PRACTICE PORTAL

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…

CEDAR WALTON- “MOSAIC” (mp3)

LEAD SHEET- “MOSAIC” (pdf)

I’m currently reading a book called THE LIFE AND WORK OF WAYNE SHORTER by Michelle Mercer, which is on loan from a friend of mine here in Tokyo. anyone with a desire to know more about this giant of 20th century music is well advised to take a look at this book. many interesting anecdotes about his thought process, relationships with friends and fellow musicians, his home life, his spiritual convictions, his numerous misfortunes and triumphs, and his long journey stepping out from the shadows. NATIVE DANCER is, with the exception of SPEAK NO EVIL, my favorite Wayne Shorter record. it’s hard to believe that only ten years had passed between the recording of these two albums. they are vastly different. but Shorter’s sublime lyricism and compositional prowess are the threads that connect them. accompanying Shorter’s horn is the haunting voice of Milton Nascimiento. “DIANA”, written by Shorter, is a ballad played in a rubato style. it is essentially a duet between Shorter and Herbie Hancock with some electric bass accompaniment and overdubbed effects. there are three sections: the main melody, a restatement of the melody and a short coda. it comes off like a prelude to a larger piece of music or like the opening chapter of a fairytale, and conjures up vivid imagery when i listen to it. a barefoot woman in a soft dress walking through a field of high grass which is still moist from the night before, and the sun just broaching the horizon. perhaps she’s leaving someone or something behind. i wonder what she sees off in the distance. what a powerful melody. Wayne Shorter is definitely the man… i wrote out the shell of the song- the melody and bass voices. the chords are of course open to interpretation and the way i formatted the song is my own solution. listen to “DIANA” below and decide for yourself…

WAYNE SHORTER- “DIANA“ (mp3)

TRANSCRIPTION OF “DIANA“ (pdf)

It’s been a while since i lasted posted any music. i took a nice vacation with the family and thought about nothing but putting back a few beers and eating mom and dad’s home cooking. while i was gone i got a couple of requests for lead sheets.

as anyone who’s checked out this blog knows, i am a big fan of Booker Little, so i was happy to oblige the request for a lead sheet to his song “ROUNDER’S MOOD”. it was featured on his record, BOOKER LITTLE 4 AND MAX ROACH. i’ve also heard it on a Joe Lovano date called TENOR LEGACY. it’s a really nice melodic line played at a pretty quick tempo. the song form is ABCAB with each section being 8 measures. the progression is more or less conventional so it wasn’t too hard to figure out. horns mostly play in unison, branching out into independent lines on occasion. the second horn line is muddy and difficult to hear in measures 13 and 14 so i took a bit of liberty with that. i may have to make revisions later.

Wayne Shorter is arguably the most influential composer in modern jazz. his conception played a huge part in shaping the sound of the Miles Davis quintet of the 60’s. listening to his classic recording dates on Blue Note, we get a glimpse of his unique take on composition and improvisation. his music of that period, like his improvisations seem to be an intense  refinement of things he’d learned from his influences. everything feels essential and inevitable, nothing seems wasted. like many of his songs, Shorter’s “DANCE CADAVEROUS”, which comes from his seminal recording, SPEAK NO EVIL, is an extremely tough nut to crack. the big obstacle is deciphering his progressions which are very cryptic and personal. Herbie Hancock, the pianist on this date, demonstrates his mastery of the art of accompaniment, enveloping the melody and solos in a cloud of impressionist coloring. his voicings and chord choices never remain static and they conjure latent possibilities in a progression that the composer might not have expected. Ron Carter’s bass is removed from the traditional role of only serving as a rhythmic anchor and playing roots and fifths. he often occupies areas of a chord that lead instruments function in. this of course presents a problem to anyone attempting to transcribe what’s happening. the music is always moving forward from phrase to phrase, chorus to chorus. i don’t know if Shorter has ever published a definitive lead sheet to this song. mine is just a guess so please take it as that. i also referenced a version of this song from the Larry Willis recording, HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING?, on which the rhythm section plays in a less ambiguous style. however, that presented another problem and raised more questions because his version often diverged from the original recording.

“DANCE CADAVEROUS”, one of my favorite Shorter songs is a thing of beauty- a gentle waltz with an elegant melodic line played by Shorter along with the late Freddie Hubbard on trumpet. the melody is simple enough but what adds intrigue is the harmonic framework that it’s set in. the song begins with an 8 measure introduction:

||  Ab Maj7  |  Ab Maj7  | Ab Maj7  |  Ab Maj7  |

|  A7  |  A7  |  A7 (b9, b13)  |  A7 (b9, b13)  |

Shorter and Hubbard play a simple three note riff that is answered by Hancock’s piano. the song then moves into the main melody. the first chord, B min(Maj7) lends to the eerie quality of the song:

||  B min (Maj7)  |  B min (Maj7)  |  C min (Maj7)  |  C min (Maj7)  |

|  C#min7 (b5)  | C#min7 (b5)  |F#7 (b9)  |  F#7 (b9)  |

the second eight bars of the melody imitate the first but the progression eventually modulates to a G Maj7 (the relative major of E min7, the chord that one would expect to be the destination after B7 (b9) ):

|  B min (Maj7)  |  B min (Maj7)  |  C min (Maj7)  |  C min (Maj7)  |

|  C# min7 (b5)  |  F#7 (b5) |  F# min7 (b5)  |  B7 (b9, b13)  |

from G maj7, the progression works its way to Ab min11. the fifth bar of this progression gets pretty sticky! i’m regarding the note G in the melody of the fifth and sixth bars of this section as ornamentation and not material from the chord (which may be totally off the mark).

|  G Maj7 |  G Maj7  |  C7 (b5)  |  C7 (b5)  |

|  C7 (b9, b13)  |  Ab7 sus4  |  Ab min11  |  Ab min11  |

the progression then makes its way back to B min (Maj7) using a series of ii-V’s:

|  F min9 (b5)  |  F min9 (b5)  |  Bb7 (b9, b13)  |  Bb7  (b9, b13)  |

|  Bb min11  |  Bb min11  |  C# min7 (b5)  |  F#13 (b9)  |

the melody and chord progression repeats from the top but the progression changes from the fifth bar (moving to D Maj7 (#5) instead of back to B min (Maj7). both chords share the same notes) while the melody remains essentially the same:

||  B min (Maj7)  |  B min (Maj7)  |  C min (Maj7)  |  C min (Maj7)  |

|  C#min7 (b5)  | C#min7 (b5)  |F#7 (b9)  |  F#7 (b9)  |

|  D Maj7 (#5)  |  D Maj7 (#5)  |  D13 sus4  |  D13 (b9)  |

in the next four bars, the color of the chord is G maj with the bassline descending along a G major scale:

|  G Maj7  |  G/F#  |  E min7  |  G/D  |

the next eight measures are the same as measures 17-24 except for the chord on the first two bars which is a C# min7 (b5) instead of a G Maj7 (they have a very similar sound).

|  C# min7 (b5)  |  C# min7 (b5)  |  C7 (b5)  |  C7 (b5)  |

|  C7 (b9, b13)  |  Ab7 sus4  |  Ab min11  |  Ab min11  |

the last eight bars move the harmony back toward the original tonality of B minor but instead of landing there, the last ii-v ( |C# min9 (b5)  |  F#7sus4 (b9)| )moves to C Major:

|  G Maj7  |  G Maj7  |  C# min9(b5)  |  F#7 sus (b9)  |

|  C Maj9  |  C Maj9  |  C Maj9  |  C Maj9  ||

check out the transcriptions below…

BOOKER LITTLE- “ROUNDER’S MOOD” (mp3)

TRANSCRIPTION OF “ROUNDER’S MOOD” (pdf)

WAYNE SHORTER- “DANCE CADAVEROUS” (mp3)

TRANSCRIPTION OF “DANCE CADAVEROUS” (pdf)