections. It
also employs bass sax, an instrument rarely seen in any format because there are so few
in the world.
One final note about the Raeburn band: Obviously the band employs outrageous
harmonies and sometimes far out and humorous sounds, but up until this point there
has been absolutely nothing on this compendium that has prepared the listener for this;
not even the revolutionary sounds of the Ellington band. Raeburns band was certainly
before its time and really led the way for the progressive jazz style of bands like Stan
Kenton. More people should check out the Raeburn band because many have absolutely
no idea who they were and how fascinating and revolutionary their music was.
Notes:
126
127
128
behind him. The entire ensemble then plays a soli that is full of complex harmony in the
chord voicings.
Gene Ammons solo is by far the most interesting part of the tune. For the first
chorus Ammons plays it cool, simply playing the blues over ensemble backgrounds.
However, in the second chorus Ammons kicks it up a notch and starts plays a slick
double time bebop lick right at the top of the second chorus before nonchalantly
returning to the blues. Following the shout chorus with a short 4 bar piano solo
sandwiched in the middle. The other highlight of the tune is the next chorus that
features a second section of shout that basically has the ensemble playing another shout
chorus while Art Blakey kicks them with some very stylized fills that would not be out of
place in a bebop tune.
Notes:
129
130
band. Gil would later work with the Stan Kenton band. Three of the soloists however are
very influential bebop players: Dizzy (obviously), the greatest and first bebop vibe
player, Milt Jackson, and one of the most influential bebop drummers of all time, Kenny
Clarke. What is most interesting about the transformation of big band music is that
during the Swing era, players were known for their ensemble playing in a band, and the
small groups that were frequently formed to play between sets of the band, like the
Benny Goodman Sextet with Lionel Hampton and Krupa were just a novelty. Now,
however, in the bebop era, players were becoming known for their small group playing
and were asked to play in big bands, like Dizzys, simply as an extension of their small
group playing. Consequently, a player like Kenny Clarke would have approached this
music differently than someone like Sam Woodyard or Gene Krupa.
This tune begins with quite a flurry and never lets up. The tempo is blazing, and
is absolutely the fastest big band tune to this point on this compendium. The
introduction to the tune changes gears extremely fast. Below is a diagram of the intro:
Intro (2) [Ens. figure] + (2) [Sax break] + (1) [Ens. figure] + (1) [Drum fill] + (2) [Brass
figure] + (1) [Ens. chord] + (1) [Silent break] + (1) [Ens. figure] Head
Not only is the tempo of the piece challenging, but the rhythms are also more
complex than many other big band pieces, especially at this tempo. Take for example the
last measure of the intro: the ensemble plays a syncopated figure that at this blazing of a
tempo is difficult to pull off, but it is done with ease.
The melody to the tune is a blazing, flurry of notes in the saxes accompanied by
brass harmonization and hits. Both A sections are 8 bars long. The brass take the bridge
accompanied by sax backgrounds. What is notable about the melodies in this tune is
that they are mostly played in unison rather than harmonized, and when they are they
are only slightly harmonized before coming back to unison. This is a feature of the types
of melodies played by Gillespie and Charlie Parker and many other bebop players. The
final A is similar to the first.
Following the head is an interesting transition to the solo sections. It is 10 bars
long and features first the brass playing a rhythmically challenging 3 bar motive and then
the saxes playing a 2 bar repeated pattern for 6 measures followed by a one bar
drum/brass fill. Dizzy Gillespie then plays a 4 bar solo break, the longest solo break yet
on the compendium. His 32 bar, AABA solo is accompanied by saxophone backgrounds
that loosely quote the melody. Obviously the solo is all bebop. Following Dizzys solo,
Milt Jackson takes a chorus with only rhythm section accompaniment. His second
chorus of solo is accompanied by escalating brass backgrounds over the A sections, with
more subtle trombone backgrounds in the bridge. 6 bars of ensemble transition lead into
a 2 bar break for John Browns alto. Brown is accompanied by some very aggressive
brass backgrounds. Brown solos for a chorus but is cut short when the brass reenter
with the melody to the bridge. All of the horn players then reprise the A melody in
unison. Both the bridge melody and the last A melody are played entirely in unison with
no harmony, a feature of small group bebop music that has now crossed over into the big
band bebop charts.
The intro then returns as a coda to the tune. Following the intro is a quick figure
played by the entire ensemble, followed by a sax fermata over which the brass play a
three note motive. This fermata/three note motive repeats twice. The entire ensemble
131
then hits a fermata, fall down off the fermata while decrescendoing, and then come right
back up and nail the last note, which comes complete with drum fills and screeching
trumpets.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (2) [Ens. figure] + (2) [Sax break] + (1) [Ens. figure] + (1) [Drum fill] + (2) [Brass
figure] + (1) [Ens. chord] + (1) [Silent break] + (1) [Ens. figure] A (8) [Saxes w/ brass
accomp.], A (8) [Simile] B (8) [Brass w. sax bgs.] A (8) [Saxes w/ brass accomp.]
Transition (3) [Brass & drums] + (6) [2 bar sax motive 3x] + (1) [Drum fill] + (4) [Trpt.
break] AABA (32) [Trpt. solo w/ sax bgs.] AABA (32) [Vibe solo] AABA (32)
[Vibe solo w/ brass bgs.] Transition (6) [Ens.] + (2) [Alto break] AA (16) [Alto solo
w/ brass bgs.] B (8) [Brass mel. w/ sax bgs.] A (8) [Sax mel. w/ brass accomp.]
Coda (10) [Repeat of intro] + (2) [Ens. figure] ||: Sax fermata w/ trpt. 3 note motive
:|| Crazy ens. fermata
Notes:
132
10 bar transition that is similar in structure to the intro culminates in a 4 bar fortissimo
ensemble figure that introduces a tenor sax solo. The solo last for both A sections and is
swung. The ensemble comes back in at the bridge with the melody orchestrated in the
brass with saxophone countermelody for 8 bars and then 8 bars of solo trumpet melody.
When the A section returns it is played as before. To end the tune, the introduction
comes back, but this time it is played backward and deconstructed. The horns start
playing the vamp over the rhythm section for 6 bars and then cut out, leaving only the
bass, drums, and congas to groove for 8 measures.
Notable about the tune is the juxtaposition of latin or straight sections of music
(the A sections) and swing sections (B section) like in countless other latin tunes such
as A Night In Tunisia. Also notable is the subordinate role the drummer plays to
Chano Pozo on congas, who is really the rhythmic driving force of the entire piece.
Finally, this is the only time since the Swing era where we hear the voices of members of
the band. Instead of singing back lines of music like in Cab Calloways band, they are
shouting the word Manteca at random whenever the vamp is going on, a feature of
music played in Cuba and other countries in Latin America.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Bass/conga vamp] + (2) [Add drums] + (4) [Add bari sax] + (2) [Add tenor
sax] + (2) [Add brass] + (8) [Trpt. solo over vamp) + (2) [Ens. triplet figure] + (4)
[Bass/drum/conga groove] ||: A (8) [Saxes & Brass] :|| B Swing? (8) [Saxes w/
brass bgs.] + (8) [Solo trpt. w/ sax bgs.] A (8) [Saxes & Brass] Transition (2)
[Conga/bass groove] + (2) [Add bone] + (2) [Add saxes] + (4) [Ens. figure] A (8) [Sax
solo w/ brass bgs.] + (8) [Continue sax solo no bgs.] B (8) [Brass mel. w/ sax
countermel.] + (8) [Solo trpt. mel. w/ sax bgs.] A (8) [Saxes & Brass] Outro (6)
[Vamp like intro w/ horns] + (8) [Bass/congas only]
Notes:
133
ensemble transition of an odd length, 7 bars. Here the ensemble trades measures with
the bass player for 4 bars and then plays a motive for 3 bars. The melody comes back,
orchestrated as before, unison in the entire ensemble.
What happens near thee end of the tune is very interesting. After 8 bars of
melody the tune segues into a coda that is also a bass solo. Here the ensemble plays
backgrounds that quote the melody of the tune for 4 bars. Then the saxes play 2 double
whole notes, both punctuated at the start by a brass articulation. Over this the bass
player solos. Then, for the first time on this compendium, the bass player plays a
completely unaccompanied cadenza during which he is answered by the drummer and
then a full ensemble fermata.
Below is a form diagram of the tune:
Intro (8) [Ens. melody w/ bass solo] A (16) [Ens. soli melody], A (8) [Simile] + (8)
[Brass soli mel.] Coda (4) [Bone mel.] + (8) [Bass breaks] AA (32) [Trpt. solo]
AA (32) [Continue trpt. solo w/ bone bgs.] Transition (7) [Ens. w/ bass solo] A (8)
[Ens. soli mel.] Coda (4) [Bass solo w/ ens. mel. accomp.] + (4) [Bass solo w/ ens.
whole notes] + Bass cadenza+ Ens. Fermata
Notes:
134
time bebop licks and Pozos groove begins to disintegrate. Dizzy then plays a quick
motive that is echoed by Kenny Clarke to end this half of the piece.
What is notable about this portion of the piece is the way the melody is arranged.
Rather than being stuck in one section of the ensemble with the others playing
backgrounds, the melody moves around from solo trumpet, to the full ensemble, to just
saxes, to just trombones while the sections not playing the melody play quick
background figures.
Below is a form diagram of this half of the piece:
Intro (8) [Conga solo, decresc.] + (8) [Add drums] + (8) [2 bones] + (4) [Low brass/bari
vamp] + (8) [Add trumpets] + (4) [Add more trumpets] + (9) [Add Dizzy and begin
cresc.] A (7) [Dizzy and ens. mel], A (7) [Simile] B (8) [Sax & Diz mel.] A (7) [Diz
and ens. mel.] A (8) [Trpt. solo w/ sax bgs.], A (8) [Simile] B [Trpt. solo w/ congas]
Cubano Bop, the second half of this piece begins with a chant solo by Chano
Pozo, who accompanies himself with rolls on his congas. He then begins chanting to the
ensemble who respond to him. Finally, he breaks into time, continuing to chant and is
joined by the ensemble who again respond to his chants. Pozo begins grooving hard and
along with the rest of the ensemble begins chanting Cubano be, Cubano bop. This dies
down and piano groove enters followed by drums and a trombone and bari sax vamp
over which the saxophones and trumpets motivic cells that almost sound improvised.
The motives played by the horn players are really fragments of rhythm and melody and a
full melody is never really presented, but the desired effect is reached. The fragments are
all combined one on top of the other and grow and grow into a cacophonous climax.
Dizzy then reprises the melody from the first half of the tune, and if you dont pay
attention you might miss it. Here, he is accompanied by the saxophones. The tune then
starts crescendoing, growing louder and louder, finally climaxing in a giant ensemble
fermata.
This piece is not a far cry from the music played by the Boyd Raeburn band. It is
like a latin Stravinsky piece; the parts are all highly disjunct and are put together in a
collage-like fashion. However, somehow it all works and the desired effect is reached.
Notes:
135
solos over the vamp here as well, but his playing is much more mature and stylized. This
is, after all the post-bop era.
The melody to this version is played almost exactly as the first version, except the
bridge is taken by the saxes first, rather than the brass. The bridge is much softer than
the previous version. It also sounds as though a few more percussionists are added to
this version. The drummer kicks the heck out of the band during the head and in the
transitions and backgrounds of the tune. He really plays some advanced and very hip
fills.
Billy Mitchells sax solo is a bebop blaze! He plays just about every note possible.
Notable also about this version is the presence of the great Lee Morgan on trumpet. The
8 bars of saxophone glissando that follow the melody after the trumpet solo are really hip
as is the trombone soli that embellishes the vamp. Following the trombone soli is a long
piano solo as the vamp decresendos. What happens next is the most interesting portion
of the tune. All of a sudden and without warning the tune shifts into an entirely different
harmonic structure with a saxophone melody and a vocal break at the end of each 8 bar
section where people say the words who, you, me, in a comical fashion. The brass
then are added to the sax vamp for a shout chorus-like effect. Finally the tune
transitions back to the original vamp which grows and grows, culminating in a 2 bar
ensemble motive kicked by the drummer that is repeated twice and then a massive
ensemble fermata with some really quick bass drum fills and some screeching notes in
the trumpets. The crowd goes nuts!
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (2) [Bass vamp] + (6) [Band vox.] + (18) [Ens. vamp] Trpt. solo (Long) [Over
vamp] + (2) [Ens. triplet motive] + (4) [Vamp] A (8) [Saxes & Brass], A (8) [Simile]
B (8) [Saxes] + (8) [Trpt. solo w/ sax bgs.] A (8) [Saxes & Brass] Vamp (8) + (4)
[Ens. figures] A (8) [Sax solo w/ ens. bgs], A (8) [Continue sax solo] B (8) [Ens.
soli] + (8) [Solo trpt. w/ sax bgs.] A (8) [Saxes & Brass] Sax Glissando (8) Vamp
(Forever) [Trombone soli/embellishment of vamp] Vamp (Long) [Piano solo]
Vamp (?) [Trombone solo] ||: New Vamp (6) [Saxes & Rhythm] + (2) [Vocal break] :||
||: Same Vamp (6) [Add trpts.] + (2) [Vocal break 1x, Drum solo 2x] :|| Original
Vamp (18) Coda ||: (2) [Ens. figure] :|| + FERMATA!
Notes:
136
137
Transition (4) [Brass entrance + sax melody, sendoff] B (4) [Tenor solo over sax bgs.]
+ (4) [Continue tenor over ens. bgs.] A (4) [Ens. interruption] + (4) [Continue tenor
solo over ens. bgs] Ens. Fermata.
Notes:
138
over top of the ensemble. The tune ends with a quick tag/ensemble fermata over which
Peterson adds a quick improvisation.
Overall, this tune is basically a Swing dance tune. The year is 1942 and the tempo
is certainly danceable. The tune is simple in its basic structure (32 bar, AABA), but
Dizzys compositional mind adds a few twists and turns along the way, like the
interesting bridge, the coda, and the 8 bar guitar and bass soli, which is perhaps the
highlight of the tune. The shout chorus is fairly typical of a Swing era band, utilizing riffs
and star soloists to build drama and tension. The band swings hard and sounds well
rehearsed and the soloists find their way around the changes nicely, although no one of
them really plays anything of terrible interest.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Trpt. mel. over sax bgs.] + (4) [Trpt. mel. w/ drum accomp.] ||: A (8) [Sax
mel. w/ brass hits] :|| B (8) [Trpt. mel. over bone countermelody w/ jungle feel in
drums] A (8) [Sax mel. w/ brass hits] Coda (8) [Trpt. mel. w/ bone pedal]
Guitar/Bass soli (8) AABA (32) [Clarinet solo over sax bgs.] ||: A (4) [Ens. soli] +
(4) [Tenor solo] :|| B (8) [Tenor solo] A (4) [Ens. soli] + (4) [Tenor solo] Shout A
(8) [Brass riff over sax mel.], A (8) [Add clarinet solo] B (8) [Trpt. solo over sax bgs.]
A (6) [Brass riff over sax mel. w/ trpt solo] Coda (2) [Ens.] Fermata [Trpt. solos]
Notes:
139
The first solos is taken by Flip Phillips on tenor sax. Flip manages to make the
changes although it is clear he is not quite comfortable with them. He plays no bebop
and sounds like a stowaway from another era. What is more interesting are the
backgrounds behind the second and third A section of his solo. They are the stock stop
time background formula of a single quarter note on beat one of bar one; two quarter
notes on beats one and two of bar three, three quarter notes on beats one, two, and three
of bar five, and four quarter notes in measure seven. What is interesting is that while the
backgrounds are typically used as stop time, there is no stop time here. Instead the
rhythm section keeps chugging and the brass simply play these figures as background to
the solo. These are typical backgrounds that are played during both the blues and
rhythm changes tunes in a lot of small groups arrangements, and it is interesting that
they are found in this arrangement. The second chorus of solo is taken by Bill Harris,
who also is not completely comfortable with the changes. He is accompanied by sax
backgrounds and some yelling and screaming from the band. The third solo is split in
half, with the As being played by Marjorie Hyams on vibes and the bridge and final A
played by Herman on clarinet. Hyams and Hermans solos, but Hyams in particular are
the most technically and harmonically advanced solos of the entire tune Hyams plays a
few bebop gestures in her solo, whether consciously or not. Both solos are accompanied
by saxophone backgrounds.
Following the solos, the band shifts into a shout chorus. For the A sections, the
brass play a riff motive above the saxes who play an aggressive countermelody that is
almost buried on this recording. What can be heard sounds like bebop! The bridge is
played by a solo saxophone and includes an interesting dotted half note motive in the
third and fourth bars of the bridge as well as the seventh and eighth bars. The A section
returns in much the same fashion as the first two shout A sections. This A section
repeats two more times with Woody Herman blowing some clarinet over top. When the
bridge hits again we hear only a solo trumpet playing a motive that is like a bugle call.
The drummer responds rhythmically to the trumpet player. This moment is very
surprising for the listener because it kind of comes from nowhere. The final A section
maintains the shout chorus formula and adds a soloing trumpet on top to bring the tune
to a rollicking close on an very messy ensemble fermata that basically falls apart.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Ens. dotted quarter motive w/ trpt. mel.] + (4) [Rhythm vamp] ||: A (8)
[Sax mel.] :|| B (8) [Brass riff mel. w/ sax bgs.] A (8) [Brass mel.] Sax solo A (8),
A (8) [add stoptime bgs.] B (8) [no bgs.] A (8) [stoptime bgs.] ||: Bone solo A
(8) [Sax bgs.] :|| B (8) [yelling and screaming] A (8) [Sax bgs.] ||: Vibe solo A (8)
[Sax bgs.] :|| Clarinet solo B (8) A (8) [Sax bgs.] ||: Shout A (8) [Brass riff over
sax melody] :|| B (2) [Solo sax mel.] + (2) [Dotted half note motive] + (2) [Solo sax
mel.] + (2) [Dotted half note motive] A (8) [Brass riff over sax melody] ||: Shout A
(8) [Simile w/clarinet solo] :|| B (8) [Trpt. bugle call solo w/ drums] A (8) [Shout
formula w/ trpt. solo] Ens. fermata
Notes:
140
141
return of the bass and guitar motive from the introduction. Following this motive the
drummer plays a couple bars of fill that end the tune.
Below is a form diagram of this piece:
Intro (8) [Bass/guitar mel. w/ drums] ||: A (8) [Fragmented mel. w/ trpt./clar. on
top] :|| B (8) [Sax mel. w/ brass bgs.] A (8) [Sax solo mel. w/ mel. beneath]
Transtion (4) [Ens. like bridge] + (2) [Bone solo over sax whole note] + (2) [Bone solo
break] ||: A (8) [Bone solo over sax bgs.] :|| B (4) [Simile] + (4) [Add brass] A
(8) [Bone solo over sax bgs.] ||: A (8) [Brass mel. w/ sax countermel. over rhythm
pedal] :|| B - Swing (4) [Brass mel.] + (4) [Bone solo over sax bgs.] A (6) [Brass
mel. w/ sax countermel. over rhythm pedal] + (2) [Break drums only] Coda (2)
[Bone/brass motive] + (2) [Sax falling motive] + (4) [Guitar/Bass mel.] + (2) [Drum
solo]
Notes:
142
143
sections it is replacing. It is at once bombastic, but also very well executed. The band
sounds very tight. Articulation is uniform and rhythms are precise. The drummer also
does a nice job of setting the band up. This loud shout gives way to a contrasting soft
bridge of piano solo by Nat Pierce who plays a solo that is Basie-esque in its
conception; very minimal and simple. The final A is a restatement of the melody in the
trombones with trumpet responses and again the second part of the melody that is
usually in the saxes is again missing.
The coda of the tune is similar to the intro, bringing back the low brass, bari sax,
bass soli over time in the drums. A four bar ensemble tag ends the tune followed by a
very unnessecary drum solo that almost ruins the end of the tune. Had the drummer just
played the final figure with the band the end of this tune would sound tighter and be
much better.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (6) [Loud ens. figures w/ drum setups] + (8) [Bari, low brass, bass soli] A (8)
[Bone melody w/ low countermel. over hihat], A (8) [Bone mel. w/ trpt. response, begin
walking bass] B (8) [Trpt. melody w/ sax bgs.] A (8) [Trpt./Sax mel.] AA (16)
[Tenor solo] B (8) [Chromatic rising ens. motive] A (8) [Clarinet solo w/ sax bgs.]
Shout A (8) [Ens.], Shout A (8) [Ens.] B (8) [Piano solo] A (8) [Bone mel. w/
trpt. response] Coda (4) [Bari, low brass, bass soli] + (4) [Ens. tag] Drum fill
Notes:
144
Sal Nistico, not to be confused with Sammy Nestico, blows some incredible blues
and bebop licks over the whole tune. He really wails. After 1 chorus Nistico solo that
includes some brass backgrounds on the bridge, the melody of the tune comes in. Nat
Piece arranges the melody of the tune in the trumpets, although the saxes play the last
two bars. The saxes take the melody for the bridge and last A section, accompanied by
the brass. Nistico is then left to solo with various background figures. One of these
background figures, during the 3rd chorus of Nistico solo, notably uses the tag rhythm
to a stock Ellington ending. All of the background figures behind the sax solo are riff
figures. After two choruses of solo the band plays an interesting interlude. The horns
come back in, playing a repeating motive that crescendos and grows higher and higher in
range over 10 bars before breaking for 2 measures to allow Nistico to solo. The band
then plays a 2 bar sendoff, with trumpets screeching, before the top of a new solo chorus
hits.
The melody of the tune is never restated. Instead Nistico blows one final chorus
of slick bebop licks accompanied by 2 riff backgrounds, one in the trumpets (Ellington
tag rhythm) and one in the saxes. Then the beat 4 pedal tone returns in the trombones
behind Nistico, who is still soloing. A two bar brass motive that was heard at the end of
the last chorus cuts the entire tune off, allowing Nistico to play a short cadenza before
the ensemble rips back in with a loud fermata.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (4) [Rhythm w/ beat 4 pedal] Sax solo AA (16) [Pedal tone] B (8) [Brass/sax
riff bgs.] A (8) [Pedal tone] ||: A (8) [Trpt. melody w/ sax accomp.] :|| B (8) [Sax
mel. w/ brass accomp.] A (8) [Simile] Sax solo Chorus 1 AA (16) B (8) [Brass
bgs.] A (8) [No bgs.] A (8) [Brass bgs.], A (8) [No bgs.] B (8) [Brass bgs.] A (8)
Notes:
145
146
hear two choruses of trumpet solo with ensemble backgrounds. This solo is perhaps the
most stylistic bebop solo on this tune and this trumpet player sounds like the most
advanced bop player that solos on this chart.
The trio of horns restates the melody with saxophone backgrounds. A 2 bar drum
fill at the end of this chorus sets up one final shout chorus which is four bars of the same
riff that was heard in the previous shout followed by a four bar bebop-infused soli
melody in the trumpets that ends with an ensemble fermata.
Below is a form diagram:
Melody Chorus 1 (12) [Trpt./Sax/Bone] Melody Chorus 2 (12) [Simile, add ens. bgs]
Solo Chorus 1 (4) [Ens. sendoff] + (8) [Sax solo w/ bgs.] Solo Chorus 2 (12) [Sax solo
w/ sax bgs.] Solo Chorus 3 (6) [Ens. sendoff] + (6) [Sax solo] Solo Chorus 4 (4)
[Ens. sendoff] + (8) [Bone solo w/ bgs.] Solo Chorus 5 (4) [Ens. sendoff] + (8) [Bone
solo w/ sax bgs.] Chorus (12) [Rhythm section] Shout Chorus 1 (10) [Ens. riffs] +
(2) [Drum fill] Solo Chorus 6 (12) [Trpt. solo w/ sax bgs.] Solo Chorus 7 (12)
[Simile] Melody Chorus 3 (12) [Horn trio w/ bgs.] Shout Chorus 2 (4) [Ens. riff] +
(4) [Trpt. soli melody] Fermata
Notes:
147
Following one chorus of piano solo, which is very sparse and minimalistic in its
conception, the melody arrives. It must first be stated that Donna Lee is one of the
most difficult bebop tunes to play and it serves as a benchmark for many horn players.
Here,, Gil Evans arranges it in unison in the horn parts, just like it would be played in a
bebop era small group. The players pull it off with ease, obviously having practiced the
melody beforehand. The drummer comps and fills in the spaces of the melody like a
small group drummer. Evans adds a rhythmic motive to the end of the melody that acts
as a send off for the first soloist.
The first solo, by Allan Langstaff is perhaps the anti-thesis of bebop, which is
interesting considering Donna Lee is a bebop tune. He plays no bebop licks and very
little chromaticism. Mickey Folus tenor sax solo is only slightly better. The highlight of
the tune is ensemble soli composed by Gil Evans that follows the sax solo and acts as s
transition to the guitar solo. Evans employs some classic bebop licks and also quotes the
melody. Following the guitar solo, the melody repeats, but we only get the last 16 bars,
rather than the entire melody from the beginning. This is similar to the trick of skipping
to the bridge that other arrangers have used, although the halfway point of Donna Lee
is really the A section. This segues to the out coda on the final note of the melody,
where the tune would usually end if played by a small group. The coda climaxes and
ends with the trumpets playing a fermata. When they are cut off, the saxes hold over, an
interesting way to end a tune that would be used by many other arrangers and
composers.
Notable is the fact there are no backgrounds in this tune, much like a small group
would play. Also all the horn parts are completely unison except the intro and coda.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (?) [Piano/Drums] + (16) [Horns/piano over drum time] Piano solo (32)
Head (32) [Unison] Bone solo AB (16) Tenor solo AC (16) Ensemble Soli AB (16)
[Unison] Guitar Solo AC (16) Outhead AC (14) Coda (11) Fermata
Notes:
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A section is orchestrated in both the trumpets and saxes in unison. Danny Polo takes the
first two A sections as a solo on clarinet, improving and paraphrasing the melody. He is
accompanied by some soft backgrounds by the ensemble in the second A. These
backgrounds grow as the bridge is reached, ushering in Mario Rollo on tenor sax, who
instead of taking over the solo, simply plays a duet with Polo for the bridge. The entire
ensemble re-enters over the last A section playing a light soli composed by Gil Evans.
The highlight of this soli is really the way it starts at nothing, crescendos into the sixth
bar, and then decrescendos as it extends through the fourth bar of the first A section of a
new form. Thornhill finishes the phrase with a short piano solo. The ensemble then
reprises the melody, in unison, as before. The tune grooves to a close with a few more
small statements from the horns.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (6) [Sax mel., horns over rhythm] A (6) [Piano] + (2) [Ens.], A (6) [Ens.] B
(8) [Saxes] A (8) [Unison horns] A (8) [Clar. solo], A (8) [Clar. solo. w/ ens. bgs.]
B (8) [Clar./Sax solo] A (8) [Ens. soli] A (4) [Soli continues] + (4) [Piano] A
(6) [Unison horns] Coda (8)
Notes:
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150
down and the entire ensemble segues into a bashing, slowing triplet motive which ends
the tune.
The sound of this tune, and most of the Kenton repetoire is very experimental.
The harmonies in this piece are much more dense than many of the other tunes on this
compendium. The composers and arrangers for Kentons band were all extremely
experimental and were not afraid to stick sounds, motives, or chord progressions
together than usually would not be combined. The resulting sound can sometimes be
atonal or even polytonal. This piece has a slightly atonal sound to it and dissonance is
usually a comparative idea in Kentons music. For example a fully diminished chord is
more dissonant than a half diminished chord, but when compared to a major triad, they
are both dissonant.
Notes:
151
are different than beneath the soloists. The shout chorus comes off smoothly, with the
drummer kicking, filling, and catching all the ensemble rhythms. The chords in this
section of music are voiced rather thickly with 4-6 notes per chord voicing. After the last
A of shout, the tune segues into an interesting coda that ends the tune.
Below is a form diagram:
A1 (2) [Saxes/trombone mel.] + (7) [Add rhythm], A (10) [Sax mel./bone
countermel.] B (8) [Trpt. mel. w/ sax/bone bgs.] A (8) [Trpt. mel. 2 countermel. in
sax/bone] + (5) [Ens. unison] + (2) [Trpt. break] AABA (32) [Trpt. soli w/ various
bgs.] AABA (32) [Tenor sax solo w/ various bgs.] Modulating transition (up P4) (8)
[Ens.] AABA (32) [Alto sax solo w/ various bgs.] ||: Shout (8) [Ens.] :|| B (4)
[Trpt. solo] + (4) [Ens.] Shout (8) [Ens.] Coda (2) [Ens.] + (2) [Bones/saxes] (2)
[Add trpts.]+ Tag [Unison rhythm]
Notes:
152
bursts and solos from Maynard. Many times the ensemble covers him up with their
cacophonus, but interesting to listen to, dissonant backgrounds, motives, and phrases.
Here is seems as though 4 layers are present. The dissonance and confusion created by
the brass, the consistent warbling of the saxophones, Maynards solo, and the rhythm
section time feel. Another face peeling chord is hit, with Maynard screeching on top. In
an impressive demonstration of dynamic control, this high note and chord decrescendos
to end the tune.
This piece seems much more like a study in tone and color than an actual jazz
arrangement and it is rather progressive. The beginning of the tune could absolutely
be confused as a piece of modern classical music, something that Kentons band
frequently incorporated into their sound.
Notes:
153
Notes:
154
155
156
157
through the first 16 bars. The second 16 bars drop way down in intensity and dynamic,
presenting a nice contrast to the listener. Here, the low brass and bari sax play a pedal
while the upper brass play a melody that grows in intensity, ushering in a few more kicks
by the drummer before the rhythm section vamp and melody return.
Below is a form diagram:
Intro (1 bar pickup + 6) [Woodwind melody w/ brass hits/countermel.] + (4) [Unison
horn chords] Melody A (8) [Trpt./Sax mel. w/ ens. countermel. & floating feel] + (8)
[Trpt./Sax mel. w/ sax countermel. & 4 feel] Melody A (8) [Simile to A] + (4) [Simile
to A] + (6) [Tag, crescendos/adds brass] Vamp (4) [Rhythm] Sax solo A (8) [Ens.
bgs, swells, floating feel] + (8) [Ens. bgs., 4 feel] Sax solo A (8) [Rhythm only] + (8)
[Sax countermel.] Ens. Soli A (16) [Trpt. Mel. w/ bone/sax accomp.] Trpt. Solo A
(8) + (14) [Ens. bgs., crescendo] + (2) [Sax soli break] Sax soli A (16) Sax soli A
(16) Bone solo A (8) + (8) [Trpt. long note bgs./sax staccato hits] Bone solo A (8)
[Sax bgs.] + (8) [No bgs.] Shout A (8) [Ens.] + (8) [Trpt. solo over shout] Shout A
(8) [Softer, Low brass/bari pedal w/ brass melody] + (6) [Ens.] Vamp (4) [Rhythm]
Melody A (8) [Sax/Trpt. mel. w/ brass hits/countermel.] + (4) [Sax bgs.] + (6) [Tag,
crescendos/adds brass] + (1) [Coda, drum fill]
Notes:
158
into the stop time melody. The entire melody, 32 bars, AABA, is reprised. Maynard then
reprises his intro solo, playing all the blues he can muster, with the drummer responding
once again. The texture of drum/trumpet duet is notable because it shows that the
drummer is being put in the limelight more and more and that drummers are becoming
notable not just for their timekeeping ability but can be a valuable solo force in the band.
This duet goes on for quite some time, climaxing with some stratospheric trumpet
playing. And then it happens! Instead of the piano player playing the amen cadence
like in the beginning, the band actually sings the plagal cadence and the words amen.
Simply priceless!
This tune is notable because it is over 9 minutes in length, the longest tune, by far
to this point on this compendium. But rather than having a lot of composed parts, solis,
shout choruses, etc., the tunes length is owed to the lengthy solos.
Notes:
159
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161
162
163
tone ascending motive, after which the trumpets are scored in the upper register.
Following the melody an augmented chord in the vibes combined with a skipping and
playful saxophone melody and a pedal point in the low brass provide a 4 bar to a sax
solo.
Seldon Powell blows over some smooth brass background figures. These figures
are made even more pleasant to listen to by the pastel tone of the french horn. The
melody is reprised in order to transition between the sax and trumpet solos, an effective
way of transitioning to a new soloist without just simply switching. Following the
trumpet solo, the 4 bar transition is used to transition to a trombone solo.
The most interesting section of the piece occurs near the 2:30 minute mark where
the rhythm section completely drops out and the saxes are left to play a beautiful soli
with only vibe accompaniment. This moves quickly into a piano solo. This whole section
seems to come out of nowhere and is a really effective contrast to the entire beginning of
the tune. The melody, however, does re-enter kind of abruptly. This new texture could
have been explored a little further. All the listener gets as a reprise of the melody is the
first 2 bars in the saxes, repeated over and over. Above that, the rest of the members of
the ensemble creep in and improvise cacophonously and atonally, completely obscuring
the sax melody and the time of the tune. Eventually, the band reaches one big fermata to
end the tune. This is a really interesting and effective ending, and the way it is executed,
with the atonal, cacophony creeping in, is almost Charles Ives-ish in nature.
Notes:
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165
I LOVE THE FINAL SONORITY OF THIS TUNE! I dont know what it is by ear,
but Im going to figure it out.
Notes:
166
Commentary: This tune is one of Gils finest on this record. The ensemble soli in the
beginning is great. The subtleness with which it is played, the tuba lines and the
crescendo that grows into the harmonized trumpet melody. The trombone and
saxophone harmonization of Miles melody is really one the finest moments in the tune.
Gil seems to basically approach this as a small group arrangement with a big band added
when needed. Even following the melody, Gil writes a subtle clarinet/flute duo for a few
moments that takes the chart in another direction before the band enters and Miles takes
a solo.
Miles solos with only a few bari sax and trombone backgrounds. By now the bari
has really become a part of both the saxophone and low brass sections. The ensemble
soli that follows Miles solo is very powerful. Here Gil has the clarinet orchestrated at the
top of its register and it is really effective in bringing across almost a sense of urgency.
All of a sudden this mini-shout comes to an end and the dynamic level retreats for the
outhead. The second half of the outhead is a flute and clarinet soli, beautifully written
and conceived. Its a nice touch that ends the tune on a very delicate note.
Notes:
167
This piece is also the longest tune on the entire compendium; clocking in at a
whopping 16 and a half minutes!
The first 4 minutes of this tune are basically orchestrated and played in a manner
similar to a concert wind band. There is really no rhythm section, and Evans would have
absolutely been conducting the band the entire time. This is really a first, except for
maybe the Kenton band.
The complexity of these arrangements is absolutely
astounding, and without a conductor, portions of this music would be a wreck.
Eventually (near the 4 minutes mark), the rhythm section begins playing slow time, in
the manner of a ballad. Here, Miles solos over a bed of woodwind accompaniment. Gils
use of flutes, clarinets, and double reed instruments in various combinations and ever
stretching harmonizations is wonderful. Eventually, the tune kicks into a medium swing
feel and the brass harmonize a small section of the melody rather loudly before the
texture returns to the woodwinds playing backgrounds behind Miles.
These
backgrounds are interesting; they are basically bell tones that are each held for a few
measures. The time feel breaks down into a series of short fermatas, and Miles takes a
cadenza, using the melody of the piece as his substance. The flutes, playing in their
lowest register, and harp accompany Miles with some shimmering chords. In the
background, under the entire cadenza, is a subtle cymbal and timpani roll that is almost
completely missed if not listened for.
The most miraculous thing about this arrangement is how completely cohesive it
feels although it keeps shifting its shape every half minute or so. The most startling
example of this occurs at the 8:13 mark, right after the trumpet cadenza. Here, a quicker
melody in compound time is played by the woodwinds and muted trumpets, and echoed
in the brass catches the listener off guard. This is a very orchestral sounding section,
even incorporating the use of a tambourine as the main rhythmic accompaniment to the
winds. The tune then settles back down into a slower, duple feel and the low brass and
bassoon come to the fore on a melody that has a few quick flurries of sixteenth notes.
Following this melody, a bass ostinato groove, accompanied by castanets and a subtle
brush groove in the drums lays a new feel. Miles, in harmon mute, solos over another
bed of flutes and woodwinds. The horns also play backgrounds behind Miles and the
harp fills really add a texture and color that is detrimentl to the piece.
Near the 13:00 mark the entire ensemble takes over and plays the melody. The
brass have the lead here, and the texture sounds like a concert ensemble; not a jazz
ensemble at all. The melodic motives of the melody are bounced off each section of the
band and passed around until Miles re-enters.
Notes:
168
169
170
The drum solo in the beginning is kind of weird and almost unnessesary. Is Art
Blakey the drummer on this tune?
Notes:
171
172
After the trumpet solo, the bari player takes a solo of his own. Here the rhythm
section all of a sudden shifts into a funk/fusion groove and blows off the form of the
tune. This lasts for about a minute, until pickups in the entire ensemble bring the tune
back to swing. A short ensemble soli brings back the unison melody in trumpet and sax.
Notes:
173
174
175
176
Tip-Toe
Commentary: By far, the greatest example of Mels brush playing, Tip-Toe is
highlighted by a very pointilistic saxophone melody that employs soprano, alto, tenor,
and bari sax with Basie-esque piano fills. I think there is even a glockenspiel on this
tune. The rhythm section grooves hard beneath.
177
Following the melody, Thad Jones plays a solo over what is basically a saxophone
soli. As stated earlier, Thads sax backgrounds are really not backgrounds in the
traditional sense, but rather thoughtful melodies and motives that could easily stand
alone. After Thads solo, the trombones play a soli with the bass player joining in. Only
Mel accomapanies them with an extremely hip sounding brush pattern.
After the trombone solo, the listener is treated to one of the hippest shout
chorus/drum solos ever written. Highlighted by the quick sixteenth note motives in the
ensemble, the shout chorus/drum solo is an example of Thads genius. This section
exhibits some difficult rhythmic passages in the horns, especially at a quiet dynamic
level. Mel fills in and around the ensemble rhythms, catching, kicking and soloing all at
once. No one can kick a band with brushes like Mel does. His soloing here is incredibly
virtuosic and Ive never heard anyone, except Jeff Hamilton, play this tune as well as
Mel. This is one of the most difficult drum solos ever written because of its irregular
phrases.
The backgrounds behind the alto solo are also interesting, because rather than
composing coherent lines and melodies, Thad simply uses detached interjections by the
brass to startle the listener. Out of nowhere the brass suddenly play a forte chord,
announcing their presence, and over the last half of the alto solo, continue to interject in
odd places and without warning. Following the alto solo, Thad composes an ensemble
soli that loosely quotes the melody. The soli is written in vertical chords and is
homorhythmic. Toward the bridge, the soli gets softer and over the bridge uses a
sequenced motive to crescendo. The final 8 bars of the soli quotes the melody in the
trumpet section, setting up a return to the actual melody in the saxes.
Notes:
178
When the melody returns it returns with the brass carrying the melody and the
saxes playing countermelody. The triplet tag is used to transition into a coda that
augments the final melodic motive of the tune, transitioning into a straight-eighth
motive before the final fermata.
Notes:
179
180
181
182
begins playing a straight-eighth note rhythmic vamp that features two different riffs in
the trumpets and trombones. Above this, Trane solos. The tune then simply fades out.
Notes:
183
184
185
186
187
occurs during the interlude between the melody and the piano solo. It again occurs in
the piano solo, with Jim McNeeley, the pianist for the Vanguard Band taking a highly
melodic expressive solo.
Following McNeelys piano solo, the original groove of the tune returns, and the
horns re-enter to play an ensemble soli. The trumpets carry the melody and are urged on
by a vamp in the saxophones. Eventually the saxes take over, playing a lovely melody
beneath the brass melody. Here, two melodies that compliment each other beautifully
are going on at the same time. This texture gives way to a bari sax solo. Beneath the
solo, the melody, written and harmonized in a homorhythmic texture returns as the tune
fades out.
Notes:
188
189
Notes:
190
Commentary: This piece is extremely beautiful. The melody, played by Rich Perry on
tenor is slightly predictable, although not necessarily a bad thing. The woodwind
doubles are used very well in this piece and at times the tune sounds like a concert
ensemble rather than a jazz band, particularly when the woodwinds play running eighth
or sixteenth note backgrounds behind the melody.
Perry is allowed to solo at length over a pillowy bed of ensemble backgrounds
that include some beautiful flute playing. Eventually the rest of the woodwinds enter,
followed by the brass, providing Perry a dense harmonic texture over which to lay his
ever reaching improvisation. Perry takes his improvisation slightly out, but for most of
the solo remains fairly faithful to the changes.
One of the most beautiful sections of the piece is the last minute. The way the
harmonies are voiced here is beautiful, particularly near the 6:00 mark, when Perry
drops out just before the recap of the melody. The winds take the melody, first
orchestrated in the flutes and then the brass, ending on a simple major chord in the
horns and trombones. The use of this chord is so effective since many of the harmonies
of the rest of the piece are so dense. The resolution of this melody at the 6:18 mark is so
satisfying and beautiful.
Notes:
Allegresse
Commentary: Allegresse is another ECM-ish tune, very similar to the style of Bob
Mintzers Vision/City of Hope. This tune is very smooth all the way through. Both
soloists, tenor and trumpet play some very sophisticated improvisation, but the rhythm
section doesnt respond nearly enough. The melody to the tune and the backgrounds are
set in a similar style to the Mintzer tune. The arrangement is fairly uninteresting and the
highlight of the piece is really the two solo sections.
The main melodic voice is a solo trumpet player, who gets harmonization from
both the low brass and saxophones along the way. The texture of the entire tune remains
fairly constant. The voicings and harmonizations are very consistent and stay relatively
the same from section to section. It seems as though the goal of the backgrounds was to
create a texture for the soloists to play over. There are some rather interesting voicings
in the background parts, often including some fairly dissonant intervals in close voicings
(minor seconds, tritones, etc.).
Both soloists in the tune really shine and one of the nicest sections of the tune is
when they are both soloing, either collectively improvising or responding directly to one
another, or trading 4 to 8 bar phrases while the ensemble play the melody below.
Notes:
The End!
191