CEDAR WALTON- “MOSAIC” LEAD SHEET
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
With its powerful three horn front line and a several great composer/ improvisors, the configuration of the Jazz Messengers featured on the record MOSAIC was one of the finest ensembles that Art Blakey assembled. the addition of a third horn allowed for more complex voicings and an even richer sound that the band’s composers were able to exploit to fine effect. Cedar Walton’s composition, “MOSAIC” is a great example of the power and complexity that the ensemble could achieve. the song starts with a brilliant fanfare that leads into a powerful drum break by Blakey. Walton and Jymie Merritt (bass) join the groove for sixteen bars before the horns come in with the main melody. i love melodies like this: the melody comes directly out of the rhythm. during the bridge, the voices take on different tasks. the lower two horns play harmonic pads while the lead horn is free to comment from above. the piano plays something that i’ve heard called a rhythmic palindrome. for example, in 4/4 time a measure can be evenly divided by certain units (sixteenth notes, eighth notes, quarter notes, half notes, whole notes, etc.). certain units, however (dotted half notes, dotted quarter notes, etc.) won’t divide into the measure evenly. consequently, they resolve themselves over the course of several measures. so, for example, if measures in 4/4 time are evenly divided into dotted half notes, it takes three measures before a note falls in the same place as it did when the cycle began. in the diagram below, each dot, regardless of color, represents a quarter note. the top line of dots indicates the beats per measure. in this case, the measures are divided into 4 quarter notes (4/4). the bottom line indicates the unit of division which is a dotted half note (3 quarter notes). each group of like colored dots represents a unit.
Walton plays dotted quarter note units that resolve every three bars. Merritt plays a repeating three note sequence. the beginning of the melody falls on the downbeat every three measures. Blakey, meanwhile, is incorporates ALL of these elements into his drum groove. it’s a stark contrast to the preceding section where all the elements are more overtly unified. “MOSAIC” is a great piece of music by one of jazz’s most influential composers. check out the sketch and mp3 below…
