PART I & STRIDE PIANO, JELLY ROLL, AND EARL HINES1 BAST ns a its most basic form, the so-called stride bass is similar to the well-known ragtime bass—i.e. the con- stant “oom-pah, oom-pah” alternation of single bass notes (or octaves) and mid-range chords—except that the stride bass makes a less frequent use of octaves and usually emphasizes wider left hand leaps, with lower bass notes and slightly higher mid-range chords than are commonly found in ragtime bass. See bars 69-72 below of James P. Johnson's exciting 1939 recording of “If Dreams Come True” (on Classics 711), wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano: Very fast, swing 8ths D D o c a ‘The bass notes of the stride bass are usually selected from the root, the 5'4, or the 3°4 (and occasionally the minor 7") of the chords to which they are related.’ A most important facet of this style is that these bass notes are often arranged so as to create a bass line of melodic interest. They may be built, for instance, in scalar motion (either ascending or descending), as in the following excerpt from Cliff Jackson's 1965 recording of “Crazy Rhythm” (RI-DISC RD-5), fully transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos: J = 280, swing 8ths F @ F c G A B Another way to create bass lines of melodic interest is to connect the chord roots played on every first beat by means of leading tones. This device can also include tritone skips, as found in bars 1 and 3 of the following example on a circle-of-fifths sequence: More rarely, the stride bass can also include open Sths or 7ths on the first and third beat. 2 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HAND(ee) Here is a sample application of the basic stride bass as it might be used in the opening of “Just One Of Those Things”: J = ea, 200, swing 8ths Dm Em? Ano FT Bm’) Bhdim? ; js = f be. ‘optional with pedal a Also notice that when playing up-tempo tunes, some bass notes can be non-chord tones. This technique is used either for the above-mentioned scalar motion approach, or to achieve a special dissonant effect. This latter device was especially favored by modern stride great Dick Wellstood, as in various passages of his spirited recordings of “Bill Bailey” and “Washington & Lee Swing” (both on Michelle MICH 4528), and “I Concentrate On You” (Chiaroscuro CR 139)? In addition, a very effective stride device at slow and medium tempos was to double the time and the left hand pulse for several measures, or every two (or four) bars. This is found in various early stride/blues piano rolls, including Fats Waller’s famous 1929 recording of “The Minor Drag,” and George Gershwin's “The Half Of It Dearie Blues” duet with Fred Astaire (20 April 1926, GEMM CDS 9483), transcribed in the Ekay Music book, The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano: J =a, 130, swing 8ths even 8ths = tbe Stride pianists played primarily as soloists, so they were constantly seeking new and exciting left hand devices—the more complex the better—and developing a wide array of left hand techniques. The basic 7 These pieces are found transcribed in the books Dick Walltood Jaze Piano Solos (San Diego, California: Neil A. Kjos Music Company, 1994) and Dich Welluood: The Ar of Jaze and Blues Pino, Vt. 1 (London, England: Soliloquy Music, 2002), 3 | BASIC STRIDE Bassstride bass pattern was simply the starting point for them. Therefore, the frequent definition of stride piano asa style “characterized by the constant alternation of low single notes on downbeats and mid-range chords on upbeats” seems a very limiting and misleading definition indeed. As we are going to see in the following chapters, most stride and “fast-shout”? pianists played various imaginative variants of this basic pattern, included plenty of tenths (or tenth triads), and used several other left hand figures as well. 2. STRIDE BASS| WITH TENTHS AND TENTH TRIADS As mentioned above, stride bass, as used by fastshout, stride, and novelty ragtime pianists, often fea- tured lots of tenths or tenth triads in place of single bass notes or octaves." See the following example from the opening of Fats Waller’s arrangement of “Nobody’s Sweetheart,” included in the collection, “Fats” Waller's Original Piano Conceptions No. 2 (New York: Mills Music): Swingy ‘When dealing with this styling, it is important to note that a left hand tenth can support many different chords. A G major tenth can be used either for a G major or an E minor chord: G Em AG minor tenth can be used for a G minor, a G diminished, a G half-diminished, a C dominant sev- enth, a C minor seventh, an E half-diminished, an Eb Major, or an Eb dominant seventh chord: Gm Gaim? Gms ct cm? Emr BP ET by b b bbs 3rhe direct predecessor ofthe stride piano style of the 1920s und early 1930s, the “fast-shout” style was a development of the Eastern ragtime school end flourished in big Eastern U.S. citis from about 1899 to about 1917. Its acknowledged recorded masters were Eubie Blake and Luckey Roberts. 'Various sources also report that left hand tenths were already in use in the ragtime era by great performers such as Louis Chauvin. In spite ofthis, until the mid-1920s these tenths were rarely found in printed piano editions of American popular music, because the publishers of that epoch considered the tenth interval a difficult span for the average pianist. As case in point, itis known that early printed piano pieces by Eubie Blake and Luckey Roberts were so over-simplified that they were practiclly unrecognizable compared to the way Blake and Roberts actually performed them. 4| Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDHere is a sample stride bass with tenths applied to the beginning of “Just One Of These Things” (notice how much fuller in sound this example is when compared to the example of the same song in the previous section): J = ca. 186, swing 8ths Le c Fr Bmi6) — Bhms a Concerning left hand tenth triads,° they are tenths with an added inner note (usually the fifth, the minor or major sixth, or the minor or major seventh), as found for instance in bars 30-32 of James P. Johnson’s 1943 recording of “Arkansas Blues” (Classics 824), wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano: Slow cm F B Baim? cm F a even 8ths swing 16ths a Because of their frequent use, those tenth triads are especially important. They are found mostly on dominant seventh and diminished seventh chords—constructed of a major 6" and a flatted 5t® interval. The following tenti triad, for instance, can be used on a D7, an Adim7, an A6, or an F#m7/b5 chord: te | Also notice that a common pattern used on I-V7 changes features tenths or tenth triads on beats 1, 3, and 4 of a stride bass (bars 4-5 of the second chorus of “Hang On To Me” as recorded by George Gershwin She use of tenth triads has been one of the cornerstones of jazz piano left hand techniques from the pioneering years until the pres: ent day. The popularity of tenth triads in jazz piano is easy to understand. They have a beautiful, resonant yet spaced sound, and they allow you to get full harmony in the medium-low piano range—thus leaving ample space forthe right hand to work on the keyboard ‘without having the muddy (and therefore useless) jumble that close-voiced chords would produce in their place. 5 | STRIDE BASS WITH TENTHS AND TENTH TRIADS—with Fred and Adele Astaire—on April 20, 1926; GEMM CDS 9483): J = ca. 178, swing 8ths Ge G Baim g Ddim? ‘As shown in the example above, the tenth triads of a stride bass can also be arpeggiated. This device is widely used either for ease of performance or for expressive purposes. Finally, try this sample of a stride bass with tenth triads applied to the first section of an improvisation on “Georgia On My Mind” (in the fourth bar also note that the right hand thumb plays the top note of the Bb tenth triad): J =a, 96, swing 8ths F Em? a’ Dm P Bs Bins with pedal F D Gm Dib CO Fm? Abdi? Gm? o fn F HS” AND “BACKWARD TENTHS” Besides being an important expressive device, “rolled tenths” and “backward tenths” are very helpful to those pianists who cannot reach ordinary left hand tenths. From a rhythmic standpoint, both techniques 6 | JAzz2 PIANO: THE LEFT HAND“excite” the beat and somehow simulate the “cha-ba-da” played by a drummer on a ride cymbal. Much favored by stride and early blues and jazz pianists, these variants of tenths are especially effective when playing at slow and medium (or medium-fast) tempos. A “rolled tenth” is a left hand tenth whose bottom note is played before the top note, either as a quick grace note or (more often) «s an anticipated eighth note, i ‘Swing 8ths The very first recorded example of this technique is found throughout the first strain of James P. Johnson’s October 18, 1921 recording of his “Carolina Shout” (Classics 658), the famous model of the stride piano style: ca, 186, swing 8ths G Bo) En cic Go coop 6 Often, “rolled tenths” are played only on the first beat of each measure of a stride bass, or as passing harmonies on the third and fourth beats: 1 ca. 200, swing 8ths = Ebdim? Dm? Gg 7 ar ‘Dm? Dias) ox tO 7 | “ROLLED TENTHS" AND *BAGKWARD TENTHS”As mentioned above, “rolled tenths” are very useful in playing pieces at medium and slow tempos. Here are two sample applications based on “Satin Doll” and “What's New?” 1 = ca. 120, swing 8ths “Satin Doll” Dm? @ Dm Gt Em? ar Em? AT A — ~~ opt. with pedal J = ca. 90, swing 8ths “What's New2" pbx. C6 Bom? Eee) Abma? a ro bz 7 7 4 Ry with pedal wT “Backward tenths” are left hand tenths where the top note is played before the bottom note, either as an anticipated eighth note or as a quick grace note, icc. ‘Swing 8ths According to James P. Johnson, “backward tenths” were invented by the small-handed pianist Fred “The Harmony King” Bryant, and they quickly became the “keynote” of the stride style. The first recorded example of an extensive application of the “backward tenths” technique occurs throughout the fourth cho- rus of James P. Johnson's July 25, 1923 recording of “Bleeding Hearted Blues” (Classics 658): = ea. 145, swing 8ths cc 8) Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDThis technique can be used either with the sustain pedal or without it (this latter option is of course playable only by large-handed pianists). Nevertheless, a clever use of the pedal emphasizes the important melodic role performed by the top notes of “backward tenths.” For instance, while listening to the above example, one actually hears the following countermelody sounding in the tenor range: E 2 a B x Am E B E 2 Therefore, for a most effective application of this technique, it is very important to stress the top notes of the “backward tenths” as well as to “catch” them by means of the sustain pedal. This is clearly shown— and carefully notated as well—in the opening of Gershwin's piano arrangement of “Liza” (from the George Gershwin Song Book, published by Simon and Schuster in 1932) Languidly ; 2, Ss mf | pocoa poco crese. 9 | “ROLLED TENTHS” AND “BACKWARD TENTHS"Here is an application of the “backward tenths” technique to a blues chorus in F. Take care to bring out the melody formed by the top notes of the “backward tenths”.> J= ca. 92, swing 8ths ‘Pa. Pd ‘Pe. ‘Pe, F Fr Béim? BPdim? =F Abdim? Gm? Gi FT Using a slower tempo, also try “rolled tenths” or “backward tenths" on the example based on Just One Of Those Things found in the previous section, 10 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HANDIn addition to alternating “rolled” or “backward” tenths with mid-range chords, you can also play whole passages of “rolled” or “backward” tenths (Dick Wellstood, bars 37-39 of “Jingle Bells,” 1985, Unisson Records DDA-1003, wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos): 1 = 120, swing 8ths 7 14 At slow and medium tempos, another common stride and blues technique is to play “backward” tenth triads by anticipating the top note (or the two top notes) of a tenth triad by an eighth note, as found in the last measure of the example above. The following application to the opening of an Eb blues features the anticipation of the two top notes: 4 a. 108, swing 8ths Er ay Adin? BY Bom? aiaa = = ' with pedal Asa finale summarizing most of the devices described in this chapter, following are the opening four measures of the B2 strain of James P. Johnson's “Snowy Morning Blues” (recorded in July 1943 and cur- rently available on Smithsonian Folkways 40812, track 18). Notice how Johnson here masterfully uses a stride bass mixing “back beats” with “rolled” and “backward” tenths, creating an astoundingly complex accompaniment to his already intricate right hand improvisation (the whole transcription of this master- work is found in the Ekay Music book Harlem Stride Piano Solos): /= ca, 126, swing &ths Ton the “back beat” technique, see the related section in this book 11 | “ROLLED TENTHS" AND “BACKWARD TENTHS™4, STRIDE BASS WITH SCALES OF OCTAVES Lets nand octaves are often found in fast and exciting stride passages featuring “shout-like” right hand riffs. Here is a Wallerish example: J =ca, 180, swing 8ths Sometimes, Jelly Roll Morton and various stride pianists filled these left hand octaves with perfect fifths (as well as other tones). See this excerpt from bars 65-66 of James P. Johnson's 1939 recording of “If Dreams Come True,” transcribed in the Ekay Music book, The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano: Very fast, swing 8ths 65 z 5 2 Here’s another example, modeled after bars 121-125 of Dick Wellstood’s astounding 1987 performance of “Bill Bailey” (Michelle MICH 4528) wholly transcribed in the book, Dick Wéllstood Jazz Piano Solos (San Diego: Neil A. Kjos Music Company, 1984): J a. 200, swing 8ths (©) 5 12 | Jazz PLANO: THE LEFT HANDB; MoviNG ‘THE STRIDE BASS WITH REPEATED A Waren playing at slow and medium tempos, a simple yet effective device that will “excite” the relent- lessly regular 4/4 feel of a stride bass is to anticipate each of the bass octaves with another bass octave. Notice that these bass octaves are usually selected from adjacent pitches, to create a smooth, melodic move- ment. See the following example from the ending of the B2 strain of James P. Johnson’s famous 1927 recording of “Snowy Morning Blues” (Classics 658), transcribed in the Spring 2000 issue of the magazine Piano Today: J = ca. 132, swing 8ths a er o be ~ 3 mee 2 ene ba ‘This technique can be applied to many situations. A further example comes from a chorus toward the middle of Erroll Garner’s 1944 recording of his piece, “In The Beginning” (Musica Jazz MJCD 1112): J= ca, 112, swing 8ths Abo ae pi Din? =A? BH Be Ab 13 | MOVING THE STRIDE BASS WITH REPEATED AND ANTICIPATED OCTAVESAnother common and very effective option is to anticipate and tie just the top note of each octave. See the following example: J =a, 120, swing 8ths Ani? > Gmay ie opt. with pedal Cay? Fh? B A further variant of the above is to also anticipate the lowest note of each mid-range chord.* Try the fol- lowing application to the bridge of “Sophisticated Lady”: 1 =a, 118, swing 8ths Gmaj? Em? Am? Dt o Gtaim? Am? pba ‘opt. with pedal or a similar technique, see the section on Willie “The Lion” Smith's “jumping” and “dancing.like” eight-to-he-bar bass late in this book. 14 | Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDBie vee Bis A\tong with Luckey Roberts, Eubie Blake was, on recordings, the foremost figure ofthe fast-shout style, whose “model piece” was “The Charleston Rag” (originally titled “Sounds of Africa”), composed by Blake himself in 1899. It is interesting to notice that fast-shout pianists already used tenths, “walking” tenth triads or blues'n’boogie bass figures as a regular feature of their performing styles. The first strain of “The Charleston Rag,” for instance, is almost entirely based on a moving—and quite challenging—left hand figure, which anticipates all the bottom notes of the well-known “broken octaves” boogie-woogie pat- tern by an eighth note.” Here is the “The Charleston Rag,” bars 1-4 of the first strain, as transcribed by ‘Terry Waldo in Sincerely, Eubie Blake, New York: Edward B, Marks, 1975: \KE|AND LUCKEY ROBERTS’s “ANTICIPATED BROKEN OCTAVES” J=ca, 192 Bm Fr Bbm F 8 (opt) =~ Blake’s device is especially interesting and innovative (for its time) because it sounds wholly unexpect- ed and seems to go “against the beat” and even to “shift” it. This same technique is also found throughout a piece called “Shout Means...” in the double-LP, The Memoirs of Willie “The Lion” Smith (French RCA PL 43171), as well as in the whole first theme of Duke Ellington’s “Bojangles” as printed in the book Duke Ellington At The Piano (New York: Robbins, 1943, revised edition). In this printed version of “Bojangles,” the left hand piano part is notated this way: ‘Moderately c Ee F Which actually seems to indicate the following (which is also closer to the part played by bassist Jimmy Blanton in the corresponding passage of the May 28, 1940 orchestral recording of this piece): Moderately, swing 8ths c Be F 0m this matter, see the related section later inthis book 15 | EUBIE BLAKE AND LUCKEY ROBERTS'S “ANTICIPATED BROKEN OCTAVES"Although Blake's “anticipated broken octaves” create a decidedly uncommon and jerky overall sound, they are fun and can easily be applied to the most common harmonic structures using chord tones, scalar motions, and passing tones. See, for instance, the following sample of a tune I call “Bungee Jumpin’,” which is based on the chord changes of “How High The Moon”: J= ca, 172, swing 8ths Gmaj? Gm? 16 | Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDIn his highly original masterpiece, “Railroad Blues” (composed around 1910 and recorded twice, on Solo Art SACD-10 and Good Time Jazz GTJCD-10035-2), the other fast-shout master, Luckey Roberts, also filled the “anticipated brokea octaves” with perfect fifths. Finally, see the following application of this mar- vellously rough-sounding technique to a blues/boogie chorus: J =a, 160, swing 8ths c 17 | BUBIE BLAKE AND LUCKEY ROBERTS'S “ANTICIPATED BROKEN OCTAVES”Mos aptly called “The Jersey Rocket,” the great stride pianist Donald Lambert (1904-1962) liked to use an exciting variant of the basic “oom-pah” stride bass. Unlike other stride pianists, he often repeatedly hit the same bass note (either the root, another chord tone, or a pedal point) in place of the usual alterna- tion of tonic and dominant bass notes. Although very simple and seemingly banal, this device was very effective and gave a wildly rhythmic and delightfully urgent quality to his music. See the following excerpt from bars 49-52 of his 1941 masterwork recording of Anitra’s Dance (Frémeaux Associes FA 011): 2 = ca, 304, swing 8ths Although this peculiar Lambert device seems to have not been adopted by other stride pianists of his time, it was later used by Duke Ellington in the B section of his lovely piece, “Dancers In Love” (1945). Here it is as recorded on the LP Piano Reflections (Capitol M-11058) in 1953: J =ca. 190, swing 8ths gy ¥ v i v y 25 + The device is found in various recordings by Thelonious Monk and Erroll Garner,!9 whose solo styles were often based on an up-dating of the old stride idiom. }°k:xamples of Monk's use of this technique are found in the stride choruses of his 1971 recording of “Blue Sphere” (originally on Black Lion BLP 60101). As to Garner, one can think of bars 41-52 of his June 10, 1947 recording of “Love For Sale.” 18 | Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDLampert’s repeated note bass was also much favored by modern stride giant Dick Wellstood, who was a fervent admirer of Lambert and sometimes liked to duplicate his style. Lambert’s idea can be heard in Wellstood’s warhorses such as “Let’s Get Lost” and “I Concentrate On You,” both wholly transcribed in the book Dick Wellstood: The Art of Jazz and Blues Piano, Vol. 1 (London, England: Soliloquy Music, 2002). The following excerpts are from “I Concentrate On You” and “Night-Song For The White Rabbit” (in the latter ‘example, notice that the repeated bass notes also create a pedal point): d= ca, 150, swing 8ths Sp f J =ca, 108, swing 8ths In bars 4-8 of the following application to “Yesterdays,” notice the effectiveness of this technique when applied to a series of secondary dominant seventh chords (i.e. the circle-of-fifths), with the chromatically descending bass line starting on the seventh of the first dominant seventh chord: J=ca, 190, swing 8ths mira) Dn? ce Cc Dm Bm75, 19 | DONALD LAMBERT'S STRIDE BASS WITH REPEATED BASS NOTESCm Fad) Bhai? Bhmaj? Em! Ebo65) rENTH TRIADS” AND WALKING TENTHS” | aw Tryou have a large hand-span you can play a series of tenth triads setting a “walking” four-to-the-beat harmony with passing chords. Especially favored by stride masters James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, this wonderful and full-sounding technique had already been used by some fast-shout pianists such as Eubie Blake, for example, in various passages of his “Brittwood Rag” and “The Baltimore Todolo” (Columbia C2S 847), both composed around 1907 and transcribed by Terry Waldo in the collection, Sincerely, Eubie Blake (New York, Edward B. Marks, 1975). As previously discussed in “Stride bass with tenths and tenth triads,” notice that many of these tenth triads can be played as “rootless” chord inversions (“Brittwood Rag,” bars 12-14): d= ca. 88 By Ab Gm? BHT Be Be Df Fdim = FAdim EP? 20 | Jazz PiaNO: THE LEFT WANDProbably the first recorded example of an extended use of “walking tenths triads” is found throughout the third chorus of James P. Johnson's 1923 recording of “Worried And Lonesome Blues” (Classics 658): -a, 120, swing 8ths ork, not legato “Walking tenths” are, of course, “walking tenth triads” without their inner notes. This technique seems to have been first used by George Gershwin and some stride pianists such as Fats Waller (as in bars 9-10 of the C3 strain of Waller’s 1929 recording of “Smashing Thirds”—RCA Bluebird ND2482-2—transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos): 1= 208, swing 8ths 0) te te wie web ea cult, both from the physical and conceptual side, passages of “walking tenth triads” or “walking tenths” are usually alternated with a basic stride bass. See the opening of the first chorus of Hank Duncan's recording of St. Louis Blues” (RI-DISC RD-4), wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos: 21 | “WALKING TENTH TRIADS* AND “WALKING TENTHS*“Walking tenth triads” can also be played in syncopated patterns. A very early example of this technique (which was much favored by Earl Hines) is found in the B2 strain of James P. Johnson's 1927 recording of “Snowy Morning Blues” (Classics 658), transcribed in the Spring 2000 issue of the magazine Piano Today: J =ca, 132, swing 8ths G p G pb G vp G Fats Waller and Art Tatum sometimes added a fourth note to their “walking tenth triads,” as shown in the following excerpt of bars 5-7 of Waller’s arrangement of “A Japanese Dream,” included in the collection Jazz, Blues, Boogie & Swing for Piano (Melville, N.Y: MCA/Mills, 1977): Tempo de Sukiyaki 7 loco In addition to being important fast-shout and stride techniques, both “walking tenths” and “walking tenth triads” also became a most distinctive device of the swing pianists of the 1930s and early 1940s. See the related section in Part Four of this book. 22 | Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDBet (BERT’S “TWELFTHS AND. Uniixe most stride pianists, Donald Lambert is said to have had small hands that could not stretch tenths easily. In some recordings he took his revenge by playing a very interesting “beyond tenths” stride bass. This is found in the bridge of the second chorus of his 1961 recording of “As Time Goes By” (issued on Pumpkin 110, and transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos), where he used a witty variation of the basic stride bass by playing “rolled” twelfths (and more) with his left hand. Notice that besides producing a beautiful, rich and “spaced” sonority, the upper notes of these twelfths are arranged to create an inner chromatic counter-melody against the melody played by the right hand: 1 = 100, swing &ths Probably inspired by some classic piano works, this truly remarkable Lambert device is not found—at least to our knowledge—in the recorded music of other stride masters, but it is certainly worth investigat- ing thoroughly. The following are some possible applications to the opening of a blues chorus (freely 23 | DONALD LAMBERT'S “TWELFTHS AND BEYOND” CONTRAPUNTAL BASSadapted from my piece “Quiet Blues,” included in my collection, Southern-Fried Blues—Five Blues Piano Solos, San Diego, California, Neil A. Kjos Music Company, 2001) J = ca. 96, swing 8ths B Gh ‘BPS Be Ee lad Here it is applied to three other familiar harmonic structures (the last example also alternates “back- ward” twelfths with “rolled” tenths): = ca, 100, swing 8ths 2 | JAzn PIANO: THE LEFT WANDca, 96, swing 8ths Gm Gmina J= ca. 94, swing sths Am? > ore ? ro Bey Gmaj? Cay Part HH bs staccato 27 | SIMPLIFIED STRIDE BASSDuke Ellington sometimes used a syncopated variant of the simplified stride bass. See the following passage from bars 17-19 of his July 1970 live recording of “Black Beauty” (Jazz JCD 05), wholly transcribed in the Fall 1999 issue of the magazine Piano Today: J =a, 112, swing 8ths pi Gm ‘The above styling has a gentle lilt and works wonderfully at moderate and moderately slow tempos. Here is an application with an improvisation based on the changes of the first eight bars of “Summertime”: J = ca, 96, swing 8ths (D) ad z Gm Dp Gm D x trem. =a be, is 7 Be ED Amt9 EDT D brs) Gm 28 | Jazz PLANO: THE LEFT HAND1. “Back BEATS” AXiso known as “change-step,” one of the most distinctive and exciting left hand stride devices was the so-called “back beat” technique, which was used (with repeated bass notes) by Eubie Blake as early as 1911 in pieces like “Troublesome Ivories,” while the first recorded examples are found in James P. Johnson’s 1921 versions of “Caroline Shout” and “Keep Off The Grass” (both on Classics 658). This styling employs imaginative disruptions of the constant and regular “oom-pah, oom-pah” alternation of downbeat bass notes and afterbeat mid-range chords by playing “bass-bass-chord, bass-chord, bass-bass-chord,” “bass-bass- chord, bass-bass-bass-chord, bass,” “bass-chord, bass-bass-chord, bass-bass-chord” patterns, or any other fancy combination:!! € him? Dm o ¥ Here is the opening of the B2 strain of James P. Johnson’s “Snowy Morning Blues,” 25 February 1927, Classics 658, transcribed in the Spring 2000 issue of the magazine Piano Today. J= ca. 132, swing &ths G Chaim? Db 122 pS This is James P. Johnson's “Carolina Shout,” bars 29-32, 15 August 1944; reissued on MCA GRP 16042 and fully transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos: 1 =240, swing 8ths Gc op En Chaim? » G "The only rule inthis styling isnot to repeat the same mid-range chord twice. 29 | “BACK BEATS"Octaves or tenths are also sometimes used in place of single bass notes (as in the opening of the second chorus of “Liza,” James P. Johnson, 1945, Smithsonian Folkways 408-12): 4 = ca. 250, swing 8ths Eb dim? = Fm? Fim? B Ab dim? Bb Bb ar 1 ‘Pod. a1 Po aI Another example is bars 5-8 of the B2 strain of Fats Waller’s “Smashing Thirds,” 1929, RCA Bluebird ND 82482 2, wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos: 1=208, swing 8ths Fe co Fe Fmé c De ape Beer ees ES Besides its obvious rhythmic effect, the “back beat” device also results in melodic interest for the left hand. In fact, in “back beat” passages, the listener can often hear a sort of counter-melody created by the bass notes. Here is the counter-melody heard in the “Snowy Morning Blues” example on the previous page: When using this styling—which fits both fast and medium tempos—you can devise any grouping you like. Here are two sample applications. The first is the bridge from “Dinah”: a. 200, swing 8ths Dm al Dm Ev) BH pb 30 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HANDThe next is bars 19-26 of my arrangement of “Solitude” included in the Ekay Music book, Play Like A Pro: =97, swing 8ths BoA ‘Agim? EM cl BY B’m? ar 2-2 ey ss > poco rail. |atempo mf—= f Pe ith pedal “Back beats” are truly exciting, and the skilled use of them at very fast tempos resulted in the pyrotech- nical and highly polyrhythmic episodes found in many recordings by Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith, Thomas “Fats” Waller, Donald Lambert, Earl Hines, Dick Hyman, and Dick Wellstood among others. As we are going to see in the next section, the mixture of “back beats” and fragments of “walking bass” lines was the hallmark of Cliff Jackson’s intricate style. Finally, notice how the “back beat” device is the basis of Duke Ellington’s famous piano intro to “Rockin’ In Rhythm” (here transcribed from a 1961 recording issucd on the Italian CD, Tap Jaze: Duke Ellington by Armando Curcio Editore): a. 200 31 | “BACK BEATS"20 Ciier JX CKSON’S “WALKING STRIDE BASS” WITH “BACK BEATS” _ Th the 1920s, the great stride pianist Clif Jackson (1902-1970) developed a truly unique style with remarkable left hand work. At faster tempos, his distinctive trademark was an ingenious and exciting mix- ture of the basic stride bass with plenty of “back beats,” plus fragments of “walking bass” lines! played in single notes (sometimes in octaves or in octaves filled in with fifths). This exciting device makes his music instantly recognizable, and combined with his intricate right hand work also makes clear why he was nick- named “The Terror” (or “The Menace”) by his peers. See the examples below excerpted from the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos (opening of the seventh chorus of “Royal Garden Blues,” 1944, Classics 979): 240, swing 8ths And here are bars 16-19 of the first chorus of “Crazy Rhythm,” 1965, RI-DISC RD- J =280, swing 8ths 12, ‘On the “walking bass” technique, see Part Seven of this book. 32 | JA22 PIANO: THE LEFT HANDJackson's fragments of “walking bass” lines were usually (but not solely) based on the common ii7-V7-I and I-I7-IV changes, as shown in the following basic left hand patterns (the first two patterns are also integrated with some of his distinctive right hand phrases): 200-240, swing 8ths Lh, slightly detached J = 220-280, swing 8ths Dm? o c mf ott Lh. slightly detached 5 33 | CLIFF JACKSON'S “WALKING STRIDE BASS” WITH “BACK BEATS"When playing this challenging styling, Jackson usually altered the original harmonies with many pass- ing diminished seventh chords or substitute chords. See the opening of the last chorus of his 1961 record- ing of “Honeysuckle Rose” (Black Lion Intercord 28-452-U): J = ca, 224, swing 8ths Gm © Abéimn? Gm Fein? ‘This example is the opening of the third chorus of “I’m Coming Virginia” (Black Lion Intercord 28- 452-U), from the January/February 1994 issue of the magazine Keyboard Classics & Piano Stylist: 1 ca. 132, swing 8ths bs abe adm? Ep BP ° Endy Eb Ebr) 3rd Chorus gt D 34 | JAZZ PLANO: THE LEFT HANDJust to enliven the whole thing a bit more, Jackson would also play repeated and accented bass notes, or “rolled tenths.” See bars 17-19 of the last chorus of his 1944 recording of “It Had To Be You” (Classics 979); J = ca. 176, swing 8ths , Br a ‘i a D c © F v7, Of course, this styling is effective only when played at fast or medium-fast tempos. Finally, try this sam- ple application to the changes of the first eight measures of “Honeysuckle Rose”: ing 8ths eo Gm? cr a 35 | CLIFF JACKSON'S "WALKING STRIDE BASS” WITH “BACK BEATS*i LION” SMITHS “INTERRUPTED STRIDE” ‘The so-called “interrupted stride” is highly syncopated stride bass, where the “interruption” ofthe regular “four-four” stride motion. This is achieved through the anticipation of bass notes or mid-range chords by an eighth note or a quarter note, as well as by the “silencing” of some bass notes or mid-range chords. It was used early on by Eubie Blake in his old “The Baltimore Todolo” (composed around 1907). Here are bars 65-67 of “The Baltimore Todolo,” transcribed by Terry Waldo in the book, Sincerely, Eubie Blake, New York: Eubie Blake Music, 1975: Sea, 168 7 Bb Ber B ° Be Gr) This device was later fully developed by Willie “The Lion” Smith. See the following two adventurous examples from bars 91-94 and 118-121 of the transcription of his 1939 recording of “Concentratin™ (includ- ed in the Ekay Music book, The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano). Notice the stepwise movement of the bass line: Fast, swing 8ths CG fo gt EyDT AT pb G Gyo" —__ Pe ‘Pa Fast, swing 8ths g c cn ¢ su is 8 Fenr65) i £ $4 Diaust 36 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HANDAlthough its basic concept is simple, the “interrupted stride” is undoubtedly one of the most challeng- ing left hand techniques. It gave rise to some of the most complex polyrhythms in jazz piano history, and can create a considerable contrapuntal quality. Of course, in order to preserve the surprise effect, sections based on the “interrupted stride” approach must be alternated with sections using a standard stride bass. Asa possible application of this styling, see the following example on the changes of “Yesterdays”: 172, swing 8ths Emm ans) Dm? Gm, AT Finally, this technique is useful to “excite” themes that have a repetitive melodic quality, as shown in the example below, based on the changes of the first section of “Autumn Leaves”: += ca, 180, swing 8ths e Am? a Gmaj dhunderous - cma, Fn69 ew 37 | WILLIE “THE LION SMITHS “INTERRUPTED STRIDEEm gE Amt 1 ‘| a i Ye RGE GERSHWIN’S “REVERSED STRIDE BASS” Ta bars 19-26 of his piano arrangement of “Fascinating Rhythm,” included in the George Gershwin Song Book (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1932), Gershwin used an interesting “reversed stride bass,” ie., a “chord-bass-chord-bass” alternation in place of the common “bass-chord-bass-chord.” Also notice the pedal point in the bass: 123432, Gershwin’s device was later picked up by other pianists, such as Andy LaVerne in the first theme of his beautiful piece, “Rhythm And Blues,” as printed in the November/December 1994 issue of the magazine Keyboard Classics & Piano Stylist (also note the smooth voice leading of this “reversed” and “simplified” stride bass): Up tempo swing J = 120 Finn nt Ete) ant) prt, arty cut F 3 Once mastered, the “reversed stride bass” is a challenging yet very effective styling that can be used in a variety of situations. See bars 41-42 of Dick Wellstood’s 1987 masterwork recording of “Hello, My Baby” (available on The Special Music Company SCD 4528—or Michelle MICH 4528—and wholly transcribed in 38 | JAZZ PLANO: THE LEFT HANDthe collection Dick Wéllstood Jazz Piano Solos published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company of San Diego, California). Also note the open fifths in the bass: J=86 “a a te 2 z ‘even eighths swing eighths wt . = =I = Pa By using a pedal point and “compressing” the “reversed stride bass” in the mid-range of the keyboard, George Shearing has created his beautiful interpretation of “Little Things Mean A Lot” included in the Warner Bros. collection, The World’s Best Piano Arrangements (bars 5-8): Slowly, with expression Pp OT bP Ep EP Also see the following application to the changes of the first eight bars of “Honeysuckle Rose,” with bass pedal tones: = ca, 180, swing 8ths Gm cl ‘Ped A__»_p_v___ simile optional without pedal F F Fdm? Bit Am? o @ co Gm? no pedal 39 | GEORGE GERSHWIN"S “REVERSED STRIDE BASS*Finally, notice that by silencing the mid-range chords of the “reversed stride bass” and just playing the afterbeat bass notes in octaves (or fifths), you get a countertime bass which is commonly used in modern jazz piano, See the following example from the arrangement of “You Stepped Out Of A Dream” as printed in the collection, Play like... André Previn (London, England: Robbins Music Corporation): Fast Tempo be iw be b b Here’s another example from bars 12-15 of George Gershwin’s 1934 recording of “I Got Rhythm” (Decca Limelight 820 842-2) wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano: Very fast 2. Saige oo "eer staccato and marked B24 Re. caeeeeenen) And another example from bars 69-72 of Dick Wellstood’s great 1985 recording of “Jingle Bells” (Unisson Records DDA-1003), fully transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos: 40 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HAND‘Ty this application to a simple blues theme: a, 168, swing 8ths @ c F Frbsits) 15, “COUNTERTIME SYNCOPATION” OF THE STRIDE BASS Tryou wish to vary the relentlessly regular “four-four” (or “rwo-two”) rhythmic feel of the basic stride bass, you can anticipate the “strong” beats by an eighth note. This exciting countertime device was espe- cially favored by Erroll Garner and Dick Wellstood. The following example is from Wellstood’s beautifully bluesy re-creation of “The Entertainers,” recorded live on May 29, 1985 at Toronto's Café des Copains (Unisson Records DDA-1003, bars 29-30): J= 120, swing 8ths 41 | “COUNTERTIME SYNCOPATION* OF THE STRIDE BASSThis very effective left hand technique was used extensively by Erroll Garner (who, among other things, was also an outstanding stride pianist) to create delightful “jammed-like” episodes, as shown by the follow- ing excerpt from bars 11-12 of his June 10, 1947 recording of “Frankie And Johnny,” transcribed by Brian Priestley in the book, Front Line Jazz Piano Solos (Ilford, England: International Music Publications, 1983): 4 =a, 128 pe B ED pv Because of its rhythmic intricacy, this styling requires a bit of practice to be played confidently along with right hand improvisations. One suggestion is to start practicing this bass over a right hand line con- sisting of only eighth notes. Then progress to different—and increasingly difficult—rhythmic figures in your melody. Another rewarding choice is to use repetitive riff-like phrases in the right hand, At any rate, try the following two applications to well-known harmonic structures (the first of them featuring a pedal point, the latter one based on a “simplified stride” approach): J = ca. 180, swing 8ths 42 | [Azz PIANO: THE LEFT HAND= ca, 150, swing 8ths An? Dt Gmaj maj? a te ¢ ga Garner also played this device in a more spacious way, using a 2/4 left hand rhythm anticipated by an eighth note, often with open fifths or pedal points in the bass. The pattern shown in the figure below is taken from a chorus toward the middle of his 1944 recording of “In The Beginning” (Musica Jazz MJCD 1112): = ca, 112, swing 8ths Following is an application of this styling with the same right hand solo already used on the previous page: J =ca, 200, swing 8ths Cmaj’ Cm? 43 | “COUNTERTIME SYNCOPATION” OF THE STRIDE BASSThe astoundingly rhythmic Garner also used other daring syncopated variants of the basic stride bass. His “four” exchange in “Three O'Clock In The Morning” (recorded with the Don Byas Quartet on August 30, 1945), for instance, features a “reversed stride” bass built on a ternary polyrhythm (see the Garner sec- tion later in this book) and—as if that were not enough—it also starts on the third beat of the first measure (Three O'Clock In The Morning,” minutes 2:44-2:49, Musica Jazz MJCD 1112): -a, 160, swing 8ths Another variation is built on the #4 7 JJ 7 pattern (sometimes used by Duke Ellington). See the example below and also notice his beautiful right hand improvised line (Erroll Garner, bars 19-24 of the second chorus of “In The Beginning,” 1944, Musica Jazz MJCD 1112) {= ca, 188, swing 8ths AB p Edo) 44 | Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDAs an easier, yet exciting variant of the concepts illustrated in this section, you can play a “reversed stride bass” built on the 4772 7 rhythm, constructed of just one chord and one bass note for each measure, Notice that this technique—which works very well in modern contexts too—can be used only with pieces having no more than one chord in each measure. Here is a possible application of this styling to the changes of the A section of ‘Autumn Leaves” (in G Major): ca. 160, swing 8ths Amt bp Gmaj maj? 45 | “COUNTERTIME SYNCOPATION™ OF THE STRIDE BASS, THE “ROLLING Bass” Many btuess*boogie and stride pianists—along with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Dick Wellstood— often used the so-called “rolling bass” technique, whose greatest master was Cliff Jackson. Below are two examples of this important styling (the first presents bars 6-10 of Willie “The Lion” Smith’s “Relaxin’,” 1958, Good Time Jazz GTJCD-10035-2, wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solas): = ca, 138, swing 8ths 6 os ~ 3 : 2, 3 3 3 = ca, 170, swing 8ths (ar) (ata) o Chaim? ‘Dm’ ce o Chim? Dm’ a 5 ‘As can be seen in the examples above, in its most basic form this style alternates bass notes between the oth, sth, and 6h degrees of the tonic key. Instead of “rolling” the 6, 5tA, and 6t® scale tones, you can also “roll” between the St8, 6th, and Sth, as Fats Waller did in the piano solo chorus of his 1935 group recording 46 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HANDof “Dinah” (King Jazz KJ-116-FS), wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano: Fast, swing ths Abe Be ais Bh acs acs — Ft a The “rolling bass” is easy to play yet very favored as a device. Without obliging your left hand to jump around the keyboard, this technique gives you a melodic bass line (also recreating the “feel” of a string bass playing half-notes) along with harmony and plenty of 4/4 solid rhythm. The following examples apply to portions of two famous pieces. The first is based on the opening of section B of “In the Mood”: 4 = ca. 160, swing 8ths cs dim? 7 £ Bbdim? = De Gb — ail From my arrangement of “Chattanooga Choo Choo” in the Ekay Music collection, Play Like A Pro: 4 32-140, swing 8ths ~————_ FS c Fe F Bie Bbdim? m 5, 47 | THE “ROLLING Bass”“Rolling bass” lines can also include flatted fifths in the bass, as found in bar 19 of the second chorus of, Cliff Jackson's 1961 recording of “I’m Coming Virginia” Black Lion Intercord 28-452-1U, bars 17-19): J=ca. 132, swing 8ths Abs BH ‘Abs ED Fr FI65 Bh 5 t v7 a pF Adapted from a bass line of Cliff Jackson’s recording of “Happy Birthday To Pat” (transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos), here is an application of the “rolling bass” technique to the A section of “I Got Rhythm”: 1 = ca, 174, swing 8ths Bis oat mt F Dm? pints) cmt F 4 ‘ ears 2 23 Awidely used variant—fitting both minor and major chords—“rolls” between the S™®, augmented 4°, and Sth. See bars 2-5 of the example below, very close to Cliff Jackson’s 1968 recording of “I Found A New Baby” on Fat Cat Jazz FC] 107: J= ca. 200, swing 8ths 48 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HANDThe following example is built on another “rolling bass” variant, whose pattern is originally found in the third chorus of the score of Fats Waller’s “Keeping Out Of Mischief Now,” reprinted in the collection, Fats’ Waller Piano—Styles And Original Songs (Edwin H. Morris & Company): = ca, 114, swing 8ths c Fs aoa js Spiced with a delightful bluesy flavor, another very common variant can be found in bars 29-31 of James P. Johnson's 1945 recording of “Aunt Hagar’s Blues” (originally issued on Folkways FJ 2850), wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano: Medium, swing 8ths A tara no pedal 49 | THE “ROLLING Bass”Even more bluesy is the variant played by Luckey Roberts in the Intro of his piece “Complainin’” (Good Time Jazz GTJCD-10035-2). Also notice Roberts's distinctive glissando-like ascending chromatic run: J -a. 116, swing 8ths ED Johnson’s figure from “Aunt Hagar’s Blues” can also be adapted to fit pieces in 3/4 time. Here is a possible application to a blues in Bb: ca, 128, swing 8ths BY” 2nd time rh. 8va Eb Segas if g6 5 5 pais it it $4 BY Gut c 50 | Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDFinally, if you have a large hand span, you might try the following variant used by Eubie Blake in his “Poor Katie Redd” (“Eubie’s Slow Drag”), transcribed by Terry Waldo in the collection, Sincerely, Eubie Blake (New York: Edward B. Marks, 1975, bars 61-64): . CLIFF JACKSON’S “EIGHT-TO-THE-BAR” POLYPHONIC APPROACH Th previous sections, we have already discussed Cliff Jackson's “walking stride bass” with “back beats” and mentioned his masterly use of the “rolling bass” technique. Some of his medium and medium-fast solos also featured a constant “eight-to-the-bar” left hand motion built from an interesting mixture of arpeggiated chords, scalar figures, broken octaves, and “root-dominant-root” skips. Coupled with his right hand work, this resulted in a remarkable overall approach. The following passages are from his 1961 recording of “I’m Coming Virginia” on Black Lion Intercord 28-452-1U. Try to apply these bass patterns in your own playing (bars 13-16 of the first chorus): 1 =ca, 132, swing 8ths Amtéy pt Gms ot Fm) Bh EB 5 ee Here are bars 13-16 of the minor interlude and bars 1-4 of the second chorus: 4 = ca, 132, swing 8ths BP @ Cc Gh FBP pr BBR) Fm? BHT 51 | CLIFF JACKSON'S “EIGHT.TO-THE.BAR* POLYPHONIC APPROACHB Fm? Fle pe Ghe BP o Cod Pope Bh ‘The following are bars 9-12 of the second chorus: J=ca, 132, swing 8ths E Edim BP? bs Dp Gm As pi) Gm DT Gm These are bars 3-8 of the fourth chorus: 15. 132, swing 8ths 5 Ar ate) opt o o Pp Bhs Am) Abr s 4 4 Ga cs F ‘BPS Baim? F a i: Ddim? Gm? cx 3 2 bgt spp 52 | Jazz PLANO: THE LEFT HANDNotice that in order to avoid monotony, Jackson usually alternated this device with fragments of four- four “walking” bass lines, basic stride bass passages (with “back beats” too), and “rolling bass” lines. See bars 9-20 of the fourth chorus of the above-mentioned “I'm Coming Virginia”: = ca, 132, swing 8ths Fe Be mp OF BE Am B Am BPs Pp Bis F o Gres) co ° For a great example of this approach, listen to Jackson's 1945 recording of “Sweet Lorraine” (on Classics 979). See the following application based on common changes: 4 =a. 120, swing 8ths mits BP Am 0 53 | CLIFF JACKSON'S “EIGHT-TO-THE-BAR" POLYPHONIC APPROACHGm" c Fé Bp Bdim? =F Fe JUMPING” EIGHT=FO-THE-BAR BASS Wittie «rhe Lion” smith was the stride pionist who probably used the greatest variety of accompani- ‘ment patterns, including bare tritones, contrapuntal passages, “walking bass” lines, and many of the devices discussed throughout this section of the book. One of his favorite and most distinctive devices was an exciting “eight-to-the-bar” figure which almost seems to have the left hand dancing on the keyboard. Here is an example from bars 41-44 of his 1939 recording of “Squeeze Me” (Classics 692), wholly tran- scribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Sol 150, swing 8ths a D oe co a Dp os BP Another example comes from the second section of his famous composition, “Echo of Spring” as reprinted in the book, Ragtime—100 Authentic Rags, Compiled and Edited by David A. Jasen (New York: ‘The Big 3 Music Corporation, 1979): Moderately G Dr Bm, B Amt fee PTA aS 54. | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HANDBelow are three possible applications of this technique to well-known sets of changes (a basic turn- around, the A section of “I Got Rhythm,” and a common ending): a. 120, swing 8ths c Am? Dm a ames optional with pedal J=ca, 136, swing 8ths B or4tto, Gh Fr Dm? be 5 5 i > i > cm? ee » Ber eB ain? optional with pedal , ; 2 5 7 Pa 1 55 | “JUMPING EIGHT-TO-THE-BAR BASSJ =a, 120, swing 8ths Be BH Bb Bhné a G Gr aie FIs) Bbmaj’ BS optional with pedal As you can see, all the examples shown above are built on harmonic structures consisting of two differ- ent chords per measure. Nevertheless, this excellent device can be easily adapted to structures consisting of just one chord per measure (or even per every two measures), as with the following bass line for the A sec- tion of “Laura”: ‘Medium, swing 8ths An? 0 Gmaj’ T opt. with pedal simile » Gat ¢ ? ma’ Ga? im = E 5 i ¢ c Fm Gi Gai E Vr 19° BROKEN AND ARPEGGIATED TENTH TRIADS IN SCALAR MOTION Now ie’s get back to the tenths-based left hand approach, this time shaped on not 10 difficult pat- terns which fit especially slow and medium swing tempos. These are excellent exercises for widening left hand spans. Various fast-shout, stride, and swing pianists played a left hand bass built on broken tenth triads (i with the lowest note followed by the two top notes), most often arranged in scalar motion. As demonstrated in the following examples, these “broken” tenths were played both in syncopated and un-syncopated ways, 56 | JAZZ PLANO: THE LEFT HANDThe following shows an excerpt ftom Claude Hopkins's “Willow Weep For Me,” 1973, Chiaroscuro CR114, transcribed in the Ekay Musiv book, The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano: Medium slow, swing 8ths G br G D a pr 5 A B A A This type of bass can follow rhythmic patterns simulating the “cha-ba-da” played on the ride cymbal of a drummer, as in this example by James P. Johnson. This is from the B2 strain of his 1943 recording of “Snowy Morning Blues” (Classics 824) wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano (bars 61-63): Medium, swing 8ths 61 mf Another very common use of tenth triads was to arpeggiate them (Claude Hopkins, bars 45-46 of the aforementioned transcription of “Willow Weep For Me”): Medium slow, swing 8ths 45 ss 2 aif : 57 | BROKEN AND ARPEGOIATED TENTH TRIADS IN SCALAR MOTIONHere is Willie “The Lion” Smith in bars 5-8 of “Echo Of Spring,” included in the collection Ragtime— 100 Authentic Rags, Compiled and Edited by David A. Jasen, New York: The Big 3 Music Corporation, 1979: Moderately A distinctive Willie “The Lion” Smith pattern was to anticipate every chord change by an eighth note, as shown by the following excerpt from his 1958 recording of “Relaxin” (Good Time Jazz GTJCD-10035-2), wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos (bars 55-56): ¢. 138, swing 8ths Remember to exploit the inversions of three-note tenth chords, and keep in mind that in order to avoid 58 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HANDmonotony this device is usually alternated with other stride techniques. As an example, try the following on the opening bars of “Embraceable You”: a. 94, swing 8ths 2 opt. with pedal Am F D G bp Aldim’ = G A fs ars 1 20. “STRUMMING” LEFT HAND FIGURES Wie «te Lion” Smith, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and George Gershwin played various left hand “strumming” chordal figures. These shared a basic approach—the melodic step-wise movement of the upper or the lower voice of static chords, as in the example below (bars 13-16 of Fats Waller's arrangement of Star Dust from the book jazz, Blues, Boogie & Swing For Piano, Melville, New York: MCA/MILLS, 1977): ‘Tempo di-sturb de Neighbors @ o = 2 59 | “sTRUMMING" LEFT HAND FIGURESThe following Fats Waller example is of bars 5-8 of African Ripples, from the collection, ‘Fats? Waller Piano-Styles and Original Songs, Edwin H. Mortis & Company: Moderato = < 60 | Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HAND‘The patterns of these “strummings” are easy to see, and you can ty them in your own playing. Here is a very simple example: Ja. 144, swing 8ths 21. FATS WALLER’S TWO-HANDED PERCUSSIVE DEVICE ~ Ta many of his recordings, Thomas “Fats” Waller often souped up his regular stride bass by introduc ing an exciting two-handed percussive device, as in the following excerpt from bars 19-20 of the piano solo chorus of his 1935 recording of “Dinak” (wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, The Soul of Blues, Stride & Swing Piano): Fast, swing 8ths F rm be co \ ‘The pattern of this device can be adapted to various musical situations. Here are two examples: d . 172, swing 8ths B BY EB ov F Fr Be BPS 61 | FATS WALLER’S TWO-HANDED PERCUSSIVE DEVICENyx Finally, here is one of the most famous and effective Waller endings based on this device: Fast, swing 8ths c c F Fmé ce @ c cH e 22. GERSHWIN'S JAZZ-INSPIRED LEFT HAND STYLINGS Ta nis severatjazz-inspired solo piano works, George Gershwin often used various left hand patterns derived or adapted from those of the leading fast-shout, novelty ragtime, and stride pianists, whom he greatly admired. His previously discussed “reversed stride bass” apart, we shall see below some of his most distinctive creative applications of jazz-like left hand figures. Many of Gershwin’s left hand figures were built on “34342,” “34343434242,” and “secondary rag” patterns typical of novelty ragtime (as well as of the Latin music he loved so much, dealt with in Part Two of this book). The interesting thing is that these novelty patterns were originally right hand figures, which Gershwin masterly transformed into complex left hand patterns. Let's compare the following two excerpts. First, see the right hand of Phil Ohman’s, “Piano Pan,” bars 1-3 of the first strain (Robbins Music Corp., 1922): Con brio e animato 62 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HANDAnd here are bars 80-83 of Gershwin’s 1926 recording of “Clap Yo’ Hands,” GEMM CDS 9483, tran- scribed by Artis Wodehouse in Gershwin Improvisations for Solo Piano, New York: Warner Bros., 1987: Be. wha # Re * Below are more examples of these Gershwin bass figures (excerpt from the piano solo edition of Rhapsody in Blue, Milano: Ricordi, 1945): pie oN Oe a e\ gee The following example shows bars 68-70 of Gershwin’s 1926 recording of “Sweet and Low-Down,” GEMM CDS 9483, transcribed by Artis Wodehouse in Gershevin Improvisations for Solo Piano: loco ‘Pa * Next, bars 17-18 of “Sweet and Low-Down” from The George Gershwin Song Book, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1932: 17 ie = ate: 4 > ‘marcato 63 | GERSHWIN'S JAZZ-INSPIRED LEFT HAND STYLINGS‘Try bars 9-10 of “Tl Build A Starway to Paradise,” from The George Gershwin Song Book: oT 1 = ° eS Ee» ee Here is this wonderful left hand styling in “St. Louis Blues”: J = ca, 84, swing 8ths Lazily Tr ve 72 Se Lh, not legato 64 | Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDThis simpler application uses a funky tune, with reduced left hand leaps: ses fa Ss va Lh not legato Certainly, one of Gershwin’s most interesting and adventurous bass figures is the following polyrhyth- mic passage from bars 9-10 of “Sweet and Low-Down” as recorded in 1926 (GEMM CDS 9483) and tran- scribed by Artis Wodehouse in the book, Gershwin’s Improvisations for Solo Piano: J =a, 88-92 (beginning speed) 2. oy, oe by by 2 65 | GERSHWIN'S JA2Z-INSPIRED LEFT HAND STYLINGS‘Try the following adaptation of the bass figure shown above to the opening measures of “How High The Moon”: /=ca, 154, swing 8ths Gmaj? Gm? c 12 ser 4 2 Finally here’s another peculiar and easily applicable Gershwin device: the use of a series of perfect tri- ads voiced in second inversion and moving chromatically in parallel motion (bars 25-28 of the first chorus of Gershwin’s 1926 piano roll of “That Certain Feeling,” Mark Records 680): Fast (J = 100) 4 7s mf cresc. 4 66 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HANDCEN TENTHS AND BROKEN SEVENTHS See the following excerpt from the Ricordi piano solo edition of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (1924), featuring a bass line made up of broken tenths, with the bottom note also anticipated by an eighth note: oe ‘martellato Df agitato Without anticipation, this same technique is found again in various passages of Joe Turner's 1976 recording of “Willow Weep For Me” (Pablo 2310-763), wholly transcribed in the Ekay Music book, Harlem Stride Piano Solos (bars 7-8): J =a, 168 7 ded > i ‘A more common—and much simpler—use of this difficult technique is to play the broken tenths as quarter notes. This device is discussed in the section on Teddy Wilson in this book. Going back to eighth notes, broken tenths are often alternated with broken sevenths in those frequent situations that feature four different ii7-V7 or secondary dominant chords in each measure. Art ‘Tatum was especially fond of this device, which he slso played with added sevenths and thirds as inner notes of, respectively, the broken tenths and broken sevenths. See the following examples: Cm? Fr Bim? EW Am705 Dt Gmaj? bet 2 67 | BROKEN TENTHS AND BROKEN SEVENTHSo FP Be eh ants o map Also note the following beautiful passage—truly a great example of smooth voice leading—from the above-mentioned Turner recording of “Willow Weep For Me,” where the alternated broken sevenths and tenths are syncopated and integrated through harmonic tones played by the inner fingers of the right hand: dca. 84 —3I— —3——s— Se teen 3-7 34 3s The most complex application of this device may be found in various passages of Art Tatum’s famous 1949 recording of “Willow Weep For Me” (CDP 792866 2), transcribed by Brent Edstrom in the book, The Art Tatum Collection (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1996). The following astounding excerpt features tenth tri- ads broken both upwards and backwards, as well as a triple-time passage: (Freely) G DIA Abdi’ GB Chaim? Dm? Gs 68 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HAND24. JELLY ROLL'S BASS WITH SIXTHS AND OCTAVES ‘Tle great New Orteans pianist and so-called “originator of jazz,” Jelly Roll Morton leaned toward an “oom-pah” ragtime bass made up of octaves on downbeats and mid-range afterbeat chords that are voiced one inversion lower than that commonly used by stride pianists. But this was just the starting point. From his first solo recordings of the early 1920s, he often personalized performances with a very syncopated and varied approach.|? On paper, ample evidence of this is found in the books, Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton— The Collected Piano Music transcribed by James Dapogny (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1982) and Jelly Roll Morton—The Piano Rolls realized by Artis Wodehouse (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1999). Asa matter of fact, Morton’s bass work not only included “tangana”! figures and stride bass patterns with tenths, broken tenths, and “walking” tenths or tenth triads, but also other left hand techniques such as chords played in the mid-low range of the keyboard, open Sths, and passages of parallel open Sths (bars 9- 10 of the Al strain of “King Porter Stomp” as transcribed by James Dapogny): a. 149-151, swing 8ths a oh P Here he uses broken octaves with the root or the Sth of the chord as an added inner voice (bars 1-4 of the Bb strain of “Black Bottom Stomp” as transcribed by James Dapogny): = ca. 248-262, swing 8ths Br Eb BP > '3the left hand rhythmic vitality of many of Morton's recordings was one of the most modern and innovative facets of his piano art, as well as an influence on the young Ear! Hines. gee Part Two of this book. 69 | JELLY ROLL'S BASS WITH SIXTHS AND DeTAVES“Rough” barrelhouse-like passages of octaves (or broken octaves) with added 4ths, Sths, or 3rds appear (bars 93-95 of “Grandpa’s Spells” as transcribed by Artis Wodehouse): J=190 4 Or he might use a tonic-dominant alternation of octaves with added Sths (bars 17-21 of the C2 strain of “The Pearls” as transcribed by James Dapogny): J ca. 140-143 c Gc 6G CG tmG Cc cmicm G In addition, unlike most other pianists, Morton especially favored left hand sixths. On the downbeats of his ragtime bass, he often played a sixth interval made up of the Sth and the 10th of major, minor, or domi- nant seventh chords: c cm © Or, as an alternative, a sixth interval made of the minor seventh and the Sth of dominant seventh chords: co 70 | JAZZ PIANO: THE LEFT HANDMorton used these sixths in a variety of ways. He could play chromatic (or diatonic) sixths connecting beats 3, 4, and 1 of his “oom-pah” bass, as in the following examples. Bars 108-109 of “Shreveport Stomp” as transcribed by Artis Wodehouse: =214 108 —~ by — Bars 9-10 of the B1 strain of “Maple Leaf Rag—St. Louis Style,” Herwin 401; d= ea. 134 BY Bars 140-141 of “Grandpa’s Spells” as transcribed by Artis Wodehouse: 42190 140 Here are examples of sixths resolving to diminished sevenths (and vice versa) (bars 3-5 of the B2 strain of “Grandpa’s Spells” as transcribed by James Dapogny): ca, 210-216, swing 8ths FAdim? @ 3 a —~_ 71 | JELLY ROLL'S BASS WITH SIXTHS AND OCTAVESHe also used diatonic or chromatic scales of sixths (from the intro of by Artis Wodehouse): =190 indpa’s Spells” as transcribed Short scales of octaves can be resolved by sixths (bars 8-9 of the first chorus of “Dead Man Blues” as transcribed by James Dapogny): a. 88-126, swing 8ths o ° = Here, a “fifth-augmented fifth-sixth (or tenth)” pattern connects chords a fourth apart (bars 12-13 of the B2 strain of “Kansas City Stomp” as transcribed by James Dapogny): 4 So a. 200-217 Some of Morton's variations include: ic F o F 72 | [Azz PLANO: THE LEFT HANDIn this case he is “moving” a long static chord (bars 5-6 of the B strain of “Wolverine Blues” as tran- scribed by James Dapogny): J = ca. 179-192 On I-V7 changes, a syncopated figure made up of passing sixths preceded by a fifth and an augmented fifth is also used (bars 8-9 of the B strain of “Maple Leaf Rag-New Orleans Style,” Herwin 401): J =ca, 184, swing 8ths ab BT > be Morton's use of sixths has been beautifully summarized by Dick Hyman in his etude “Decatur Stomp,” included in his Ekay Music book, /n The Styles Of The Great Jazz Pianists. As shown by this piece, passages of diatonic sixths can be inserted in a common ragtime/stride bass to give melodic emphasis to a I17-V7 harmonic change in “Decatur Stomp,” bars 8-9: Vigorously and marcato (J = 88) @ ce 2: 73 | JELLY ROLL'S BASS WITH SIXTHS AND OCTAVESPassages of chromatic and syncopated sixths can “move” a long static chord as in “Decatur Stomp,” bars 11-13: F o n And sixths can also connect I-V17 changes (“Decatur Stomp,” bar 21): F Do One of Morton’s most famous devices was to include lively trombone-like passages of octaves within his, “oom-pahs.” This was a regular feature of old ragtime pieces, but he used it in a much more developed and challenging way, with lots of syncopation. See the following example of the left hand part found in the opening of the A2 strain of his 1938 recording of “Maple Leaf Rag—New Orleans Style” (Herwin 401), with a simplified right hand part: a. 126, swing 8ths abs Adim? EY” abe ‘Adim? BY” 3 es = mf And the following excerpt is from J. Lawrence Cook’s transcription! of Morton’s 1923 piano solo recording of “Frog-I-More Rag” (bars 6-10 of the “Variation on trio”): 6 \SReprinted in the book, The Art Of Jazz, edited by Martin Williams (New York: Da Capo Press, 1960). 4 | Jazz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDFrom the last four measures of the above-quoted transcription, here is one of Morton’s famous endings, based on trombone-like octaves: Here is an application summarizing some of Morton’s concepts (ending of a piece in Eb): i 186, swing 8ths ab Abe Adin? Bb a ca > 3 75 | JELLY ROLL'S BASS WITH SIXTHS AND OGTAVES@6! Toward THE FUTURE: THE FORERUNNING APPROACH OF EARL HINES Having growa up inthe powerful two-fsted tradition of James P Johnson and Jelly Roll Morton, the great Earl “Fatha” Hines masterly commanded the stride style as well as most of the left hand resources, described so far. Starting from his 1928 recordings, he began showing one of the most remarkable and inno- vative facets of his artistry, a distinctive penchant for breaking up the regularity of the stride bass by means of adventurous and beat-disrupting syncopations, as well as a left hand chordal approach sometimes based on spare voicings. In many instances, Hines even suspended the left hand pulse, or syncopated it so severe- ly that he seemed to have lost the beat—just to fall perfectly back in time soon after. It is important to point out that his radically new approach (unheard in the work of other pianists of that time) actually anticipated the bebop piano concepts by more than fifteen years. See the following examples from the “fours” exchanges in the last chorus of the famous “Weather Bird” duet he recorded with Louis Armstrong on December 5, 1928: 4 = ca, 204, swing 8ths Abdim? AP 76 | JAzz PIANO: THE LEFT HANDHere’s an example from bars 6-10 of the second chorus of his 1928 solo recording of “I Ain't Got Nobody” as transcribed by Jeff Taylor:!® a. 93 double time~ From a passage of his 1928 Okeh solo recording of “A Monday Date” transcribed by Gunther Schuller in the book, The Swing Era (New York: \xford University Press, 1989): J=272 1Sthis excerpt appears in the Fell 2000 issue ofthe Institute for Studies in American Music Newsletter, also announcing the forthcom- ing release of the book, Ear! “Fatha” Hines: Collecied Piano Soles, 1928-1941, transcribed by Jett Taylor and published by the American ‘Musicological Society and A-R Editions, 77 | TOWARD THE FUTURE: THE FORERUNNING APPROACH OF EARL HINESAnd from the second half of the second solo piano episode of his 1934 big band recording of “Maple Leaf Rag” (Herwin 401): J = ca, 230, swing 8ths Fr Bh BeTb9) ET Ab Adim? = EY Another characteristic Hines device was the playing of left hand chords, “walking” tenth triads, or heavily accented single notes delayed or anticipated by a quarter note or by an eighth note. You can see in the opening of the last solo piano section of the above-mentioned recording of “Maple Leaf Rag”: -a, 230, swing 8ths 78 | JAz2 PIANO: THE LEFT HAND= It occurs as well in the following outstanding passage from “Skip The Gutter” (recorded in 1928 with Armstrong), transcribed by Gunther Schuller in the book, Early Jazz (New York: Oxford University Press, 1968): d= ca, 112 ee staccato Here is a simple application of the above styling to a tonic-dominant seventh sequence: J = ca, 180, swing 8ths G D G D G Dp G D $uz s4 a2 79 | TOWARD THE FUTURE: THE FORERUNNING APPROACH OF EARL HINESA most striking facet of Hines’s left hand approach was its astounding rhythmic vitality, its constant changing of techniques and textures in the space of a few measures, and its exciting blend of old and new. Among countless examples, here is the conclusion of his recorded improvisation of “Rosetta” reissued on RCA Black & White FXM3 7143: J=ca, 204, swing 8ths Gm wee be, pha Se oe & a z= 80 | JAZZ PLANO: THE LEFT HANDB c FP By BYE By Boe Because of its outstanding variety, Hines’s left hand style is certainly one of the most elusive, challeng- ing and interesting of all jazz piano stylings. We recommend Dick Hyman’s “Struttin’ On A Sunny Day”— included in his Ekay Music book, In The Styles Of The Great Jazz Pianists—as an excellent etude capturing the essence of Hines’s approach. 81 | TOWARD THE FUTURE: THE FORERUNNING APPROACH OF EARL HINES