What is This Thing Called Love? as Conceptualized by Nine Jazz Pianists

Transcription

1 Jazz Perspectives ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: What is This Thing Called Love? as Conceptualized by Nine Jazz Pianists Garth Alper To cite this article: Garth Alper (2011) What is This Thing Called Love? as Conceptualized by Nine Jazz Pianists, Jazz Perspectives, 5:2, , DOI: / To link to this article: Published online: 16 Dec Submit your article to this journal Article views: 2439 View related articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at Download by: [ ] Date: 05 December 2017, At: 14:24

2 Jazz Perspectives Vol. 5, No. 2, August 2011, pp What is This Thing Called Love? as Conceptualized by Nine Jazz Pianists Garth Alper Jazz piano style can be understood as changing over time, and as responding to contemporaneous trends. Artists working today, or forty years ago, proceed from an awareness of what has gone on before, while also working within a current stylistic moment. Yet, a pianist s personal tastes and technical facility, and interaction with band mates, direct a personal approach to style which often sidesteps notions of stylistic evolution. A comparative analysis of a single song, Cole Porter s What Is This Thing Called love?, recorded by nine leading pianists over several decades, allows us to appreciate the juncture of style trend and personal conception. These recordings, by Teddy Wilson, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Erroll Garner, Marian McPartland, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, and Richie Beirach, all exemplify this intersection. The clarity of thought evident from the very beginning of Teddy Wilson s mediumup solo rendition of What is This Thing Called Love? illuminates an important aspect of Wilson s approach to jazz piano. 1 Wilson highlighted the elements of form found in the compositions he chose to interpret, and in the arrangements and improvisations he created over those compositions. For example, the eight-bar introduction is clearly broken up into four two-bar sections. The first two bars are sequenced up a whole step in the third and fourth bar, and the sequence continues, with some variation, in the fifth and sixth bars. 2 The last two bars create a release from the repetition and harmonically lead us into the head. This type of construction represents a variation on the call-and-response structure often heard in jazz. The first pair of measures alone could have acted as the call, but their development in the subsequent four bars adds to the impact when the response is delayed until the seventh and eighth measures (see Example 1). During the head, Wilson displays some of the other techniques that he commonly used. For example, on the A section, he creates a reharmonization that makes use of several ascending bass lines incorporated into the standard chord progression 1 Though this version of What is This Thing Called Love? was recorded in 1977, it displays many of the techniques and stylistic leanings Wilson had used since the 1930s. Similarly, I have ordered all of the recordings in this article to best represent how some of the stylistic trends in jazz piano developed. This development is not always best illustrated by the chronological order of the recording dates. Note: All of the recordings discussed in this article are currently available from commercial music download services. 2 The sequence is not strict. The notes change slightly to account for the fact that the first measure is over a major chord (C), and the third measure is over a minor chord (D minor). ISSN print/ online # 2011 Taylor & Francis

3 116 What is This Thing Called Love? Example 1 Wilson introduction. Example 2 Commonly used chord changes over A section, followed by Wilson s reharmonization. (Example 2 shows the standard changes at the top of the page and Wilson s reharmonization at the bottom). 3 Even though Wilson takes some liberties with the harmony, he plays the head without much improvisation, except for a few embellishments. 3 I arrived at the standard jazz chord changes for the tune by listening to numerous jazz recordings of What is This Thing Called Love? An approximation of these changes can be found in Example 9. Numerous artists use the ii Ø chord (of the F min7 ) in the first measure, but the majority bypassed this chord and started on the V 7. All of the pianists in this study, with the exception of Tatum, played the tune in C major (as determined by the last chord of each A section). Tatum played the piece in D major. All of the transcriptions, including Tatum s are written in the keys in which they were recorded.

4 Jazz Perspectives 117 Numerous stride pianists, including Wilson, were known to have made full use of the piano s orchestral and textural possibilities. But Wilson, following Earl Fatha Hines s lead, also had a role in developing the improvised, right-hand, single note piano line. Example 3, a rendering from the second A section of the first solo chorus, acts as a reminder that some of the techniques now associated with the bebop era including the bebop scale and the enclosure (see the fifth full measure) were heard in the solos of swing-era musicians. Example 3 Excerpt from Wilson s solo. Wilson improvises over the AABA form three times. But in a departure from the most commonly used model of jazz improvisation, he returns to the melody of What is This Thing Called Love? each time he reaches the last A section of the form in each of the three choruses over which he improvises. This creates an alternate, more complex interpretation of the piece, which avoids the head-solo-head structure that is so commonly heard. One reason why this less conventional approach to the form works so well is that it acts as a counterbalance to Wilson s tendency to highlight the other formal structures of a tune. This understated complexity is one of the lynchpins of Teddy Wilson s style. While other stride pianists were sometimes flashier and more bombastic, a careful listening of Wilson s work can reveal elements of an artistry that often lie beneath the surface. It is surmisable that Wilson s subtle approach to jazz piano was linked to his experience performing with Benny Goodman. A few years before Jackie Robinson broke the color line in professional sports, Goodman hired Wilson, an African American, into an entirely white band. While this was not the first racially mixed group to perform in the United States, it was the first integrated group to regularly play in major hotels, concert halls, and nightclubs. Although there were some incidents due to the racial make-up of the band, the enormous success of Goodman s band gave him leverage in booking the group in locations that normally would not have tolerated the presence of an African American at the time. One could conjecture that Wilson created a style of playing that meshed with his low-key persona at a time when a more flamboyant approach might have run counter to his professional and physical self-preservation. Whatever the reasons for the restraint heard on the surface of his playing, a rich and multi-faceted approach can be found beneath the understated style. 4 4 Teddy Wilson, Teddy Wilson: Cole Porter Classics, Black Lion BLCD , Originally released as Teddy Wilson: Cole Porter Classics, Black Lion BLM 51505, Recorded on November 3, 1977.

5 118 What is This Thing Called Love? ***** Art Tatum, whose marvelous technique is the subject of a good portion of the written material about his playing, recorded What is This Thing Called Love? in His virtuosity on this recording manifests itself not only in the ease with which he plays difficult and fast passages, but the expression he is able to impart through his phrasing and clarity of line. After a brief introduction, Tatum plays through the full form twice once rubato and once at a medium-slow swing tempo in a stride style. After the complete stride chorus, Tatum skips ahead to the B section and returns to a rubato feel, and subsequently ends the piece with the last A section. While Tatum was more than capable of improvising without referring to the head of a composition, in this rendition, and in numerous others, he would play the head throughout the entire performance. However, during the two-and-a-half times through which Tatum plays the melody, he weaves improvised lines around it, creating in a type of call-and-response texture a virtual commentary on each phrase of the head. (An example of a melodic response by Tatum can be found in Example 4). 5 The melody s complex rhythm seen here is another manifestation of Tatum s extraordinary technique. The combination of the two septuplets and the sextuplet, and the use of rests in the first septuplet, creates a difficult phrase to execute accurately. Such a rhythm seen in a transcription might indicate an inaccurate execution of a less complicated rhythm, but a careful listening of Tatum reveals this and similar rhythms to be a deliberate part of his artistry. Example 4 Brief improvised response by Tatum to a segment of the head. One under-discussed aspect of jazz artistry is the numerous ways improvisation manifests itself. As it is often discussed, written about, and taught, jazz improvisation would appear to be limited to the creation of melodies over a given set of chord changes. However, Tatum s performance of What is This Thing Called Love? demonstrates that improvisation can also include how a given melody is rhythmically interpreted, displaced, embellished, and simultaneously accompanied on the piano. As seen in Example 5, Tatum subtly embellishes and rhythmically displaces the melody, while using stride techniques that include walking tenths and octave melodies in a rich, but clearly executed texture. 6 5 This line occurs in the fourth measure of the first non-rubato A section. 6 This passage is from the beginning of the first non-rubato A section.

6 Jazz Perspectives 119 Example 5 Portion of Tatum s interpretation of the head. As discussed elsewhere in this article, improvisation can also include sequences and other developmental techniques, as well as a number of reharmonization possibilities, including passing chords and tritone substitutions. And the way a performer phrases a melody though sometimes hard to describe using notation is an essential aspect of jazz improvisation. An illustration of one of Tatum s reharmonizations of an A section in What is This Thing Called Love? is found in Example 6. 7 Example 6 Portion of Tatum s reharmonization of the A section. Tatum s critics sometimes argued that displays of his extraordinary technical mastery were not accompanied by a larger, cohesive artistic vision. While there is room for disagreement on that issue in some of his playing, his rendition of What is This Thing Called Love? and numerous other recordings remind us that there was often a thoughtful, global conception behind the physical wizardry. And it was a conception that included harmonic ingenuity, arrangements that balanced unity with variety, a strong sense of swing, and melodic strength in his improvised lines. Though they ostensibly developed from within the same genre of jazz piano stride Wilson sandtatum sstylesdivergedgreatly.wilson,whospeaksinabeautifullythoughtout prose and with a minimum of flash, lets you easily hear the roadmap of the form. For Tatum, each excursion became a new construction of considerable complexity and technicalbrilliancethatbroughthimtoastylethatwasrarelybuiltuponbyfutureprotégés. 8 ***** The change from the swing era to the bebop era is sometimes described as having been a revolutionary transformation. Evidence of such change is heard in part by how jazz pianists approached their instruments. In contrast to the orchestral, stride versions of What is This Thing Called Love? by Wilson and Tatum, Bud Powell s style is starkly different. His right hand never plays more than one note at a time, exemplifying the bebop-era pianists attention to the single-note improvised line. (The practitioners of the bebop style are often 7 These chords represent the first five measures of the first non-rubato A section. 8 Art Tatum, Art Tatum at His Piano, Volume 1, GNP Crescendo 9025, Recorded in 1945 or 1950.

7 120 What is This Thing Called Love? described as having played with more speed and agility than their swing predecessors. Tatum one exception to this trend is an example of a player who was capable of playing faster, and with more agility than the vast majority of bebop pianists). Bebop-era musicians often took the chord progressions of standards, wrote new melodies on them, and renamed them. These new melodies, called contrafacts, are principally associated with bebop, though earlier jazz composers had used this technique on occasion. 9 Such was the case with Tadd Dameron s Hot House, which borrowed the chord progression from What is This Thing Called Love?. Its angular, quirky, and often-sequenced melody is strongly constructed. At times, the tension of the long lines is resolved, and at other times, the stress builds past what would have normally been heard in a head from the swing era. This is also a fitting description of Powell s improvised lines heard in the 1962 performance of Hot House. While improvising, jazz performers are often engaged in a virtual dialogue with the head of a tune, even while not referencing it in their playing. Improvising over a contrafact such as Hot House can lend itself to artistic decisions and create further layers of complexity. In Powell s case, he chose not to reference the melody of either Hot House or What is This Thing Called Love? during his solo, and it works because of the on-going development of his own lines that occurs. (A good example of cross-referencing a contrafact from an original melody can be seen later in this article when Ahmad Jamal quotes Hot House in his solo while playing What is This Thing Called Love?.) Though Powell s personal troubles seemingly impacted his performing abilities after the mid-1950s, 10 this recording exemplifies his extraordinary melodic abilities. While portions of the head which he plays with both hands lack the surgical clarity of his playing from earlier in his career, his six-chorus (192-bar) solo is notable for its continuous stream of consistently well-constructed lines. The unchanging texture of Powell s piano techniques was an appropriate response to the addition of the bass and drums in the standard jazz piano trio instrumentation. 11 Perhaps more importantly, the lack of textural variation points the listener to the brilliant contours of the long improvised lines, which are one of the essential foci of bebop artistry. Examples of Powell s bebop lines can be found in Example 7 and Example 7 Excerpt from Powell s solo over last four bars of B section. 9 Creating a new melody over a previously written chord progression predates jazz by at least a few hundred years and the practice continues today. 10 A racially motivated attack on Powell in 1945 is thought to be a contributing factor in his declining mental health, which affected his artistry and his career. See J. Bradford Robinson, Powell, Bud, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Ed. Barry Kernfeld (New York: St. Martin, 1994), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen played bass, and William Schiopffe played drums on this recording. 12 Example 7 starts in the fifth measure of the B section in the fifth solo chorus, and Example 8 is the first A section of the sixth chorus.

8 Jazz Perspectives 121 Example 8 Excerpt from Powell s solo over A section. In addition to the considerably thinner texture heard in the left hand vis-à-vis Wilson and Tatum, Powell employs a stripped-down harmonic progression that steers clear of any passing chords (See Example 9). For the first two measures, Powell chooses to remain on the dominant seventh of the Fm7 chord, in contrast to Tatum s choice of using the ii Ø chord in the first measure. Judging by the recordings made by some of the better-known artists in the bebop era, this appears to be a tacitly agreed upon chord progression for this particular contrafact. 13 Example 9 Harmonic progression used by Powell. ***** While many of the jazz artists works examined in this article fit nicely into some of the trends that developed over the past eighty years, Erroll Garner, to an extent, resisted 13 Bud Powell, Bud Powell: In Copenhagen, Storyville Records , Original release: Bud Powell, Bud Powell: Bouncing With Bud, Delmark Records, DLMK 406, Recorded in 1962.

9 122 What is This Thing Called Love? those trends. Garner s introduction to What is This Thing Called Love? begins with a dissonant chord moving up and down in a parallel fashion in a stiff, difficult-to-ascertain rhythm (see Example 10). By using such a technique, Garner is setting up a humorous contrast to the head, on which he displays his archetypal heavily swinging, bluesy approach to jazz piano. Also, by limiting the use of these chords to the introduction, Garner is able to experiment with some of the above-mentioned trends without interfering with his easily recognizable sound during the head and solo. Example 10 Beginning of Garner s introduction. The head itself is partially obscured by Garner s blues techniques, but it s still recognizable as What is This Thing Called Love?. Garner is able to better underscore the blues feel by using a seventh chord the chord most closely associated with a jazz blues in place of the I maj7 chord in the ii Ø V 7 I maj7 progression. For the last two measures of the head, Garner uses a two-handed tremolo with the sustain pedal. The beginning of his solo follows, which he starts with short, soft comping stabs in his left hand, soft, clear triplet figures in his right hand, and no pedal (see Example 11). The tremolo builds drama, and it pulls in the listener for when the dynamics drastically change at the beginning of the solo. Garner takes one chorus for his solo, which gradually increases in volume. This gradual increase in intensity propels him into the two A sections of the next chorus, where, instead of returning to the melody, he develops a shout chorus-type figure that acts as the climax of his rendition (see Example 12). Example 11 Beginning of Garner s solo. Example 12 Shout chorus-type figure by Garner.

10 Jazz Perspectives 123 After this shout figure, Garner returns to the melody in the B section, and suddenly brings down the intensity, volume, and density of his playing, replicating the dynamic change that has occurred earlier between the introduction and the A section. Thus, Garner s recording of What is This Thing Called Love? represents his playing well. It is a well-crafted and well-thought out piece of art that has a dramatic arc, sharp dynamic contrasts, humor, and fuses the feeling of the blues into a jazz standard in a highly recognizable style. While Garner sidestepped some of the jazz piano trends that were evident in the 1950s and 1960s, his rendition of What is This Thing Called Love? suggests that he was aware of others, and may have had a role in developing them. Bill Evans is often credited, correctly, for encouraging his trio members to interact with him and thus move away from some of the more traditional supportive roles held by the bass and drums. It is notable however, that on this recording of Garner s, Eddie Calhoun, the bass player, engages in a very active instrumental conversation with Garner for much of the head and solo. As Garner s solo progresses, Calhoun s role moves further from that of timekeeper and closer to that of co-soloist. While the drummer, Kelly Martin, continues in his role as timekeeper, he remains strongly engaged in the musical conversation as well. When Garner reaches the shout chorus, Calhoun and Martin quickly close ranks and help Garner reach the climax of his solo. On this cut, Garner demonstrates that the development and execution of conceptually advanced jazz arranging need not be dependent on the ability to read or write music and that there may be room for the reevaluation of his role in advancing some of the trends of the jazz art form. 14 ***** Marian McPartland s 1953 trio recording of What is This Thing Called Love? commences with Joe Morello, without accompaniment, laying down a groove on drums with his hands. (He remains stick-less for the entire recording). McPartland s entrance on the head, eight bars later occurs without the bass, which allows her to harmonize the melody using only 7 (#9) chords in a parallel configuration (see Example 13). 15 It s an approach that obfuscates the two keys of the A section, and represents a modest excursion into atonality. The bass player enters walking at the B section, and McPartland improvises while making references to the melody at key points. Though this particular solo doesn t exhibit a strong blues influence, its relaxed phrasing and tempo align it with the hard bop style that was starting to emerge at the time. The contrast heard between the heavier texture and harmonic experimentation in the first two A sections, and the much lighter texture and more conventional reading of the B section creates an effect similar to when Garner moved from his introduction to the A section. Both Garner and McPartland challenge the listener at first, and then allow for a release from the tension. For the most part, the first chorus of McPartland s solo retains the relaxed phrasing heard in the B section of the head. 14 Errol Garner, Dancing on the Ceiling: The Erroll Garner Collection, Volume, Polygram/Verve, Recorded in The bass player on the track is either Vinnie Burke or Bob Carter.

11 124 What is This Thing Called Love? Example 13 First A section by McPartland. Even though the style and texture of her playing is largely different from that of Teddy Wilson s, the formal clarity with which she develops her ideas is reminiscent of his approach on What is This Thing Called Love?. It s a reminder that even as some of the stylistic conventions of jazz piano evolved, many of the underlying structural elements remained intact. McPartland s occasional arpeggiation of major chords as part of her improvised eighth-note lines adds to the formal, classically tinged sound of her playing (See Example 14). 16,17 Example 14 Excerpt from McPartland s solo. McPartland s use of George Shearing-type block chords at the beginning of her second chorus is another reminder that she and Wilson represent different stylistic eras (see Example 15). This type of block chord is usually constructed by harmonizing the melody with three additional notes in the right hand, and doubling the melody an octave below with the left hand. McPartland uses these chords to start the development of a dramatic arc in her solo, which leads into other two-handed techniques that bring her improvisation to a climax near the end of the second improvised chorus I don t mean to imply that McPartland and Wilson do not swing on their recordings just that they sometimes have brought a classical sensibility to their artistry. 17 This line occurs at the first A section of the first chorus of her solo. 18 Marian McPartland, Marian McPartland on 52 nd Street, Savoy Jazz, Recorded in 1953.

12 Jazz Perspectives 125 Example 15 Use of block chords by McPartland in solo. ***** Just as Teddy Wilson offered an alternative to the head solo head configuration often heard in jazz, Ahmad Jamal explores a more complex model of how to approach the head and solo sections of What is This Thing Called Love?. Over the nearly eight times that the group plays through the AABA form, Jamal intersperses improvisation with references to the head, and finds a number of ways to combine the two. 19 For those eight choruses, it is rare for him either to improvise for more than sixteen measures without finding a way to refer to the head, or to play the head without adding some element of improvisation to it. To help add interest over the course of the recording, the bass player varies his comping numerous times between pedal point, halftime, and walking feels. While these sorts of feel changes are often left up to the discretion of the individual players in many groups, there are clues that Jamal, is at least to some extent, directing the group in these decisions. The danger of planning such feel changes is that the end result can sound manufactured, but that is not the case here. Instead, Jamal s trio makes a statement about the use of form and style in the piano trio format and does so in what sounds like a natural manner. At about three quarters of the way through the recording, the trio temporarily departs from the AABA form and plays twenty-four bars of the pedal point section, without going to the bridge at the expected spot. Departing from the form in the middle of a tune is done more often now by jazz piano trios, but it was uncommon in 1961, the year of Jamal s recording. Table 1 describes Jamal s complex alternative to the commonly heard head solos head configuration. In addition to the complex ways in which Jamal approached the relationship between the head and solo sections of What is This Thing Called Love?, the repeated use of the pedal point reflected the emerging modal aesthetic of the time, and acts a reminder of Jamal s influence on that aesthetic. At the time that John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and numerous other jazz artists of the period were developing modal composition and improvisation into an established movement, Jamal was likewise incorporating pedal points and harmonically static vamps into his own developing artistic vision. In Example 16 (the first two A sections of the head), Jamal infuses these techniques with an exceptionally strong demonstration of rhythmic displacement. By the time the group plays through the head once (another sixteen bars 19 Israel Crosby plays bass and Vernel Fournier, drums.

13 Table 1. chorus 1 chorus 2 chorus 3 chorus 4 chorus 5 Description of each section of Jamal s rendition A A B A head played over a bass pedal point; minimal improvisation over head bass changes to half time feel; ornamented interpretation of head with some improvisation fairly straight rendition of head with some rhythmic displacement very brief chord solo rendition of the head; then piano tacet after extended period of halftime feel, the bass walks; single note improvisation pedal point continues; a bit more improvisation, some in the form of a chord solo ornamented interpretation of head moves up an octave; a little more improvisation fairly straight rendition of head with some improvisation and reharmonization block chord hybrid between Hot House and What is This Thing Called Love? texture continues pedal point continues; Jamal starts with head; veers off into improvisation improvisation around the head gives way to stricter reading of head improvisation with minimal reference to the head descending walking tenths followed by block chords, then single note improvisation bass returns to halftime feel; piano starts with improvisation, then returns to head The group A A A temporarily texture continues texture continues texture continues; drummer departs from switches from brushes to AABA form sticks on cymbals AABA form returns A A B A chorus 6 chorus 7 return to the head with improvisation; bass returns to halftime feel bass returns to walking; Jamal improvises head in block chords followed by heavy block chord improvisation quote of Surrey With the Fringe on Top; improvisation continues head followed by heavy reharmonization bass returns to halftime feel; block chords by piano pedal point continues; improvisation continues quotes from Hot House ornamented interpretation of head returns ornamented interpretation of head returns bass pedal point returns; ornamented interpretation of head returns with rhythmic displacement chordal idea bass pedal point returns; ornamented interpretation of head returns; ending 126 What is This Thing Called Love?

14 Jazz Perspectives 127 past the point of Example 16), Jamal has turned the time around so frequently that the 1 of the measures has become obscured. Yet, on the pick-up of the thirty-third measure, the head emerges, right where one would expect it. Also, on the fourth measure of the second A section Jamal begins using a chromatically descending set of triads, which, over the bass pedal, creates a few seconds of bitonality. 20 Example 16 Jamal s first two A sections of the head. ***** Just as it was standard operating procedure for bebop musicians to rewrite the head over a given set of chord changes, Bill Evans was fond of reharmonizing a given melody. His reharmonization of What is This Thing Called Love? on a 1963 live recording is thorough enough to make the original chord progression, on a first listening, largely unrecognizable (see Example 17). This contrasts with Wilson and Tatum s reharmonizations, which rarely strayed from the given key, but instead made use of diatonic passing chords. Evans s interest in reharmonization is possibly linked to his interest 20 Ahmad Jamal Trio, Cross Country Tour ( ), Chess Records GRD2-813, Original release: Ahmad Jamal, Alhambra, Argo Records LP703. Recorded in 1961.

15 128 What is This Thing Called Love? Example 17 Evans reharmonization. in classical piano compositions from the late Romantic and impressionist periods. Just as composers of these eras expanded upon and challenged some of the harmonic conventions of their predecessors and contemporaries, Evans had an important role in advancing jazz harmony. And despite his interest and background in classical idioms, the harmonic expansion that he explored remained strongly rooted in the jazz language. The turnaround seen in the first ending (C maj7,f maj7,bb maj7,a maj7 )displaystheuseof major-seven chords arrayed in the circle of fourths, a progression favored by Evans. The chromatic slide down to the A maj7 creates the harmonic illusion of a I chord, but the return to the top of the A section, instead, reinforces the notion that these four chords constitute a complex turnaround. (Another example of major-seven chords moving in fourths can be found in the fourth measure). In measure 5 of the bridge, Evans borrows the first three chords (Eb m7, E 7, A maj7 ) from John Coltrane s Countdown, which, itself, was a reharmonization of another jazz standard Eddie Vinson s Tune Up. 21 Evans, with a musical gesture, gives credit to Coltrane by emphasizing Coltrane s melody note over these three chords. At the beginning of the recording, instead of playing the head, Evans solos over almost the entire form in a rubato style. The only exception occurs at the beginning 21 Often ascribed to Miles Davis, Tune Up was composed by Vinson. See Eric Nisenson, The Making of Kind of Blue (New York: St. Martin, 2000),

16 Jazz Perspectives 129 of the B section at which he briefly states a small portion of the head. Not unlike twentieth-century abstract painters, whose finished products bore little resemblance to the objects they were painting, if listeners didn t know the title of the tune, it is unlikely they would identify it by listening to Evans s first excursion through the form. The same holds true for the two medium-up choruses over which Evans solos, with the support of Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. After a bass solo, and trading eights with the drummer, Evans picks a few key notes of the head around which he continues improvising. As seen in Example 18, the pick-ups to the form (the B-flat notes), the last note of the second full measure (A-flat), and the E-natural that starts the seventh full measure are all important touchstones of the original melody. As the out-head progresses, Evans incorporates more notes from the melody as his improvisation diminishes but continues to couch them in his reharmonization, rhythmic displacement, and chord melodies. Example 18 Excerpt from Evans out-head. If Tatum s modernism manifested itself through some reharmonization and his improvised comments on the original melody, Powell s (and Dameron s) modernism revealed itself through the complete abstraction of the original melody. In a move further away from realism the conventional rendition of the head Evans abstracts the harmony, rhythm, and melody to a point where Cole Porter s original conception is moved into the background even further. 22 ***** Keith Jarrett, with Gary Peacock on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums, recorded What is This Thing Called Love? live in Paris in This version starts with an extended introduction, a device not yet heard in the previous renditions chosen for this analysis. Jarrett starts the performance with a chordal figure in his left hand that hasrockroots.thev 7 i 7 in F minor is stripped down to triads and the ii Ø7 V 7 I maj7 22 Bill Evans, The Complete Riverside Recordings, Compact Disc Edition, Riverside Records, RCD-018-2, Original release: Bill Evans Time Remembered, Milestone Records MI47068, Recorded in 1962 or 1963.

17 130 What is This Thing Called Love? progression in C major that commonly comprises the fifth through eighth measure is similarly reduced to V I(seeExample19). 23 This harmonic reduction works remarkably well, even when used under the head in the fourth chorus. Example 19 Introductory vamp by Jarrett. This left hand vamp, over which Jarrett improvises, shifts harmonically to follow the song s structure. This configuration continues through the third chorus, in which the bass and drums slowly enter. It is in the fourth chorus, when the head is played over the vamp, that it becomes clear that we have been listening to an extended introduction an introduction that exceeds the length of some of the entire tracks that were discussed earlier in this article. At times during the head, Jarrett responds to the cells of the melody with improvised answers that, in concept but not style are quite reminiscent of Tatum s approach. Jarrett executes both the head and these responses with his right hand as the left hand vamp continues underneath them. Example 20 represents part of the second A section of the head with improvised responses. Example 20 Excerpt of head with improvised responses by Jarrett. During the solo after the head, Jarrett and Peacock shift to a more conventional harmonic reading, making use of the V 7 i 7 in F minor, and the ii Ø7 V 7 I maj7 in C major that are more commonly heard over the tune. Jarrett solos on the form for another ten 23 Jarrett plays the figure with a slightly different rhythm in the first measure. I have chosen to write the rhythm in the first measure the way it played throughout the rest of the first three choruses.

18 Jazz Perspectives 131 choruses, followed by bass and drum solos, and an out head that bring the entire version to over twenty-two times through the form (704 measures). Despite the extended introduction and solo, and use of vamps elements that would be unexpected in earlier jazz pianists playing Jarrett s second solo is texturally more closely related to Bud Powell s version of What is This Thing Called Love? than any other rendition heard in this study. Jarrett s soloing, like Powell s, consistently relies on single-note lines in the right hand with minimal, light comping in the left (see Example 21). The construction of Powell s lines, as expected, exhibits many bebop rhythmic and harmonic practices: the use of eighth notes interspersed with triplets and sixteenth notes, and the generous use of enclosures, bebop scale fragments, and commonly used alterations of the V 7 chord. While Jarrett doesn t shy away from these bebop techniques, his solo is a reminder that the single-note improvised line had evolved between the 1940s and the 1990s. As his solo progresses, the length of his lines increases and the contours of his lines increasingly stray from bebop conventions. Additionally, his phrases display more harmonic ambiguity compared to what is heard in Powell s playing. Yet, despite their differences, there is no doubt that these two recordings come from the same artistic lineage. 24 Example 21 Excerpt of Jarrett s solo over A section. ***** As noted earlier, Bill Evans s reharmonization made the chord progression to What is This Thing Called Love? difficult to recognize in a first listening. In his 2009 solo piano recording, Richie Beirach s harmonic conception takes the listener farther away from the original chord progression than any of the other artists renditions discussed in this study. Upon the first few listenings of Beirach s version, it is difficult to recognize the AABA form until the out head. Beirach masks the underlying form by avoiding a consistent pulse until the end. His reharmonization and improvisation which are influenced by twentieth-century classical modernism as well as jazz trends from the 1960s to the present also make an immediate identification of the tune, and the form, difficult. Example 22 represents what appears to be the entire first A section. Due to the lack of a steady pulse and near-total abstraction of the harmony and melody, Beirach is requiring his listeners to employ a more intuitive approach 24 Keith Jarrett, Whisper Not: Live in Paris 1999, ECM 1724/ , 1999.

19 132 What is This Thing Called Love? in identifying the song s form. The chord progression that Evans created for What is This Thing Called Love? remained virtually unchanged each time he played through the form. In contrast, Beirach appears to be improvising the harmony itself as he moves Example 22 Abstracted portion of head by Beirach. from chorus to chorus. The harmony of each version of What is This Thing Called Love? previous to Beirach s version can be analyzed and discussed with the use of standard jazz chord notation. However, Beirach s incorporation of classical modernism into the jazz language makes the use of such notation problematic. With the exception of the out head, the one A section in Beirach s entire recording that can be analyzed with standard chord notation can be found in Example 23. Yet, the payoff of such an analysis is limited. For example, the second chord in this example might be better understood as an intrinsic sonority of its three notes, not as a Gb (no 3rd, b9) chord. But a jazz chord analysis can also yield some insight. For example, the third chord of the phrase, the F maj7 (#5), is a chord that was rarely seen in jazz before the 1960s, but has become a more common part of the harmonic language of many contemporary jazz Example 23 Reharmonized A section by Beirach. artists. In a technique similar to Evans, Beirach waits until the out chorus of the head to make the composition identifiable. Here, he uses a bass pedal point, a device heard throughout Ahmad Jamal s intricate arrangement. However, Beirach uses a different note (C) as the basis of the pedal point, and uses it as a foundation for a bitonal interpretation of the head, employing chords such as Gb and E triads over the C pedal point Richie Beirach, Crossing Over, Niveau Records, 2008.

20 Jazz Perspectives 133 Example 24 A section of out-head by Beirach. ***** The jazz pianists discussed in this paper are inarguably part of an artistic lineage. However, one of the concepts that these nine recordings reinforce is that an artistic lineage is not just a forward direction of certain trends, but also an intricate tangle of creative visions woven into a complex history. Thus, it is important not to jump to conclusions that might seem to be implied by this article. For example, while Bill Evans was certainly an exceptionally important figure in the reharmonization of jazz standards (and a number of other concepts), one should not assume from the study of one standard that Art Tatum was not equally important. Even though Tatum s reharmonization of What is This Thing Called Love? is not as extensive as Evans s, on recordings of other standards Tatum did show remarkable skill in this one area of jazz piano artistry. A jazz artist s creativity can reveal itself through a number of musical avenues such as improvisation, rhythmic displacement, reharmonization, arranging, manipulation of form, and numerous other manifestations of the art form. But, if no other noteworthy elements were found in these performances, they may or may not have risen to the level of art. In addition to these fairly concrete topics for study, theartistsdiscussedherebroughtsomeofthefollowinglessdescribablequalities to their renditions: delicacy, exuberance, humor, understatement, bravado, beauty of phrasing, and differing expressions of what a swing feel can sound like. Through the combining of these two spheres of artistry the more concrete, and the less tangible these jazz pianists somehow found a way to express their thoughts and feelings about their art form, their humanity, and the society in which they lived. Acknowledgements I thank Scott Landry for transferring my transcriptions into a computer notation software program.

21 134 What is This Thing Called Love? Abstract Studies about jazz piano often discuss the defining performers, improvisation techniques, composers, songs, and stylistic underpinnings of various jazz eras. This article aims to enhance these studies by offering a different angle from which to view this topic. By limiting this article to how jazz pianists of different eras approached one particular standard Cole Porter s What is This Thing Called Love? I aim to highlight the diversity of approaches taken by different jazz pianists as they built upon the traditions of their art form. Through this model of analysis, an understanding of both the differences between the artists approaches, and the underlying common language of the jazz piano art form emerge concurrently. Also, similar to the narrative-like structures heard in many of these solos, a larger historical artistic narrative created by these performers over the past eighty years becomes apparent. The jazz pianists whom I discuss are Teddy Wilson, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Erroll Garner, Marian McPartland, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, and Richie Beirach. A large number of jazz standards were considered as the basis of this study, but What is This Thing Called Love? was chosen because jazz pianists with such a wide range of approaches have recorded it, and these particular approaches lent themselves well to the aims of this article.