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    Piano Stylist

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    611 views27 pages

    Piano Stylist Oct-Nov 1991

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    David Berry
    Piano Stylist

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    Kocoer 1024 Foster eee ae October November, 1991 » Piano Gos) gt 6658 S & Jazz Workshop All new arrangements! First time in print! Alfie arranged by Preston Keys. ‘A portrait of Renee Rosnes by Rom Ferrt .. Beautiful love arranged by Renee Rosne =3] Beyond the blue bird by Tommy Flanagan Motor city and piano town by Becca Pulliam .. Father Flanagan by Barry Harris............. ‘Notes on notation by Andy LaVerne. vith John’s New Waltz by John Abercrombie ... ‘There will never be another you arranged by Michael Cochrane. : How to play diminished lines. Renee Rosnes with a chorus of I want to be happy by Pete Malinverni ‘A Nat “King” Cole chorus of I want to be happy. Sad Sam by Norman Simmons... : Green reflections by Richie Betrach Africa 3/2 — a study with ostinatt— by Larry Karush .. ALFIE Aranged by PRESTON KEYS BURT BACHARACH ‘Medium stow (J = 72) & HAL DAVID c ang Dm? Ge cmajh 3 me Em ATS Re? FS Em? Amt i continued next page Copyright © 1986 by Famous Musto Corporation, 1 Gulf Ze Wester Plaza, New York, NY 10023 International Copyright Sooared Made in USA. AN! Rights Reserved Dm/G ee me Dm/G FYG GB ch ps Ans DmNG Ges Eman pe pret FT TT Em? ane Re FB Em? Amman r f tr Dm? Fe Fer Bo Em? Brn? A G3 CHT Cmomi? Br7ub B Amt cma? DB Cm? Bm? Bm? F aoe Se aes ey Fay aa area es A eo HT ese Penge tc 97 1008 ned mang adn tent co ies uw arn [gar ex 8 cies 08 e008a" ta iano hacer: as Uw ts aaah SR Knot Ave aE AOBSS SE Eee Eee eee eee eee eee eee ee ee ee eee ee eee eee eee eee | AT AW Gi Em? BY? Dmy/G FSA FFT G9 aus ch ans CHE An? PRT FO Em? GET Am? DB, =f ‘molto rite «<= =~ a ‘e Fmaj/G FS Fer Dm/G FS cm 4 tempo Fimaji/G Fm6 ch 38 ‘What happens when a young, exception- ally gifted three-year-old begins piano les- sons and has the chance to develop musi- cally? Under the finest circumstances, a Renee Rosnes emerges. Born in 1962 and raised in Vancouver, she studied music through the Royal Academy of Music in Toronto, Canada. Piano lessons were cou- pled with a highly structured and regulated teaching system which included ear training, sightreading, theory/harmony, and music history. Yearly exams preceded each of ten levels. She also studied and played violin in youth orchestras from age eight to eighteen. ‘The repertoire included the standard orchos- tral works of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Bectho- “Bell-like, crystal clear, to the point’. . . precisely describes her own musical personality” ven, Debussy, Ravel, Shostakovich, Nielsen, and many others. Rosnes’s favorite orehes- tral pieces included the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony, the Ravel Afternoon of a Fawn, and works by the Danish composer and violinist Carl Nielsen. The youth orchestra experience broadened her appreciation of the sonorities and capabilities of different instru- ments, and later probably ignited her pas- sion for composing for different wind instru- ments. In short, she fell in love with horns. Another Rosnes kid coming along An astute grade school (and later, high school) music director named Bob Rebagliati discovered her talent after recruiting her for his jazz ensembles. Rosnes describes her Jazz beginnings this way: “Bob Rebagliati really is the one who introduced me to jazz and exposed me to a lot of great music. I had two older sisters 4 A portrait of Renee Rosnes Rom Ferri The writer, an experienced professional pianist in WJ, always delights in hearing a fine newcomer. His enthusiasm for Rosnes began when he heard her at Sweet Basil in New York. who each played the piano and one stringed instrument also. The middle one played cello; my oldest sister and I played violin and piano, And, going through school, they went before me. So he knew there was another Rosnes kid coming along, and he could recruit me for the jazz band because he needed a pianist that year. “Treally didn’t know anything about jazz or whatever. I can’t even say that I liked tt when I first started messing arcund with it! But I liked the idea of the playing by ear. Td explored that anyway even when I was in elementary school just by taking tunes off the radio to play for my friends, like Elton. John tunes and Paul McCartney tunes. So was accustomed to doing that, I liked to play by ear... Transcribed Oscar Peterson “Reb! gave me records right away. One of the first things he gave me was an Oscar Peterson record with the Singers Unlimited because the swing choir was going to do one of the tunes off that record. He gave me this record and said ‘Go home and listen to this because you're going to take a piano solo on this tune, and I want you to hear what Oscar does.” “I remember stenting to Oscar. First of all, I was amazed at his technique. Then I Temember thinking, ‘Well, I can hear all the notes,’ so I proceeded to write all the notes — all these little notes — all over the page! I didn’t understand the rhythms because he was playing so fast and in swing chythm. So I wrote all these notes out and I kind of learned part of it. I just kind of transcribed ton my own. “I didn’t realize that was a difficult thing ‘to do, but I couldn't understand the rhythms. I could play the rhythms but I didn’t know how to write them out!” At this point, according to Rosnes, her music director became very enthusiastic and began giving her recordings of Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and others. The Jazz combo played tunes like “Side- winder” by Lee Morgan and “Chameleon” by Hancock. The big band played Count Basie charts, ‘Today, Renee writes and records for two or three horns and rhythm section. Her horn influences include Art Blakey's Jazz Mossengers, former Messenger Wayne Shorter, and the Canadian trumpeter Kenny ‘Wheeler. “Lots of times when I hear melodies in my head, I hear a trumpet playing it, or a tenor, alto, or soprano sax. All records that T've done up to now are done in that vein. ‘They always have horn players playing the music that I've written. When I'm hearing and writing for horns, I don't need to be at ‘the plano.” Rosnes’s goal is to write “a whole record of piano trio music.” Her classical plano training makes her want to write jazz plano pieces using the entire range of piano tech- nique, not merely melodies supported by harmonie background. She loves the plano music of the Impressionists Ravel and Debussy. She listens to favorite pianists Horowltz and Claudio Arrau. She buys at least one classical GD every time she shops for jazz records, Focused on her musical task Of course, another most important aspect of Rosnes (not to undermine her wonderful compositional abilities, exhibited on her recordings) is her playing. Her artistry is deeply mature, strong and sonsitive. She is always extremely focused on the musical style and task at hand — witness the solos on many of her recordings. On a recent recording (unreleased) with Jeader and bassist Todd Coolman, the planist’s absorption of different Jazz styles and her own depth shine. She can sound funky like Horece Silver, bluesy like Wynton Kelly, swinging and lyrical like Bill Evans (especially on waltzes). Her early Oscar Peterson influence 1s there when she subcon- sclously turns tt on. She's Monkish on Monk tunes. But throughout she is always Renee, Check out the duet sho plays with Herbie Hancock on her original “Flour de Lis.” It’s on Renee Rosnes Blue Note B4-03561). “Bell-like, crystal clear, to the point” — Rosnes’s own quote about Cedar Walton’s playing and compositions precisely describes her own musical personality. A pianist in record land Intrigued by Rosnes’s comment ‘that she buys classical as well as jazz recordings, we called and asked her what she has brought home lately. Her pur- chases: the Faure Requiem, the Ravel Pavane pour une enfante defunte, ‘Horowitz playing Rachmaninoff, and Glenn Gould recordings. “I’m a big Glenn. Gould fan,” she says of the Canadian Pianist who recorded Bach extensively. ‘This summer, Rosnes had an opportu- nity to record shop in Japan, where she found many jazz recordings unavailable in the US. Here is a small sampling of ‘what she brought home. Many were used LP's, such as While My Lady Sleeps by the Phineas Newborn: ‘Trio. “Iwas told I'd never find it. “A whole bunch of really old Oscar Peterson stuff: The Jazz Soul of Oscar Peterson, West Side Story (a signed LF), Put On a Happy Face, Tenderly, Pastel Moods by the O. P. Trio with Ray Brown, ‘bass, and Herb Ellis, guitar. “I always look for singers. I like to hear them singing the standards to learn them properly.” By Ella Fitzgerald, Rosnes chose These Are the Blues, Like Someone in Love featuring Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald at the Opera House, Ella Fitegerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook. At Toshiba EMI, the recording com- pany Js “so generous they open vaults of D's and say ‘help yourself” to visiting artists. All together, Rosnes and hus- band, drummer Billy Drummond, came home with at least 100 new disos!— Ed. Rosnes discography For the moment (EM1/Blue Note) Renee Rosnes(EMI/Blue Note) Face to Face (Toshiba/BMD — Japan only Spiral Staircase with Out of the Blue (EMI/ Blue Note) Superbiue I with Superblue (EMI/Blue Note) Into the Faddisphere and Hornucopia with trumpeter Jon Faddis (CBS Epic) Seventh Quadrant (Enja) and While the Gate Is Open (Polydor/JMT) with saxophonist, Gary Thomas ‘Season of Renewal (Polydor/JMT)with saxo- phonist Greg Osty Invitation (Why Not?) with saxophonist Sonny Fortune Herbie Hancock, the hero of many young Jazz pianists, 1s also a fan. Ono of the new pianists he has championed is Renee Rosnes. As he told writer Rom Ferri, “Renee is wonderfully sensitive musician, one who has a very special and warm touch on the plano. She's also a very organized musician, but there's a lot of freedom within that organization. Thad the good fortune to play on one of her albums and enjoyed it very much.” He's talking about “Fleur-do-lis” on the Blue Note album Renee Rosnes. i Hore is an arrangement she wrote exclusively for the PS. BEAUTIFUL LOVE Arranged by RENEE ROSNES Words by HAVEN GILLESPIE Music by VICTOR YOUNG, WAYNE KING, | and EGBERT VAN ALSTYNE i J =138 Medium swing Ems any Dmé + 7 vd j AMS AnB9 GE GiMaHIT Om? i CBsus Ma? Emts ATsus Bh? Copyright © 1951 and 1959 by MOVIBIONE MUSIC CORP., NY, NY. Sam Fox Publishing Oo. Inc. sole agents. ‘Used By Permission. Bull EIS Bm BY BIS AM n 7 é a iscesasiaaasonass sass Dmé B° Abit pits at i 2. Fg BYE Emits A Dm Cu? Bim AH Dg(Ma7) fie In the years just after World War II, Tommy Flanagan made music with cornetist Thad Jones, brother Elvin on drums, and many others at Detrolt’s Blue Bird Inn. The club still stands, but — 46 years later — “we've come a Jong way beyond the Blue Bird!” smiles the composer, You ‘can hear a duet of this sweet/sad remembrance with Bobby Hutcherson on the vibist’s now Landmark recording. It’s also the title tune of a. new Flanagan Trio CD coming this fall on the Timeless label from Amsterdam. Bovby Hutcherson end Fianegan. BEYOND THE BLUE BIRD | Composed & Arranged by TOMMY FLANAGAN el 3 ct FT BT BT Ay A Gaus cms cm Cos Copyright © 1990 TOMMY FLANAGAN MUSIC. Used By Permission. Bw Gm/E ar oe 0 ow Motor city and piano town Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Berry Harris, Sir Roland Hanna, Kirk Lightsey, Geri Allen — this list of pianists from Detroit doosn’t even include Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. What qualities in the Afri- can-American community of this industrial ‘heartland city nurtured such extraordinary ‘keyboard talent? Detrolt’s piano children have become artists of international stature. Those whom we know best left their hometown and were adopted by a bigger one. In 1956, at age 26, ‘Tommy Flanagan resettled in New York. He played plano on John Coltrane’s Giant Steps. He accompanied Ella Fitzgerald for 20 years. In the late 70's Flanagan “took a midlife isk, moving from the safe shadows of the accompanist into the vague spotlight pro- ‘vided by piano bars and foreign record labels,” wrote Gary Giddins in the Village Voice. This has led to wonderful recordings of the Tommy Flanagan Trio playing Harold Arlen, Billy Strayhorn, Thelonious Monk, and Thad Jones. ‘Whitney Balliett in the New Yorker has described Flanagan in intimate settings. “{When] he becomes impassioned, then he will play throughout the evening with inspi- ration and great heat, turning out stunning solo after stunning solo, making the listen- ers feel they have been at e godly event” in an earthly night club. New York writers call Barry Harris the “keeper of the bebop flame.” Born in 1929, Harris didn’t depart Detroit permanently until 1960. As Flanagan, Harris established himself as a sideman, especially with saxo- phonists. My favorite situations for hearing Barry Harris have been at his Jazz Cultural Workshop, a drop-in educational space frequented by many pianists and singers in the 1980's, and two memorable solo recitals sponsored by the JVC Jazz Festival in 1966 and 1991. Harris imparts substance and style when he plays alone and talks to the audience, In duly at the Northsea Jazz Festival in Holland, Detroit-born Barry Harris received the 1991 Bird Award for Jazz Musician of the Year Outside the Netherlands. Described 4m the proclamation as “modest and enthusi- astic,” and praised for his “great respect for ‘those who went before him,” he was honored as a “bebop player in the purest tradition 10 [who] can be heard on the smallest stages, ‘which the real experts tend to visit." Kirk Lightaoy’s first piano teacher was ‘Tommy Flanagan’s brother Johnson. ‘Then, as Flanagan and Harris had before him, he continued classical study with one Gladys ‘Wade Dillard, a Detroit teacher who was 80 successful that she opened a school. “Hers was the old style, but she was gifted,” says ‘Lightsey. “No schools were teaching jazz anywhere at that time. We were learning [Jazz] at each other's houses. Most of the younger players turned up at Barry Harris's house,” Lightsey recalls. ‘The World Stage Theatre held informal ‘Tuesday night music sessions where the ‘young people found a chance to play with ‘the older ones. Clarence’s Blue Bird Inn was something like New York's Village Vanguard, although it wasn’t a basement. The owner “encouraged, hired, and helped out musi- clans, and it had a jukebox with all the latest Jazz.” And, of course, @ piano. ‘There is no single explanation for Detrolt Jazz piano. “I always say ‘it was the wa- ter,” jokes Lightsey. ust a few days after Lightsey said it, a host on the national radio broadcast of the 1991 Montreux Detrott Jazz Festival used the same line.) But Lightsey points out some other considerations. The community valued intelligence end educa- tion, “Many fathers were auto workers, and that led to @ cortain level of communication and cultural awareness. And people really ‘went out to hear the muste. People in the audience could tell you the chords and what to practice. Some pianists were really into Bud Powell, and some were into Art Tatum. [from nearby Toledol. We were aware of ‘Monk but not trying to play like him. We had a more orchestral approach than people from other places.” If you struck out on ‘your own, “it was important that you play ‘and study and come back better than when you left.” ‘The great players who left helped make bebop an international piano language. Some other players, maybe just as great, stayed in the Motor City. As Kirk Lightsoy points out, “That's why Motown could start there!” — another Detroit chapter in Ameri- can music. — Becca Pulliam | | | i TMI) New From Dick Hyman! wan Dick Sowsecuel) Hyman’s Sale Colo Piano + Professional pee Sketches i 7 Voicings Stan Cer Cen * Fully Written Out Arrangements + Substitute. Changes conte wien om RB gens ton Tee Easter Includes Bye Bye Blackbird Memories Of You Darn That Dream But Beautiful All Of Me D’ve Got The World ‘On String The Boy Next Door April In Paris Body And Soul Dancing In The Dark Embraceable You 1 Only Have Eyes For You Pll See You Again It Had To Be You Lonely Town Poor Butterfly What’s New You And The Night And The Music You Are Too Beautiful Alone Together By Dick Hyman Of Songs From His Fakebooks! * Complete Voicings And All The Professional Touches! * 20 Golden Standards! By popular request, Dick You'll be thrilled with these Hyman has taken some of the basic but professionally pol- best loved standards from his ished versions of your favorite two fantastically popular fake tunes. They are easy to play, books — the ones with lead _ but filled with the sophisticated sheets showing the special musical charm that only Dick chords professionals use — and Hyman can produce! has written down, note for note, ‘Your Guarantee complete two-hand versions of We are sure you will be each! Now, you can see exactly thrilled with Dick Hyman’s how Dick “Voices” his chords Solo Piano Sketches. But if when he plays these tunes ... you are unsatisfied for any rea- how he inserts countermelodies Son at all, simply retum it with- to fill out his harmonies ... how in 30 days for a full refund. No he uses bass lines to smooth out questions asked. You have and complete his chord progres- absolutely nothing to lose, so sions. order your copy TODAY! & & -* HOW TO ORDER * & & To order, write down your name and address (including zip code), and the number of copies of DICK HYMAN’S SOLO PIANO SKETCHES you want. For each volume ordered enclose check or money order for $9.95 plus $2 postage and handling payable to Songbooks Unlimited (NJ residents please add sales tax). Mail to: SONGBOOKS UNLIMIT- ED, Dept KM-01-01', 352 Evelyn St., PO Box 908, Paramus, NJ (07653-0908. We will ship promptly with full 30-day money-back guar- antee. For Fastest Service Call + Toll Free 1-800-641-9797 24 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week! ee iin TARRIS ‘This tribute to Tommy Flanagan comes from the 1978 recording Barry Harris Plays Barry Harris (Xanadu 184). A new Harris solo recording is just out on Concord. ‘The rubato indication means pause after phrases (listen to the record). How to execute the semi-tone gliss in bar 13? “You just gotta ‘DO iti” says the composer. FATHER FLANAGAN ‘Transcribed by FIONA BICKET Composed & Arranged by BARRY HARRIS Slowly and rubato Bis c Bimé/D! a7 Bm Bbm/Ab EYG — CH/Ge Dimaj/F Bom? BY ill 7 emt tat AP Bons ce Bom6/D6 = C7_DAT GT BT Nm BmyAb BG CGH DhmafF Br Elm? AW Copyright © 1077 BAR-CHRIS MUSIC (EMD. ‘Used By Permission. 12 ae Dis cn Fmaj? Gm? Am? Bm? B? 19 Abmaj?Fm7-E7 BT Abmaj? Bim? Cm? Dim? GH Cmaj? ci mrs Fr 2S ems oc BimS/D§ C7 DH. GT BT Bim = Bm/AH BYG C/G 2 Dimai/F Ben? Eom? AN pis 3 Notes on notation Andy LaVerne LaVerne’s current OD, Pleasure Seekers (Triloka label), made the top ten most-played albums according to the the Gavin Report and Radio & Records. It’s on the Billboard chart of ee retail sales, too. Congratulations, Andy! PS reader Richard Rawson writes, “I'm studying your arrangement of ‘Silver's Serenade’ in the June-July issue, and I'm a bit confused. . . . In the first two bars you note a series of minor ninths. However, I don’t find the minor third in any [of the voicingsl, but they all have a fourth, making ‘them all look and sound like sus chords. I have just finished beating my brain with ‘Mark Levine's [azz Piano Book] chapter ‘Bus and Phry¢ian Chords’ and thinking — hoping! —I understand. Am I missing something obvious?” My advice to reader Rawson: not to worry. Your letter, along with others re- ceived over timo, brings us to this discussion. about notation. A common misconception about jazz notation {s that every note in a, chord or voleing must be accounted for in the symbol, These symbols are merely a shorthand way of expressing chords. Sym- bols are to be translated into volcings almost instantaneously. The player can arrange the notes in these voicings in countless ways. The musician must have latitude interpreting ‘these symbols. After all jazz is an expres- sive form and highly improvised. Certainly the main difference between. Jazz and classical notation 1s the condensing of music into lead sheet format in jazz, as ‘opposed to full notation in classical. Years go, when classical music wes improvised, the used of figured bass — a given bass line with numerals indicating chord inversions and qualities — was an early precursor to ‘the lead sheets of today. ‘Today's lead sheets most often show @ melody line and chord symbols written above it. In publications such as the PS, we fully notete voicings in order to give the reader a more complete plece of music to play. The essential components of the chords are usually given in the symbol. They are the quality (major, minor, diminished, or other) along with added ninth, eleventh, thirteenth tones (raised or lowered). ‘The realized voicings are often the arranger’s choice, and show only one of many ways to play the harmony. 14 In the arrangement of “Silver's Ser- enade” to which reader Rawson refers, the symbols are correct. These are minor ninth chords, although in voicod-out version the third is omitted in some of them. I intended to do this to reflect the sound of Horace Silver's original recording. The fourth which Rawson questions might be better regarded ag an eleventh. In a sus4 chord, the fourth replaces the third, which is actually being suspended a half or whole step higher, dopending on the chord quality. In my arrangement the third is not replaced or suspended. Instead, it is absent in order to obtain a more open sound. Real world lead sheets Jazz notation has many variants. In real world situations, you must be prepared to interpret a wide range of symbols. I've found that each musician has his or her own way of expressing chord symbols. As an example I offer a new tune by guitarist John, Abercrombie, with a working title “John's New Waltz.” (We call tt that only when we're working.) As you can see, st doesn’t have the look of the engraved music you see in this publi- cation. Most musicians don’t have the time, inclination, or budget to got their tunes professionally copied, so what you most. often have to work with 1s a handwritten. Jead sheet, sometimes scribbled and difficult to decipher. Looking at “John’s New Waltz” I see a tune with three sections. In the first, John ‘has a progression of minor chords moving down in major thirds. Notice that he indi- sates minor by the shorthand of a dash after the letter. There are no numbers (7, 9, or 11) following the dash. Does this mean he wants minor triads? When Jobn and I play this tune, we start with a pure triadic sound, ‘but add color tones as we progress. Also notice in bar 2, John indicates a Gb- but in bar 6 he writes F#. Same chord — different enharmonte spelling. The Esus chord toward the end of the section seems to conflict with the melody note of G# (the | | ata a Se pia's_ Mew Bed ABReRonwT pe z t= a- fa, {Spiess Ae we coe) C1 vod ery ee AO) ahs 08) GUN aioe B . a be be. a. é etd : =} ok } AZ SaaS ‘Thanks to John Abercrombie for permission to print thls new tune, OO ‘third of the chord). You might want to resolve to an E7 of some sort when playing that G# melody. In section 2 John writes A-(+5). ‘Two bars later he writes C-7()6), followed in the next bar by Eb-(}6). All these chords imply Aeolian modes. I asked him why he wrote +5 one time, then -7(b6), and just (b6) the next. He said it’s the way he's used to notating those particular chords on their respective roots. So even within one tune, the same type of chord has different names. Notice the notation Ag7(b59) in bar 20. Tho reason for the redundancy is probably because John was thinking of a specific voicing. The section ends with a slash or poly chord. There are other ways of ex- pressing this E}/D as well, one being DPhryg Phrygian), Section 3 has just one chord — G- — but in performance we alternate G Dorian and G Aeolian, as indicated by the melody. T suggest you play through this tune and see how many ways you can voice the chords, ‘Take John’s advice at the end, and the lead shest and the sound doesn't mesh, ‘use your ear and imagination, As Richie Beirach told us in the previous PS, “The ‘written soore is not sacrosanct."« ‘Michael Cochrane is teaching at New York University this fall, and looking forward to a recording project. Over the summer he arranged a number of standards including this 5/4 version of . . THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU Arranged by Music by HARRY WARREN MICHAEL COCHRANE Lyric by MACK GORDON J = 144 Medium tempo BS Ab) Mao Bim? iat piel cm ‘DéMa7b5 Es i 5 © 1042 TWENTIETH CENTURY MUSIC CORPORATION, [At] Rights Throughout the World Controlled by MORLEY MUSIO CO. Tnlernational Copyright Sooured All Rights Reserved ‘Standard chost musie edition available from Hal Leonard Publishing Corp.: 1-800-857-2652 Eee a el pia Cn? pe mit by GB RB on we s FB oy B Fim? BE Fa? Bay By BS ASE EsMa9 continued next page 17 n Bsus EM AbMa§ (diminished clusters)... bey beet 1 cm? Ghs guas FEM ca Gm? Aveda! DIG fos time only Deal Cota crs oo ori pas ps = 2 Aaa ee How to play diminished lines Pete Malinverni What do the Italian peninsula, the Mississippi River, and New York City have in common? Pete Malinverni has played them all and more in 1991. Bud Powell and Ahmad Jamal are two strong influences as ‘Malinverni comes into his own. You can hear his trio on the debut recording Don’t Be Shy on Sea Breeze, P. 0. Box 690, Bryn Mawr, CA 92518-0690. In creating melodies over chord changes ‘we have many choices, depending on what ‘we want to express. We can outline the chords, giving angularity to the line, or we ss Gye er wbetebebe | a Dams Gg c —-— > eT Ge te = baie =f can find scales to play over the chords for a more serpentine quality. The scales we choose will affect the “mood” of the line. ‘For example, a diatonic approach can lend sweetness to a melody. To achieve a darker sound, I like the diminished scale. D diminished scale Tait whole half whole halt step. sep ‘The diminished scale goes hand-in-hand with the II7b5-V7b9 progression so common tn bebop and other, later jazz forms. In fact there are components of both chords in the diminished scale — just by adding the major ninth to the I7}5 chord the combined notes of the chords comprise the diminished soale. pas} om a So the same scale “fits” over the whole progression, giving a wider sweep to the ine, and allowing for playing across the bar lines. Many oft-hoard patterns are based on the diminished scale, and with increasing ‘use you will find your own twists and turns. For starters, you can find the scale by ‘beginning a whole-step above, then a half-step, and so forth. mts by sabe Or you can start on the root of the V7b9 chord with the next note a half-step above, then a whole-step, ote. ©w Either way, of course, it's the same scale, Also, as with diminished chords, there are in effect only three diminished scales, ‘This means each of the three scales can be played over four different sets of I-V's Gritone and minor third substitutions). Same scales, just different starting notes. ‘This may at first sound complicated, but will be understood quite clearly after you use the diminished scale for a short time. What follows (next page) is an example chorus on the standard “I Want To Be Happy.” [have tried to use the diminished scale where applicable, Note that e scale- based approach still allows for angularity in the Hine, Of course the eventual goal of the tmprovising musician is the ability to convey a world of moods through his or her music. The diminished scale affords us one more tool.¢ 19 I WANT TO BE HAPPY Arranged by ‘Words & Music by PETE MALINVERNI IRVING CAESAR & VINCENT YOUMANS @ = br Gms cw Gms cms F pb? Gms ns ca? i - i n Am™5 pm pert Gm? c? E GPS ie Or om cs o Gm? ne F 7 SS Copyright © 1924 (Renewed) WB MUSIC CORP. (ASCAF) and IRVING GARSAR MUSIC CORP. (ABCAP) ‘All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission. Buddy Rich on drums takes this tune FAST. Young's bluesy chorus precedes Cole’s, tran- seribed below. This improvised melody is played over a sketchy left hand that implies stride with roots on beats 1 and 3, but leaves the chords usually heard on 2 and 4 to the imagina- tion. Also, the pianist delays the roots, adding to the over-all syncopation and swing. How this swings! with faultless time by Buddy Rich in the background. As for note choices, blue notes such as the flatted fifth (B-natural) characterize this line. Notice the change to longer phrases and more chromaticism in the bridge. You can find this on Lester Young and the Piano Giants (Verve GD 836-516-8). It is a beauty. — B. P. | A rare trio from 1946 of Lester Young, tenor sax, with Nat “King” Cole on piano and | Fast J= 126 Swing eighths S71 = J | Strong attack but light touch @ B BIC BD DYE cm cm/F BeMa7, ay @ cr Cm? F F BE BYD pe CoyE BE > Norman Simmons is a Chicago-born and styled pianist, a contemporary of Tommy Flanagan and Barry Harris. In the 1950's Chicago was a city of piano trios. Along with Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal, Simmons led a fine one there. His home club was the Be Hive. Later, he left Chicago and became a choice accompanist for Carmen McRae, Betty Carter, Ernestine Anderson, Anita O'Day, Chris Connor, Nanay Wilson, and — to this day — Joo Williams. He's in the classroom as well at William Paterson College in New Jersey and the New School in New York. Simmons's compositions are hip, funky, and satisfying. A book is soon to come out | | | : from Second Floor Music, 180 West 28th Street, New York, NY 10001 (R12) 741-1175. When | You play them, you'll feel as though YOU're onstage leading a trio and preparing the audi- | ence for the entrance of a great jazz vocalist. Here’s a preview. | | SAD SAM compu & Araga f Latin (J = ca. 112) NORMAN SIMMONS, | Bhat F9sus t of @are — Frsus) BbnT (©) — Gasca) Tobey Tye a Fr c Gb7H) TRF F719) Copyright © 1964 SECOND FLOOR MUSIC ‘This arrangement copyright © 1001 SECOND FLOOR MUSIO International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved Made in U.S.A. BbTCES) Biba FAS eee eee cee Ea 2. Ebm 149) Bom La Bom Ab ir Gus C7 Gog) FI wo iy mms F1b9) ont Ant | Guts cr BS cathSFTU9) bm

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