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
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
Topics can get us into the musical story. Michael Klein (2013)
Primary Objectives 1. Validate the relevance of bringing a topical perspective to hard bop (c. 1954 65). 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.
Part I What is a Musical Topic?
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
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.
Part II Hard Bop s Time and Place
Hard Bop (c. 1954-1965): 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
Hard Bop (c. 1954-1965): 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)
Part III Survey of Topics in Hard Bop
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
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
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
Example 3: Gospel Topic (Melodic Gesture) [1/2] Head to Better Git It in Your Soul" (Second A) Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Um, 1959
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
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
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
Example 5: Nostalgic Topics (Stride Piano) Opening of Body and Soul Thelonious Monk Monk s Dream, 1958 Stride LH
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
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
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
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 ( )
Part IV One by One as Comic Narrative
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Concluding Remarks
Selected Bibliography [1/3] Agawu, V. Kofi. Music as Discourse: Semiotic Adventures in Romantic Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.. Playing with Signs: A Semiotic Interpretation of Classic Music. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991. Allanbrook, Wye Jamison. Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1983. Almén, Byron. A Theory of Musical Narrative. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008. Al-Zand, Karim. "Improvisation as Continually Juggled Priorities: Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley's 'Straight, No Chaser.'" Journal of Music Theory 49/2 (Fall 2005): 209-239. Berliner, Paul F. Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. University of Chicago Press, 1994. Davis, Miles. Miles: The Autobiography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990. DeVeaux, Scott. The Advent of Bebop, in The Oxford Companion to Jazz, edited by Bill Kirchner, 292 304. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.. The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. Floyd, Samuel A. African Roots of Jazz, in The Oxford Companion to Jazz, edited by Bill Kirchner, 7 16. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.. The Power of Black Music: Interpreting its History from Africa to the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. 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, 112 137. New York: Akashit Books, 2002. Gioia, Ted. Cool Jazz and West-Coast Jazz, in The Oxford Companion to Jazz, edited by Bill Kirchner, 332 342. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Selected Bibliography [2/3] Hatten, Robert. Interpreting Musical Gestures, Topics, and Tropes: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004.. Musical Meaning in Beethoven: Markedness, Correlation, and Interpretation. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994.. The Troping of Topics in Mozart s Instrumental Works, in The Oxford Handbook of Topic Theory, edited by Danuta Mirka, 514 536. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Jones, Leroi. Blues People: Negro Music in White America. New York: Harper Perennial, 1999. Klarman, Michael J. From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Klein, Michael. Chopin s Fourth Ballade as Musical Narrative. Music Theory Spectrum 26/1 (Spring 2004): 23 56.. Ironic Narrative, Ironic Reading. Journal of Music Theory 53/1 (Spring 2009): 95 136.. Musical Story, in Music and Narrative since 1900, edited by Michael Klein and Nicholas Reyland, 1 28. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013. Larson, Steve. Analyzing Jazz: A Schenkerian Approach. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2009.. Composition versus Improvisation? Journal of Music Theory 49/2 (Fall 2005): 241-275. Martin, Henry. Charlie Parker and Thematic Improvisation. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1996.. Expanding Jazz Tonality: The Compositions of John Coltrane. Theory and Practice 37 38 (2012 2013): 185 219.. Schenker and the Tonal Jazz Repertory. Tijdschrift voor Muziektheorie 16/1 (2011): 1 20.
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