Matt FullenJazz Pianist & Composer

Let me tell you a story about how my career began..

The learnings I’ll talk about today will increase your focus and intention as a comper and ensemble player by giving you a frame for the fundamentals and giving you practical ways to approach them.

What Is Comping and Why Is It Important?

- Jazz is communal music

- Groove and support

- Mentality

- Listen actively and empathetically!

3 Things to pay attention to:

1. Voice Leading

2. Time Feel

3. Creative Arranging

Voice Leading

Voicings are important, but most important is voice leading.

Here’s why:

- History

- More than one chord

- Jazz is a music of primarily functional harmony

- Melodies

Let’s look at the changes to I Got Rhythm,

by George and Ira Gershwin:

Voice Leading

- Theory: Bach

- Four-part harmony

- Functional harmony; YOU MUST LEARN THESE!

- Bach Chorales

Voice Leading

How do you pick your notes?

- 3rd, 7ths, and of course roots are the foundation. - R.H. (for pianists) - The best exercises:

Duke Ellington, Benny Golson, Art Lande all have done these:

- Bach Chorales- Jazz standard

Voice Leading

Let’s listen to Bing Crosby singing “Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise” with the Nate Cole Trio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBwd6VP7LTI

Let’s try comping for Sonny Rollins on the same tune!

Voice Leading

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eie2bM3UQ2E&list=PLBZmD4G_qXo4ysjUqG7efSSHkfiktei89&index=4

Open your ears like a radar!

Enjoy the process!

Voice Leading

- Let me tell you a story!- 2 basic philosophies- Every great jazz player has great time, NO EXCEPTIONS

Think of Earl Hines to Thelonious Monk to Benny Green. Think of Baby Dodds to Max Roach to Bill Stewart. Think of Jimmy Blanton to Paul Chambers to Ray Brown to Christian McBride.

They all have great time, and you don’t have to be famous to have great time.

Time Feel

Here are the elements:

1. Strong pulse inside of your body2. Strong subdivisions

And that’s it! Work on these two for the rest of your life!

What is Swing Feel? It starts with the quarter note, because without that, it’s all bullshit! And then there are many ways you can swing eighth notes:

Time Feel

-16th note feel

-in the front -In the back

-triplet feel

- in the front - in the back

- Straight and late

(also called laid back)

- Story: Unfortunate singer vs pianist on All of Me.

I’m going to give you two exercises that you can practice FOREVER:

1. Tap on your legs while you tap your foot (your heel!) and make a grunt in your chest.

2. Play against a metronome all the subdivisions.3. Play quarter notes against a metronome and play on the beat, before the

beat, and after the beat.

Hotseat! Let’s hear from you!

Time Feel

The 3 stages of learning time feel when you’re on the gig:

1. Focusing on good time when you’re onstage is not always “fun”

2. With good players it’s fun, but with weaker players it feels like torture!

3. Make the music good despite their limitations.

Time Feel

Intros & endings are your best friends or worst enemies!

Let me tell you a story:

Creative arranging on stage is about knowing intros and endings and PAYING ATTENTION at all times!

Creative Arranging (on stage)

A Few Useful Intro Strategies:

1. Ostinato: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldTIXsCXJhc (Wynton)2. Dominant chord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdzD9ZsuQ60 (Hank Jones)3. Playing A chord progression: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKGpcd81fhs 4. Playing a bit of the melody:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYlsPKJSNQQ&list=PLp75CeJsLBwkKLrgGeUbGd-kv-G4qHLVu&index=2 5. Starting on the ii chord:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd723stdxsw&list=PL9c_BUghVN7UC3w3DNgrLU0BVlO2SoQXY&index=6 6. 1 - ii - V vamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etp1mkFlEsY 7. Bossa Nova vamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NldPFVKYmiw

Creative Arranging (on stage)

Basie ending, Ellington endings, life savers!

Basie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Loh_fU1RGJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN_APhVVaOI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hma1oEtiaPA&list=OLAK5uy_kyWZq0J11fzdeBAFDLl-AxVSLa-nSE8II&index=5

Ellington: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTJhHn-TuDY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb2w2m1JmCY

Salsa ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJF8AWFo2gk

Blues ending I III IV #IV V -> bII I7:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iDW0dGUPEc&list=PLYHbESUElafp-go8uozd0Wbe03EV9h0t8&index=7

Pay attention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS_6vtAGTE0

Creative Arranging (on stage)

Exercise/ Hotseat

-Let’s try some intros on “Bye, Bye Blackbird” and a few other tunes that we know!

Creative Arranging (on stage)

Special Techniques:

1. Vamps

2. Functional harmony vamps at the ends of tunes:

I-vi-ii-V

Creative Arranging (on stage)

If you are leader, take charge. If you are a sideperson, PAY ATTENTION to the leader!

Let’s check out Ernestine Anderson on “Sunny Side of the Street”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNJBNLCA35Y

Creative Arranging (on stage)

Bonus Homework:

Bonus Exercise for home:

Comp for Sonny Rollins on “There Is No Greater Love” from the album Way Out West.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DkZpXqzNLg

Comp for Joe Henderson on “Recordame” with Dave Holland and Frank Foster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCpmiIKfdlI

As We Get To The End...

-It’s all about focus and empathy!

-Listen and imagine you’re the soloist.

-Take charge if you’re a leader!

-Have fun!