Donald Byrd’s solo on Elmo Hope’s “On It” is a particularly clear example of the hard bop aesthetic. Over the 12-bar blues structure Byrd deftly incorporates both bebop vocabulary and elements of the blues language.
For this transcription, I’ve included three versions—For C, Bb, and Eb instruments. You can flip through them using the arrows.
Update: a previous version of this post had the transcriptions in the wrong key. This should be fixed now.
Allaboutjazz.com calls Billy Higgins “reportedly the most recorded jazz drummer in history, and certainly one of the most beloved.”
Here is an excerpt from “The Sidewinder,” one of his classic grooves, (iTunes link).
Some things to note:
September 28 marked the anniversary of the death of Miles Davis, the iconic jazz trumpeter and composer. This New York Times article from 1991 came up in my newsfeed and sparked my interest in revisiting some of his music from the standpoint of his influence on the jazz language. The full article is worth a read, but here is what the author, Jon Pareles says about his contribution to the idiom:
His solos, whether ruminating on a whispered ballad melody or jabbing against a beat, have been models for generations of jazz musicians. Other trumpeters play faster and higher, but more than in any technical feats Mr. Davis’s influence lay in his phrasing and sense of space. “I always listen to what I can leave out,” he would say.
Here is an excerpt from the beginning of Miles’ solo on “So What” from Kind of Blue. There are so many elements to examine in this short sample, but if nothing else pay attention to the phrasing and sense of space.
For further examples of phrasing and space, check out the previous post on Coltrane’s “I Hear A Rhapsody”.
From: Lush Life (Red Garland, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Al Heath, drums)
This cut of I Hear a Rhapsody is from Lush Life, one of Coltrane’s earliest albums as a bandleader. He recorded it in late 1957 and early 1958.
There are plenty of things to analyze melodically and harmonically in what he plays, but it’s just as valuable to look at what he doesn’t play. Like all great improvisors, Coltrane uses space. When you listen closely to this and other solos, you can hear his intense, clear ideas punctuated by rest.
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The first time I saw this solo analyzed, it was like a veil had been lifted and I could suddenly see more clearly.
This tune has a (deserved) reputation for being devilishly difficult, in part because of the rapid harmonic motion through seemingly unrelated chord changes. Harmonic analysis reveals that there are really just three basic key centers happening here, and the standard ii-V and V-I and progressions are used throughout.
But what is perhaps more interesting from a language perspective, is how simple the melodic/rhythmic material is. The vast majority of the excerpt here is made up of chord arpeggios or diatonic scalar patterns.
In language learning, an important concepts is “comprehension,” or the ability to understand the message that is being communicated. In musical terms, we want to be able to understand how the melody and harmony are related so that we can truly learn and apply this vocabulary in other contexts.
This excerpt, despite its supposed complexity, might be easier to comprehend than many other solos. Lets look at a few examples.
Bar 2 (first bar of the form):
Bar 3
Bar 9
Just like learning a spoken language, try this simple approach for developing fluency with this material:
Check out this excerpt that begins at about 0:26 into the tune.
Grant Green plays a concise and expressive solo over the blues form on the tune “Green’s Greenery” from the album Grantstand. This tune is included as the bonus track on the CD version of the album and was not included on the original 1961 release, although it was recorded during the same session.
Brother Jack McDuff (organ) and Al Harewood (drums) create a solid rhythmic foundation for Green to groove on, and the buoyant swing feels great throughout. McDuff and Yusef Lateef (tenor sax) both solo later in the track, and Green improvises two more choruses before returning to the closing melody.
In honor of Sonny Clark’s birthday yesterday, here is a partial transcription of his solo on “Softly As In A Morning Sunrise” from the album Sonny Clark Trio. The album is Clark’s first trio album and features Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums.
I find it particularly interesting to hear which phrases and sounds Clark tends to repeat. Compare for example the
beginning of the the double-time run in measure 2 with the end of the bridge in measure 24. While the notes are the same, the pattern is now played at half the speed to fit in with the 8th-note groove rather than the double-time feel.
This pattern occurs many more times throughout the recording, so take a listen and add it to your own vocabulary!
I first heard Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley several years ago while searching for great arrangements for a jazz quintet plus vocalist. At the time, I was focused on the first half of the album that features Nancy Wilson and didn’t pay much attention to the final five instrumental tracks.
I’m happy to say that I’m in the process of rectifying this oversight and the first tune I am focusing on is Sam Jones’ “Unit 7.”
I particularly like the way Joe Zawinul incorporates bebop and blues vocabulary in his solo. The form of the tune is “blues with a bridge” in the key of C. The sections marked A, B, and D are each 12-bars in length while C functions as an 8-bar bridge. The blues progression is slightly non-standard, with an Abmaj7 chord in bar 9 (and, by extension, 21 & 41) that leads to G7alt in bar 10 (and its companions). This harmonic motion is common in a minor blues progression, but less so in a major blues like this one. Also listen for the “Lady Bird” turnaround that happens at the end of many of the phrases (C – Eb- Ab- Db). Zawinul outlines this turnaround clearly at the end of the bridge in bars 31 and 32.
Richie Powell is one of my favorite hard bop pianists. His vocabulary is clear and accessible and this solo is a great example of that. He died at a young age in the same accident that took the life of his contemporary (and bandleader on this album) Clifford Brown.
Listen for the inventive rhythmic variety that helps the blues scale come to life and the way the energy builds over the three choruses, resolving gracefully in the lower octave.
