A Topical Exploration of the Jazz Messengers 1963 Recording One by One

Transcription

1 A Topical Exploration of the Jazz Messengers 1963 Recording One by One Daniel J. Thompson Florida State University Society for Music Theory Joint Annual Meeting with the American Musicological Society Vancouver, BC 3 November 2016

2 Wayne Shorter s One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Tracks on original album: 1. One by One (W. Shorter) 2. Ugetsu (C. Walton) 3. Time Off (C. Fuller) 4. Ping-Pong (W. Shorter) 5. I Didn t Know What Time It Was (Rodgers/Hart) 6. On the Ginza (W. Shorter) 7. Eva (W. Shorter) 8. The High Priest (C. Fuller) 9. The Theme (M. Davis) Personnel: Wayne Shorter, Tenor Sax Freddie Hubbard, Trumpet Curtis Fuller, Trombone Cedar Walton, Piano Reggie Workman, Bass Art Blakey, Drums

3 Topics can get us into the musical story. Michael Klein (2013)

4 Primary Objectives 1. Validate the relevance of bringing a topical perspective to hard bop (c ). 2. Survey hard bop s body of musical topics. 3. Examine the strategic deployment of topics in One by One as the basis for a narrative interpretation.

5 Part I What is a Musical Topic?

6 C.S. Peirce s Trichotomy of Sign-Object Relations ICON INDEX (resemblance) SYMBOL (co-occurrence) (arbitrary, culturally defined) = signification Intro I. II. III. IV. Outro

7 Topical Semiosis (Mirka 2014) Topics ICON Styles or genres INDEX Social contexts and functions Topics are icons of musical styles and genres. Musical styles and genres are indices of social contexts and functions. These connections enable a musical topic to function as a symbol of a cultural value.

8 Part II Hard Bop s Time and Place

9 Hard Bop (c ): Quick Facts East-Coast trend (especially New York and Philadelphia) Rekindled the blues and gospel roots of jazz. Associated with notable artists such as: Trumpeters Miles Davis and Lee Morgan Saxophonists Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane Pianists Horace Silver and Elmo Hope Bassists Charles Mingus and Paul Chambers Drummers Art Blakey and Philly Joe Jones

10 Hard Bop (c ): Stylistic Context Builds upon the bebop (bop) style that crystallized in the 1940s. Stood in clear opposition to cool jazz, which emerged in the 1950s as a mild alternative to bebop. Contemporaneous to the African-American Civil Rights Movement (from Brown v. Board in 1954 to the Fair Housing Act in 1968)

11 Part III Survey of Topics in Hard Bop

12 Example 1: Blues Topic Bobby Timmons s Piano Solo from Moanin " (First A, First Chorus) Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Moanin, 1958 Blues elements: Nearly exclusive use of the blues scale (1, flat-3, 4, sharp-4, 5, flat-7) Repeated riffs Imitation of bends (with grace notes) and guitar dyads

13 Example 2: Gospel Topic ( Amen Gesture) [1/2] Bobby Timmons s Piano Head to Moanin " (Second A) Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Moanin, 1958 A men A men

14 Example 2: Gospel Topic ( Amen Gesture) [2/2] Bobby Timmons s Piano Head to Moanin " (Second A) Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Moanin, 1958 A men A men

15 Example 3: Gospel Topic (Melodic Gesture) [1/2] Head to Better Git It in Your Soul" (Second A) Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Um, 1959

16 Example 3: Gospel Topic (Melodic Gesture) [2/2] Head to Better Git It in Your Soul" (Second A) Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Um, 1959 Bluesy ad-lib

17 Example 4: Nostalgic Topics (New Orleans) [1/2] Intro to My Jelly Roll Soul" Charles Mingus Blues and Roots, 1960 Sousaphone bass line 6 th tremolos in piano

18 Example 4: Nostalgic Topics (New Orleans) [2/2] Intro to My Jelly Roll Soul" Charles Mingus Blues and Roots, 1960 chromatic walk-up chromatic third turnaround

19 Example 5: Nostalgic Topics (Stride Piano) Opening of Body and Soul Thelonious Monk Monk s Dream, 1958 Stride LH

20 Example 6: Exotic Topics (Mambo) [1/2] Intro and A Section of Head to De-Dah Elmo Hope Here s Hope, 1962 Mambo feel Swing feel Mambo feel

21 Example 6: Exotic Topics (Mambo) [2/2] Intro and A Section of Head to De-Dah Elmo Hope Here s Hope, 1962 Swing feel Mambo feel Swing feel

22 Example 6: Exotic Topics (Mambo) [1/2] Intro and A Section of Head to De-Dah Elmo Hope Here s Hope, 1962 Mambo feel Swing feel Mambo feel

23 Example 6: Exotic Topics (Mambo) [2/2] Intro and A Section of Head to De-Dah Elmo Hope Here s Hope, 1962 Swing feel Mambo feel Swing feel ( )

24 Part IV One by One as Comic Narrative

25 Example 7 [1/5] Intro and Head to Wayne Shorter s One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Intro: unmarked Pseudo-Bossa Nova comping pattern

26 Example 7 [2/5] Intro and Head to Wayne Shorter s One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Head: A A B A unmarked marked Rhetorical gesture Blues topic g: ii 7 V 7 i 7 V 7 /VI VI ii 7 V 7 III V 7 /V V 7 i 7 V 7 /VI ii 7 V 7 V 7 i 7 III V Diatonic harmony & applied chords Tritone substitution Harmonic elision Tritone substitution

27 Example 7 [3/5] Intro and Head to Wayne Shorter s One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Head: A A B A unmarked marked Rhetorical gesture Blues topic g: ii 7 V 7 i 7 V 7 /VI VI ii 7 V 7 III V 7 /V V 7 i 7 V 7 /VI ii 7 V 7 V 7 i 7 III V Diatonic harmony & applied chords Tritone substitution Harmonic elision Tritone substitution

28 Example 7 [4/5] Intro and Head to Wayne Shorter s One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Head: A A B A still blues topic = last 4 mm. of A section Shuffle feel

29 Example 7 [5/5] Intro and Head to Wayne Shorter s One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Head: A A B A unmarked marked Rhetorical gesture Blues topic g: ii 7 V 7 i 7 V 7 /VI VI ii 7 V 7 III V 7 /V V 7 i 7 V 7 /VI ii 7 V 7 V 7 i 7 III V Diatonic harmony & applied chords Tritone substitution Harmonic elision Tritone substitution

30 Example 8 [1/4] Wayne Shorter s Tenor-Sax Solo on One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Form: A A B A

31 Example 8 [2/4] Wayne Shorter s Tenor-Sax Solo on One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Form: A A B A Blues topic

32 Example 8 [3/4] Wayne Shorter s Tenor-Sax Solo on One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Form: A A B A Blues topic

33 Example 8 [4/4] Wayne Shorter s Tenor-Sax Solo on One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Form: A A B A Blues topic

34 Example 9 [1/4] Cedar Walton s Piano Solo on One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Form: A A B A Blues topic Blues topic

35 Example 9 [2/4] Cedar Walton s Piano Solo on One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Form: A A B A Blues topic

36 Example 9 [3/4] Cedar Walton s Piano Solo on One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Form: A A B A Blues topic

37 Example 9 [4/4] Cedar Walton s Piano Solo on One by One Ugetsu: Art Blakey s Jazz Messengers at Birdland, 1963 Form: A A B A Blues topic Blues topic

38 Concluding Remarks

39 Selected Bibliography [1/3] Agawu, V. Kofi. Music as Discourse: Semiotic Adventures in Romantic Music. New York: Oxford University Press, Playing with Signs: A Semiotic Interpretation of Classic Music. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, Allanbrook, Wye Jamison. Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni. Chicago: Chicago University Press, Almén, Byron. A Theory of Musical Narrative. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, Al-Zand, Karim. "Improvisation as Continually Juggled Priorities: Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley's 'Straight, No Chaser.'" Journal of Music Theory 49/2 (Fall 2005): Berliner, Paul F. Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. University of Chicago Press, Davis, Miles. Miles: The Autobiography. New York: Simon and Schuster, DeVeaux, Scott. The Advent of Bebop, in The Oxford Companion to Jazz, edited by Bill Kirchner, New York: Oxford University Press, The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History. Berkeley: University of California Press, Floyd, Samuel A. African Roots of Jazz, in The Oxford Companion to Jazz, edited by Bill Kirchner, New York: Oxford University Press, The Power of Black Music: Interpreting its History from Africa to the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, Garofalo, Reebee. Crossing Over: From Black Rhythm and Blues to White Rock and Roll, in Rhythm and Business: The Political Economy of Black Music, edited by Norman Kelly, New York: Akashit Books, Gioia, Ted. Cool Jazz and West-Coast Jazz, in The Oxford Companion to Jazz, edited by Bill Kirchner, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

40 Selected Bibliography [2/3] Hatten, Robert. Interpreting Musical Gestures, Topics, and Tropes: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, Musical Meaning in Beethoven: Markedness, Correlation, and Interpretation. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, The Troping of Topics in Mozart s Instrumental Works, in The Oxford Handbook of Topic Theory, edited by Danuta Mirka, New York: Oxford University Press, Jones, Leroi. Blues People: Negro Music in White America. New York: Harper Perennial, Klarman, Michael J. From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality. New York: Oxford University Press, Klein, Michael. Chopin s Fourth Ballade as Musical Narrative. Music Theory Spectrum 26/1 (Spring 2004): Ironic Narrative, Ironic Reading. Journal of Music Theory 53/1 (Spring 2009): Musical Story, in Music and Narrative since 1900, edited by Michael Klein and Nicholas Reyland, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, Larson, Steve. Analyzing Jazz: A Schenkerian Approach. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, Composition versus Improvisation? Journal of Music Theory 49/2 (Fall 2005): Martin, Henry. Charlie Parker and Thematic Improvisation. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Expanding Jazz Tonality: The Compositions of John Coltrane. Theory and Practice ( ): Schenker and the Tonal Jazz Repertory. Tijdschrift voor Muziektheorie 16/1 (2011): 1 20.

41 Selected Bibliography [3/3] Maxile, Horace J. Jr. Churchy Blues, Bluesy Church: Vernacular Tropes, Expression, and Structure in Charles Mingus s Ecclusiastics. Annual Review of Jazz Studies 14 (2009): Michaelsen, Garrett. Groove Topics in Improvised Jazz, in Analyzing the Music of Living Composers (and Others), edited by Jack Boss, Brad Osborn, Tim S. Pack, and Stephen Rodgers, New Castle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Mingus, Charles. Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus. New York: Random House, Inc, Mirka, Danuta. Introduction, in The Oxford Handbook of Topic Theory, edited by Danuta Mirka, New York: Oxford University Press, Monelle, Raymond. The Sense of Music: Semiotic Essays. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, Monson, Ingrid. Saying Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Oakley, Giles. The Devil s Music: A History of the Blues. Boston: Da Capo Press, Ratner, Leonard. Classic Music: Expression, Form, and Style. New York: Schirmer Books, Rosenthal, David. Conversation with Art Blakey: The big beat! The Black Perspective in Music 14/3 (Autumn 1986): Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music New York: Oxford University Press, Smith, Christopher. A Sense of the Possible: Miles Davis and the Semiotics of Improvised Performance. TDR Volume 39, No. 3 (Autumn 1995): Strunk, Steven. Bebop Melodic Lines: Tonal Characteristics. Annual Review of Jazz Studies 3 (1985): Notes on Harmony in Wayne Shorter's Compositions, Journal of Music Theory 49/2 (Fall 2005): Taylor, Jeff. The Early Origins of Jazz, in The Oxford Companion to Jazz, edited by Bill Kirchner, New York: Oxford University Press, Walser, Robert. Out of Notes: Signification, Interpretation, and the Problem of Miles Davis. Musical Quarterly 77/2 (Summer 1993): Valuing Jazz, in The Cambridge Companion to Jazz, edited by Mervyn Cooke and David Horn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.