pinilla vera, daniel mauricio
TRANSCRIPT
THE ADAPTATION OF SAXOPHONE-LIKE PHRASING INTO THE IMPROVISATORY
AND COMPOSITIONAL VOCABULARY OF JAZZ GUITAR: A COMPARATIVE
ANALYSIS OF PHRASING, ARTICULATION, AND MELODIC DESIGN IN THE
STYLES OF JIMMY RANEY, JIM HALL, AND JOHN SCOFIELD
Daniel Mauricio Pinilla Vera, B.M., M.M.
Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
May 2020
APPROVED: Davy Mooney, Major Professor Warren Henry, Committee Member Robert Parton, Committee Member and
Interim Chair of the Division of Jazz Studies
Felix Olschofka, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music
John Richmond, Dean of the College of Music
Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School
Pinilla Vera, Daniel Mauricio. The Adaptation of Saxophone-Like Phrasing into the
Improvisatory and Compositional Vocabulary of Jazz Guitar: A Comparative Analysis of
Phrasing, Articulation, and Melodic Design in the Styles of Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John
Scofield. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), May 2020, 195 pp., 11 tables, 15 figures, 92
musical examples, 1 appendix, bibliography, 50 titles, discography, 8 titles.
This study investigates how different guitarists introduced saxophone-like phrasing into
the improvisatory and compositional vocabulary of jazz guitar through their collaborations with
saxophonists. This research presents a comparative analysis of phrasing, articulation, and
melodic design in solo improvisations. The mixed approach to this study includes analysis of
motives, voice leading, articulation, length of phrases, melodic contour, and the execution of
bebop vocabulary on the guitar. The findings are based on original transcriptions from significant
recordings by guitar-saxophone pairs. These highlight the similarities between and adaptations of
musical devices from saxophonists Stan Getz, Jimmy Giuffre, and Joe Lovano into the jazz
guitar styles of Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John Scofield. This study supports the argument that
the evolution of modern jazz guitar playing is directly connected to the adaptation of saxophone-
like phrasing at an improvisatory and compositional level. It also shows that the concept of style
in jazz flows between different instruments’ lineages. Understanding these findings provides a
more complex and accurate concept of the development of style in jazz.
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Copyright 2020
by
Daniel M. Pinilla Vera
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To my family Arturo Pinilla, Nubia Vera de Pinilla, Francisco Pinilla, Miguel Pinilla,
Mayra Pinilla, and Luisa Alejandra Pinilla, for their unconditional support. You are my true
inspiration.
I want to thank my advisory committee, Dr. Davy Mooney, Dr. Warren Henry, and
Professor Robert Parton, for sharing their knowledge with generosity. I especially want to thank
Dr. John Murphy for his guidance and support during my time at UNT and in this project in
particular. Your scholarship and work ethic will always be guidelines in my academic career.
Thanks to my mentor Fred Hamilton for his wisdom and for opening a new world of
opportunities in my career. Your trust in my capabilities brought me here.
I am thankful for all the support I received from all the faculty at the University of North
Texas, and would like to mention particularly Alan Baylock, Brad Leali, Mike Steinel, Noel
Johnston, José Aponte, Rodney Booth, Jay Saunders, and Dr. Don Taylor. I also want to thank
Erica Peterson for her professionalism and work ethic.
Thanks to Richard Narvaez and Enrique Mendoza for awakening in me the love for this
music and their support through the years.
Finally, I want to thank Jon Raney for his collaboration, which included sharing
photographic material that contributed to my research. I thank him also for his support and
encouragement.
This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of Jimmy Raney and Jim Hall for their
enormous contribution to jazz guitar.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES .............................................................................................. viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1
Purpose ................................................................................................................................ 1
Significance of Research and Review of Literature ........................................................... 2
Significance of Jazz Guitarists ............................................................................................ 4
Method ................................................................................................................................ 6 CHAPTER 2. JAZZ GUITAR AND ITS ROLES IN JAZZ HISTORY ........................................ 7
From a More Percussive Approach to a Solo-Voice in the Jazz Band. .............................. 7
Saxophone-Like Phrasing ................................................................................................. 12 CHAPTER 3. JIMMY RANEY: EARLY YEARS AND MAJOR RECORDINGS ................... 17
Jimmy Raney’s Technique ................................................................................................ 22
Jimmy Raney´s Equipment ............................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 4. CHARACTERISTICS OF RANEY’S IMPROVISING STYLE ON JIMMY RANEY PLAYS .............................................................................................................................. 27
Melodic Design ................................................................................................................. 31
Motivic Design between Players ...................................................................................... 35
Contour ............................................................................................................................. 41
Articulation ....................................................................................................................... 45
Counterpoint ..................................................................................................................... 54
Length ............................................................................................................................... 57
Range ................................................................................................................................ 59 CHAPTER 5. JIM HALL: EARLY YEARS AND MAJOR RECORDINGS ............................. 69
Jim Hall’s Technique ........................................................................................................ 75
Jim Hall’s Equipment ....................................................................................................... 77
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CHAPTER 6. CHARACTERISTICS OF HALL’S IMPROVISING STYLE ON THE JIMMY GIUFFRE 3 ................................................................................................................................... 80
Tone and Counterpoint ..................................................................................................... 80
Contour and Melodic Design ............................................................................................ 86 CHAPTER 7. JOHN SCOFIELD: EARLY YEARS AND MAJOR RECORDINGS ................. 92
John Scofield’s Technique ................................................................................................ 94
John Scofield’s Equipment ............................................................................................... 95 CHAPTER 8. CHARACTERISTICS OF SCOFIELD’S IMPROVISING STYLE ON WHAT WE DO ................................................................................................................................................. 98
Contour and Motivic Design ............................................................................................. 98
Blending and Articulation ............................................................................................... 111
Length ............................................................................................................................. 120
Range .............................................................................................................................. 122 CHAPTER 9. FINAL CONCLUSIONS..................................................................................... 134
Delimitations and Suggestions for Further Study ........................................................... 136 APPENDIX: ANALYZED TRANSCRIPTIONS ..................................................................... 138 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 191 DISCOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 195
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LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 1: Motives’ contour in Getz’s and Raney’s main motives solos in “Motion.” ................... 42
Table 2: Motives’ contour in Getz’s and Raney’s main motives solos in “Signal” ..................... 43
Table 3: Motives’ contour in Getz’s and Raney’s main motives solos in “Lee” .......................... 44
Table 4: The relationship between Getz’s and Raney’s phrases in their solos in “Motion.” ....... 63
Table 5: The relationship between Getz’s and Raney’s phrases in their solos in “Signal.” ......... 64
Table 6: The relationship between Getz’s and Raney’s phrases in their solos in “Lee.” ............. 66
Table 7: Motives’ contour in Giuffre’s and Hall’s solos in “Gotta Dance.” ................................ 91
Table 8: Motive development and contour diversity in Scofield’s and Lovano’s solos in “Say the Word.” ......................................................................................................................................... 103
Table 9: Motive development and contour diversity in Scofield’s and Lovano’s solos in “Call 911.” ............................................................................................................................................ 109
Table 10: The relationship between Lovano’s and Scofield’s phrases in their solos in “Call 911.”..................................................................................................................................................... 127
Table 11: The relationship between Lovano’s and Scofield’s phrases in their solos in “Say the Word.” ......................................................................................................................................... 131
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LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1: Ending note articulation in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Motion.” ..... 53
Figure 2: Ending note articulation in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Signal.” ....... 53
Figure 3: Ending note articulation in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Lee.” ........... 54
Figure 4: Getz’s and Raney’s phrase lengths in “Motion.” .......................................................... 58
Figure 5: Getz’s and Raney’s phrase lengths in “Signal.” ............................................................ 59
Figure 6: Getz’s and Raney’s phrase lengths in “Lee.” ................................................................ 59
Figure 7: Range relationship in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Motion.” .............. 61
Figure 8: Range relationship in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Signal.” ............... 62
Figure 9: Range relationship in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Lee.” ................... 62
Figure 10: Ending note articulation in each phrase of Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Call 911.” ............................................................................................................................................ 119
Figure 11: Ending note articulation in each phrase of Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Say the Word.” ......................................................................................................................................... 119
Figure 12: Lovano’s and Scofield’s phrase lengths in “Say the Word.” .................................... 121
Figure 13: Lovano’s and Scofield’s phrase lengths in “Call 911.” ............................................. 121
Figure 14: Range relationship in each phrase of Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Say the Word.” ......................................................................................................................................... 125
Figure 15: Range relationship in each phrase of Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Call 911.”....................................................................................................................................................... 126
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LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Page
Example 1: Raney’s improvised melodic idea using third finger stretches in “How Deep is the Ocean.”.......................................................................................................................................... 24
Example 2: Raney’s improvised melodic idea with an “in position” technique........................... 24
Example 3: Two versions of Lester Young’s motive. .................................................................. 28
Example 4: Raney’s version of Lester Young’s phrase in its original key, with possible fingering marks. ............................................................................................................................................ 29
Example 5: Rhythmic displacement in “Parker 51” in concert pitch. .......................................... 30
Example 6: Getz’s and Raney’s melodic cells on the B section in “Parker 51” in concert pitch.......................................................................................................................................................... 30
Example 7: M1 in Getz’s solo in “Motion.” ................................................................................. 32
Example 8: M2 in Getz’s solo in “Motion.” ................................................................................. 32
Example 9: M1 and M2 as a larger melodic idea in “Motion.” .................................................... 33
Example 10: Getz’s M1 and M2 development in “Motion.” ........................................................ 33
Example 11: Getz’s motives development in “Motion.” .............................................................. 33
Example 12: M1 in Raney’s solo in “Motion.” ............................................................................ 34
Example 13: M1 and M2 first entrance in Raney’s solo in “Motion.” ......................................... 34
Example 14: M1 and M2 development in “Motion.” ................................................................... 34
Example 15: M3 development in “Motion.”................................................................................. 35
Example 16: Motivic development between players: rhythmic displacement and voice leading in Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Motion.”......................................................................................... 36
Example 17: Motivic development between solos: rhythmic displacement and voice leading in Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Signal.” .......................................................................................... 36
Example 18: M1 in Getz’s solo in “Lee.” ..................................................................................... 37
Example 19: Motivic development: rhythmic displacement in Getz’s solo in “Lee.” ................. 37
Example 20: First entrance of M1 and M2 in Raney’s solo in “Lee.”.......................................... 38
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Example 21: Motivic development: rhythmic activity as a development of M1 in Raney’s solo in “Lee.” ............................................................................................................................................ 38
Example 22: The “Ko Ko” motive as played by Parker. .............................................................. 38
Example 23: Getz’s variation of the “Ko Ko” motive in “Motion.” ............................................ 39
Example 24: Getz’s variation of the “Ko Ko” motive in “Signal.” .............................................. 39
Example 25: Raney’s use of the “Ko Ko” motive in “Motion.” ................................................... 40
Example 26: Raney’s use of the “Ko Ko” motive in “Signal.” .................................................... 40
Example 27: Raney’s use of the “Ko Ko” motive in “Lee.” ........................................................ 40
Example 28: Raney’s use of the “Ko Ko” motive in “’Round Midnight.” ................................... 41
Example 29: Articulation agreement in the first eight bars in “Motion.” ..................................... 47
Example 30: Articulation agreement in measures 9-12 of “Motion.” .......................................... 48
Example 31: Articulation agreement: legato phrasing in a descending fourth interval. ............... 49
Example 32: Two levels of articulation accents and legato in Raney’s solo in “Motion.” .......... 49
Example 33: Two levels of articulation accents and legato in Getz’s solo in “Motion.” ............. 50
Example 34: Articulation agreement at the end of phrases: short downbeat on a strong beat. .... 50
Example 35: Articulation agreement at the end of phrases: short downbeat on a weak beat. ...... 51
Example 36: Articulation agreement at the end of phrases: staccato downbeat on a strong beat......................................................................................................................................................... 51
Example 37: Articulation agreement at the end of phrases: long on a strong beat. ...................... 52
Example 38: Articulation agreement at the end of phrases: short on an upbeat (bop articulation)........................................................................................................................................................ 52
Example 39: Counterpoint on the first eight measures of “’Round Midnight” from Jimmy Raney Plays. ............................................................................................................................................. 55
Example 40: Last eight measures of “’Round Midnight” theme’s re-exposition. ........................ 56
Example 41: B.B. King’s response motifs’ range in 1978. .......................................................... 61
Example 42: First eight measures of “Gotta Dance.” ................................................................... 81
Example 43: Articulation agreement in “Gotta Dance,” mm. 17-20. ........................................... 82
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Example 44: Articulation agreement in “Gotta Dance,” re-exposition of the A section. ............. 83
Example 45: Countermelody in the first A section of “The Song is You,” with possible fingerings for the guitar. ............................................................................................................... 83
Example 46: Countermelody in the second A section of “The Song is You,” with possible fingerings for the guitar. ............................................................................................................... 84
Example 47: Hall’s call-and-response melodic idea over the bridge in “The Song is You.” ....... 85
Example 48: Hall’s possible fingerings in the last A section of “The Song is You.” .................. 86
Example 49: Giuffre’s and Hall’s solos in “Gotta Dance.” .......................................................... 87
Example 50: Three motives in Giuffre’s solo in “Gotta Dance.” ................................................. 88
Example 51: Five motives in Hall’s solo in “Gotta Dance.” ........................................................ 89
Example 52: M1 in Scofield’s solo in “Say the Word.” ............................................................. 100
Example 53: M2 in Scofield’s solo in “Say the Word.” ............................................................. 100
Example 54: M1 and M2 as a larger melodic idea in “Say the Word.” ...................................... 100
Example 55: First variation of M1 and M2 as a larger melodic idea in “Say the Word.” .......... 100
Example 56: Second variation of M1 and M2 as a larger melodic idea in “Say the Word.” ..... 101
Example 57: M3 and its first variation in “Say the Word.” ........................................................ 101
Example 58: First melodic idea in Lovano’s solo in “Say the Word.” ....................................... 102
Example 59: M1 in Lovano’s solo in “Say the Word.” .............................................................. 102
Example 60: M1 development excerpt in Lovano’s solo in “Say the Word.” ............................ 102
Example 61: M1 in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.” ...................................................................... 104
Example 62: Developments of M1 in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.” .......................................... 104
Example 63: M1 and M2 in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.” ......................................................... 105
Example 64: Development of M2 in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.” ............................................ 105
Example 65: M5 as a melodic cell immediately developed. ...................................................... 106
Example 66: M6 as a melodic cell immediately developed. ...................................................... 106
Example 67: M1 in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.” ..................................................................... 107
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Example 68: M1 and M1’ in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.” ....................................................... 107
Example 69: M2 in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.” ..................................................................... 108
Example 70: First variation of M2 in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.” ......................................... 108
Example 71: Variations of M2 in Scofield’s solo on “Call 911.” .............................................. 108
Example 72: Section A of “Say the Word.” ............................................................................... 112
Example 73: Section B of “Say the Word.” ................................................................................ 112
Example 74: Unison line and use of slur/slide in the interlude of “Say the Word.” .................. 113
Example 75: “Camp Out” with articulation marks and guitar fingerings. .................................. 114
Example 76: First eight measures of “Call 911,” including articulation and fingerings. ........... 115
Example 77: Contrasting material during the melody breaks of “Call 911.” ............................. 115
Example 78: Section C of “Say the Word.” ................................................................................ 116
Example 79: Downbeat-short articulation in Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Call 911.” ..... 117
Example 80: Downbeat-long articulation in Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Call 911.” ...... 117
Example 81: Upbeat-short articulation (bop) in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.” .......................... 118
Example 82: Upbeat-short articulation (bop) in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.” ......................... 118
Example 83: Upbeat-long articulation in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.” .................................... 118
Example 84: Extended eighth-notes phrase by Scofield in “Say the Word.” ............................. 120
Example 85: Extended eighth-notes triplets phrase by Lovano in “Call 911.” .......................... 120
Example 86: Phrase in the extreme upper register in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.” .................. 122
Example 87: Phrase in the extreme low register in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.” ..................... 123
Example 88: Extreme low register in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.” .......................................... 123
Example 89: Lovano’s two-octave range melodic idea in “Call 911.”....................................... 123
Example 90: Scofield’s wide-interval range melodic idea in “Say the Word.” .......................... 124
Example 91: Scofield’s major seventh interval range comment in “Call 911.” ........................ 124
Example 92: Scofield’s melodic idea above F5 in “Call 911.” .................................................. 125
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Purpose
The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John
Scofield introduced saxophone-like phrasing into the improvisatory vocabulary of jazz guitar
through their collaborations with saxophonists Stan Getz, Jimmy Giuffre, and Joe Lovano,
respectively. I present a comparative analysis of phrasing, articulation, and melodic design in
solo improvisations and compositions by Raney, Hall, Scofield, and the saxophone players with
whom they worked in order to demonstrate how the development of style in jazz flows between
different instruments’ lineages.
Selected tracks from three albums are used as the subject of analysis for this dissertation.
The first album, Jimmy Raney Plays: Jimmy Raney Quintet (Prestige PRLP 156, 1953), exhibits
the pairing of Jimmy Raney and Stan Getz. This recording’s influence is associated with
determining the conventions of the jazz guitar quartet. As Joe Lovano commented, “one of the
first real great guitar quartets with saxophone was with Stan Getz and Jimmy Raney; and that
was ten years before The Bridge or so, with Jim Hall and Sonny Rollins.”1 In the same interview,
John Scofield added to Lovano’s appreciation by stating, “People don’t realize how much he
[Raney] had to do with modern jazz guitar because that band with Stan Getz was very popular, it
was in [the] early fifties.”2
The second album, The Jimmy Giuffre 3 (Atlantic LP 1254, 7567-90981-2, 1957),
introduces the pairing of Jim Hall and Jimmy Giuffre as members of a trio. On this recording,
1 Joe Lovano and John Scofield, interview by David Schroeder, NYU Steinhardt Interview Series, Blue Note Jazz Club in New York, 2015, accessed February 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqY6Bkpva3k. 2 John Scofield, interview by David Schroeder.
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Giuffre plays clarinet, tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone, so the album represents a vast
spectrum of possibilities to be analyzed in this dissertation. According to Brian LaClair, “In
1957, Giuffre, Hall, and Peña released the important recording The Jimmy Giuffre 3. The best-
known song from this album, “The Train and River,” can be heard on the opening sequence of
the movie Jazz on a Summer’s Day.”3 In an interview with LaClair, Jim Hall comments on the
album:
I’m really strongly aware of not wanting to fall into a form where there’s a guitar solo, and then (saxophonist) Greg Osby plays a solo, and then there [sic] a bass solo, and then okay...drums! So I try to break that up. Jimmy Giuffre was great at that…. And it never sounded like a guitar in the background, or a trombone in the background, or clarinet. It always felt like a unit.4 The third album, What We Do (Blue Note CDP077779958627, 1992), presents the
pairing of John Scofield and Joe Lovano. This recording is the John Scofield quartet’s second
album. Their first album, Meant to Be, includes funk-oriented tunes that are beyond the scope of
this dissertation. By comparison, What We Do contains more unison lines between guitar and
saxophone, as well as straight-ahead jazz compositions, making it an appropriate subject for this
study.
Significance of Research and Review of Literature
Jazz guitarists have always adapted the techniques of other instrumentalists. In the
Western classical tradition of the guitar, the repertoire explores a large spectrum of textures and
roles; however, early jazz guitarists and banjoists took on a more percussive role, playing a
quarter-note strumming pattern that reinforced the bass drum quarter-note configuration of the
3 Brian LaClair, “An Exploration of Jim Hall’s Guitar Stylings on the Album The Bridge by Sonny Rollins” (DMA diss., Five Towns College, 2009), 12. 4 Kenselaar, “Jim Hall: Then and Now,” http://www.allaboutjazz.com/jim-hall-live-now-and-then-jim-hall-by-bob- kenselaar.php (accessed March 10, 2014), quoted in LaClair, “The Bridge,” 19.
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drum set. Johnny St. Cyr and later Freddie Green are the leading examples of the evolution of
this approach. Their playing was characterized by excellent voice leading, which set the
conventions for guitar comping during the swing era.
Different studies have investigated the three jazz guitar players who are the subjects of
analysis for this dissertation. These studies, however, focus mainly on analyzing the individual
devices these guitarists use in order to contribute to their bands’ configuration and the
development of their own music “idioms”.5 The existing research does not cover the analysis of
the adaptation of horn-like phrasing at an improvisational and compositional level as a product of
the guitarists’ collaboration with saxophone players.
In one doctoral dissertation, Steve Briody comments on Raney’s impact and how he was
influential for many guitarists who followed him.6 In his list, the author includes Grant Green,
Jack Wilkins, Pat Metheny, Attila Zoller, Rene Thomas, and Barry Galbraith. Briody analyzes an
extraordinary number of phrases from different guitar players, including Jimmy Raney.
However, his analysis deals mostly with rhythm and chord-scale relationships. The phrases that
Briody uses for the analysis of his study are not presented in a way that considers the musical
and historical context or other variables such as musicians’ interactions. The author does not
contemplate the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing into Raney’s improvisatory vocabulary,
which is substantial in his personal style and is connected to his work with saxophone players
such as Stan Getz.
5 Musicians with a shared dialect have individual approaches, which Meyer calls “idioms.” Benjamin Givan, “Gunther Schuller and the Challenge of Sonny Rollins: Stylistic Context, Intentionality, and Jazz Analysis,” Journal of the American Musicological Society, 67 (1): 167-237 (2014). 6 Steve Briody, “The Improvisational Phrases of Five Prominent Bebop Guitarists: Seven Hundred Transcribed and Categorized Lines” (DMA diss., Five Towns College. 2010).
4
In another doctoral dissertation, Brian LaClair focuses on The Bridge, Sonny Rollins’s
album collaboration with Jim Hall. 7 LaClair acknowledges that Hall was influenced by Jimmy
Giuffre, stating, “The implementation of slurs is an essential factor in Hall’s signature legato
sound. Hall developed it while he was a member of Giuffre’s trio.”8 However, the author does
not address the comparative analysis of saxophone-like phrasing, articulation, and melodic
design in solo improvisations and compositions. These features are the product of Hall’s
collaboration with Giuffre, which occurred earlier in his career, before he recorded The Bridge.
In a third doctoral dissertation, Tim Jago discusses the “demands and expectations on the
guitarist in adapting to” the jazz trio, the jazz quartet, and the jazz quintet. 9 Here, the author
delves into the analysis of timbre, dynamics, texture, communication and interaction, and how
different guitar players approached their playing from this perspective. In this context, Jago
includes John Scofield’s collaboration with Joe Lovano as an example of the remarkable use of
the musical elements mentioned above. However, like LaClair, the author does not approach the
comparative analysis of saxophone-like phrasing, articulation, and melodic design in solo
improvisations and compositions as an outcome of Scofield’s collaboration with Lovano.
Significance of Jazz Guitarists
The three jazz guitar players who are the subjects of study in this dissertation are
prominent figures. Each of them played a significant role in advancing jazz guitar because of
their particular approach to the performance practice of the instrument, but also because of their
7 LaClair, “The Bridge.” 8 LaClair, “The Bridge,” 143. 9 Tim Jago, “The Role of the Jazz Guitarist in Adapting to the Jazz Trio, the Jazz Quartet, and the Jazz Quintet” (doctoral essay, University of Miami, 2015), 67. (Order No. 3704917)
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musical collaborations throughout their careers. According to Jago, “there have been many great
sax/guitar pairings, Stan Getz and Jimmy Raney, Sonny Rollins and Jim Hall, John Scofield or
Bill Frisell with Joe Lovano.”10 Their recordings are excellent examples of the use of the guitar
as the main chordal instrument in small combos.
One can argue that Raney’s main influence is Charlie Parker because of the rooted bebop
vocabulary, the contour, and the articulation of his lines. In addition, different scholars argue
about the influence of other saxophonists on Raney’s artistry. Nathan Tomaselli comments,
“Jimmy Raney (1927-1995) was a major influence on the jazz guitar scene during the 1950’s.
Initially influenced by Charlie Christian, he later brought to guitar work many of the new
features of the bebop style, particularly drawing upon the soloing of Lester Young.”11 In this
way, Raney developed different techniques that allowed him to resemble the saxophone-type of
articulation in order to adapt this vocabulary on the guitar.
Another player to adapt saxophone-like techniques to the guitar is Jim Hall. In a 2010
interview, Hall talked about his experience working with Jimmy Giuffre. He described how
Giuffre helped him discover new ways to approach his guitar playing:
Jimmy [Giuffre] was very helpful about specific things… about playing the guitar for instance. He would have something written out for me. I was to either play in unison or something with either his clarinet or he played tenor and baritone as well… and he would say: Jim could you find a different way to leave out those pick strokes or play on some of your heavy strings so it blends with the clarinet? So that was a big lesson for me about a different way to approach the guitar playing actually.12 A more modern example of this saxophone/guitar relationship is illustrated by the
10 Jago, “The Role of the Jazz Guitarist,” 71. 11 Nathan Tomaselli, “Recording of Jazz Artists and an Analysis of Improvisational Techniques” (master’s thesis, University of Texas at El Paso, 1995), 18-19. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (304237981). Retrieved from https://libproxy.library.unt.edu/login? URL=https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2165/docview/304237981?accountid=7113. 12 A Life in Progress, directed by Bruce Ricker, interviewer Devra Hall, featuring Jim Hall, Tom Harrell, Joe Lovano, Scott Colley, and Bruce Ricker (Andorra: Efor films, 2004), DVD (2018).
6
collaboration between Joe Lovano and John Scofield. Lovano joined the John Scofield quartet
around 1989. This configuration of players released their first album, entitled Meant to Be, in
1991 on the Blue Note label. In his doctoral essay The Role of the Jazz Guitarist in Adapting to
the Jazz Trio, the Jazz Quartet, and the Jazz Quintet, Tim Jago uses a tone/sound approach to
observe how Scofield and Lovano blend while playing mostly unison lines:
John Scofield certainly demonstrates a creative approach in his quartet with tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. Firstly, Scofield’s “sharp” and “hard-edged” tone provides just enough of a contrast with Lovano’s tenor saxophone that the blend is sonically pleasing. Therefore, Scofield often plays unison melody lines, as well as single note harmony lines, to take full advantage of the sonic blend, which ultimately creates a sparse harmonic texture in the group sound.13 This practice is evident on Meant to Be and on later recordings, such as the 1992 album
What We Do. At the same time, there are other elements that contribute to the sonic blend of
Scofield’s guitar and Lovano’s saxophone, such as coordinated articulation and legato phrasing.
Their approach to articulation is analyzed in detail later in this study.
Method
Jazz analysis relies on a combination of tools from traditional analytical methods, such as
voice leading, and others from jazz theory, such as chord-scale relationships. The methodology
of this study consists of a mixture of approaches that includes analysis of chord-scales, motives,
voice leading, articulation, melodic contour, and the execution of bebop chromaticism on the
guitar. This study is based on original transcriptions from significant recordings by the guitar-
saxophone pairs mentioned above, and points out the similarities and adaptations of musical
devices from saxophone players into the jazz guitar styles of the three aforementioned guitar
players.
13 Jago, “The Role of the Jazz Guitarist,” 42.
7
CHAPTER 2
JAZZ GUITAR AND ITS ROLES IN JAZZ HISTORY
From a More Percussive Approach to a Solo-Voice in the Jazz Band.
The guitar has been fundamental since the earliest manifestations of what is known as
jazz music. The modern conception of jazz guitar performance practice is the product of decades
of evolution, and various key features were not present in the early jazz era. In his book The
Story of the Blues, Paul Oliver elaborates on the role of the guitar as a mainly chordal instrument
used in a homophonic song-like texture:
One of the many factors which influenced the character of the blues was the popularity of the guitar. C.F. Martin came to the United States from Germany in 1833 and started making guitars, but the rivalry of Orville Gibson’s firm, which commenced making the big ‘Gibson’ in 1894, greatly affected output. Mail order guitars and guitar-making kits also increased the availability of the instrument, while the proximity to Mexico and the presence of Spanish-American population in Texas contributed to the popularity of the huge twelve-string guitars. To a considerable extent the guitar replaced the banjo and the fiddle, particularly the former which was little used by blues singers. The short, staccato notes of the banjo did not accord with the blues singer’s concept of accompaniment, offering neither long notes nor the warm and deep resonance of a guitar rhythm. Fundamentally a vocal music, the blues required a vocal quality from its instruments, effects which the guitar’s flexibility permitted. 14
John Harding addresses the connection between the guitar and ragtime, which is mainly
known as a piano style originating in the late nineteenth century:
Davis theorizes that the origins of ragtime date back to the beginning of the nineteenth century in the mining camps of the Midwest where the music was usually played on the guitar. His belief is that one of the main reasons that guitarists were usually employed instead of pianists was because of the difficulty in the logistics of moving a piano from place to place as the camps packed up and moved on.15
As mentioned above, adapting techniques of other instrumentalists has played an important role
in the evolution of the guitar in jazz. Early jazz guitarists and banjoists displayed a more
14 Paul Oliver, The Story of Blues (Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press, 1997), 28-29. 15 John R. Harding, “A Survey of the Evolution of Jazz for the General Reader” (DMA diss., University of Miami, 1981), 86.
8
percussive role, playing a quarter-note strumming pattern. Lewis Dickret writes, “Prior to
[Eddie] Lang, the guitar’s role in jazz was largely limited to a rhythmic playing style that, like
the banjo, was typically restricted to the confines of the rhythm section. Charlie Christian, along
with Eddie Durham, helped to change the direction for jazz guitarists in the late 1930s with the
introduction of the amplified guitar.”16 Johnny St. Cyr and later Freddie Green are the leading
examples of this quarter-note and voice-leading-based approach. According to Dickret,
Freddie Green was an important figure in jazz history and highly influential on subsequent generations of jazz guitarists. His ability to create superb voice leading, in which he interwove the soprano voice of his chords with the melody line, deserves equal attention to that given to single-line solo jazz guitarists.17 Eddie Lang represented a pivotal role in the advancement of jazz guitar from a
rhythmical approach toward a more solo-voice. His bluesy vocabulary, vast chordal glossary,
and solo playing resembling a jazz piano approach set the conventions for future generations of
jazz guitarists. Frank Saladino writes,
Many agree that the guitar work of Eddie Lang has had a significant influence with regard to the evolution of jazz guitar. Lang is considered to have been a major innovator due to a unique style consisting of a combination of impressive technical skill, classical elements, advanced harmonic knowledge, and chord voicings not typically used by American-born guitarists during the 1920’s [sic].18 During the late nineteenth century, creole string bands were popular in New Orleans
because of their smaller configuration compared to brass bands and their adaptability to different
types of events. String bands became less popular during the late 1910s because of the new
demands in music and new cultural behaviors as a consequence of the implementation of “Black
16 Lewis Hay Dickret Jr., “An analysis of Freddie Green’s style and his importance in the history of jazz guitar” (PhD diss., The University of Memphis 1994), 4. 17 Dickret Jr., “An analysis of Freddie Green’s Style.” 18 Frank Saladino, “An Examination of Eddie Lang's Technique and Textural Treatment in Three Selected Solo Guitar Performances,” (DMA diss., Five Towns College, 2013), 4.
9
Codes,” the U.S. laws limiting civil liberties for blacks. Some of the most representative
musicians who were participants of these bands were violinist Wendell McNeil and bassist Bill
Johnson.19
In the early 1930s, Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt gained recognition in
Europe and the United States with their quintet, the Hot Club of France. The group’s connection
with the European classical tradition was represented in its instrumental configuration, which
created a distinguishable timbre in contrast with the traditional instrumentation of the jazz brass
bands in the United States. Reinhardt’s melodic approach was revolutionary and unique. His
single-note playing influenced guitar playing in general through the years. The use of devices
such as vibrato and bends is still prominent in popular guitar performance practice around the
world. Some authors position Reinhardt along with the biggest names in jazz history. Adriana C.
Costa notes,
Reinhardt's approach to improvisation [,] which was full of lyricism and virtuosity, earned him the label of genius. “A genius in jazz,” wrote George Hoefer for Down Beat is one “whose playingis such that [it] defies categorization and is so unique, that it can't be reproduced in its true form such as Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and Django Reinhardt.”20 The subsequent introduction of the electric guitar—pioneered by George Beauchamp,
Eddie Durham, George Barnes, and others—allowed jazz guitarist Charlie Christian to take a
more central role on the bandstand and play single-note solos characterized by saxophone-like
melodic lines, similar to the playing of Lester Young. Christian’s saxophone-like phrasing
opened the door to the further development of the bebop style on guitar that was developed by
19 Seva Venet, “New Orleans String Bands at the Turn of the Century,” Off Beat Magazine, August 1, 2012, accessed January 24, 2020, http://www.offbeat.com/articles/new-orleans-string-bands-at-the-turn-of-the-century/. 20 Adriana C. Costa, “The Quintet of the Hot Club of France: A Historical and Analytical Study” (PhD diss., The Catholic University of America, 2002), 47.
10
players such as Jimmy Raney. Howard Allen Spring writes, “Because Christian played amplified
guitar he was able to create a legato sound, much like a saxophone, which few other guitarists
playing at that time could achieve simply because they played acoustic guitars.”21 Influenced by
Christian, Raney incorporated many of the new devices of the bebop style into the jazz guitar
work.22
At this point in jazz history, the guitar had already made the transition from a more
rhythmical and percussive oriented role to a more melodic and solo-like voice in the jazz band.
Still, guitarists’ artistic inclination inspired them to adapt the melodic vocabulary of wind
instruments such as the saxophone and trumpet to their improvisational approach. Numerous
players devoted their musical journey to developing this sound. In addition, the appearance of the
small group on the jazz scene contributed to the development of the guitar trio, providing the
guitar with a central role on the bandstand. In the trio format, the guitar could combine single-
note playing with chordal accompaniment resembling a more piano-like approach. According to
Jago,
Early incarnations of the guitar trio tradition, for example from Barney [Kessel] in The Poll Winners, display interaction occurring within fairly strict confines of the instruments’ defined rolls. Consequently, Kessel communicates his ideas clearly as the main voice, with minimal interaction from the bass and drums aside from subtle rhythmic hints. His chordal interjections quite often act as punctuated answers to his linear, melodic statements. The nature of the trio, in that there is a void with no additional comping instrument present, makes it possible in this instance for guitarists to interact with themselves as if there was an imaginary accompanist reacting to their melodic ideas.23 Other jazz trios avoided the use of drums and piano, so the guitar could play both a
rhythmic and horn-like role. In this setting, the guitar might play unisons and harmonized lines
21 Howard Allen Spring, “The Improvisational Style of Charlie Christian” (master’s thesis, York University, Canada, 1980), 23. 22 Tomaselli, “Recording of Jazz Artists.” 23 Jago, “The Role of the Jazz Guitarist,” 30.
11
with the other instruments, but also perform chordal and single-note accompaniment and quarter-
note strumming. Harding notes, “In late 1955, Giuffre went Mulligan one better, and excluded
both piano and drums in his trio, implying the beat, rather than stating it explicitly.”24 An
example of this approach is the Jimmy Giuffre trio’s piece “The Song is You,” from the album
The Jimmy Giuffre 3, with Jim Hall on guitar and Ralph Peña on bass.
These drummer-less piano trios were very popular during the 1950s, and one reason for
their popularity was the logistical aspects of fitting them into the reduced space of jazz clubs.
One popular drummer-less group was Red Norvo’s trio. Norvo recruited different guitar players
for his trio during the early 1950s, including Tal Farlow and Jimmy Raney. Later, Raney joined
the Stan Getz group and they developed a new sound and format that became very popular from
the mid-1950s until the present: the saxophone-guitar jazz quintet. In this configuration, Raney
avoided chordal comping and his role in the band was more horn-like. He played unison
melodies, harmonized lines, and provided single-note ideas as background accompaniment
during themes expositions or heads, and solo sections, which helped set the conventions of jazz
guitar vocabulary. Charles Alexander says,
While playing with Getz, his [Raney’s] reputation grew due to his unique playing style. Raney’s ability to play multiple choruses of creatively constructed, lyrical solos set him apart from other players of the time. He became known for his warm tone, light touch, and unique note choices in his bebop-oriented lines.25 From the 1950s on, the guitar adopted a leading role in the jazz band. Still considered a
rhythm section instrument, it became routine for the guitar player to be featured as a soloist in
every configuration. Guitarists such as Barney Kessel, Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, George
Benson, Pat Metheny, and Kurt Rosenwinkel, among others, developed their unique sound from
24 Harding, 234. 25 Charles Alexander, Masters of Jazz Guitar (London: Balafon Books, 1999), 49.
12
this solo-voice role of the guitar.
Saxophone-Like Phrasing
Phrasing is one of the most important elements addressed in jazz improvisation.
Theodore Karp’s Dictionary of Music defines phrasing as the comprehension of musical phrase
structure by “means of nuances of articulation, rhythm, and dynamics in a performance. The
importance of a given note may be made clear not only by dynamic stress, but also by slight
prolongation or distinctive attack (or by a combination of these methods).”26 Moreover, Paul
Berliner argues that articulation and accentuation represent an equal level of importance in
phrasing.27 In addition, Gail B. Levinsky defines phrasing thusly:
The ability to play with correct phrasing requires many different aspects of previously learned musical skills. These include knowledge of the rules of breathing, tone quality and color, dynamics, articulation, and the ability to execute valid artistic decisions.28 In her study, Levinsky analyzes different saxophone methods published between 1846
and 1946. Levinsky’s analysis of the Klosé method (1877) illuminates the relationship between
breathing and phrasing; she argues that they are subordinated to the rhythm of the music. In
addition, the absence of these destroys the tone, and the performance becomes unpleasant to the
audience.29 Moreover, Levinsky mentions that early European methods included adaptations of
operatic, popular, or sacred melodies to address the study of phrasing. Different methods suggest
that saxophonists listen to vocalists in order to have a better understanding of phrasing.30
Levinsky also mentions that American methods correspondingly suggest listening to vocalists
26 Theodore Karp, Dictionary of Music (New York: Dell Publishing, 1973), 294. 27 Paul Berliner, Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation (University of Chicago Press, 1994), 127. 28 Gail Beth Levinsky, “An Analysis and Comparison of Early Saxophone Methods Published between 1846-1946” (Doctoral diss., Northwestern University, 1997), 90. 29 Levinsky, 6. 30 Levinsky, 96.
13
when addressing subjects related to phrasing, including breathing, tone quality, and lyricism
awareness.31
In Haruko Yoshizawa doctoral dissertation, the author presents an analysis of different
pianists who actually incorporated saxophone-like phrasing into their playing. Here, the author
summarizes ten distinguished devices from his analysis:
1. Playing a pair of eighth notes unevenly without accents 2. Grouping a string of eighth notes into two-note sub-phrases that start on the weak part
of a beat by using legato and detached articulation 3. Grouping a melodic line into various lengths of phrases by using legato and detached
articulation 4. Playing notes on the weak part of a beat in a syncopated figure in a detached manner 5. Playing the final note on the weak part of a beat within a phrase short [sic] 6. Accenting the high pitch notes in a melodic line 7. Accenting the weak part of a beat in a syncopated figure 8. Accenting the anticipated first note in a phrase that ties to a down beat 9. Accenting the final note on the weak part of a beat in a phrase 10. Using ghost notes32
According to Yoshizawa, the purposes of bebop phrasing are to “(a) express the beat and its
subdivision, (b) create conflicting rhythmic patterns and enhance the forward motion--swing, and
(c) create rhythmic and melodic interest and complexity.”33 Argarita Palavicini also addresses
the concept of jazz phrasing. In her study, the author interviewed six different jazz musicians,
including vocalists, “doublers,” and an instrumentalist, in order to consolidate a definition from
different approaches on this subject. As a result, the author suggests,
When asked about phrasing swing tunes, the instrumentalists and vocalists emphasized
31 Levinsky, 96. 32 Haruko Yoshizawa, “Phraseology: A Study of Bebop Piano Phrasing and Pedagogy” (Doctoral diss., Teachers College, Columbia University, 1999), iii. 33 Yoshizawa, “Phraseology,” iv.
14
the importance of rhythm and “lyricism.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, lyricism is defined as “the beautiful expression of personal thoughts and feelings in writing or music.”34 Whether it is the rhythm from the drummer or overall ensemble, rhythmic awareness is what successfully assists the artists in effectively phrasing. 35 In addition, according to Palavicini, because jazz is an aural/oral tradition, it is important
to study the instrumental-voice relationship in order to address the concept of phrasing.36 In this
context, the author refers to an interview with vocalist and saxophonist Darmon Meader, in
which he comments on an anecdote that illustrates this relationship:
There’s a famous story, think it’s Ben Webster and I’ve heard the story from numerous places so I’m going to assume that it’s true. (laughing) But uh, he was recording some ballad in a ya know, in a recording session and he stopped in the middle of the recording and ya know the engineer was like ‘why did you stop man, that sounded great’? and he [Ben said] yeah, I forgot the lyric. So he’s playing his tenor sax and thinking about the lyric and he forgot what the lyric was and it just made him just stop. He couldn’t, didn’t really know where he wanted to go with the song. I always thought that was an extreme example perhaps, but that’s like somebody who’s really tuned into that lyric sensibility as an instrumentalist.37
In her analysis, Palavicini discusses how Ben Webster’s phrasing on the piece “The Nearness of
You,” from his The Genius of Ben Webster & The MJQ album, illustrates the lyrics and emulates
a vocal interpretation by delaying and anticipating phrases. She also analyzes his use of
dynamics, scoops, and vibrato, among others devices.
As mentioned above, when jazz musicians refer to phrasing, they also insinuate elements
of articulation, which “is the characteristics of attack and decay of a note or groups of notes.
Staccato, legato, and portato are types of articulation.”38 According to James Vernon,
34 Cambridge Dictionary, accessed July 20, 2018, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/lyricism. 35 Argarita N. Palavicini, “A Comparison and Contrast of Instrumental and Vocal Approaches to Idiomatic Phrasing, Articulation and Rhythmic Interpretation Within the Jazz Idiom” (Doctoral diss., University of Miami, 2015), 37. 36 Palavicini, 16. 37 Darmon Meader, interview by Argarita Palavicini, “Vocal Approaches to Idiomatic Phrasing,”16. 38 Yoshizawa, 2.
15
Around the early 1940s, the bebop era began and tempi increased significantly. This velocity rendered the swing feel rhythm impractical, so the rhythm evolved to an even eighth note legato 50-50 ratio or “straight eighths,” like that of the Common Practice period. The swing feel was produced by placing emphasis on the (+) of each beat, usually through the use of a legato articulation. 39
As Vernon mentions, this “is considered the default articulation and feel for modern playing.”40
The author also mentions a set of six articulation features that are characteristic of jazz music.
David Baker refers to these as “dramatic devices.”41 The following terms are used in this study in
order to address subjects of articulation: scoop or bend; fall-off or spill; glissando; ghosted notes;
alternate fingerings; harmonics; and growl.
In his book From Inside Out: An In-Depth Resource for the Development of Saxophone
Sound, Mark Watkins addresses the fundamentals of articulation including different tonguing
techniques like top, tip, and back. The author suggests that the back tonguing contributes to
creating a soft connection of notes in an eighth-note line, which is appropriate for a desired
legato phrasing.42 Also, the author defines legato as an articulation technique that creates long,
flowing lines with no breaks between notes, and in which onsets of notes are clean and distinct
but not accented.43 Legato phrasing could be reached using the different contact points or
tonging techniques.44 In addition, Watkins discusses the two types of staccato: air-stop and
tongue-stop. The main difference between the techniques is that in the latter, both the onset and
39 James F. Vernon, “Jimmy Heath: An Analysis and Study of His Tenor Saxophone Improvisational Style between 1959 and 1998 through Selected Transcriptions” (Doctoral diss., University of Northern Colorado, 2005), 28. 40 Vernon, “Jimmy Heath,” 28 41 David Baker, The Jazz Style of Cannonball Adderley: A Musical and Historical Perspective (Miami: Studio 224 and CCP Belwin, 1980), 21. 42 Mark Watkins, From Inside Out: An In-Depth Resource for the Development of Saxophone Sound (Outskirts Press, 2018) 2:157. 43 Watkins, From Inside Out, 161. 44 Watkins, From Inside Out, 161.
16
the end notes are tongued, while in the former, only the onset is tongued.45
Saxophonists can execute a legato articulation using different tonguing techniques and
contact points. According to Watkins, “Tip tonguing touches the very edge of the reed (and
sometimes the mouthpiece) while top and back contact points touch the bottom edge of the reed
cliff, where it is clipped at the tip.”46 He goes on to describe the subtle but audible differences of
the three contact points:
Tip articulation is clean and crisp, very precise, to me sounding Baroque as it has more square onset with the most immediate response. Top articulation is more rounded. The beginnings of notes have a fractional moment of warming, an infinitesimal crescendo, to the sustained note. It is a smooth, mellow sound (unless accenting).… In jazz, it is a Cool School sound. Like tip articulation, this type can be used successfully in any style. Back articulation, this type can be used successfully in any style. Back articulation has a longer warm-up period prior to full focus.47 Based on the sources referenced above, this study employs the term saxophone-like
phrasing to embody the following concepts of phrase shaping: breath, “jazz articulation,”48
contour, the presence of “dramatic devices,”49 tone quality, and lyricism.
45 Watkins, From Inside Out, 161. 46 Watkins, From Inside Out, 157. 47 Watkins, From Inside Out, 157. 48 Vernon, “Jimmy Heath,”28. 49 Baker, The Jazz Style of Cannonball Adderley, 21.
17
CHAPTER 3
JIMMY RANEY: EARLY YEARS AND MAJOR RECORDINGS
James “Jimmy” Elbert Raney was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1927. After his
father’s death in 1944, Raney moved to Chicago to live with his grandmother. His son Jon Raney
mentions this episode as an important move in Raney’s career. Jon Raney states, “he met and
played with many of his peers in the new bebop movement, including pianist Lou Levy,
saxophonists Lou Donaldson and Sonny Stitt, and guitarists Jimmy Gourley and the
legendary Ronnie Singer. He joined Max Miller’s band in 1945.”50 Raney joined the Woody
Herman band, also known at that time as “The Second Herd,” around 1948. After playing with
Woody Herman’s new bebop band and being on the road for about nine months, he established
himself in New York City. In his 2006 article Things Downbeat Never Taught Me, Raney
comments on this period of his life, joking about his fixation with becoming a famous jazz
musician as in movies he used to watch when he was younger. He writes, “I was ready to
conquer the Apple and lay claim to my penthouse in Manhattan.”51
Stan Getz also played in Woody Herman’s band. Raney and Getz met there, and they
recorded some tracks together in 1948. On October 25 and 26, they recorded with what was then
known as the Stan Getz quintet, with Al Haig on piano, Clyde Lombardi on bass, and Charlie
Perry on drums. The tunes they recorded were entitled “As I Live And Bop,” “Interlude in
Bebop,” “Pardon My Bop,” and “Diaper Pin.” On November 21 of the same year, Raney was
part of the Stan Getz octet, which maintained the same quintet configuration and added Norman
Faye on trumpet, and saxophonists Allen Eager, Al Epstein, and Zoot Sims. At this time, things
50 Jon Raney, “Jimmy Raney,” The Raney Legacy: Devoted to the music of Jimmy, Doug, and Jon Raney, http://www.jonraney.com/musicians-2/jimmy-raney-2/. 51 Jimmy Raney, “Things Downbeat Never Taught Me,” The Raney Legacy: Devoted to the music of Jimmy, Doug, and Jon Raney, http://www.jonraney.com/2006/08/03/things-downbeat-never-taught-me/.
18
had improved for Raney in New York. He writes, “I had made my first record with Stan Getz. I
played it a lot. Looked at it a lot. Just think! I was one of those guys who had made a record for
an offbeat label. Maybe there were kids out there wishing they were me. I made some more
records with stars such as Buddy DeFranco and Terry Gibbs.”52 In the early 1950s, Raney
became an official member of the Stan Getz group and started recording original music as well.
According to Zachary Streeter,
The 1950s were to become the seminal years for Jimmy Raney’s recording career, marking some of his most significant studio recordings as a leader. Beginning in the 1950’s Raney officially joined and became a member of Stan Getz [sic] group, making two albums titled Live at Storyville, and Live at Storyville Vol. 2, respectively (1951). This band brought about the return of Raney’s former mentor Al Haig on piano, and added Teddy Kotick on bass, and Tiny Kahn on drums. This recording also serves to illustrate the unique approach to Jimmy Raney’s playing.53 The literature refers to Raney’s collaboration with Getz as one of the most prominent of
his career, where he developed his thoughtful linear style. At the same time, this involvement
showcased Raney as a refined bebop player and guitarist. Doug Norwood writes,
Raney’s most significant association was with Stan Getz. During the late forties, Raney had recorded with Getz on several occasions but in 1951, was hired by Getz as his frontline partner in what would become one of Stan’s most important groups. The recordings that they made together are essential to any collection of modern jazz. Following his stint with Getz, Raney joined Red Norvo’s trio, replacing Tal Farlow. From that point on, Raney would record prolifically and in the company of musicians of a variety of styles.54 Steve Briody also refers to this era in Raney’s career, stating that “Jimmy Raney was best
known for his lyrical guitar work with Stan Getz from 1951–1952 and 1962–1963 and for his
work in the Red Norvo Trio in 1953 and 1954.”55 Gary Giddins’s addition to the portrayal of
52 Jimmy Raney, “Things Downbeat Never Taught Me.” 53 Zachary Streeter, “Jimmy Raney Thesis: Blurring the Barlines” (Master’s thesis, The State University of New Jersey, 2016), 7. 54 Doug Norwood, “Jimmy Raney Quintet,” IAJRC Journal, 2012, 71. 55 Briody, “The Improvisational Phrases,” 6.
19
Jimmy Raney in jazz history is focused on this collaboration. In his book Visions of Jazz: The
First Century (1998), the author refers to Raney as an essential part of the musical configuration
in the Storyville recordings, which the author refers to as an “unforgettable stream of gazelle-like
numbers.”56 Tom Cole seconds the point about Raney’s significance by writing about him in a
2002 article for Jazz Times entitled “Secret Strings: 10 Most Underrated Jazz Guitarists in the
History of Jazz.” Raney shares the list with Freddie Green, Grant Green, George Barnes, and
Lenny Breau, among others. Here, Cole comments on Raney’s capabilities:
Jim Hall described Raney’s playing as a cross between Charlie Parker and Béla Bartók. Raney didn’t play the staccato riffs and lightning-fast bursts of notes that many bop players favored. Raney played long, legato melodic lines that seemed to ignore measures, took surprising twists and turns and often resolved in unexpected places.57
In addition, Stan Britt acknowledges Raney as one of the “two major figures of the [bebop]
genre,” along with Tal Farlow, when referring to jazz guitar. 58
In 1953, the Jimmy Raney quintet tracked four pieces: “Signal” (Raney), “Lee” (Raney),
“’Round Midnight” (Thelonious Monk), and “Motion” (Raney). On the original release, Getz
used his pseudonym Sven Coolsen because of contractual obligations. In the 1962 liner notes
that accompany these recordings, Mort Fega remarks,
Stan and Jimmy had been working together regularly for almost three years immediately prior to this recording session, a fact which, to my mind, contributes so much to the apparent success of these tracks. Drummer Frank Isola had just joined the Stan Getz Quintet as a regular member of the working group. Hall Overton and Red Mitchell came in specifically for this session, and in view of this fact, their contribution to the togetherness becomes even more meaningful.59
Originally, the full title of the release was Jimmy Raney Plays: Jimmy Raney Quintet. It was later
56 Gary Giddins, Visions of Jazz: The First Century (Oxford University Press, 1998), 411. 57 Tom Cole, “Jimmy Raney,” in “Secret Strings: 10 Most Underrated Jazz Guitarists in the History of Jazz,” Jazz Times, July/August 2002, accessed July 4, 2018, https://jazztimes.com/archives/secret-strings-10-most-underrated-guitarists-in-the-history-of-jazz/ 58 Alexander, 47. 59 Mort Fega, Early Stan, (liner notes), 1962.
20
released as Early Stan (1953). This later release includes two Terry Gibbs compositions and their
alternate takes. These two are “Terry’s Tune” and “Cuddles (Speedway).” The two pieces use
musicians from the Woody Herman band, in contrast to the personnel of the first four tracks.
Fega states that this album represents “a more definite Stan Getz, much in the style we know
now,”60 in contrast to the Storyville recordings, which he argues expose a definite Lester Young
influence on Getz’s playing.
Raney was considered by some to be the superior jazz guitarist of his time. Different
guitar commentators and players refer to his style and influence in their own playing. Jimmy
Gourley says,
Since the disappearance of Charlie Christian, Raney was certainly the greatest innovator on the scene. [Barney] Kessel knew the modern harmonies but he had a certain difficulty in “running” them. Whereas Raney had them under his fingers perfectly. Raney was a fantastic swinger. It was his swing that created a great feeling. Jimmy [Raney] was easily the most advanced guitarist of the time.61
Pat Metheny also refers to Raney as a main influence. On the Raney Legacy website, Jimmy’s
son Jon Raney shares an e-mail from Metheny:
First of all – I have to tell you how important your dad’s playing was for me. There were really only a handful of guys who really got to me like that – really just Wes, Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell and later Billy Bean – but when I heard your dad on those Stan Getz records, it was so far beyond what almost anyone had been doing around him. He was such an incredibly beautiful player. I never had the chance to meet him and that is something I really regret.62 Jon Raney also records other jazz guitar figures’ appreciation for his father’s style and
legacy. For instance, George Benson says, “Jimmy Raney is a legend amongst traditional jazz
60 Fega, Early Stan, (liner notes), 1962. 61 Jimmy Gourley, “Jimmy Raney,” Jazz-hot, 1972, 26. 62 Pat Metheny, personal correspondence, “Everybody Digs Jimmy,” The Raney Legacy: Devoted to the music of Jimmy, Doug, and Jon Raney, http://www.jonraney.com/archives/everybody-digs-jimmy/.
21
guitarists. His contribution to the guitar is one that is very notable and it is a must for guitar
aficionados.”63 In an interview for Guitar Player Magazine, Wes Montgomery contrasts Raney’s
contemporaries’ styles and exalts his technique, saying, “Now, Jimmy Raney is just the opposite
of Tal Farlow. It seems like they have the same ideas, the same changes, the same type runs, the
same kind of feeling, but Jimmy Raney is so smooth he does it without a mistake, a real soft
touch, it’s the touch he’s got.”64 Barney Kessel also refers to Raney’s musical features by
commenting that “Jimmy Raney gave a subtle euphemism to the guitar, a certain harmonic
orientation, a certain delicatesse. He represented certain deviation from Charlie Christian, and
bring[s] great continuity to his playing. He’s a master of the polytonal melodic approach […]”65
As is evident, Raney’s influence in the jazz guitar scene since the early fifties was highly
significant. He was recognized by his fluent legato phrasing, harmonic sophistication, and
rhythmic dexterity.
In addition, Raney was mostly influenced by saxophone players such as Lester Young,
Charlie Parker, and Stan Getz. His artistic approach has more to do with horn-type melodic ideas
than with guitar-oriented techniques. During the Storyville recordings as well as the Jimmy
Raney Plays sessions, there is no guitar chordal comping during Getz’s solos. Streeter notes,
Jimmy Raney…during this period does not adhere to what would be considered a “normative” comping style. Arguably, Raney does virtually no comping whatsoever. Instead Raney’s approach would be to play a counterpoint line against the main melodic line, or simply double up on much of the melody. In this regard, Raney was approaching modern bebop songs with the polyphonic style more characteristically found in early Dixieland jazz. Uniquely, Raney was fulfilling this role with guitar, but the approach can be clearly considered to be in the vein of having two horn players in a band.66
63 George Benson, personal correspondence, “Everybody Digs Jimmy,” The Raney Legacy: Devoted to the music of Jimmy, Doug, and Jon Raney, http://www.jonraney.com/archives/everybody-digs-jimmy/. 64 Ralph J. Gleason, “Wes Montgomery,” in Jazz Guitarists: Collected Interviews From Guitar Player Magazine (New York: Music Sales Corporation, 1975), 76. 65 Norman Mongan, The History of the Guitar in Jazz (New York: Oak Publications, 1983), 132. 66 Streeter, “Jimmy Raney Thesis,” 7.
22
Jon Raney comments on his father’s role during the Jimmy Raney Plays (Early Stan) recording
session, stating,
Firstly, since Al Haig was a superb accompanist, Jimmy’s role was essentially the role of a horn. The group introduced an entirely new sound built around Jimmy’s superb counterpoint to Stan’s leading lines. With Stan’s unparalleled ears, he was soon interacting with Jimmy in the same contrapuntal fashion, blending seamlessly. Another aspect was the musicianship.67
Jimmy Raney’s Technique
Picking and right-hand techniques play a significant role in jazz guitar players’ distinctive
sound and style. Guitarist Davy Mooney, who did an extensive analysis of Joe Pass’s style and
his right-hand techniques in the albums, Catch Me!, Joy Spring, and For Django, elaborates on
this subject, saying, “Jazz guitar picking is characterized by a variety of approaches among its
practitioners.”68 In an interview with Mooney, guitarist Mike Anthony addressed different
picking techniques. Here, Anthony elaborates on Jimmy Raney’s practice:
The alternate is one [picking school], and the other is what I call legato, which rock guys call sweeping. Howard [Roberts] used a lot of the legato style, so did Tal Farlow, and so did Jimmy Raney. The alternate guys are like Pat Martino and Mike Stern, and Johnny Smith did almost strictly alternate. Now you go into Joe Pass—I used to call this the Italian downstroke.69
As Anthony states, Raney’s style extensively uses legato articulation, which is achieved in his
playing by combining different right-hand techniques such as alternate picking, down picking,
and sweep picking (up and down). In a master class at a Jamey Aebersold workshop at the
University of Louisville in 1993, Raney addressed the subject of picking and articulation. He
focused his attention on imitation. In the following transcription from one of his lectures in the
67 Jon Raney, “Jimmy Raney,” 2. 68 Davy Mooney, “Joe Pass's Catch Me!, Joy spring, and For Django: Transcription and analysis” (PhD diss., University of New York, 2015), 49. Author interview. 69Mike Anthony, interview by Davy Mooney, “Joe Pass's Catch Me!, Joy spring, and For Django: Transcription and analysis” (PhD diss., University of New York, 2015), 49.
23
summer workshops, Raney addresses his approach to adapting different instruments’ phrasing
and articulation into his own playing:
…it was to get the sound of each instrument, whether it’d be Miles or Bud Powell or Charlie [Parker] … And Charlie’s kind of thing would have to be… I did it without thinking. In other words, I decided that your ear, and your brain, and your fingers, and your hands, they are all run by a part of your mind that is much more advanced than your conscious mind, or much more subtle, in order to skip back and forth. So I decided to turn it over to him [Parker], and not think about it consciously, “What, should I use the second finger? Should I slide? Should I do this?” I just kind of listen to this, and play it till it comes out right.70 There are no video recordings of Jimmy Raney playing in the Woody Herman band, nor
with Stan Getz in the 1950s, to determine where exactly on the instrument Raney played a
particular phrase. Thus, there is no way to provide an exact transcription of his fingering on these
recordings. However, aspects of Raney’s technique can be observed in live performance videos
from later on in his career. When analyzing Joe Pass, Mooney argues that Pass’s left hand
(fretting hand) technique was what he calls “in position.”71 Mooney quotes Mike Anthony as
saying, “When I saw him [Pass] play his [left] hand was closed like a classical player, totally
squared off, […]”72 In addition, Anthony elaborates on Pass’s technique by contrasting his left
hand approach with other guitar players, saying, “If you watched both those guys [Tal Farlow
and Howard Roberts], the left hand, it looked like a spider, moving up and down the
fingerboard.”73 Jimmy Raney’s left hand falls in this second category. In contrast to a more
“classical” or “in position” technique, Raney’s left hand moves horizontally across the fret
board. In addition, Raney uses a lot of third finger stretches instead of using the more traditional
70 Jimmy Raney, Jamey Aebersold Workshop, University of Louisville, 1993, accessed April 5, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c7rapnXZbE&list=PLycxvNJYOyg2t0X1FJaX9WORDNlHGDWK2 71 Mooney, “Joe Pass’s Catch Me!, Joy Spring, and For Django,” 52. 72 Anthony, interview by Davy Mooney, 52. 73 Anthony, interview by Davy Mooney, 52.
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and “in position” fourth finger options. Example 1 shows Raney’s improvised melodic idea
played over the last three measures of the bridge on the piece “How Deep is the Ocean” by
Irving Berlin. This transcription was made from a video recording of the 1993 Jamey Aebersold
workshop mentioned above.74
Example 1: Raney’s improvised melodic idea using third finger stretches in “How Deep is the Ocean.”
As can be appreciated, Raney uses the third finger numerous times on this phrase. This
allows the guitarist to play the slurs in a more efficient way than an “in position” method would.
At the same time, these fingerings are associated with a more horizontal approach to the fret
board. Example 2 presents the same music with different fingerings. These suggest a more “in
position” technique.
Example 2: Raney’s improvised melodic idea with an “in position” technique.
The main difference between the figures presented above is that example 2 suggests the
use of a different set of strings, which would make executing the slurs more difficult than in the
version shown in example 1. Example 2 replaces the third finger used by Raney at the “and” of
beat. 2 of m.1, which modifies the fingerings on the entire phrase. The use of third finger
74 Jamey Aebersold workshop at the University of Louisville in 1993. https://youtu.be/8tB-WaqelUw?t=47.
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stretches allowed Raney to execute slurs and fast eighth-note lines with a legato phrasing. This
technique is a significant device in Raney’s saxophone-like articulation.
Jimmy Raney´s Equipment
Raney used a wide variety of guitars and amplifiers during his career. He is normally
associated with the Gibson ES-150 (Charlie Christian) model, with which he recorded the
Storyville sessions, Jimmy Raney Plays, and many other works throughout the late 1940s and
1950s. With the Woody Herman new bebop band, Raney used an Epiphone Zenith acoustic
guitar with no pickup.75 In other configurations, he used his Gibson ES-150. In his
autobiographical article, Raney mentions how he played a more rhythmically-based guitar role in
Herman’s band, while also referring to his Gibson ES-150.
It was a great band, but there wasn’t much for me to do. I scratched around on my old rhythm guitar while my electric Charlie Christian model Gibson sat idly by. There weren’t many guitar solos for me to play. Finally, Ralph Burns and Al Cohn took pity on me and wrote a few things. Anyway I knew my penthouse was still waiting if I could only get to New York to claim it.76 Raney can be seen playing his Charlie Christian model on different album covers such as
the Jimmy Raney – Visits Paris, Vol. 1, originally released as Jimmy Raney – Guitaristic (Vogue
(F) CLD 882) in 1954, which was a collaborative album with pianist Sonny Clark. The album
Jimmy Raney – Visits Paris (DLP 1120), also known as Jimmy Raney – Visits Paris, Vol. 2,
shows the guitarist holding his characteristic Gibson, as does the cover of the 1956 album
featuring Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone, Jimmy Raney in Three Attitudes (ABC-
Paramount ABC-167), among many others.
The 1960s were difficult for Raney. First of all, promotion had changed since the early
75 In a 1948 photo of Jimmy Raney with the Woody Herman band, Raney can be seen holding an Epiphone Zenith acoustic guitar with no pickup. From the Popsie Randolph and Frank Driggs Collection. 76 Jimmy Raney, “Things Downbeat Never Taught Me.”
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fifties and he refused to hire a manager or even organize a promotion strategy. At the same time,
in contrast to his early career, Raney began abusing alcohol. In addition, his Gibson ES-150 was
stolen out of the trunk of his car when he lived in Briarwood, Queens. In spite of these hardships,
in 1964 Raney recorded a critically acclaimed album featuring Jim Hall and Zoot Sims, entitled
Two Jims and Zoot (Mainstream 56013, S/6013).
During the 1970s, Raney played a variety of guitars such as the Gibson ES 175 and a
Gibson L5. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Raney mainly used an Attila Zoller model built by
the German brand Hofner. Raney’s model was labeled Zoller on the headstock, which was
commonly used on the earlier models of the Attila Zoller guitars.
27
CHAPTER 4
CHARACTERISTICS OF RANEY’S IMPROVISING STYLE ON JIMMY RANEY PLAYS
Glen Hodges refers to the horn influence in Raney’s playing by pointing out the use of
melodic ideas borrowed from saxophonists Lester Young and Stan Getz.77 The saxophone’s
influence in Raney’s playing can also be appreciated in terms of articulation, not just in terms of
pitches and rhythms. Raney not only studied the melodic construction of horn players, he
adapted their articulation into his improvisatory vocabulary. He used techniques such as
hammer-ons and pull-offs in order to imitate the legato phrasing of Young and Getz. In an
interview with Hodges, Jon Raney points out his father’s use of a Lester Young phrase over a
rhythm changes progression on the Aebersold play-along Vol. 20 - Jimmy Raney: For You to
Play...Ten Favorite Jazz Standards (1979). 78
Example 3 presents both Getz’s and Raney’s use of Young’s phrase. Getz plays this
melodic idea in his solo on “Mosquito Knees” from the album Parker 51. In contrast with the
phrase shown by Hodges, I am including the three pick up notes—another point of convergence
between Raney and Getz. There is an interpolation of a four-note melodic idea at the beginning
of m. 3 of the Getz version. Likewise, both versions display a variation in the tie of the phrase.
The articulation in both versions of the phrase is mostly similar. Raney’s version is transposed
from the original key B♭ major to F major for analytical purposes.
77 Glen Hodges, “The Analysis of Jazz Improvisational Language and its use in Generating New Composition and Improvisation. A case study involving bebop jazz guitarist Jimmy Raney” (PhD diss., Australia: Macquarie University, 2009), 206. 78 Hodges, “The Analysis of Jazz Improvisational Language,” 206.
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Example 3: Two versions of Lester Young’s motive.
For the purposes of this analysis, both lines are presented in the same key: F major. In
Raney’s interpretation, saxophone-like articulation occurs at the end of the second beat of m. 2,
on the pitches D♯ to E, and also between the F and E in m.3 of the phrase. Both Getz and Raney
accent the F in the first bar. Charlie Christian used down strokes to imitate Lester Young’s
phrasing.79 In this example, Raney used devices such as hammer-ons and pull-offs in order to
achieve such legato phrasing. Hammer-ons and pull-offs mimic the slur articulation. On the
saxophone, a slur is executed by not touching the reed with the tongue. Here, the player is
focused on maintaining a constant airflow.80
Example 4 presents Raney’s version of the phrase in its original key: B♭ major. For this
analysis, I transcribed Raney’s version, paying special attention to timbre and tone in order to
identify which string he used for each note. I have suggested a possible fingering based on these
tonal and timbre considerations.
79 Joel A. Siegel and Jas Obrecht, "Eddie Durham: Charlie Christian's Mentor, Pioneer of the Amplified Guitar" (Master’s diss., York University, 1979), 55. 80 Watkins, From Inside Out, 166.
29
Example 4: Raney’s version of Lester Young’s phrase in its original key, with possible fingering marks.
The first note of the phrase, F3, can be played in three different places on the guitar. In
the first position, the F is located on the fourth string at the third fret. Raney was probably
playing the F located on the fifth string at the eighth fret, which has a darker tone than the one in
the first position, and more closely resembles the timbre of a tenor saxophone. Based on the
different videos and the timbre of his instrument, one can argue that Raney did not use flatwound
strings, which makes resembling the tenor saxophone timbre more difficult.
The way in which Raney incorporates ideas from saxophone players can also be observed
in his implementation of sequences as a resource for motivic development. On the tune “Parker
51,” which is a contrafact of the tune “Cherokee,” by Ray Noble, Getz introduced different
sequences of small melodic ideas that build tension and are characterized by legato phrasing.
These sequences are presented at various points in his solo. These melodic cells are roughly four
to six notes in length.
During their respective solos, both players use these cells in the A section of the form. In
each case, the melodic cells are formed by five notes: four eighth notes and one quarter note.
This creates a grouping of six eighth notes, which creates a rhythmic displacement of one beat in
each measure. Example 5 presents both melodic ideas in concert pitch to facilitate the analysis.
30
Example 5: Rhythmic displacement in “Parker 51” in concert pitch.
Getz’s influence on Raney’s playing can also be appreciated in the way he shapes the
curve of his solos. Example 6, below, facilitates analysis by presenting both players’
improvisations in the same measures of the B section of the form in concert pitch. The melodic
material is different, but the concept, the articulation, the superimposition of meters, and the
musical ideas justify the comparison and exhibit the influence of Getz’s solo on Raney. These
two phrases have a similar contour design. They both are compound melodies keeping a pedal
note on top while they arpeggiate each chord of the ii-V-I progression in B. Also, both melodic
ideas suggest a three over four meter. One can argue that Raney’s melodic cell is an inversion of
Getz’s idea because of the obvious switch of the direction of each melodic cell.
Example 6: Getz’s and Raney’s melodic cells on the B section in “Parker 51” in concert pitch.
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Getz’s influence on Raney can be heard in many qualities of Raney’s playing. Perhaps
the strongest such influence is found in Raney’s melodic diversity, legato articulation, and his
use of bebop vocabulary. His approach to the performance practice of jazz guitar influenced a
vast number of guitar players who followed him. As Stan Britt noted in his book The Jazz
Guitarists,
The importance of Raney in the context of post-Christian guitar-playing should never be underestimated. Indeed, there is much to be said that he should have been included in the Top Twelve jazz guitarists. His technique is well-nigh flawless. His harmonic and melodic skills are never less than exceptional. In terms of transferring the bop language to the guitar there has been no-one [sic] more talented.81 The following passages analyze devices associated with the adaptation of saxophone-like
phrasing on Raney’s jazz guitar style. These analyses are based on Raney’s collaboration with
saxophonist Stan Getz on the album Jimmy Raney Plays: Jimmy Raney Quintet.
Melodic Design
This dissertation addresses the motivic design in Getz’s and Raney’s solos from three
perspectives: (1) within each solo, (2) across different solos on the album, and (3) between both
players. I have paid special attention to how Getz and Raney develop their musical motives, and
for such analysis, I have marked the different motives as “M1,” “M2,” “M3,” and so on. In
addition, my analysis identifies devices that are characteristic of Raney’s improvisatory
vocabulary, such as chord substitutions, voice leading, melodic contour, the execution of bebop
chromaticism on the guitar, and the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing ideas in a comparative
fashion with Getz’s solos. All of these devices and approaches are described in the appendices.
81 Stan Britt, The Jazz Guitarists (Poole, Dorset: Blandford Pr. 1984), quoted in Hodges, “The Analysis of Jazz Improvisational Language,” 33.
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Different studies approach the analysis of motivic development and thematic
improvisation in jazz solos.82 These studies posit that motivic development is a predominant
element in the construction of the analyzed solos and it is a distinctive characteristic of these
musicians’ “idioms.” In addition, some authors argue that thematic improvisation is part of the
general style “dialect” of a particular era of jazz.83 I would argue that the solos that are the
subject of these studies and the melodic vocabulary displayed by Getz and Raney on Jimmy
Raney Plays are the product of a combination of different techniques that also involve the use of
preconceived melodic structures that play an important role in motivic development. At the same
time, these preconceived structures are recurrent devices in each individual solo, across different
solos, and between players.
In Getz’s improvised solos on Jimmy Raney Plays, there is a significant motivic
development. Melodic and rhythmic material is used throughout his solo in a theme and variation
fashion such that it is aurally recognizable and provides musical coherence to the improvisations.
Examples 7 and 8 present M1and M2 in Getz’s solo in “Motion.”
Example 7: M1 in Getz’s solo in “Motion.”
Example 8: M2 in Getz’s solo in “Motion.”
82 Gunther Schuller, “Sonny Rollins and the Challenge of Thematic Improvisation,” The Jazz Review 1, no. 1 (November 1958): 6–11, 21; Givan, Benjamin, “Gunther Schuller and the Challenge of Sonny Rollins: Stylistic Context, Intentionality, and Jazz Analysis,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 67, no. 1 (Summer 2014): 167-237; Steve Larson, “Musical Forces, Melodic Expectation, and Jazz Melody,” Music Perception 19 no. 3 (2002): 351–385. 83 Benjamin Givan, "Gunther Schuller and the Challenge of Sonny Rollins.”
33
Getz develops M1 and M2 in the B section of the first chorus, which provides the same
harmonic context as their original presentation. Thus, the two motives work together as a larger
melodic idea, as well. Example 9 presents this larger melodic idea, while example 10 shows the
development of each motive
Example 9: M1 and M2 as a larger melodic idea in “Motion.”
Example 10: Getz’s M1 and M2 development in “Motion.”
During the first eight measures of his solo, Getz introduces M1-M4. The development of
these motives, in combination with fully improvised passages, creates the dramatic effect of his
improvisation in this piece. Example 11 presents an active motivic development excerpt.
Like Getz’s, Raney’s solo in “Motion” uses different motives that he develops throughout
the solo. In this way, both musicians are using motivic improvisation and formulaic
improvisation to develop their ideas on this album. Example 12 presents M1 in Raney’s solo in
“Motion.”
Example 11: Getz’s motives development in “Motion.”
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Example 12: M1 in Raney’s solo in “Motion.”
M1 is a recurrent motive throughout the solo. Raney also uses a and b and variations of
them in order to create motivic development and a sense of cogency in his improvisation.
Another recurrent motive is M2, which is the main material of the phrase after M1 is stated for
the first time. These two main motives are rhythmically contrasting. While M1 is an eighth-note-
based idea, M2 combines quarter and eighth notes. Another difference between M1 and M2 is
their range: M1 covers an octave, and M2 only a major second. Example 13 presents both
motives in their first entrance in measure 1.
Example 13: M1 and M2 first entrance in Raney’s solo in “Motion.”
Sixteen measures later, Raney develops these motives, combining a and b of M1 and M2.
This occurs in the same harmonic area of the piece at the beginning of the B section of the form.
This reveals a compositional approach to the solo-construction on Raney’s artistry, which is also
a distinctive device in Getz’s playing, as is shown later. Example 14 presents the development of
M1 and M2 in m. 17.
Example 14: M1 and M2 development in “Motion.”
35
Later in the solo, Raney introduces M3. He develops this idea using techniques such as
variation, inversion, and rhythmic displacement. In addition, there is a relationship between the
first main motive (M3) and the whole content of the phrase. As shown in example 15, M3 is a
two-beat melodic idea that ends with a quarter note placed on the fourth beat of the measure.
This entire motive-development-based excerpt also finishes with a quarter note on the fourth
beat. One can argue that there is a relationship between the main motive and the whole structure
of the musical excerpt because of the consistency of the fourth-beat ending events.
Example 15: M3 development in “Motion.”
The ascending figure on the third beat of the fourth measure is a development of the first
motive (M1) in Raney’s solo in “Motion.” M1 is a four-beat descending melodic idea, mostly in
step-wise motion. It has two parts (a and b) that last two beats each. M1-a’ represents a variation
of M1 that uses the a part of the motive, but in an ascending motion instead of descending.
Motivic Design between Players
Getz and Raney also develop melodic motives by creating rhythmic displacement. This
procedure is based on clear melodic cells that have interesting rhythmic components and
fingerings that are easy to transpose or to move up or down, in intervals such as half steps, whole
steps, and sometimes minor and major thirds. In addition, these devices normally embody a clear
voice leading treatment. Example 16 presents this type of motivic development in Getz’s and
Raney’s solos in “Motion.” This analysis is, in addition, an example of motivic development that
36
occurs between both players. The last note of the motive is a quarter note that in the development
process resolves a half step up or below, creating a clear voice leading line.
Example 16: Motivic development between players: rhythmic displacement and voice leading in Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Motion.”
In example 16, one could argue that Getz and Raney use the same formula. The two
motives are a compound melody, with at least two different voices. In Getz’s motive, the upper
melody is E, F#, G, G#, G#, and A, and the lower part is more static, remaining on B. In Raney’s
example, the concept is the same, but the movement of the lines is flipped. The upper part stays
in one pitch (E), and the lower part moves. The lower part is G#, G, F#, G. In Raney’s motive,
two middle lines can be discerned, and they are also static. The alto part stays on C, and the tenor
part stays on A. Other areas of convergence between these two ideas are the last pitch, which is
A, and their range, which is a minor seventh in both of them, ascending B-A and descending E-
F#, respectively.
Example 17: Motivic development between solos: rhythmic displacement and voice leading in Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Signal.”
37
Another example of the use of this motive-development technique is in the piece
“Signal.” Here, both Getz and Raney introduce compound melodies that are rhythmically
interesting, developed by rhythmic displacement. Example 17 presents this treatment in Getz’s
and Raney’s solos in “Signal.”
In “Signal,” Getz’s compound motive is more static than Raney’s. Both the upper and
bottom line remain in the same notes: G and E, respectively. Raney’s idea has four parts that
enhance a clear voice leading movement from one chord to the other. The upper voice, or
soprano, plays B♭, A♭, A♭, G, and F. The alto part plays G, F, G, and E♭. The tenor voice is E♭,
D, and D, and the bottom, or bass, part is C, B♭, and B♭. Moreover, both players finish their
developmental passages by adding a variation at the end of the melodic idea.
The melodic motives developed by creating rhythmic displacement are also melodic cells
that emerge from motives presented earlier in the solos. The following example of this type of
technique in Getz’s playing is created by developing the two main ideas (a and b) of his first
motive M1 in “Lee.” Example 18 shows M1 in Getz’s solo in “Lee.”
Example 18: M1 in Getz’s solo in “Lee.”
Example 19 shows the rhythmic development of the main motive M1. As in “Signal,”
this compound melody is static: the upper part is E♭ and G♭, and the lower part remains in A♭.
Example 19: Motivic development: rhythmic displacement in Getz’s solo in “Lee.”
38
At the beginning of his solo in “Lee,” Raney states two main motives (M1 and M2). The
main difference between both motives is that M1 starts in an upbeat and M2 starts in the
downbeat. Example 20 presents these two main motives.
Example 20: First entrance of M1 and M2 in Raney’s solo in “Lee.”
Raney also develops melodic motives by creating interesting rhythmic ideas as a
development of previously presented motives in his solo in “Lee.” Example 21 exposes this
treatment in the last phrase of Raney’s solo.
Example 21: Motivic development: rhythmic activity as a development of M1 in Raney’s solo in “Lee.”
Another element that both players constantly introduce in their solos on this album is
what I call the “Ko Ko” motive. As mentioned before, Getz and Raney were mainly influenced
by Charlie Parker. At the beginning of the second chorus of the solo in “Ko Ko,” Parker executes
a motive that is based on the arpeggio of a major triad of the I (B♭) chord, with an enclosure to
the root, starting on the ninth of the chord. Example 22 presents the “Ko Ko” motive as played
by Parker.
Example 22: The “Ko Ko” motive as played by Parker.
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Getz uses the “Ko Ko” motive numerous times throughout this album. One can argue that
Getz and Raney established a musical conversation between their solo improvisations by
introducing this and other motives in a consistent way throughout their different solos in Jimmy
Raney Plays. It is common for jazz musicians to use previously presented motives from fellow
band members in their solos. This treatment normally takes place when the new soloist starts
his/her improvisation using the final motives of the previous improviser. In the case of the “Ko
Ko” motive, Raney and Getz use this technique in a subtler way. They present the motive in
similar locations of the form, and they use similar developing techniques over the same motive
and play it in different pieces on the album.
Getz uses this motive in a more moderate way than Raney. While Raney plays this
motive in all the solos on the album, Getz uses it as a main idea for a motivic improvisation
development. Examples 23 and 24 present instances of these variations. Here, Getz plays an
inverted and retrograde version of the last part of the “Ko Ko” motive.
Example 23: Getz’s variation of the “Ko Ko” motive in “Motion.”
Example 24: Getz’s variation of the “Ko Ko” motive in “Signal.”
This variation uses just the “head” of the “Ko Ko” motive. The variation occurs when the
saxophonist introduces an A♭ instead of the B♭ of the original motive.
Raney uses this motive in every solo on this album on repeated occasions. In “Motion,”
40
he plays this motive three times: two exact transpositions and one variation. In “Signal,” he plays
this motive two times in the same location of the form in two different choruses. In “Lee,” he
plays the motive once over the CMaj7 chord. Examples 25-28 present this motive in all Raney’s
solos on this album.
Example 25: Raney’s use of the “Ko Ko” motive in “Motion.”
Example 26: Raney’s use of the “Ko Ko” motive in “Signal.”
Example 27: Raney’s use of the “Ko Ko” motive in “Lee.”
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Example 28: Raney’s use of the “Ko Ko” motive in “’Round Midnight.”
As can be observed, Getz and Raney introduce this motive continually during their solo
improvisations in Jimmy Raney Plays. Both improvisers use this motive as a resource to develop
their solos and to create an interactive musical conversation with each other. This approach also
contributes to the stylistic cohesion of the whole album and traces a connection with their
primary influence, Charlie Parker.
Contour
The study of saxophone-like phrasing also involves the contour and type of melodic
ideas that transfer from tenor saxophone to the guitar. Bruno Nettl discusses different types
of melodic movement and contour by positing that
[I]n the discussion of melodic movement, it is helpful to divide songs both into very generalized types and into some rather specialized ones. The general categories are ascending, descending, and undulating movement. … undulating means almost equal movement in both directions, using approximately the same intervals for ascent and descent. Extreme undulation that covers a large range and uses intervals is called pendulum-type melodic movement.84
Nettl also identifies the “cascading,” “tile” or “terrace” type of melodic movement inspired by
the shape of the graphic transcription of the song. This type involves various ascending gestures
in which the consequent phrase starts on a higher pitch than the antecedent one. The last melodic
contour addressed by Nettl is the one in which its graphic transcription shape resembles an arc.85
Tables 1, 2, and 3 detail the contour of Getz’s and Raney’s main motives solos in “Motion,”
“Signal,” and “Lee,” respectively.
84 Bruno Nettl, Music in Primitive Culture (Harvard University Press, 1956), 2:51–53. 85 Nettl, Music in Primitive Culture, 51–53.
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Table 1: Motives’ contour in Getz’s and Raney’s main motives solos in “Motion.”
Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Motive Contour Variation Contour Motive Contour Variation Contour
M1 Descending
M1’ Undulating-like M1 Descending M1’ Undulating-like
M1’’ Ascending a Descending a’ Descending
b Undulating-like b’ Undulating-like
M2 Descending
M2’ Descending M2 Static-like M2’ Undulating-like
M2’’ Undulating-like a Static a’ Ascending
M2’’’ Descending b Ascending b’ Descending
b’’ Undulating
M3 Undulating-like M3’ Descending M3 Ascending M3’ Ascending
M3’’ Undulating-like
M4 Ascending
M4’’ Undulating-like
M4 Undulating
M4’ Ascending
M4’’ Undulating-like M4’’ Descending
M4’’’ Undulating-like
M5 Ascending M5 Descending M5’ Descending
M5’’ Descending
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Table 2: Motives’ contour in Getz’s and Raney’s main motives solos in “Signal”
Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Motive Contour Variation Contour Motive Contour Variation Contour
M1 Descending M1 Undulating-like
M1 Descending
M1 Undulating-like
M1’ Undulating-like a’ Ascending
a Ascending a’ Ascending a’’ Descending
a-b Ascending a-b’ Ascending
M1’ Descending c
Descending c’ Descending
Descending c’’ Descending
b-c Descending b-c’ Descending
Descending b-c’’ Static
M2 Descending Descending
M2 Undulating-like
M2 Undulating-like
a Descending a’ Descending M2’ Undulating
a” Ascending M2’’ Descending
M3 Descending M3’ Descending M3 Undulating-like
M3 Ascending
M3’’ Descending
M3’’’ Undulating
M4 Undulating M4’ Undulating M4 Undulating-like M4’ Undulating-like
Ascending M4’’ Undulating-like
M5 Undulating M5 Ascending M5’ Descending
M6 Undulating-like M6’ Undulating-like
44
Table 3: Motives’ contour in Getz’s and Raney’s main motives solos in “Lee”
Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Motive Contour Variation Contour Motive Contour Variation Contour
M1 Descending M1’ Undulating-like M1 Undulating-like M1’ Undulating-like
a Static a’ Descending a Ascending a’ Ascending
b Undulating-like b’ Ascending b Descending b’ Descending
M2 Ascending
M2’ Ascending
M2 Descending M2’ Undulating-like
M2’’ Ascending
M2’’’ Ascending
M2’’’ Ascending
M2’’’’ Ascending
M3 Descending M3’ Descending
M3 Undulating-like M3’ Undulating-like
M3’ Descending Undulating M3’’ Undulating-like
M4 Ascending M4’ Ascending
M5 Ascending
M5’ Ascending
M5’’ Descending
M5’’’ Undulating-like
45
As demonstrated above, in addition to different techniques for motive development such
as inversion, retrograde, rhythmic variation, augmentation, and diminution, Getz and Raney use
contour variation to develop their main melodic ideas during their solos. In addition, both
musicians use the undulating and undulating-like contour often in their motives’ construction and
development. The term undulating-like refers to motives that do not start and end in the same
pitch, but that start in one direction (ascending or descending) and come back oppositely.
Articulation
In my analysis of Raney’s solos on Jimmy Raney Plays, I have focused on the way Raney
articulates his phrases. For this analysis, I have used David Baker’s terms for “dramatic devices”:
scoop or bend; fall or spill; glissando; ghosted notes; alternate fingerings; harmonics; and growl.
As previously mentioned, articulation is a distinctive characteristic of Raney’s playing.
Hodges writes, “A number of performers who had opportunity to observe Raney at close quarters
indicate that his early focus on Charlie Parker’s playing and in particular his articulation,
equipped Raney with a sound that had not, until then, been achieved on guitar.”86 Raney
conceptualized the articulation of his lines by copying other instruments’ sound and adapting
features of such instruments into his playing. Hodges goes on to say, “Sherman indicates that
Raney got his feel by emulating Charlie Parker. ‘He’ll articulate the note on the ‘off’ beat and
slur the note on the beat which takes the accent off the beat.’ This is achieved by ‘hammer-ons,
pull-offs and slides’ adding, ‘he liked to do a lot of on slides, one finger slides.’”87 One finger
slide means using the same finger to play two or more consecutive notes on the same string.
Raney spoke about Parker’s influence on his playing, specifically in terms of articulation, in the
86 Hodges, “The Analysis of Jazz Improvisational Language,” 159. 87 Hodges, 169.
46
aforementioned workshop’s lecture. However, to me, Raney’s interpretation of eighth notes
sounds closer to Getz’s than Parker’s. It is more even. In addition, Raney’s accents are more
percussive than Parker’s. The guitar restricts legato phrasing somewhat.
Raney uses various techniques to resemble tenor saxophone articulation during unison
lines with Getz. In “Motion,” the blending between the two instruments is very precise, which is
achieved by the synchronized attacks and releases of the notes, cut-offs, and the decisions they
make regarding which notes to pick or to tongue and which to play with a slur (hammer-on and
pull-offs). In this way, Raney approaches the interpretation of such lines as a horn in section
playing. In addition to the unison lines, Raney introduces counterpoint to the actual melody that
is played on the tenor saxophone. In this way, Raney also mimics horn section playing, as it is
common practice to split into harmony during extended unison lines.
In “Motion,” Raney uses counterpoint in two fragments of the melody; the rest of the
theme remains in unison. In both sections of the theme, the unison and harmonized lines, guitar
and tenor saxophone match their articulation. This agreement is clearly perceived in the notes
that are accented, such as short quarter notes or off-beat eighth notes followed by rests.
Saxophone players use three different techniques to execute staccato articulation. These are air-
stop staccato, tongue-stop staccato, and bop. The first one adds space between the notes by
diminishing the air supply. The second one uses tongue to separate the notes while the air flow is
constant.88 Watkins elaborates on the bop staccato articulation:
This sound is sometimes associated with the last two notes of an eighth-note line. Penultimate (second to last) were either tongued (more often the downbeat release of a half-tongued upbeat) or occasionally slurred to. Although not the derivative of the term, the characteristic bebop sound has the last two notes, downbeat to upbeat, tongued.89
88 Watkins, From Inside Out, 161. 89 Watkins, From Inside Out, 191.
47
Guitar players execute the staccato articulation using two different techniques: releasing
or muting. The releasing technique involves lifting the fretted note immediately after producing
the sound. Muting can be achieved using the fretting hand or the plucking (or picking) hand to
mute the string immediately after the sound has been produced. The bop articulation can be
reached in several ways: by plucking both the penultimate and the last note; by hammering on or
pulling off the last note; or by first slurring into the penultimate note and picking, and then either
muting or lifting after the last note.
Seasoned jazz musicians are able to achieve a blend by listening to each other. I wish to
address the subtle level of agreement on articulation in non-accented notes. In this context, Getz
and Raney blend by tonguing and picking, respectively, in a synchronized fashion. Example 29
presents eight measures of the theme of “Motion.” Here, both interpretations of the melody use
similar articulation.
Example 29: Articulation agreement in the first eight bars in “Motion.”
The notes that do not have any type of articulation mark are to be played using tongue
and pick-attack techniques. In this excerpt, there are only two spots where both players use the
more legato type of articulation. In measure 1, Getz and Raney connect the E and D, and in
48
measure four, they connect the D and C using a more legato type of articulation. These two spots
have three things in common: (1) they involve an anacrusis motion (off-beat to down-beat); (2)
they connect two notes in step-wise movement; and (3) they descend. Besides these two
locations, the articulation is also synchronized in terms of accents, short notes, and long notes.
Example 30 presents measures 9-12 and presents another illustration of the subtler type of
agreement on articulation. In m. 12, both players agree on using a more legato approach, in this
case in an ascending melodic idea. The legato off-beat to down-beat articulation in a step-wise
motion remains similar to the previous example.
Example 30: Articulation agreement in measures 9-12 of “Motion.”
Another example of articulation agreement occurs when the rhythmic figures are smaller
subdivisions than the eighth notes and/or when there are intervals bigger than a major second
that are played quickly. In these two cases, both players opt for a legato articulation that allows
them to execute such musical ideas more fluently. Example 31 contains measures 25-28. At the
beginning of this phrase, both players use a legato technique to execute the descending fourth
interval. In addition, they use the same device to play the triplets in measures 26 and 28. This
example embodies the use of this device in descending and ascending directions, and in steps and
skip motions. It also includes a legato phrasing from down-beat to off-beat, suggesting that the
legato phrasing these players introduce is the result of decision-making rather than a product of a
default approach that takes place only in the context of off-beats to down-beats.
49
Example 31: Articulation agreement: legato phrasing in a descending fourth interval.
These agreements in articulation do not just take place in excerpts where Raney and Getz
are playing together. The adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing can be appreciated in the way
these devices are shared between both instrumentalists in their own solos. As previously
explained, there are two levels of articulation that are considered in this dissertation. The first
one deals with articulation devices that are easy to perceive, such as accents, long notes, and
short notes. The second level deals with a subtler use of articulation devices that contribute to the
legato phrasing and with the execution of musical ideas at fast tempos or subdivisions. Example
32 shows the two levels of articulation in the first phrase of Raney’s solo in “Motion,” using
legato phrasing in step-wise movement in an ascending and descending direction from off-beat
to down-beat, with accents and short notes (staccato).
Example 32: Two levels of articulation accents and legato in Raney’s solo in “Motion.”
Example 33 presents the same type of articulations in one of Getz’s phrases in his solo in
“Motion.” These two phrases agree on articulation on three levels: accents on the downbeats,
short notes (staccato), and legato off-beat to down-beat. As in the Jimmy Raney excerpt, this
phrase uses mostly constant eighth notes and could be considered an inversion and development
of Raney’s motive.
50
Example 33: Two levels of articulation accents and legato in Getz’s solo in “Motion.”
Another point of agreement in articulation between both instrumentalists is in relation to
the ending of the phrases. Generally speaking, there are only two ways of finishing a phrase: on
the downbeat or on the upbeat. These endings can occur with the attack of a note or with the
release of a note. Jazz musicians create variations on these two types of endings by adding
diverse articulations that create completely different impacts. In “Motion,” both Raney and Getz
play the same number of phrases during their solos (30 each) and have a similar number of
phrases that finish on a short downbeat, on a long downbeat, on a short upbeat (bop articulation),
and on a long upbeat. Example 34 presents an example of agreement in articulation in the
endings of two phrases from the Getz and Raney solos. These two phrases are similar in length,
range, and the articulation of the last note. Getz’s phrase is four beats long, with an octave range,
and ends on a short downbeat on the strongest beat (1) of the measure. Raney’s phrase (presented
in concert pitch) is seven beats long, occupies the range of a minor seventh, and ends on a short
downbeat on a strong beat (3) of the measure. Both phrases start on the second beat of the
measure.
Example 34: Articulation agreement at the end of phrases: short downbeat on a strong beat.
51
Example 35 presents another instance of articulation agreement in both players’ phrases
that conclude on a weak beat. Getz’s phrase is five beats long, has a range of a diminished fifth,
and ends with a short note on a weak beat (4). Raney’s phrase is six beats long, has a range of a
minor sixth, and ends on a short note on a weak beat (2).
Example 35: Articulation agreement at the end of phrases: short downbeat on a weak beat.
Example 36 shows illustrations of staccato endings on the downbeat by both players.
Getz’s phrase is five beats long and has a range of a diminished fifth. Raney’s phrase is six beats
long and has a range of a perfect fourth.
Example 36: Articulation agreement at the end of phrases: staccato downbeat on a strong beat.
Example 37 presents an instance of long endings on the “and” of four. Getz’s phrase is
eight beats long, with a range of a perfect fifth. Raney’s phrase is fourteen beats long, with a
range of a perfect twelfth. The last note in both phrases occurs on the upbeat of the fourth beat of
the measure.
52
Example 37: Articulation agreement at the end of phrases: long on a strong beat.
Example 38 presents an instance of short articulation agreement on upbeats. Getz’s
phrase is five beats long (starting on the second beat), has a range of a perfect fifth, and ends on a
short note on the third beat of the measure. Raney’s phrase is eight beats long, has an octave
range, and ends on the upbeat of the fourth beat of the measure. This is the least common device
used by both instrumentalists on their solos in “Motion.” These two phrases are the only two
clear examples of the implementation of such devices by both players. In addition, Getz and
Raney introduce the device in the same location of the form over the DMaj7 chord.
Example 38: Articulation agreement at the end of phrases: short on an upbeat (bop articulation).
Figure 1 compares how Getz and Raney articulate the last note of phrases in their
respective solos in “Motion.” The solos contain a significant number of phrases that end with
downbeat-short and downbeat-long notes. Moreover, the figure reveals that the players use long
upbeats about as commonly as short downbeats. The least common device used by both players
is finishing phrases with a short articulation in the upbeats. This upbeat-short articulation appears
53
infrequently at the end of phrases. Overall, Getz and Raney primarily use downbeat-type endings
in these solos.
Figure 1: Ending note articulation in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Motion.”
Figure 2 compares the end-note articulation of the phrases in the players’ solos in
“Signal.” These solos contain a large number of phrases ending with a downbeat-long
articulation. As in “Motion,” downbeat endings are more prominent in “Signal” than upbeat
endings.
Figure 2: Ending note articulation in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Signal.”
Figure 3 shows a final comparison between phrases’ end-note articulation in Getz’s and
Raney’s solos. In “Lee,” Getz’s articulation at the end of phrases differs from that in the pieces
discussed above. Here, the saxophonist plays more upbeat endings than downbeats, and the
upbeat-long appears as the most recurrent device. However, in Raney’s case, the articulation at
the end of phrases continues being more downbeat-oriented.
0
5
10
15
Downbeat-Short Downbeat-Long Upbeat-Short Upbeat-Long
Getz Raney
0
5
10
15
Downbeat-Short Downbeat-Long Upbeat-Short Upbeat-Long
Getz Raney
54
Figure 3: Ending note articulation in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Lee.”
As can be appreciated, Getz and Raney use a similar type of articulation in their
improvised phrases and during homorhythmic passages. I argue that Raney’s legato phrasing
mimics the tip to top technique of the saxophone in addition to using slurs prominently during
consecutive upbeat to downbeat notes. Also, like Getz, Raney uses saxophone-like phrasing by
playing downbeat-short and downbeat-long type articulations more prominently than upbeats at
the end of the phrases. The detailed attention to the articulation at the end of the phrases is
significant for jazz guitar players because string players are less aware of the release of the notes
than wind instrumentalists.
Counterpoint
“Round Midnight” is a special track on this album. As Mort Fega points out in the liner
notes of the 1962 reissue Early Stan (formerly titled Jimmy Raney Plays), “To me, the high point
of this album is the Midnight track. The wedding of ideas, the counterpoint, the empathy are all
things that are seldom achieved, not only in a recording session, but even on a bandstand where a
group has been working for a protracted time.”90 The counterpoint on this piece has a lot to do
with the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing on the guitar. Initially, it exemplifies Raney’s
approach to the guitar as a horn instrument instead of a chordal one. In addition, the way Raney
90 Fega, Early Stan, (liner notes), 1962.
0
5
10
15
Downbeat-Short Downbeat-Long Upbeat-Short Upbeat-Long
Getz Raney
55
articulates and executes the melodic ideas, which are regularly fast runs, is very remarkable.
Moreover, the detail with which the counterpoint is designed to outline the essence of the
original melody speaks to the deep level of musicianship and compositional/arranging skills both
Raney and Getz had.
Example 39: Counterpoint on the first eight measures of “’Round Midnight” from Jimmy Raney Plays.
Raney includes numerous ornamentation devices that enhance the original melody. This
creates an interesting dialogue between the guitar and saxophone. Getz’s role on these first eight
measures is to play a countermelody that, while being independent, also enhances the theme of
the piece. This countermelody uses an octave shift (m. 2, beat 3) by playing a C♭Maj7 arpeggio
(or A♭m9 in first inversion) to create variation and movement on the descending-based melodic
ideas. After the initial pickup measure, m. 2 begins, with Getz’s part serving two roles: harmonic
and melodic enhancement. On the first beat of the measure, he plays a C♯, which states the
Cm7♭5. On the second half of the bar, and after the octave shift, he plays a B♭4, which is the
56
melody of the piece. One can argue that the octave shift also works as a device to transition from
one role to the other. Hence, a role shift also occurs on m. 2. Getz’s role in mm. 5-6 is mostly
harmonic enhancement. Example 39 presents the first eight measures of “’Round Midnight,”
from the Getz and Raney version.
During the re-exposition of the theme, Getz and Raney play a varied version of the
melody in a meticulous elaborated polyphonic texture with imitative content. They also split the
execution of the melody, which is a common device used by wind instruments section playing.
In m. 63, Raney states the original melody of the piece. Then, in m. 65, Getz takes charge of the
melody while Raney complements with a countermelody. Example 40 presents the last eight
measures of the re-exposition, including articulation marks.
Example 40: Last eight measures of “’Round Midnight” theme’s re-exposition.
57
This piece is also characterized by Getz and Raney’s articulation and blending. Both
musicians use a legato phrasing by playing long notes with a portato articulation and no space
between the notes. They also play slurs on different occasions, but the use of these is restricted to
particular parts of their own melodies. Getz uses this device two times during the first eight
measures, and Raney uses it six times while playing the main theme with ornamentations. In the
last eight measures of the form, during the re-exposition, Getz introduces a triplets-based
melodic idea enhanced by a detached articulation. Raney mimics this idea during the responses
to Getz’s saxophone melody.
As presented above, this piece exemplifies the approach to the guitar as a wind
instrument playing in a section. The use of counterpoint as a resource for accompaniment, but
also the detailed attention to tone and blending, makes it relevant in the study of the adaptation of
saxophone-like phrasing into the guitar.
Length
The study of the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing into the vocabulary of jazz guitar
also includes the length of the phrases. This analysis is relevant in order to understand
fundamental elements of bebop playing, but also to emphasize the fact that jazz guitarists use
saxophone-like phrasing when playing phrases in which length is determined by breathing.
Bebop phrasing is characterized by having “odd lengths instead of the regular two or four bar
lengths.”91 This comparative analysis contrasts the length of Getz’s and Raney’s solos on Jimmy
Raney Plays. Getz and Raney share a similar number of phrases with similar length throughout
their solos in “Motion.” Figures 4, 5, and 6 show the relationship between Getz’s and Raney’s
91 James Lincoln Collier, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, ed. Barry Kernfeld (NYC: St. Martin's Press, 1994), 580-606.
58
phrase lengths in “Motion,” “Signal,” and “Lee.”
Figure 4 demonstrates that Getz’s and Raney’s phrasing is frequently uneven. They play
a significant number of phrases of 5 and 6 beats long. Moreover, they play the same number of
phrases with lengths of 3 and 10 beats. Getz’s longest phrase is of 18.5 beats and Raney’s is of
15 beats. Even though Raney plays one more chorus than Getz in “Signal,” there are still
different relationships between the players’ phrasing on their improvised solos in this piece. As
shown in figure 6, they play a significant number of phrases with lengths of 6 and 7 beats.
Further, they play the same number of phrases of 3, 10, and 15.5 beats long. Getz’s longest
phrase is of 16.5 beats and Raney’s is of 21 beats. Figure 6 shows that in “Lee,” Getz and Raney
play a significant number of phrases with lengths of 2.5, 5, 6, and 7 beats. Furthermore, both
improvisers play the same number of phrases of 8.5 and 10 beats long. Their longest phrases
oscillate between 12 and 22 beats long. Getz’s longest phrase is of 22 beats and Raney’s is of 16
beats.
Figure 4: Getz’s and Raney’s phrase lengths in “Motion.”
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
3 B. 4 B. 4.5 B. 5 B. 5.5 B. 6 B. 7 B. 8 B. 8.5 B. 9 B. 9.5 B. 10 B. 11 B. 12 B. 12.5B.
14 B. 15 B. 17 B. 18.5B.
Getz Raney
59
Figure 5: Getz’s and Raney’s phrase lengths in “Signal.”
Figure 6: Getz’s and Raney’s phrase lengths in “Lee.”
Range
The range of the melodic phrases is another important element in the construction of
“dialectic” phrases in jazz vocabulary,92 particularly in bebop. Blues and rock guitarists’ melodic
ideas happen in smaller interval ranges than those of jazz guitarists. Blues and rock melodic
vocabulary could be considered more “native” to the guitar than bebop vocabulary. In his
doctoral dissertation, Jerry Richardson addresses this subject, explaining how playing in one
position, which limits playing phrases with a large range, is common of beginning guitar players
92 “A ‘dialect’ is a set of musical attributes associated with a number of composers (or improvisers).” Benjamin Givan, “Gunther Schuller and the Challenge of Sonny Rollins,” 67.
012345678
Getz Raney
00.5
11.5
22.5
33.5
2 B.
2.5
B.
3 B.
3.5
B.
4 B.
4.5
B.
5 B.
5.5
B.
5.6
B.
6 B.
6.25
B.
6.5
B.
6.85
B.
7 B.
7.5
B.
8 B.
8.5
B.
10 B
.
10.5
B.
11.5
B.
12 B
.
12.5
B.
12.7
5 B.
13 B
.
16 B
.
22 B
.
25.5
B.
25.5
B.
Getz Raney
60
and how B.B. King developed moving between different positions in order to cover larger
intervals in his phrases. This is reinforced by the fact that King’s melodic ideas in the 1950s were
limited in terms of range. Richardson states:
This technique [bending up to the first note on a lower string and then playing the same note on the adjacent higher string] not only gave King a tonal contrast but also helped him extend his range on the instrument. There is a tendency for the beginning improviser on the guitar to solo in one position, usually because of a lack of expertise and the confidence to venture away from a comfortable point of reference. 93
Richardson continues:
In the mid to late 1950s, B. B. King confined his soloing range to one or two close positions, only moving on occasion into distant positions with some uncertainty and uneasiness. In listening to King’s second twelve-bar solo chorus in “Days of Old” (1958, Kent 307), one can detect a certain amount of apprehension and awkwardness in his attempt to go from the fourth position to the sixteenth fret to play an A-flat. To do this, he slides on the first string to the sixteenth fret. He barely executes the note intended in a muddled fashion; then he quickly returns to the fourth position where he regains his security. By the mid to late 1960s King became more proficient in moving into and out of various positions on his guitar, a technique acquired through much experience and practice. This is evident in his live recording, “My Mood” (1969, Blues way 6031). In his second solo chorus he is able to go from the seventh to the fourteenth position within four measures, a procedure which takes considerable dexterity.94
In addition, Richardson argues:
Most of King’s other response motifs since 1978 have been limited to a range of a fifth. This can be seen in the following examples (Figures 74, 75, 76 [renumbered herein as Ex. 41]).95 Jazz guitar players developed different fingerings and techniques in order to create
melodies whose range resembled the phrases of saxophone players and bebop vocabulary. Figure
7 presents the relationship between range and number of phrases in both solos by Getz and
Raney. As can be appreciated, both players share a similar use of range in their phrases. Getz and
93 Jerry Scott Richardson, “The Blues Guitar Style of B.B. King” (PhD diss., Memphis State University, 1987), 88, 123. 94 Richardson, 88. 95 Richardson, 123.
61
Raney play the same number of phrases with a range of an octave, diminished fifth, major sixth,
minor seventh, major seventh, and minor ninth.
Example 41: B.B. King’s response motifs’ range in 1978.
Figure 7: Range relationship in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Motion.”
The range and articulation agreement between Getz and Raney is very consistent
throughout the entire album. Figures 8 and 9 embody the relationship between Getz’s and
Raney’s phrase ranges in the solos in “Signal” and “Lee.”
012345
Getz Raney
62
Figure 8: Range relationship in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Signal.”
In “Signal,” Getz and Raney play a significant number of phrases with a range of minor
sixth, minor seventh, and octave. Moreover, they play the same number of phrases with a range
of minor third, minor tenth, and minor thirteenth. Also, Getz’s and Raney’s largest phrase range
is of a minor thirteenth.
Figure 9: Range relationship in each phrase of Getz’s and Raney’s solos in “Lee.”
In “Lee,” both improvisers play a significant number of phrases with a range of perfect
sixth, perfect eleventh, and perfect twelfth. Also, Getz’s largest phrase range is of two octaves
and Raney’s a minor thirteenth. As can be observed, the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing to
the guitar is a multilayer concept that deals with different elements and not just with the type of
melodic ideas. The following tables present the relationship between Getz’s and Raney’s phrases
in three pieces on Jimmy Raney Plays.
02468
10
Getz Raney
0123456
Getz Raney
63
Table 4: The relationship between Getz’s and Raney’s phrases in their solos in “Motion.”
Phrase Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
1 Downbeat-long 8ve 8 Upbeat-short Major 9th 8
2 Upbeat-short Major 6th 6 Upbeat-long Major 2nd 7
3 Downbeat-short Dim. 5th 7 Upbeat-long Minor 10th 6
4 Downbeat-short Major 13th 10 Upbeat-long Minor 9th 6
5 Upbeat-long Perfect 5th 8 Upbeat-long Perfect 11th 15
6 Upbeat-short 8ve 6 Upbeat-long Major 7th 6
7 Downbeat-long Minor 6th 14 Downbeat-short Perfect 11th 6
8 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 5 Downbeat-short Minor 7th 12.5
9 Upbeat-long Perfect 4th 4 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 4
10 Upbeat-long Minor 7th 8 Downbeat-long Dim. 5th 12.5
11 Upbeat-long Perfect 5th 14 Downbeat-long 8ve 4
12 Downbeat-short Dim. 5th 5 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 7
13 Upbeat-short Minor 7th 14 Downbeat-short Minor 7th 6
14 Downbeat-short 8ve 4 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 3
15 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 5 Downbeat-long Dim. 5th 9
16 Downbeat-long Minor 3rd 3 Upbeat-long 8ve 6
17 Downbeat-short Minor 9th 8.5 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 8
18 Upbeat-long Major 7th 5.5 Downbeat-short Minor 10th 12
19 Downbeat-short Minor 13th 6 Upbeat-short Minor 9th 10
(table continues)
64
Phrase Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
20 Downbeat-short Major 7th 5 Upbeat-long 8ve 6
21 Downbeat-long Major 3rd 4.5 Downbeat-long Major 3rd 6
22 Upbeat-long Minor 7th 5 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 5
23 Downbeat-short Major 10th 17 Upbeat-long 8ve 5
24 Downbeat-long Major 6th 7 Downbeat-short Major 6th 4
25 Downbeat-short Minor 10th 18.5 Upbeat-long Major 6th 9
26 Upbeat-short Perfect 11th 9.5 Upbeat-Long Minor 10th 14
27 Downbeat-long Perfect 4th 5 Downbeat-short Major 7th 6
28 Downbeat-short Minor 3rd 3 Downbeat-long Perfect 11th 9
29 Downbeat-short 8ve 6 Downbeat-long Minor 10th 11
30 Upbeat-long Minor 9th 7 Downbeat-long Major 3rd 3
Table 5: The relationship between Getz’s and Raney’s phrases in their solos in “Signal.”
Phrase Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
1 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 6.5 Upbeat-long Perfect 4th 9
2 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 15.5 Downbeat-long Major 7th 9
3 Upbeat-long Minor 10th 6.5 Downbeat-short Perfect 12th 6
4 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 6.5 Downbeat-long 8ve 6
5 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 6 Downbeat-short Major 10th 11.5
(table continues)
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Phrase Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
6 Upbeat-short 8ve 5.5 Downbeat-short Minor 13th 8.5
7 Upbeat-short Minor 7th 3.5 Downbeat-short Major 10th 6
8 Downbeat-long Major 6th 7 Upbeat-long Minor 13th 6
9 Upbeat-long Minor 13th 6.5 Upbeat-long Major 7th 5
10 Downbeat-long Major 6th 10 Upbeat-long Major 3rd 2
11 Downbeat-long Minor 3rd 7 Downbeat-short Major 7th 7
12 Upbeat-long Minor 7th 6.5 Upbeat-long Minor 7th 6
13 Downbeat-long Dim. 12th 16.5 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 7
14 Upbeat-long Minor 6th 7 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 6
15 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 4 Upbeat-long Minor 6th 7
16 Upbeat-long Perfect 4th 7 Upbeat-short Major 10th 8
17 Upbeat-long Minor 6th 6 Downbeat-long Major 7th 7
18 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 12 Downbeat-long Minor 6th 3
19 Downbeat-short 8ve 3.5 Downbeat-short Minor 7th 10
20 Downbeat-short 8ve 5 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 15.5
21 Upbeat-short Major 9th 9 Downbeat-long Major 7th 10.5
22 Downbeat-long Dim. 12th 12.75 Downbeat-short Minor 3rd 6
23 Downbeat-long Minor 3rd 11.5 Downbeat-short Minor 6th 4.5
24 Downbeat-long 8ve 11.5 Downbeat-short Dim. 5th 3
25 Downbeat-short Minor 9th 8 Downbeat-short Minor 7th 4
(table continues)
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Phrase Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
26 Upbeat-short 8ve 7 Upbeat-short Major 10th 9
27 Downbeat-long Major 6th 8.5 Upbeat-long Minor 7th 8
28 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 21
29 Downbeat-long Major 7th 17.5
30 Downbeat-long Minor 3rd 5
31 Downbeat-long Minor 6th 4
32 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 3.5
33 Downbeat-long 8ve 8.5
34 Downbeat-long Minor 10th 5.5
35 Upbeat-long Perfect 11th 9.5
36 Downbeat-long Perfect 4th 5.5
37 Downbeat-long Perfect 4th 4.75
Table 6: The relationship between Getz’s and Raney’s phrases in their solos in “Lee.”
Phrase Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
1 Upbeat-short 8ve 6 Upbeat-long Minor 6th 3.5
2 Upbeat-long Perfect 5th 5 Downbeat-long Minor 6th 4
3 Downbeat-long 8ve 8 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 3.5
4 Downbeat-long Diminished 5th 7 Downbeat-long 8ve 8.5
(table continues)
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Phrase Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
5 Upbeat-long 8ve 5 Downbeat-short Major 3rd 5.5
6 Upbeat-long Perfect 5th 3.5 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 11
7 Upbeat-long Minor 7th 10 Downbeat-short Major 9th 16
8 Upbeat-short 2 8ves 8 Upbeat-long Major 9th 12
9 Upbeat-long 12th 6.5 Upbeat-long 8ve 12
10 Upbeat-long Perfect 5th 5 Upbeat-long Minor 13th 7.5
11 Downbeat-short Major 9th 22 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 7
12 Upbeat-short Major 7th 12.5 Upbeat-long Major 9th 11
13 Upbeat-short Major 6th 8.5 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 3
14 Downbeat-long Major 7th 7.5 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 3
15 Upbeat-long Minor 6th 6 Upbeat-long Perfect 5th 6
16 Upbeat-long Minor 6th 6 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 5.5
17 Upbeat-long 8ve 5.5 Downbeat-long Perfect 12th 10.5
18 Downbeat-short Major 6th 6.5 Downbeat-long Major 7th 2.5
19 Downbeat-long Minor 10th 12.5 Downbeat-short 8ve 5.6
20 Upbeat-long Perfect 11th 25.5 Downbeat-long 8ve 7
21 Upbeat-short Minor 10th 10.5 Downbeat-long Perfect 11th 10.5
22 Upbeat-long Major 10th 11.75 Downbeat-short Minor 7th 13
23 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 6.25 Downbeat-short Minor 10th 7
24 Upbeat-short Minor 7th 10.5 Downbeat-short Major 9th 6.85
(table continues)
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Phrase Stan Getz Jimmy Raney
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
25 Upbeat-long 8ve 7.5 Downbeat-short Major 7th 4.5
26 Upbeat-short Minor 7th 12.5
27 Upbeat-long Major 13th 10
28 Downbeat-long Minor 2nd 2.5
29 Downbeat-long Minor 2nd 2.5
30 Downbeat-long Minor 3rd 6.5
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CHAPTER 5
JIM HALL: EARLY YEARS AND MAJOR RECORDINGS
James Stanley Hall was born on December 4, 1930, in Buffalo, New York. Hall’s family
moved around often and was musically inclined. Always surrounded by music, Hall received his
first guitar from his mother as a Christmas present. In the documentary Jim Hall: A Life in
Progress, Hall comments on his early musical memories, which were associated with country
music songs sung and played on the guitar by his uncle “Ed.”96 Once established in Cleveland,
Ohio, at age 13, Hall was regularly playing church music. About this time, he listened to Charlie
Christian performing on a Benny Goodman record. Hall recalls this moment, saying, “I didn’t
even know for sure what that was, but I knew I wanted to be able to do that.”97 After this
revealing musical experience, Hall focused on learning how to improvise and to delve into what
was called jazz music at that time. By 1955, Hall’s enthusiasm about music made him realize
that he wanted to be a musician “with the capital M.”98 He went on to study at the Cleveland
Institute of Music, majoring in music theory. Hall’s five years at the institute were especially
valuable for him. LaClair quotes Hall saying,
I knew almost nothing about classical music. I allegedly grew up in Cleveland. I liked Stravinsky because it reminded me of Woody Herman and Hindemith, and made me think of Stan Kenton. I thought Mozart was silly of course (Hall laughs). I was at the school for five years and Mozart got a lot better. They had some fantastic teachers at the Cleveland Institute. A lot of them had left Europe because of the Nazis. My composition teacher was Marcel Dick, and he was from Vienna and a friend of Schoenberg. It was a fantastic school. I stayed at the school for five years and worked on the weekends doing some teaching. It was a huge help to me and the way I approached playing the instrument. I did a lot of counterpoint work. I wrote a string quartet. One movement of it was pretty good (Hall laughs), but I had to hurry up and get it finished. I guess I got, no pun intended, kinda “tuned into” listening and reacting to what was going on.99
96 Jim Hall, A Life in Progress. 97 Hall, A Life in Progress. 98 Hall, A Life in Progress. 99 LaClair, 10.
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Hall’s statement about his experience at the institute is very informative about how
influential these five years were on his playing and career. Hall’s improvisations revealed his
capacity to react to what he was hearing at the moment. Scott Colley has commented on how
Hall influenced his own understanding of music and on Hall’s main characteristics, saying, “I’ve
been very fortunate to play with Jim [Hall] in a quartet, trio, duo settings, and now with the
orchestra. I’ve learned, in the last few years so much with Jim about listening, about the
importance of hearing everything that is going on within whatever ensemble it is. Hearing
everything all the time and really reacting to the entire environment, musically and otherwise.
Jim has an incredible ability to listen.”100 At the same time, Hall’s contrapuntal approach when
soloing and comping are distinctive characteristics of his contribution to modern jazz guitar.
In addition to studying composition, Hall learned how to introduce counterpoint in his
playing by studying Carl Kress and Dick McDonough’s music. They were introduced to Hall by
his guitar teacher Jack DuPerow.101 In analyzing the use of counterpoint lines on Hall’s soloing
and comping, LaClair comments, “The bass line … counterpoint … would later become a staple
in Hall’s repertoire of guitar techniques.”102 This technique was also predominantly used by Hall
in the Chico Hamilton Quintet, Jimmy Giuffre trio, and later in his collaboration with Sonny
Rollins.
After finishing his formative years in Cleveland, Hall moved to Los Angeles. It was his
friend and horn player John Graas who called him to rehearse with Chico Hamilton’s band.
Hamilton hired Hall for his new quintet, making it the first professional jazz band Hall
100 Hall, A Life in Progress. 101 LaClair, 4. 102 LaClair, 4.
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participated in. Hall recalls joining the quintet, saying that “it was one of those things of just
being at the right place at the right time.”103 The configuration of this group had unusual
instrumentation: Buddy Collette on woodwinds, Fred Katz on cello, Carson Smith on bass,
Hamilton on drums, and Hall on guitar.
Hall recorded and toured with the Chico Hamilton Quintet for about a year, from 1955 to
1956. Hall played on the albums Chico Hamilton Quintet Featuring Buddy Collette (Pacific
Jazz); The Original Chico Hamilton Quintet (World Pacific, 1960); Chico Hamilton Quintet in
Hi Fi (Pacific Jazz); and Chico Hamilton Trio (Pacific Jazz), which includes some 1953
recordings with Howard Roberts also on guitar. The album The Chico Hamilton Quintet (1957),
recorded in 1956, had new personnel, including Paul Horn on reeds and flute, and another guitar
played by John Pisano.
After leaving Hamilton’s band, Hall started working with Jimmy Giuffre, whose group
continued immersing Hall in an unconventional instrumental musical setting with a classical-
oriented sound. The trio had different configurations throughout the years. Initially, it was
formed by Giuffre on woodwinds, Ralph Peña on bass, and Hall on guitar. Hall recorded several
albums with Giuffre. The first four recordings were with Atlantic Records and the last one with
Verve Records. The Jimmy Giuffre 3 (1956) was the debut album of the trio and is a subject of
the study of this dissertation. In 1958, trombonist Bob Brookmeyer replaced Peña. They recorded
the albums Trav’lin’ Light (Atlantic, 1958) and The Four Brothers Sound (Atlantic, 1959), which
was inspired by Woody Herman’s Four Brothers Band sound. Giuffre used tenor saxophone
overdubs to resemble Herman’s band sonority, and Brookmeyer played the piano. Western
Suite was recorded in 1958 and 7 Pieces in 1959. The latter album swaps the trombone for bass
103 Hall, A Life in Progress.
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again, but this time the trio recruited Red Mitchell. Mitchell also recorded on Hall’s solo debut
album, Jazz Guitar (Pacific Jazz, 1957). Jazz Guitar was a drum-less trio album that featured
Carl Perkins on piano and Mitchell on bass.
In 1959, Jim Hall recorded with the John Lewis Orchestra. During these projects, Hall
was involved with making the soundtrack of the film Odds Against Tomorrow, which paired Hall
and Bill Evans in the same session.104 During the following years, Hall and Evans would record
the two duo albums Undercurrent (United Artists Records, 1963) and Intermodulation (Verve
Records, 1966).
The early 1960s were important in Hall’s career. In 1962, he did stellar recordings in
collaboration with Sonny Rollins on What’s New? and The Bridge. The same year, Hall was a
part of a crucial recording in Evans’s career, an album entitled Interplay. This album also
features a young Freddie Hubbard, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Two
decades later, in 1982, an album entitled The Interplay Sessions was released, containing
recordings from July 21 and 22, 1962, with some personnel variations, including Zoot Sims and
Ron Carter.
In 1963, Hall was in demand for chamber jazz ensembles and recorded with Gary Burton,
Paul Desmond, and Art Farmer. The work Interactions, with Farmer, is not necessarily viewed as
one of the essential recordings in Hall’s career. However, Hall displays a masterful
accompaniment with an extraordinary capacity to orchestrate his ideas around the flugelhorn
played by Farmer. Hall’s warm tone matches and enhances Farmer’s timbre extraordinarily.
In Jazz Icons: Art Farmer-Live 1964, after being questioned about the unique configuration of
his ensemble, Farmer states, “Jim Hall can play like a horn and we can do some things like two
104 LaClair, 24.
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horns playing.” When interviewer Ralph J. Gleason asks about the reasons for not having a piano
on this configuration, Farmer elaborates, arguing, “When you have Jim Hall you really don’t
need a piano.”105 This album also features Steve Swallow on bass and Walter Perkins on drums.
In between the collaborations with Evans, Hall partnered with Jimmy Raney and tenor
saxophonist Zoot Sims to record the album Two Jims and Zoot (Mainstream Label, 1964). This
recording features Steve Swallow on bass and James “Osie” Johnson on drums. Both Raney and
Hall studied with the composer, jazz pianist, and teacher Hall Overton. Among Overton’s private
students were many jazz figures including Stan Getz and Oscar Pettiford. These advanced jazz
musicians looked for Overton’s mentorship, and also played jam sessions with the pianist. Many
of these sessions were recorded and released on the CD entitled Jazz Loft, by David X. Young.
The video series is known as The Jazz Loft Project.106 Young was an artist (painter and
photographer) and jazz enthusiast who opened the door of his loft for any musician who needed a
place to practice, play sessions, or write music. Different jazz musicians used Young’s loft for
advancing their art. These musicians include Thelonious Monk, Zoot Sims, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill
Evans, Lee Konitz, and Miles Davis, among many others. The Jazz Loft Project is an assembly
of recordings from the late 1950s and early 1960s; these recordings document the events that
took place in the properties of W. Eugene Smith, Hall Overton, and David X. Young, located at
821 6th Avenue in New York City.107
Hall recorded many album collaborations. In 1972, at the “Jazz Adventures” concert at
the Playboy Club, Hall and bassist Ron Carter recorded the live album Alone Together for
Milestone Records. The duet recorded a second album in 1985 entitled Telephone. In 1986, Hall
105 Art Farmer, interview by Ralph J. Gleason, featuring Jim Hall, Walter Perkins, and Steve Swallow, KQED-TV (San Francisco), March 4, 1964, Film and Media Archive, Washington University in St. Louis. 106 LaClair, 24. 107 Sam Stephenson, Jazz Loft Project Records, 1991.
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recorded the album Jim Hall’s Three for Concord Records, with Steve LaSpina on bass and
Akira Tana on drums. In 1995, Hall recorded a varied album with different instrumentation
including other guitar players. The featured musicians include Bill Frisell, Mike Stern, Joe
Lovano, and Tom Harrell. Other players included Scott Colley on bass and Andy Watson on
drums, contributing to some of the tracks with Lovano, Harrell, and Stern. In 1999, Hall recorded
one of the most renowned guitar collaborations alongside Pat Metheny. This album, entitled Jim
Hall and Pat Metheny, was released by the independent label Telarc International Corporation.
One of Hall’s last duo albums was Conversations (2010), with drummer Joey Baron, for the
internet crowdfunding site and record label ArtistShare. In an All About Jazz album review, Dan
Bilawsky comments, “the fifteen tracks here are an odd, yet endearing, mishmash of musical
material.”108 This album resembles the openly challenging ambiance of the collaboration with
Bill Frisell.
One of Hall’s most remarkable recordings is the album Jim Hall Live!, which was
recorded in 1975 at the Bourbon Street jazz club in Toronto, Canada. This album presents Hall as
an incredible improviser, with an enormous sense of imagination, rhythmic ability, and lyricism.
Metheny’s comments are included in the liner notes of the reissue Vol. 2-4, which contains
unreleased tracks from the same session:
If I had to pick one Jim record, it would be [Jim Hall Live!]….That was the ideal band, the ideal tunes, the ideal setting. Although Jim’s had great periods all through his career, there was something going on right around that time that was incredible in his abilities, even on the instrument. There’s stuff that he was playing right around that era that you really can’t find him playing like before or after….It’s a real portrait of that band. The whole thing with Don and Terry is so special, and it always has been for Jim.109
108 Dan Bilawsky, review of the album Conversations by Jim Hall and Joey Baron, All About Jazz, last modified November 25, 2010, accessed September 4, 2019, https://www.allaboutjazz.com/conversations-jim-hall-artistshare-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php. 109 Pat Metheny, Jim Hall Live! Vol. 2-4, (liner notes), 2012.
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The volumes 2-4 were later releases of the originally recorded material, and Hall’s
stepdaughter contributed to the releasing process. This album contains different standards, as
well as compositions written by Hall’s wife Jane, and the piece “Careful,” written by Hall.
Jim Hall’s Technique
In the documentary A Life in Progress, Hall comments on his improvisatory style and
technique: “I picture myself as a listener while I am writing or while I am playing. So, I’m
almost consciously trying to draw the listener in. Which is…I guess…one of the reasons why my
solos are kind of like that. I like to leave some space for the listener to reflect on what’s been
played already and then take it someplace else.”110 This statement illuminates Hall’s approach to
improvisation. The listener may recognize, in the discography previously mentioned, that Hall
was not characterized by playing long eighth-note phrases that covered an extensive range. In
contrast to Jimmy Raney, Hall’s adaptation of the saxophone-like phrasing deals with the
inclusion and development of different devices. These devices include the meaningful use of
particular positions on the fretboard and choice of strings he uses to play certain lines. The
techniques allow the guitar to mimic the saxophone’s timbre during counterpoint, unison, and
harmonized passages.
Another distinctive element in Hall’s playing is his tone. Sonny Rollins’s biographer,
Eric Nisenson, comments on Hall’s tone, arguing that “Hall’s trademark tone is rounded,
luminous and instantly recognizable…”111 Nisenson argues that in the context of the album The
Bridge, there was a good contrast between Hall’s and Rollins’s tones, which contributes to the
excitement of the album.112 This recording presents Hall in a more chordal-accompaniment
110 Hall, A Life in Progress. 111 Eric Nisenson, Open Sky: Sonny Rollins and His World of Improvisation (New York: Da Capo Press, 2000). 148. 112 Nisenson, Open Sky, 148.
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setting in contrast to the linear one in The Jimmy Giuffre 3, which is a subject of analysis in this
dissertation. Still, one can agree with Nisenson’s description of Hall’s tone.
On the other hand, one may argue that Hall’s left-hand technique is more “in position”
and classically rooted than Raney’s. In the multiple videos of Hall playing, one can appreciate
the way he moves from one position to the other. He always maintained a more vertical than
horizontal approach to playing the instrument. This behavior is consistent during his chordal and
linear performances. Hall’s right-hand technique uses the third and fourth fingers to slightly rest
over the pickguard.
Hall’s vision of the jazz guitar sound was extensively influential in modern jazz guitar.
Later guitarists found in his artistry an enormous source of inspiration. Guitarist Pat Metheny
comments on Hall’s influence: “I was a young kid getting interested in jazz. Being a guitar
player, within a day or two of expressing any interest in jazz guitar, you are going to come across
Jim Hall. In many ways, he is considered the father of modern jazz guitar. Jim Hall is one of my
heroes. He is one of the most important influences for me as a musician.”113 Guitarist Bill Frisell,
who studied with Hall in 1972 and did various collaborations with him, prefaces his 2009
Fretboard Journal interview with Hall by saying,
So much of what I do is coming directly out of what I got from him–even the sound. The things that draw me to find these other sounds are things that I first thought about when I was listening to Jim. He’s listening to other instruments, not just thinking about the guitar. That’s a lot of what his thing is, and so much of what Jim pulls out of the guitar comes because he’s thinking about the phrasing and the breathing and the tone of these other instruments. A lot of the effects I use came out of that concept. I’ll hear a trumpet in my head and wonder what kind of box I can plug in that’ll make my guitar sound like a trumpet.114
113 Hall, A Life in Progress. 114 Bill Frisell, “Extended Lesson: Bill Frisell Interviews Jim Hall,” Fretboard Journal, Winter 2009, 59-73.
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I agree with LaClair’s argument that although Hall’s style influenced many generations of
guitarists and jazz musicians in general, there is little scholarly analysis of how Hall developed
his distinct approach.115 Investigations about his collaboration with Sonny Rollins on the
album The Bridge have been done. But there is not a scholarly examination about his early career
period. During these years, Hall was exposed to unconventional instrument configuration
ensembles that impacted his approach to jazz guitar.
Hall’s impact is associated with his use of counterpoint melodies as accompaniment and
distinctive chord voicings. The unique element in his chord voicing is interconnected with tone
and timbre. Hall was exploring more with the inner strings of the guitar for countermelodies,
inner voices movement, and chord voicings with the thirds and sevenths on the fifth and fourth
strings. The use of inner strings provided a warmer sound to Hall’s chordal vocabulary. Also, he
was meaningful in leaving space for the soloist. He was also prominent in the use of three-note
voicings. Other recurring devices in Hall’s style were his use of double stops and dyads. LaClair
defines double stops on the guitar as “any two-note voicings containing an interval greater than a
major second,”116 and dyads as “any two-note voicings made up of a major or minor second.”117
These two devices allowed Hall to expand his harmonic approach as well as the expressiveness
of his style.
Jim Hall’s Equipment
Hall’s characteristic sound is associated with his Gibson ES-175 that he began using in
1956. Hall bought this guitar from Howard Roberts when they both were part of the studio scene
in Los Angeles. This guitar was played by Hall in some of his well-known recordings, including
115 LaClair, The Bridge, 3. 116 LaClair, The Bridge, 63. 117 LaClair, The Bridge, 63.
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The Jimmy Giuffre 3, Jazz Guitar, The Bridge, Interplay, Undercurrent, and Intermodulation, to
mention some. Still, Hall played different guitars during his career. For instance, he used a
Gibson Les Paul during his first years in Los Angeles and during his time with the Chico
Hamilton Quintet.
In the documentary The New Yorker Special: Handcrafting a Guitar, James D’Aquisto
affirms that he met Jim Hall in 1954 when the guitarist was in New York looking for a new
electric guitar. The master luthier designed and built two different models for Hall: the electric
one with the characteristic orange top, and an acoustic one known as the Avant-Garde model.118
Hall started using his D’Aquisto Custom Hollowbody guitar in the early 1970s with an AZ48
(Attila Zoller floating jazz pickup). This new instrument can be heard in his album Concierto
(CTI Records, 1975). This recording features Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, Chet Baker on
trumpet, Roland Hanna on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Steve Gadd on drums. Hall plays both
electric and acoustic guitars on this album.
During the early 2000s, Roger Sadowsky, a respected instrument maker from New York,
started prototyping a new instrument for Hall based on his D’Aquisto Custom model. This
process took about four years until Hall approved the prototype and it became his main
instrument during the last years of his career. This guitar can be heard on different recordings
such as Hemispheres (2008), with Bill Frisell, Joey Baron, and bassist Scott Colley,
and Conversations (2010), the collaboration with Joey Baron.
Hall did not use a significant variety of amplifiers. His favorite one was the 1948 Gibson
GA-50. It had a 12 a twelve-inch speaker and an 8-inch speaker. Hall used this amplifier
throughout many years but stopped taking it on tours during the late 1960s. Hall used some
118 The New Yorker Special: Handcrafting a Guitar, directed by Fred Cohen (Filmakers Library, 1986), VHS.
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Polytone Mini-Brute amps mostly on tours. Late in the 1990s, Hall started using the Harry Kolbe
rig amp, which is characterized by providing a clear and noiseless sound.
Hall was always attracted to the original sound of his Gibson GA-50. In March 2011, he
used SeQuel Amplifiers’ “SeQuel TRIBUTE to Jim Hall” amplifier for his four-night concert
series at Seattle’s Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley.119 The SeQuel amplifier is an upgraded model of the
Gibson GA-50. It has 12 and 8-inch Jensen alnico speakers, a pentode preamp tube, and 6L6
power tubes.
119 SeQuel. “SeQuel TRIBUTE to Jim Hall,” SeQuel Amplifiers. Accessed September 10, 2019. http://www.sequelamplifiers.com/sequel-tribute-to-jim-hall.
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CHAPTER 6
CHARACTERISTICS OF HALL’S IMPROVISING STYLE ON THE JIMMY GIUFFRE 3
Tone and Counterpoint
Hall’s style is associated with modern jazz guitar. Numerous guitarists consider him one
of their main influences, and different studies address Hall’s style, emphasizing his characteristic
accompaniment and his contribution to the jazz guitar trio tradition, his piano-like approach, and
his collaborations with Sonny Rollins in a quartet setting. Tim Jago comments on Hall’s
approach on the album The Bridge:
[The Bridge] showcases the guitar’s validity within a jazz quartet through Hall’s sensitivity in his use of all the elements of timbre, dynamics, texture, communication and interaction. Heard on the title track, “The Bridge,” Hall is dynamically right up front with Rollins in the unison and counter melody lines, playing with a warm tone and legato articulation that suitably blends with the leader, Rollins. When his role shifts to accompaniment, he immediately adjusts to sit dynamically under the saxophone, playing unobtrusive yet “swinging” comping patterns with a combination of textures to his chord voicings, from double stops to dense block-chords. He would even play single note melodic lines, as opposed to fully voiced chords, and this approach has been utilized ever since. 120
This argument about Hall’s distinctive approach to accompaniment on the guitar is very
consistent throughout the literature. Moreover, numerous jazz players refer to this recording
when they want to highlight a feature of Hall’s style.
On the other hand, the linear construction on Hall’s improvised solos seems to be
overlooked in contrast to his chordal work, with few exceptions. In contrast to Jimmy Raney, one
could argue that Hall’s vocabulary is not as bebop-rooted, and it is less eighth-note oriented.
Hall’s vocabulary relies on a truly improvisational, conversational, and interactional approach
with prominent use of rhythmic variation and rhythmic development. Hall uses space and
rhythmic variation, but also his compositional drive, to create exciting solos.
120 Jago, “The Role of the Jazz Guitarist,” 41.
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The analysis of the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing on Hall’s vocabulary deals
with subtler devices than the ones presented in the investigation on Raney. The first element that
is important in this analysis is associated with tone. Hall was purposeful in choosing specific
strings settings and positions on his instrument that would resemble and blend better with a
saxophone during harmonized or unison melodic passages. Consequently, this consciousness of
tone transferred to his solo playing, resulting in his characteristic “warm” and “rounded” sound.
For this analysis, I pay special attention to the timbre of each note played by Hall. Based on my
experience as a guitar player and guitar educator, I made decisions on what would be the closest
option to Hall’s note selection on the fretboard.
Example 42: First eight measures of “Gotta Dance.”
The first piece on the album The Jimmy Giuffre 3 is entitled “Gotta Dance,” and it is a
composition by Giuffre. This piece features a simple but interesting bluesy melody with
homorhythmic and polyphonic passages between tenor saxophone and guitar. During the
polyrhythmic passages, Hall’s blending with Giuffre is remarkable because of the
synchronization in terms of articulation, but also because of Hall’s mastery of mimicking the
timbre of the tenor saxophone on the guitar by choosing specific positions and strings for certain
phrases on the guitar fretboard. On the other hand, during the polyphonic passages, Hall executes
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the melodic ideas with a “brighter” and less rounded sound, allowing the listener to follow the
independent melodies on the texture. Example 42 presents the first eight measures of “Gotta
Dance,” including articulation and indications of Hall’s note selection on the fretboard.
As can be observed in example 42, Hall changes positions on m. 5. I argue that based on
the actual timbre of these two phrases, Hall moves from playing with a “warm” and “rounded”
tone on mm. 1-4 in IV position, to a “brighter” and more defined one on mm. 5-8. Hall could
have reached this different sound by changing the angle of the plectrum, moving the picking on
the string from close to the neck to more by the bridge. Opening up the tone knob was unusual in
his playing. Hall usually kept the tone knob of his guitar closed. I hear a fourth (IV) position
timbre on the first phrase and a first (I) position timbre of sound on the second phrase. This
treatment for homorhythmic and polyphonic passages is consistent throughout the whole piece.
In m. 9, the central theme of the piece is this time harmonized by Hall. In this case, Hall uses
mostly a guide-tones technique to create a simple countermelody to the one played by Giuffre.
The guide-tones technique uses the thirds and sevenths of the chords as the main tones in a
melodic line. It allows the players to easily express the quality of the chords in a single note
melodic line enhanced by effective voice leading. To maintain the independence of the voices
and keep them audible, Hall plays this fragment in the III position, which still blends well with
the timbre of the saxophone. Examples 43 and 44 present other instances of articulation
agreement and counterpoint in “Gotta Dance.”
Example 43: Articulation agreement in “Gotta Dance,” mm. 17-20.
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Example 44: Articulation agreement in “Gotta Dance,” re-exposition of the A section.
As shown in example 44, Giuffre and Hall switch roles and it is Giuffre who plays the
countermelody. As can be observed, both performers match their articulation in the
homorhythmic portions of the passage. Giuffre and Hall use the same guide-tones technique on
the construction of their countermelodies and add short responses during the long notes and rests
of the main melody.
Example 45: Countermelody in the first A section of “The Song is You,” with possible fingerings for the guitar.
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Example 46: Countermelody in the second A section of “The Song is You,” with possible fingerings for the guitar.
Another example of Hall’s approach to tone during polyphonic passages is the album’s
third track, “The Song is You,” by Jerome Kern. During the exposition of the theme, Hall plays a
simple and guide-tones-like countermelody. Examples 45 and 46 present the A sections of “The
Song is You.”
During the countermelodies, Hall uses a sharper and less rounded tone, which contributes
to the independence of the countermelody from the main melody played by Giuffre. Hall also
uses the G and D strings during the rhythmic and chordal responses in the A section. These two-
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to three-chord voicings complement the texture and fill out the gap between the bass and
saxophone registers effectively. Example 46 shows the second A section in this piece.
During the bridge, Hall plays melodic ideas in a question-and-answer fashion with the
main melody played by Giuffre. The question-and-answer technique refers to the development of
a motive in which an antecedent and consequent melodic idea can be appreciated. In this case,
Hall’s tone is still sharp and less rounded than his characteristic solo timbre. Example 47 shows
Hall’s melodic motives during the B section of this piece.
Example 47: Hall’s call-and-response melodic idea over the bridge in “The Song is You.”
During the re-exposition of the A section’s theme, Hall plays the main melody in unison
with Giuffre. Here, Hall uses a more rounded sound that allows him to mimic the timbre of the
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tenor saxophone, creating an effective blending that is supported by the precise rhythmic
cohesiveness. Example 48 presents the last A section of this piece.
Example 48: Hall’s possible fingerings in the last A section of “The Song is You.”
Contour and Melodic Design
In “Gotta Dance,” Giuffre and Hall play short bluesy and rhythmically active solos that
resemble each other in their contour, articulation, and note selection. Both solos are based on the
A♭ blues scale, and the motivic construction and design are related as well. In Giuffre’s solo, the
lowest note is a C3 and the highest note is an A♭4. In Hall’s solo, the lowest note is a B♭2, which
is just a whole step from C3, and the highest one is also an A♭4. One can argue that the overall
contour of Giuffre’s solo is undulating because it features almost equal movement in both
directions, toward the highest note (A♭) and back to the first note (F3), and also because the
starting and ending notes are the same. On the other hand, the overall contour of Hall’s solo is
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undulating-like because the starting note (F3) is of a higher pitch than the ending one (C3).
Example 49 presents Giuffre’s and Hall’s solos in “Gotta Dance” in a comparative score.
Example 49: Giuffre’s and Hall’s solos in “Gotta Dance.”
As can be observed in example 49, the contour of their solos is similar. They both avoid
playing extended eighth- or sixteenth-note phrases. Also, both solos have a melodic design and
construction based on simple but rhythmically interesting cells. Giuffre’s solo has three main
motives: the three-note one played on the anacrusis of the form (M1); the diminished fifth idea in
m. 8 (M2); and the one that uses sixteenth notes in m. 8 (M3). Example 50 presents the three
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main motives in Giuffre’s solo in “Gotta Dance.”
Example 50: Three motives in Giuffre’s solo in “Gotta Dance.”
M1 is an ascending melodic idea. The first variation (M’) uses the same pitches but in
descending motion. The second variation (M’’) uses undulating motion, subtracting one of the
notes of the original motive (D♭). The third variation (M’’’) is also a descending idea. The fourth
variation (M’’’’), in m. 6, b. 4, uses a descending motion and also subtracts the D♭. The last
variations of M1 occur as a response to M2, which is an ascending melodic idea with a range of a
diminished fifth. M2 is developed using the question-and-answer device. The answer is the
aforementioned descending variation of M1. Finally, M3 is undulating-like; here, the ascending
intervals are not the same as in the descending portion of the melodic idea.
As these examples demonstrate, there are few ideas in this solo that are independent from
the aforementioned motives. The motivic improvisation presented by Giuffre on the first solo of
the piece is also incorporated by Hall on his improvisation. Like Giuffre’s, Hall’s improvisation
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uses the following motivic ideas: in M1, a triplet-based idea introduced in the anacrusis; in M2,
the quarter notes presented in m. 3; in M3, the quarter-note rest and two eighth notes in m. 5; in
M4, the two quarter notes and four eighth notes in m. 9; and in M5, an undeveloped, but clearly
stated, dotted quarter notes displacement motive. Example 51 presents the main motives in
Hall’s improvised solo in “Gotta Dance.”
Example 51: Five motives in Hall’s solo in “Gotta Dance.”
Table 7 presents the motives’ contour in Giuffre’s and Hall’s solos in “Gotta Dance.” In
Hall’s solo, M1 is an undulating-like melodic idea, and its variations (m. 2, b. 2 and m. 4, b. 2)
maintain the same contour but change the rhythmic component of the motive. M2 is also an
undulating melodic idea but with a range of a minor second. M3 is an ascending idea, and its
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variation (M3’) changes the rhythmic element by adding a long note value to the last eighth note
of the original motive. M3’’ changes the rhythm as well, subtracting the quarter-note rest and
adding an extra note (D♭), which results in a variation of the melodic contour from ascending to
undulating. M4 is an undulating-like melodic idea, and M5 is almost a static one.
As in Giuffre’s solo, Hall’s motivic development is prominent, and only a few notes are
independent of the previously stated ideas. The solos are also alike in that the last two measures
are less rhythmically active and are more eighth-note based. Another element in which both
solos converge is in the use of rhythmically active motives that resolve at the fourth beat of the
measure. In the case of Giuffre’s solo, M3 and its development are rhythmically interesting,
accentuating the fourth beat of the measure. In Hall’s solo, M1 has the same metric and rhythmic
treatment. One can argue that as in the analysis of Getz and Raney, when talking about motivic
improvisation and development, these improvisers do not just vary their musical ideas by
changing the rhythm and the pitches of the original motive. Rather, they also use the technique of
creating a variation by changing the melodic contour of the original motive.
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Table 7: Motives’ contour in Giuffre’s and Hall’s solos in “Gotta Dance.”
Jimmy Giuffre Jim Hall
Motive Contour Variation Contour Motive Contour Variation Contour
M1 Ascending
M1’ Descending
M1 Undulating-Like M1’’ Undulating
M1’’’ Descending
M1’’’’ Descending
M2 Ascending M2 Undulating
M3 Undulating-like M3 Ascending M3’ Ascending
M3’’ Undulating
M4 Undulating-like
M5 Static
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CHAPTER 7
JOHN SCOFIELD: EARLY YEARS AND MAJOR RECORDINGS
John Scofield was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1951 and raised in Wilton, Connecticut. He is
part of a generation of jazz guitarists who are associated with Berklee College of Music and the
Boston scene of the early 1970s. The guitar approach to jazz during these years underwent a
change in style from the traditional clean, “rounded,” and “warm” sound influenced by Jim Hall,
Barney Kessel, Tal Farlow, Joe Pass, and Wes Montgomery, to a new one rooted in rock and roll
and blues influenced by Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles.
Moreover, Scofield is part of a selected list of musicians, and especially guitarists, that
toured and recorded with Miles Davis. Davis hired Scofield after he recorded with renowned jazz
artists including Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Charles Mingus, Gary Burton, and David
Liebman. Scofield was featured on the album Star People (1983), published by Columbia
Records. This album also features guitarist Mike Stern, who would later be entirely replaced by
Scofield. In 1984, Scofield was featured on the album Decoy (Columbia Records), on which he
also plays a significant compositional role. His last studio work with Davis was the title You’re
Under Arrest, recorded in 1985 and also released by Columbia.
One of the significant recordings Scofield was part of at the beginning of his career
was Carnegie Hall Concert, a live album collaboration between Mulligan and Baker, released in
1975 by CTI Records. Scofield would record again with Baker in 1977 on the album You Can’t
Go Home Again (Horizon). Following the Carnegie Hall recording, Scofield joined Billy
Cobham’s band. They recorded two studio albums entitled The Funky Side of Things (1975)
and Life & Times (1976), which were followed by the live collaboration with George Duke, Live
on Tour in Europe. Atlantic Records released these three albums. In 1977, Scofield was part of
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the Charles Mingus album Three or Four Shades of Blue. This recording presents Mingus’s skill
at composing extended pieces with active elements of bebop, post-bop, and rock. Meanwhile, it
features two additional guitar players, Larry Coryell and Philip Catherine. In the same year,
Scofield recorded his first work as a bandleader, John Scofield Live (released in 1978 by Enja
Records), recorded in Munich, Germany, and featuring Richie Beirach on piano, George Mraz
on bass, and Joel LaBarbera on drums.
During the 1980s, Scofield recorded a vast number of albums as a bandleader, sideman,
and collaborator, including his contribution to Miles Davis’s work. In 1980, he recorded two
albums with David Liebman: If They Only Knew (Timeless), and What It Is (Columbia). In 1984,
Scofield released a collaboration with guitarist John Abercrombie entitled Solar. This recording
is mostly a duo guitar work with some additions of drums and bass performed by George Mraz
and Peter Donald. Another remarkable record of this decade is the album Loud Jazz
(Gramavision Records, 1988). This recording label was founded in 1979 by Jonathan F.P. Rose
in New York. Its early catalog consisted of funk, jazz fusion, and free jazz exemplars, including
works of the band Medeski Martin & Wood, with whom Scofield would record the influential
album A Go Go a decade later. Ed Kopp comments about this association: “Speaking of funk,
here’s a match made in heaven: Medeski, Martin & Wood, one of the hottest young electric-jazz
combos on the planet (both in popularity and skill), teamed with John Scofield, one of the
baddest jazz guitarists ever. As you might expect, A Go Go is vamp-laden and very
smart.”121 The “electric-jazz” combo would record two more collaborations with Scofield, Out
Louder (2006) and MSMW Live: In Case the World Changes Its Mind (2011), a collection of live
121 Ed Kopp, review of the album A Go Go by John Scofield. All About Jazz. Last modified May 1st, 1998. Accessed September 6, 2019. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/a-go-go-john-scofield-verve-music-group-review-by-ed-kopp.php.
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performances from the band’s tour in 2006.
The early 1990s were also remarkable in Scofield’s career. He began the decade by
releasing his first Blue Note album entitled Time on My Hands (1990), recorded with a quartet
including Joe Lovano. This album also introduced drummer Bill Stewart. The quartet’s second
album was released the following year under the title Meant to Be (1991). In 1993, Scofield
recorded two collaborations with saxophonists. The first of these, with Lee Konitz, was
entitled Rhapsody II, for Evidence Music; the second, with Joe Henderson, is the album So Near,
So Far (Musings for Miles), for Verve Records. The latter, a tribute album to Davis, features
musicians that played with him at some point in their careers. Following this recording, Scofield
recorded What We Do, the third album with the quartet including Joe Lovano, which is a subject
of study in this dissertation. Other essential recordings followed this album, including Hand
Jive (1994), I Can See Your House from Here (1994), with guitarist Pat Metheny, and many
others. Scofield collaborations also include works with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Bill
Frisell, McCoy Tyner, Chris Potter, and many others.
John Scofield’s Technique
John Scofield’s vocabulary includes devices from blues, bebop, post-bop, funk, fusion,
and modern jazz. His approach to improvisation is enhanced by the use of modern jazz guitar
techniques and pedal effects. One can argue that Scofield’s improvising style blurs these stylistic
boundaries, allowing the guitarist to accommodate his ideas in contrasting grooves and musical
settings. An indubitable and recognizable element in Scofield’s idiom is blues vocabulary.
Scofield does not just introduce melodic ideas using the blues scale or blues licks, but he
continually uses devices that resemble the inflections of the human voice, which is characteristic
of blues music, by bending strings, using vibrato, and using his prominent legato phrasing.
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In his article “Is there such a thing as the ‘blue note’?” Hans Weisethaunet comments on
this stylistic change and Scofield’s contribution to this transition:
I think it is evident that this stylized practice of ‘blue discrepant harmony’ has also found its way into other styles of music, in particular jazz and rock. One of the jazz players who seems to have incorporated influences from ‘blue harmony’ into his music to a large extent is guitarist John Scofield.122
In an interview with Weisethaunet, Scofield elaborates on his approach to the different styles of
his music:
I am totally in debt to the blues. I think blues is really powerful music, the good blues . . . I think I was one of the first to seriously try to incorporate that element, the phrasing of blues and rock, with be-bop chords and changes. For me it’s really hard to separate between jazz or fusion, rhythm & blues, blues, or rock music. In a way, I think all those elements are in my music . . . 123
As can be appreciated, Scofield made a conscious effort to incorporate the blues and blues rock
elements, as well as integrating different styles in his unique approach to jazz improvisation.
John Scofield’s Equipment
John Scofield’s tone is associated with different sound effects and his 1981 Ibanez AS-
200, which has been his primary instrument for more than 30 years. Ibanez introduced this guitar
to Scofield, who was playing a 1963 Gibson ES-335 at the time. The Ibanez resembled the
Gibson ES-335 guitar sound, but Scofield preferred the Ibanez over the Gibson. Scofield
comments on how Ibanez introduced their new AS-200 model to him:
I was on tour in Japan and at that point, both Ibanez and Yamaha were being really aggressive about getting all the American artists they could get to play their instruments. I had my 335 with me, and it had really gone though some changes; it was playing very weirdly. Back then, I didn’t know how to do neck adjustments… I wouldn’t trust myself to do it, you know?124
122 Hans Weisethaunet, “Is There Such a Thing like ‘Blue Note’? Popular Music, Vol. 20, no. 1 (January 2001), 99-116. 123 Hans Weisethaunet, interview with John Scofield, 1989, 108. 124 Brian Robbins, “Talking Gear and ‘Juice’ with John Scofield,” Guitar World, last modified September 26, 2014, accessed on September 30th, 2019. https://www.guitarworld.com/news/talking-gear-and-juice-john-scofield.
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The cover of the album Who’s Who? (1979) features Scofield holding his Gibson ES-335. As
mentioned before, he played this guitar until 1981, so he recorded three more solo albums with
it: Bar Talk (1980), Shinola (1981), and Out Like a Light (1981). He was featured for the first
time with his new Ibanez AS-200 on the cover of his album Electric Outlet (1984).
Nevertheless, he had recorded and toured using other instruments, including a Fender
Telecaster, which was his main instrument during high school. Scofield acquired it again after
many years because of its sentimental value. He has also used an Ibanez signature guitar (Ibanez
JSM), a 1970s Ibanez T-style guitar, an Ibanez GB Custom, a 1960s Gibson Howard Roberts,
and a Fender Custom Shop Relic’d Strat Fenders. Scofield has used acoustic guitars from two
brands: Takamine and Taylor.
Scofield is also well known for introducing different pedal effect sounds in different jazz
settings and styles, including straight-ahead jazz. During his career, he has used a wide variety of
pedal effects, including distortion, tremolo, reverb, delay, and chorus. As should be expected,
Scofield has added and subtracted numerous pedals from his pedalboard throughout his career.
Some of the most commonly used pedals on his recordings include Pro Co Rat Distortion,
Rocket Pedals Blue Note Overdrive, Ibanez Analog Chorus Pedal, Boss CE-3 Chorus, Boss RC-
30 Loop Station, Line 6 DL-4 Delay, Line 6 FM-4 Filter, and Dunlop Crybaby Wah.
Scofield’s tone is also associated with his preferred amp, the VOX AC30, which has two
channels: Normal and a Top-Boots one. Another amp Scofield uses is the Mesa Boogie Mark III,
which was released by the company in 1985. The Mesa Boogie Mark series are known for being
high-gain amplifiers. They have three variable gain controls located at different points in the
circuits, which is known as the “cascaded” design.125 This amp features three channels: the
125 Mitch Gallagher, Guitar Tone: Pursuing the Ultimate Guitar Sound. Boston, MA; Course Technology, 2012, 251.
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traditional “lead” and “rhythm” ones, and a third one that is known as the “crunch” rhythm
channel, which provides an intermediate tone quality between the other two channels.
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CHAPTER 8
CHARACTERISTICS OF SCOFIELD’S IMPROVISING STYLE ON WHAT WE DO
Scofield’s style combines elements of the blues and rock genres in a jazz ambience. He
was a significant figure of the fusion movement during the early 1970s. Scofield’s unique style
was also molded by devices like those of Raney and Hall, with the addition of pedal effects that
contribute to his prominent legato articulation and saxophone-like phrasing. As mentioned
before, Scofield and Lovano expressed during an interview with David Schroeder how the Getz-
Raney collaboration was influential because of the popularity of the quartet during their
formative years. The regular distortion effect Scofield uses does not just contribute to the legato
articulation, but also allows him to play improvised melodic ideas that are longer, faster, and
wider. In addition, his use of effects permits him to mimic the saxophone’s timbre and sonic
characteristics in different aspects, including the sustain of the notes.
Contour and Motivic Design
The album What We Do uses open improvisation sections that can be defined as modal
jazz. In the book The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68, Keith Waters
argues about the approach to improvisation implemented by the quintet during the recordings of
that period. The author uses Ron Miller’s term “modal harmony”126 to address concepts such as
“nonfunctional harmonic progressions, shifting harmonies over pedal points, modally designated
harmonies (for example, E lydian, E phrygian, or E aeolian [sic]), slash chord harmonies…, and
nonstandard nonsyntactic harmonies.”127 Miller and Waters’s conversation proposes six
characteristics that are present in modal jazz. This study addresses the three that are appropriate
126 Ron Miller, Modal Jazz Composition & Harmony, vol. 1 (Rattenburg, Germany: Advance Music, 1996). 127 Keith Waters, The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68 (New York: Oxford University, 2011), 46.
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for the pieces selected from What We Do. These characteristics are “slow harmonic rhythm
(single chord for 4, 8, 16, or more bars), pedal point harmonies (focal bass pitch or shifting
harmonies over primary bass pitch), and absence or limited use of functional harmonic
progression (such as V-I or ii-V-I) in accompaniment or improvisation.”128 The compositions on
this album use different harmonic settings than the previous albums analyzed in this dissertation.
Even though the focus of this study does not encompass harmonic matters, the importance of
harmony in melodic design and improvisation makes it relevant to mention.
This investigation employs the term finalis, which Harold S. Powers defines as “the
concluding scale degree of any melody said to be in a Mode.”129 The piece “Say the Word”
features a pedal point harmony over E. One can argue that this section occurs in E Dorian, but
there are many levels of interaction and liberty where different modes related to the finalis E
occur. Not having the restraint of two-chord changes per measure as in the bebop repertoire,
musicians improvising over open pedal point harmonies can manipulate their phrasing in many
ways and still play sophisticated harmonic and melodic ideas as a product of interaction with
other musicians.
In his solo on “Say the Word,” the seventh track of the album, Scofield plays different
motives that he develops throughout the entire improvisation. These motives are clearly stated
and developed. The first clear motive is presented during the first phrase of the solo. M1 is a
two-bar and quarter-note-based descending melodic idea that culminates at the end of beat 2 of
m. 2. Example 52 presents M1 in Scofield’s solo.
128 Waters, Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68, 46. 129 Powers goes on to say, “In the church modes, the final note of a melody came to be regarded, together with its Ambitus, as one of the two required determinants of the mode of that melody. In the earliest stages of the mutual adaptation of the eight-mode system and the repertory of Gregorian chant, the final degree of a melody did not have this overwhelming hegemony.” Harold S. Powers, “Final (Lat. Finalis),” Oxford Music Online, January 20, 2001, accessed January 28, 2020. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/search?q=finalis&searchBtn=Search&isQuickSearch=true
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Example 52: M1 in Scofield’s solo in “Say the Word.”
During the first eight measures, Scofield presents and develops M1 and M2. M2 is a
consequent idea of M1 played in a question-and-answer fashion. Example 53 presents M2, and
example 54 exposes the two motives in context as a larger melodic idea.
Example 53: M2 in Scofield’s solo in “Say the Word.”
Example 54: M1 and M2 as a larger melodic idea in “Say the Word.”
The first development of both motives occurs with the same structure of the exposition of
the larger idea. Example 55 shows the first variation of M1 and M2 as a larger melodic idea.
Example 55: First variation of M1 and M2 as a larger melodic idea in “Say the Word.”
The second variation of M1 and M2 occurs thirteen measures later, after the first
introduction of the motives. Here, Scofield uses different pitches, but the rhythmic element is the
same. In addition, the larger melodic idea is equal to the one presented in examples 54 and 55.
Example 56 presents the second variation of M1 and M2.
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Example 56: Second variation of M1 and M2 as a larger melodic idea in “Say the Word.”
The third motive (M3) is less defined than M1 and M2, but it is an essential melodic
device in Scofield’s solo because it refers to the moment when the guitarist introduces constant
eighth notes in his solo. At the same time, this motive takes place in what can be considered the
first part of the solo or the exposition, sixteen measures after M1 is presented. Scofield plays the
first variation (M3’) a whole step below the original version. Between the original M3 and M3’,
the guitarist plays a variation of the tail of M1 (M1b). Example 57 exhibits M3 and its first
variation.
Example 57: M3 and its first variation in “Say the Word.”
Scofield uses these motives often during his solo, creating an interesting thematic
improvisation over the pedal point harmonic context. Also, the guitarist combines this technique
with fully improvised passages and interesting musical interaction with the rhythm section,
which allows him to express more spontaneous ideas. One can argue that his solo in “Say the
Word” evolves from a bluesy motivic-based concept to a more interactional and free-improvised
one.
Similar to Scofield, Lovano also plays a long and energetic solo where clear motives and
their development can be traced through the entire improvisation. The first clear motive appears
in the opening phrase of his solo. He starts suggesting a three-over-four melodic idea that bassist
Denis Irwin and drummer Bill Stewart follow, immediately creating a rhythmic modulation that
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evolves to a three-four meter. Example 58 shows the first melodic idea in Lovano’s solo in “Say
the Word.” This melodic idea is not strictly developed through the solo. For this reason, it is not
considered a motive.
Example 58: First melodic idea in Lovano’s solo in “Say the Word.”
Immediately after the opening melodic idea, Lovano states M1, which is a triplets-based
motive that he develops by creating a rhythmic-displaced sequence. Example 59 presents M1.
Example 59: M1 in Lovano’s solo in “Say the Word.”
During the M1-based sequence, Lovano does not vary the contour of the motive. He
transposes the melodic idea using small intervals such as minor and major second. Example 60
shows this development approach in Lovano’s solo in “Say the Word.”
Example 60: M1 development excerpt in Lovano’s solo in “Say the Word.”
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Table 8: Motive development and contour diversity in Scofield’s and Lovano’s solos in “Say the Word.”
Joe Lovano John Scofield
Motive Contour Variation Contour Motive Contour Variation Contour
M1 Descending
M1’ Undulating-like
M1 Descending
M1’ Descending
M1’’ Descending
M1’’ Undulating-like M1’’’ Undulating-like
M1’’’’ Undulating-like
M1’’’’’ Undulating
M2 Ascending
M2’ Descending
M2 Ascending M2’ Descending M2’’ Descending
M2’’’ Descending
M3 Descending M3’ Undulating-like M3 Undulating-like M3’ Undulating-like
M4 Undulating-like
M4’ Undulating-like
M4 Ascending
M4’ Ascending
M4’’ Undulating-like M4’’ Undulating
M4’’’ Undulating-like M4’’’ Undulating-like
M5 Ascending
M5’ Ascending
M5’’ Undulating-like
M5’’’ Descending
M5’’’’ Descending
M6 Ascending M6’ Undulating-like
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Lovano creates interesting development passages during his solos by developing small
melodic cells such as M1, presented above. His motivic development involves a masterful
capacity to superimpose different meters as well as to create rhythmic displacement.
Additionally, Lovano modifies the contour of some of the motives on his solo in “Say the
Word.” Table 8 shows the contour variation in Lovano’s and Scofield’s improvised solos in this
piece.
In the piece “Call 911,” Lovano plays another solo with interesting motivic content. As in
the previously analyzed solos, the saxophonist also presents these motives earlier during his
improvisation and develops them in a consistent way throughout the solo. M1 is an undulating
melodic idea with an eighth-note anacrusis, followed by an eighth-note triplet, and ending on two
eighth notes.
Example 61: M1 in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.”
Lovano develops M1 in different parts of the solo. These variations use different
development techniques including transposition, but the most recurrent technique is rhythmic
variation. These rhythmic variations occur more often on the b section of the motive. Example
62 shows different variations of M1 in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.”
Example 62: Developments of M1 in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.”
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M2 is an almost quarter-note-based idea, which is developed by Lovano later in the solo.
As shown by example 63, M2 has three different parts (a, b, and c) that are developed
individually and as a whole in Lovano’s improvisation in “Call 911.”
Example 63: M1 and M2 in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.”
Lovano introduces quarter-note ideas a few times in this solo. These quarter-note ideas
use a different intervallic design than the original M2, but the rhythmic element is contrasting
enough to the rest of the melodic content of the solo that it easily links those consequent ideas to
the original M2. Example 64 presents different developments of M2.
Example 64: Development of M2 in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.”
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Like Getz and Raney, Lovano introduces short melodic cells that he develops by
transposing them on intervals such as seconds and thirds (minor and major). In contrast to the
main motives (M1-M3), the melodic cells in M4-M6 are not used as developmental material in
different sections of the solo; rather, Lovano develops them immediately. Samples of this
technique are shown in examples 65 and 66.
Example 65: M5 as a melodic cell immediately developed.
Example 66: M6 as a melodic cell immediately developed.
As can be observed, M5 is a wide-range descending melodic idea that ends in a quarter
note with staccato articulation. Immediately in the next measure, Lovano plays a development of
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M5, which maintains the same descending melodic contour and the down-beat short articulation
at the end. M6 presents more variation episodes than M5, but all the consequent versions of the
motive take place immediately after the original is presented.
Scofield also develops different motives in his improvisation on “Call 911.” During the
first twenty seconds, Scofield plays short and specific melodic ideas. These melodic ideas are the
primary two motives that Scofield uses for motivic development. Like Lovano, Scofield uses
different motivic development techniques, but the recurrent technique applied by the guitarist is
rhythmic variation. During this time period, Scofield leaves considerable space between his
melodic ideas, which allows the listener to assimilate the presented motives better. Example 67
presents M1.
Example 67: M1 in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.”
Example 68 shows the first variation of M1. Scofield restates M1 a major third above the
original motive with rhythmic and intervallic variations.
Example 68: M1 and M1’ in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.”
M2 is a contrasting motive that uses the double-stop technique. Scofield uses different
double stops and dyads to develop this new melodic material. The original version of M2 is a
harmonic major seventh interval that the guitarist transposes up and down holding the same
shape or grip in the fretting hand. Example 69 presents M2.
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Example 69: M2 in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.”
Example 70 illustrates M2 and its first variation––M2’. In M2’, Scofield changes the
harmonic interval of M2 and plays a rhythmic subdivision in both parts of the motive (a and b).
Example 70: First variation of M2 in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.”
Example 71: Variations of M2 in Scofield’s solo on “Call 911.”
As shown in the collaborations previously analyzed, Scofield and Lovano also create
motivic development by changing the contour of their melodic ideas. After the first twenty
seconds of Scofield’s solo, the guitarist plays a more eighth-note-based improvisation with some
motivic variation, which is detailed in Table 9.
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Table 9: Motive development and contour diversity in Scofield’s and Lovano’s solos in “Call 911.”
Joe Lovano John Scofield
Motive Contour Variation Contour Motive Contour Variation Contour
M1 Undulating-like
M1’ Undulating-like
M1 Undulating-like
M1’ Undulating-like
M1’’ Undulating-like
M1’’ Undulating M1’’’ Ascending
M1’’’’ Undulating-like
M1’’’’’ Descending
M2 Undulating-like
b’ Undulating-like
M2
Descending M2’ Undulating-like
b’’ Ascending M2’’ Descending
M2’ Undulating-like Undulating M2’’’ Undulating-like
M2’’’ Undulating-like
M2’’’’ Descending
a’ Descending
b’ Undulating
b’’
M3 Undulating-like
M3’ Undulating-like
M3 Undulating-like M3’ Descending M3’’ Undulating-like
M3’’’ Undulating
M3’’’’ Descending
M4 Ascending
M4’ Undulating-like
M4 Undulating-like
M4’ Undulating-like
M4’’ Undulating-like M4’’ Undulating-like
a’ Descending
(table continues)
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Joe Lovano John Scofield
Motive Contour Variation Contour Motive Contour Variation Contour
M5 Descending M5’ Undulating-like
M5 Undulating M5’ Undulating
M5’’ Descending M5’’ Undulating-like
M6 Descending
M6’ Descending
M6 Undulating-like
M6’ Undulating-like
M6’’ Undulating
M6’’ Undulating-like M6’’’ Descending
M6’’’’ Undulating-like
M7 Undulating M7’ Undulating
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Blending and Articulation
Devices that are more vernacular to the guitar also transferred to other instruments,
including the saxophone. These devices include slides, bending of the notes, and detached
articulated ideas. Detached articulation implies the use of accented and staccato notes, and notes
separated by silence. This type of articulation is prominent in funk and rock strumming patterns.
In this collaboration, Lovano also introduces these devices in order to mimic Scofield’s guitar
playing and to create a remarkable and effective blending in unison and harmonized passages.
The adaptation of other instruments’ phrasing is intrinsic to jazz music and is an example of how
style in jazz flows between the instruments’ lineages.
“Say the Word” has a question-and-answer and rhythmically active main theme. In
contrast, the bridge is an eighth-notes passage of more angular melodic material. The bridge is
played in unison by both musicians. During the question-and-answer section, the melodic ideas
are more centered on guitar gestures than saxophone-like ideas. They use slides as well as a
detached articulation. Also, this is a more “in position” melodic fragment for the guitar. The
unison section uses a more saxophone-like phrasing with wider melodic range intervals and
constant eighth notes. This section requires the guitar player to move more horizontally
throughout the fretboard than section A. Example 72 presents the question-and-answer material
of “Say the Word.”
As shown in example 72, Scofield’s ideas are short and pentatonic-based with a small
range. Scofield and Lovano regularly use a slide/slur articulation during these short melodic
cells. One can argue that it is Lovano who uses this device to mimic Scofield’s guitar style,
rather than the other way around. In contrast, the following passage, section B, uses more
extended melodic ideas with a more extensive melodic range and legato phrasing.
112
Example 72: Section A of “Say the Word.”
Example 73: Section B of “Say the Word.”
As can be observed, section B of the piece is arpeggio-based. The arpeggios make it
difficult to hammer-on and pull-off because of the need to use different strings for consecutive
notes; still, Scofield and Lovano execute this excerpt with legato phrasing that contrasts with
section A. The legato phrasing used by Scofield during this excerpt seems to mimic the “tip”
tonguing technique. Also, both players accent the same notes, creating an impressive blending
113
and a cohesive effect. Later in the piece, both players perform the introductory passage originally
played only by Scofield. Here, Lovano and Scofield prominently use the slur/slide articulation to
both approach and release the target note. These slurs create an effect of unity and blend
impeccably. Example 74 presents this introductory material played as an interlude by both
musicians in unison.
Example 74: Unison line and use of slur/slide in the interlude of “Say the Word.”
Another example of blending and agreement of articulation is the album’s second track,
“Camp Out.” This piece features a simple but rhythmically active melody based on four- to five-
note melodic motives in an eight-bar phrase form. The exposition of the theme presents the
melody in two different octaves, which provides the players the opportunity to display their
expert blending in two different registers of their instruments. The first time through, Scofield
and Lovano play the melody in the lower register, and the second time, an octave higher. The
second time through, Scofield harmonizes the original melody during the last measures, a
treatment that is common in bebop themes played by wind instruments. Example 75 shows the
theme and articulation of “Camp Out.”
The fingerings notated in example 75 are from a video of the John Scofield trio live at
The Newport Jazz Festival in 1993,130 but my transcription is from the studio recording. They
play the same arrangement, but in a trio setting. I doubt there are many variations in the
130 John Scofield, Live at the Newport Jazz Festival, 1993, accessed January 20, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDz3NRqONJI
114
fingerings since the arrangement is the same. The only exception is the last phrase. Scofield
plays a variation every time in the video. A significant element of the articulation worth
mentioning, besides the remarkable blending with Lovano, is the execution of the melodic idea
in m. 5 and m. 6. As demonstrated by example 75, Scofield plays both motives on the same
string. After playing m. 5 on the G string, one can imagine that the closer position to execute m.
6 is to continue playing the C with the fourth finger and playing the D on the second string.
Scofield switches positions using the C as a “pivot note” to be able to play the same melodic idea
transposed a whole step above with the same articulation. The guitarist plays the notes C, B♭, A,
with fingers 4, 2, 1 in m. 5. In m. 6, he does use the same fingerings (4, 2, 1) to execute the notes
D, C, B♮.
Example 75: “Camp Out” with articulation marks and guitar fingerings.
Another example of blending and agreement of articulation is the album’s fifth track,
“Call 911.” In contrast to “Camp Out,” this composition features a fast tempo swing groove with
a rhythmically exciting melody that uses long melodic ideas executed with a legato phrasing.
The rhythmic precision in this piece is remarkable, and Scofield’s capability to match the
115
saxophone’s articulation during long and wide-ranged phrases is impeccable. Example 76
presents the first eight measures of “Call 911,” including the guitar fingerings. These fingerings
were transcribed from the video of the quartet’s live performance at the Montreal International
Jazz Festival in 1992.131 Even though the actual music transcription is from the studio version,
the previously mentioned use of register and the arrangements are the same.
Example 76: First eight measures of “Call 911,” including articulation and fingerings.
During the melody breaks, Scofield adds more guitar-like music ideas such as distorted
two-note voicings or dyads, wide interval slides, and others to contrast with the saxophone-like
melodic lines of the main theme. Example 77 presents an instance of these contrasting ideas.
Example 77: Contrasting material during the melody breaks of “Call 911.”
131 John Scofield, Live at Montreal International Jazz Festival, 1992, accessed January 20, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVIZdBOQsSA
116
In mm. 20-23 of example 77, Scofield plays two-note ideas that create an exciting
contrast between the saxophone-like phrasing melodic ideas of the theme. The examples
presented above demonstrate Scofield’s meaningful approach to the performance practice of the
guitar articulation and his capacity to mimic the saxophone articulation. At the same time, this
excerpt illustrates his use of more vernacular music ideas on the guitar, which represents a link to
some of his musical influences, such as rock and roll.
Example 78 shows the C section of the same piece. Here, Scofield is harmonizing the
melody played by Lovano. As is shown, Scofield moves from the first and second position
(where he was mainly playing the previous two sections) to the fifth position. This allows him to
play these melodic ideas using the second string in a prominent fashion. The tone of the second
string exceptionally blends with Lovano’s bright but rounded sound in the upper register.
Example 78: Section C of “Say the Word.”
Lovano and Scofield also share their approach to articulation in relation to the ending of
the phrases. In “Call 911,” both improvisers play long solos with interesting rhythmic variations.
117
They also display a vast repertoire of resources for articulation and expand the traditional sonic
boundaries of their instruments by using extended techniques. These techniques affect the ending
of the phrases, which seem to be more varied than Getz’s and Raney’s. Lovano and Scofield use
different types of short and long endings enhanced by slides, bends, and dynamics to add more
nuances to their vocabulary. Example 79 presents a downbeat-short type of articulation in
Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Call 911.”
Example 79: Downbeat-short articulation in Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Call 911.”
As shown in example 79, Lovano and Scofield end their phrases with a short-downbeat
articulation that uses a tongue-staccato technique in Lovano’s case and a mute-staccato in
Scofield’s. Example 80 shows a version of a downbeat-long articulation.
Example 80: Downbeat-long articulation in Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Call 911.”
As presented in example 80, both instrumentalists play a downbeat-long type of
articulation over their solos in “Call 911.” Both instrumentalists are playing the full value of the
quarter note marked with a tenuto articulation. Examples 81 and 82 present an instance of bop
articulation.
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Example 81: Upbeat-short articulation (bop) in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.”
Example 82: Upbeat-short articulation (bop) in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.”
As shown in examples 81 and 82, Lovano and Scofield play a short-upbeat type of
articulation over their solos in “Call 911.” Both improvisers are playing an eighth note ending of
the phrase marked with a house-top articulation. Watkins calls this one the bop articulation.
In “Call 911,” Lovano does not play phrases ending with an upbeat-long articulation.
This significantly contrasts with Stan Getz, who uses this device often in “Motion,” “Signal,”
and “Lee.” Moreover, Scofield uses this device often in his different solos on the album What We
Do. Example 83 illustrates this type of articulation in his solo in “Call 911.”
Example 83: Upbeat-long articulation in Scofield’s solo in “Call 911.”
As shown in the example above, Scofield holds the last note of the phrase after
accentuating the penultimate note of the phrase. This is a common approach to this technique in
the solos previously analyzed.
Figure 10 compares how Lovano and Scofield articulate the last note of phrases in their
respective solos on “Call 911.” The solos contain a significant number of phrases that end with
downbeat-short and downbeat-long notes. The least common device used by both players is
119
finishing phrases with a long articulation in the upbeats. This upbeat-long articulation
infrequently appears at the end of phrases. Overall, Lovano and Scofield primarily use
downbeat-type endings in these solos.
Figure 10: Ending note articulation in each phrase of Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Call 911.”
As can be observed in figure 11, Lovano and Scofield play a similar number of phrases
ending with a downbeat and an upbeat in “Say the Word.” As in “Call 911,” the least
conventional device is finishing the phrases with a long articulation on the upbeats. In this piece,
the most common device used by both improvisers is ending the phrases with an upbeat-short
articulation. The recurrent use of downbeat endings is consistent with the type of articulations
used by Getz and Raney on Jimmy Raney Plays.
Figure 11: Ending note articulation in each phrase of Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Say the Word.”
0
10
20
30
40
50
Downbeat-Short Downbeat-Long Upbeat-Short Upbeat-Long
Lovano Scofield
0
5
10
15
20
25
Downbeat-Short Downbeat-Long Upbeat-Short Upbeat-Long
Lovano Scofield
120
Length
In contrast to the collaborations previously analyzed, Lovano and Scofield introduce
longer phrases during their solo improvisations on the album What We Do. At the same time,
they develop short rhythmic ideas for prolonged periods of time. The reason for this may have to
do with the harmonic context underlying the improvisation. They are less restricted in terms of
harmonic motion and are not committed to a given number of measures, such as the 32 bars
form, to develop their musical ideas. This allows them to play more melodic ideas over the bar
line, which also translates to longer phrases. In addition, the use of pedal effects allows Scofield
to execute extended eighth-notes phrases as well as to play long sustained notes. Example 84
presents an illustration of an extended eighth-notes phrase by Scofield in “Say the Word.”
Example 85 shows an extended eighth-notes triplets phrase by Lovano in “Call 911.”
Example 84: Extended eighth-notes phrase by Scofield in “Say the Word.”
Example 85: Extended eighth-notes triplets phrase by Lovano in “Call 911.”
Lovano and Scofield play a more significant number of extended phrases on their solos.
Even though Raney and Getz play phrases that are 21 beats long, they play a lower number of
extended phrases in their solos. In contrast to Lovano and Scofield, Getz and Raney reserve these
extended melodic ideas for more developed sections in their improvisations, regularly occurring
121
after the first half of the solos. Lovano and Scofield use them more often through their entire
improvisations.
As shown in figure 12, Lovano and Scofield play a significant number of phrases with
lengths of 3, 3.5, 6.5, 7, and 8 beats. Also, both improvisers play the same number of phrases of
3.5 beats long. Their longest phrase oscillates between 16 and 23 beats long. Lovano’s longest
phrase is of 16 beats, while Scofield’s is of 23 beats.
Figure 12: Lovano’s and Scofield’s phrase lengths in “Say the Word.”
Figure 13 shows that in “Call 911,” Lovano and Scofield play a significant number of
phrases with lengths of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 beats. Furthermore, both improvisers play the same
number of phrases of 7, 10, and 12.5 beats long. Their longest phrases oscillate between 22 and
27 beats long. Lovano’s longest phrase is of 22 beats, while Scofield’s is of 27 beats.
Figure 13: Lovano’s and Scofield’s phrase lengths in “Call 911.”
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122
Range
In the pieces analyzed from the album What We Do, Lovano and Scofield experiment
more with different registers on their instruments. Lovano, in particular, plays interesting
melodic ideas in the two ends of the instrument’s tessitura. Lovano’s use of altissimo during
prolonged periods of time contributes to building an effective dramatic curve during his solo
improvisations as well as to displaying an extraordinary technique. Example 86 shows the use of
the growl technique in the extreme upper register in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.”
Example 86: Phrase in the extreme upper register in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.”
Lovano executes these phrases using the growl technique. This technique refers to the
action of singing into the saxophone while playing a given pitch. The singing pitch defines the
resulting saxophone sound. Curtis Macdonald explains the mechanisms of this technique:
All that one does to induce the growling effect is to vibrate the uvula at the back of your mouth (The uvula is that little thing that hangs in between your tonsils at the top of your throat). Think of what goes on when you gargle water. The action is very similar to that, but this time you’re creating the “gargled-water” sound without the use of any water.132
Watkins differentiates between the between the pure growl and growling while playing,
indicating that the latter uses less vibration. Lovano uses the latter technique more prominently
in “Call 911.”133
Lovano also uses the extreme low register to develop his solo and to create interesting
132 Curtis Macdonald, Introducing Extended Saxophone Techniques (Pacific, MO: Mel Bay, 2013), 25. 133 Watkins, From Inside Out, 224.
123
sonic variations. Example 87 presents a phrase in the extreme low register in Lovano’s solo in
“Call 911.”
Example 87: Phrase in the extreme low register in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.”
As can be observed in example 88, Lovano starts the phrase playing an A2 pitch a minor
third below the “practical range”134 (C3) for a tenor saxophone. Another example of the use of
the extreme low register in Lovano’s solo is presented in example 88.
Example 88: Extreme low register in Lovano’s solo in “Call 911.”
In addition, Lovano uses both extreme registers during the same phrase or motive. M5,
previously presented in the motivic analysis, is an illustration of this approach. As shown by
example 89, Lovano’s phrase in “Call 911” happens on a range of an open (two octaves apart)
minor ninth.
Example 89: Lovano’s two-octave range melodic idea in “Call 911.”
134 Dick Lowell, Ken Pullig, and Michael Jacob Gold, Arranging for Large Jazz Ensemble (Boston, MA: Berklee Press, 2003), 3.
124
Scofield correspondingly uses a wider interval range in his improvisations on this album.
He explores playing in the upper register, which is enhanced by the sustain of the overdrive
effect. In contrast to Raney, Scofield uses more the extreme upper register of the instrument. The
highest note that Raney plays during the analyzed solos from Jimmy Raney Plays is a concert F5.
One can argue that unlike Scofield, earlier guitar players including Jimmy Raney, Barney Kessel,
and even Jim Hall avoided this register of the instrument because of its characteristic thin sound.
Example 90 presents a phrase in the piece “Say the Word” that illustrates Scofield’s use of wide-
interval range on his improvisations.
Example 90: Scofield’s wide-interval range melodic idea in “Say the Word.”
As shown by example 90, Scofield starts the phrase playing a B5, and at the end of the
first full bar, he is two octaves down the starting pitch––a B3. He continues developing this
musical idea using a vast interval range that covers more than three octaves.
Another example of the use of wide-interval ideas is the short improvised material he
adds during the melody breaks in “Call 911.” In the repetition of the A section, he plays a major
seventh melodic interval as a comment on the melody of the piece shown in m. 16 of example
91.
Example 91: Scofield’s major seventh interval range comment in “Call 911.”
125
The highest note that Raney plays during the analyzed solos from Jimmy Raney Plays is a
concert F5. In the piece “Call 911,” Scofield plays a concert B5 and plays entire melodic ideas
above the F5. Example 92 illustrates a melodic idea above the F5 pitch
Example 92: Scofield’s melodic idea above F5 in “Call 911.”
Figures 14 and 15 show the range relationship between Lovano’s and Scofield’s phrase
ranges in “Say the Word” and “Call 911.” In “Say the Word,” Lovano and Scofield play a
significant number of phrases with a range of perfect fourth, perfect fifth, and minor seventh.
They share the same number of phrases with a range of an octave, major tenth, and perfect
eleventh. Lovano’s largest phrase range is of an open perfect eleventh, and Scofield’s is of an
open minor ninth.
Figure 14: Range relationship in each phrase of Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Say the Word.”
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Min
or 2
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2nd
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Lovano Scofield
126
Figure 15: Range relationship in each phrase of Lovano’s and Scofield’s solos in “Call 911.”
In “Call 911,” both improvisers play a significant number of phrases with a range of
minor third, perfect fourth, diminished fifth, perfect fifth, and major sixth. They share the same
number of phrases with a range of a major sixth and perfect eleventh. Also, Lovano’s largest
phrase range is of two octaves and Scofield’s is of an open major tenth.
Tables 10 and 11 present the relationship between Lovano’s and Scofield’s phrases in
their solos in “Call 911” and “Say the Word.” As these tables demonstrate, the evolution of jazz
guitar from a more percussive approach to a more leading voice in the bandstand is associated
with the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing. This study previously analyzed elements of
articulation and melodic and motivic design. An additional element of the evolution of jazz
improvisation, and jazz guitar in particular, is the fact that more modern improvisers tend to play
longer and wider melodic lines during their solos. In the case of the guitar, the use of pedal
effects allowed guitar players to resemble the sonic characteristics of the saxophone and other
wind instruments such as prolonged sustain notes and faster lines enhanced by a legato phrasing.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Lovano Scofield
127
Table 10: The relationship between Lovano’s and Scofield’s phrases in their solos in “Call 911.”
Phrase Joe Lovano John Scofield
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
1 Upbeat-short Major 6th 3.5 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 4.5
2 Upbeat-short Minor 7th 8.5 Downbeat-long Minor 3rd 5
3 Downbeat-long Minor 13th 22 Upbeat-long Major 7th 5.5
4 Downbeat-long Minor 2nd 3 Downbeat-short Minor 9th 5
5 Upbeat-short Minor 2nd 1 Upbeat-long Perfect 11th 12
6 Downbeat-short Minor 3rd 7.5 Downbeat-long Major 7th 4
7 Downbeat-short Major 3rd 6 Downbeat-short Major 6th 7
8 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 3 Downbeat-short Minor 7th 3.5
9 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 5 Upbeat-long Major 6th 4
10 Upbeat-short Minor 9th 8 Downbeat-long Minor 10th 11.5
11 Downbeat-short Major 3rd 4.5 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 3.5
12 Downbeat-short Major 7th 8.5 Upbeat-long Major 14th 7.5
13 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 2 Upbeat-short Minor 10th 10
14 Downbeat-long Minor 3rd 3 Downbeat-long Perfect 4th 13
15 Upbeat-short Major 6th 5.5 Upbeat-short Minor 10th 15
16 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 6 Upbeat-short Minor 9th 9.5
17 Downbeat-short Major 10th 10 Upbeat-long Minor 3rd 5.5
18 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 7 Downbeat-short Minor 3rd 12
19 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 4 Upbeat-short Minor 7th 11
20 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 4 Upbeat-long Minor 3rd 2
21 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 2 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 3
(table continues)
128
Phrase Joe Lovano John Scofield
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
22 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 4.5 Downbeat-long Major 6th 3
23 Downbeat-short Dim. 5th 5 Downbeat-short Dim. 5th 6
24 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 3.5 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 4
25 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 3.5 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 27
26 Downbeat-long Perfect 11th 14 Upbeat-short Perfect 12th 4
27 Downbeat-short Minor 9th 11.25 Downbeat-short Major 6th 2
28 Downbeat-short Minor 9th 6 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 6
29 Downbeat-short Minor 9th 5 Downbeat-short Dim. 5th 13
30 Upbeat-short Minor 9th 5 Upbeat-long O. Maj. 10th 11
31 Upbeat-short Major 9th 4 Upbeat-short O. Maj. 10th 15
32 Upbeat-short Perfect 11th 7 Upbeat-short Major 14th 8
33 Downbeat-short Major 7th 6.5 Upbeat-long Major 7th 7
34 Downbeat-long Perfect 4th 14 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 4
35 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 6 Downbeat-long Minor 6th 3
36 Upbeat-short Major 9th 14 Downbeat-long Dim. 5th 3
37 Upbeat-short Minor 13th 20.5 Upbeat-short Major 7th 10
38 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 1.5 Downbeat-long Minor 6th 13.5
39 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 2 Downbeat-long Major 6th 12.5
40 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 2 Upbeat-short Minor 2nd 2
41 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 1 Downbeat-short Major 3rd 2
42 Downbeat-short Minor 10th 7 Upbeat-long Minor 3rd 3
43 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 3 Upbeat-short Perfect 11th 20
(table continues)
129
Phrase Joe Lovano John Scofield
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
44 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 6 Downbeat-short Perfect 12th 8
45 Downbeat-short Dim. 5th 11 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 3
46 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 5 Downbeat-long Perfect 4th 4
47 Upbeat-short Minor 7th 4 Upbeat-short Major 7th 6
48 Downbeat-short Major 3rd 3 Downbeat-long Minor 3rd 9
49 Upbeat-short Major 10th 12 Downbeat-long 8ve 7
50 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 5 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 8
51 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 2 Upbeat-long Dim. 12th 7
52 Upbeat-short Major 6th 3 Downbeat-long 8ve 8
53 Downbeat-short Major 9th 7.75 Upbeat-short Minor 9th 10
54 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 4 Downbeat-short Minor 9th 4.5
55 Downbeat-long 8ve 10 Downbeat-short Dim. 12th 12
56 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 3.5 Downbeat-long Major 9th 2
57 Downbeat-short Minor 10th 10 Downbeat-long Major 13th 8.75
58 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 4 Upbeat-short Major 14th 15
59 Upbeat-short Major 3rd 2 Upbeat-long Minor 10th 10.5
60 Downbeat-short Minor 13th 2.5 Upbeat-short Minor 3rd 3
61 Downbeat-short Minor 3rd 1.75 Downbeat-long Minor 3rd 2.5
62 Upbeat-short 8ve 5 Downbeat-short Major 3rd 4
63 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 3.5 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 3
64 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 2.5 Upbeat-short Minor 13th 16
65 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 4.5 Downbeat-long Minor 13th 24
(table continues)
130
Phrase Joe Lovano John Scofield
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
66 Downbeat-long Major 6th 6 Downbeat-long Major 6th 6.5
67 Upbeat-short Minor 13th 6 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 14
68 Upbeat-short Major 6th 7 Downbeat-long Major 6th 13
69 Downbeat-long Dim. 5th 4
70 Downbeat-long Major 3rd 3
71 Downbeat-long Major 3rd 4
72 Downbeat-long Major 3rd 3
73 Downbeat-long Major 9th 9.5
74 Downbeat-short Perfect 12th 4
75 Downbeat-long Dim. 5th 3
76 Downbeat-short Dim. 5th 3
77 Downbeat-short Major 10th 13
78 Upbeat-short Major 9th 5
79 Downbeat-long Major 6th 8.5
80 Upbeat-short 2 8ves 10.5
81 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 3
82 Downbeat-short Major 13th 17.5
83 Downbeat-long Major 3rd 3
84 Upbeat-short Major 9th 5
85 Downbeat-long Major 9th 5
86 Upbeat-short 8ve 5.5
87 Upbeat-short Major 6th 2
(table continues)
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Phrase Joe Lovano John Scofield
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
88 Downbeat-long Major 7th 5.5
89 Upbeat-short 8ve 5
90 Upbeat-short Minor 3rd 6.5
Table 11: The relationship between Lovano’s and Scofield’s phrases in their solos in “Say the Word.”
Phrase Joe Lovano John Scofield
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
1 Downbeat-short Perfect 12th 8 Upbeat-long 8ve 9.5
2 Upbeat-short Major 2nd 2 Downbeat-short Dim. 5th 5.5
3 Upbeat-short Major 2nd 2 Upbeat-long 8ve 7
4 Upbeat-short Major 2nd 2 Downbeat-short Minor 7th 8
5 Upbeat-short Major 2nd 2 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 4.5
6 Upbeat-short Minor 2nd 2 Downbeat-short Minor 7th 15.5
7 Upbeat-short Minor 2nd 2 Upbeat-short Minor 6th 7
8 Upbeat-long Perfect 4th 2 Upbeat-short Major 6th 9
9 Upbeat-long Perfect 4th 2 Upbeat-short Minor 7th 12
10 Upbeat-short Minor 10th 11.66 Downbeat-long Major 7th 6
11 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 5 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 7
12 Upbeat-short Minor 10th 2 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 3
13 Downbeat-long Major 2nd 2.66 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 2.5
14 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 2.33 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 5
(table continues)
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Phrase Joe Lovano John Scofield
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
15 Downbeat-short Minor 7th 4.5 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 2
16 Downbeat-short Major 6th 4.5 Downbeat-long Perfect 5th 3
17 Upbeat-short 2 8ves 7 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 2.5
18 Upbeat-long Major 6th 6.5 Downbeat-long Perfect 11th 9
19 Upbeat-short Open Dim. 5th 16 Upbeat-short Major 3rd 7
20 Upbeat-short Major 10th 12.5 Downbeat-long Major 9th 7
21 Downbeat-long 8ve 7.66 Downbeat-long Minor 10th 7
22 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 4 Upbeat-short Dim. 5th 7.5
23 Upbeat-short 8ve 6.5 Upbeat-long Major 9th 14
24 Downbeat-short Minor 2nd 3 Upbeat-short Major 3rd 5
25 Downbeat-long Minor 2nd 3 Upbeat-long Major 6th 6.5
26 Downbeat-short Minor 2nd 3 Downbeat-short Major 6th 5
27 Downbeat-long 2 8ves 11.5 Upbeat-short Minor 2nd 2.5
28 Upbeat-long Perfect 4th 10 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 5
29 Downbeat-short Major 9th 14 Upbeat-short Open 11th 23
30 Downbeat-long Major 9th 7 Downbeat-long Minor 6th 5.5
31 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 5.5 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 3.3
32 Upbeat-short Minor 7th 6 Upbeat-short Major 6th 7
33 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 7.5 Downbeat-short Perfect 4th 4
34 Downbeat-long Perfect 4th 3 Upbeat-short Major 9th 14.66
35 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 3 Upbeat-short Minor 13th 10.66
36 Upbeat-short Perfect 11th 8 Upbeat-short Minor 9th 9
(table continues)
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Phrase Joe Lovano John Scofield
Articulation Range Length Articulation Range Length (Beats)
37 Downbeat-long Minor 9th 11.5 Upbeat-short 2 8ves 13
38 Downbeat-long Minor 2nd 1.6 Downbeat-short 8ve 13.5
39 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 13.16 Upbeat-long Perfect 5th 6
40 Downbeat-short Minor 10th 7.25 Upbeat-short Perfect 5th 5.5
41 Downbeat-short Major 9th 4.66 Downbeat-short Major 13th 14.5
42 Downbeat-short 8ve 5.66 Upbeat-short Major 10th 9.5
43 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 6.5 Upbeat-short Minor 10th 18.16
44 Downbeat-short Minor 3rd 2.5 Upbeat-long Open Min. 9th 8
45 Upbeat-short Perfect 4th 2 Downbeat-short Minor 13th 7.5
46 Upbeat-short Major 6th 10 Downbeat-long Perfect 4th 8
47 Upbeat-short Minor 9th 4.5 Upbeat-long Perfect 5th 6
48 Downbeat-long Perfect 4th 3.5 Downbeat-short Major 6th 12
49 Downbeat-short Perfect 5th 7 Upbeat-long Major 9th 12
50 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 6.5
51 Downbeat-long Perfect 4th 4
52 Downbeat-long Minor 7th 14
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CHAPTER 9
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
This study investigated the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing into the improvisatory
and compositional vocabulary of jazz guitar. The eight chapters presented a comparative analysis
of melodic design, articulation, and phrasing in order to demonstrate that the evolution of
modern jazz guitar is related to the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing. This development is a
result of guitarists’ collaborations with saxophone players, in addition to their investigation and
study of recordings from other saxophone players. In this way, this dissertation contributed to the
scholarly conversation associated with style in jazz and how it flows between different
instruments’ lineages.
The analysis of the selected recordings presented in this dissertation contributed to new
approaches to the study of style in jazz. After surveying the literature and methods associated
with jazz improvisation, one can argue that they usually cover aspects related to harmony, chord-
scale theory, and melodic vocabulary concerning harmonic settings. This study examined
elements that have an equal level of importance and impact on the dialect of style in jazz, such as
articulation, length of phrases, contour, motivic design, counterpoint, and range. In addition, this
study contributed to the understanding of the evolution of the guitar’s role in jazz from a mainly
rhythmic instrument to a leader on the bandstand. This process covered significant recordings of
guitarists Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John Scofield. Each of these prominent figures played a
significant role in expanding the possibilities of the instrument and defining the concept of style
in jazz and jazz guitar. This research showed that of the three guitarists studied, Jimmy Raney
did the most detailed work on adapting elements from Lester Young, Charlie Parker, and his
collaborator Stan Getz.
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The analysis of the selected recordings from the albums Jimmy Raney Plays, The Jimmy
Giuffre 3, and What We Do, exhibited the influence of saxophone-like phrasing in modern jazz
guitar, addressing elements of technique, tone, and equipment, in order to trace the evolution of
such approaches in different periods of jazz. The findings showed how certain devices represent
the phenomenon of the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing into the guitar. These include
phrase shaping, breath, “jazz articulation,” contour, “dramatic devices,” tone quality, and
lyricisms, and their association with motivic design. In addition to these devices, the adaptation
of saxophone-like phrasing also affected modern jazz guitar playing in the following categories:
1) Articulation: In addition to the legato phrasing that is achieved on the guitar by using
different techniques such as hammer-ons and pull-offs, third finger stretches, and sweep picking,
this study reveals that the release of the notes plays a vital role in the adaptation of saxophone-
like phrasing on the guitar. The balance between short-downbeat, long-downbeat, short-upbeat,
and long-upbeat plays an essential role in “jazz articulation” and saxophone-like phrasing. The
data presented in this study demonstrate that a long-downbeat articulation is the most common
device used by the musicians analyzed.
2) Length: The data here reveal that the saxophonists and guitarists involved in this
study use a similar number of phrases with a similar length during a given time period or number
of choruses. One can argue that the execution of dialectic phrases determines the number of
phrases in a stylistic solo.
3) Range: The data presented here suggest that the saxophonists and guitarists involved
in this study use a similar number of phrases with a similar range during a given time period or
number of choruses. One can argue that jazz guitar players developed different techniques to
execute phrases with more extensive ranges by mimicking the range of phrases played by
136
saxophonists.
4) Counterpoint: Jazz guitarists mimic the horn-section playing when abandoning the
default chordal accompaniment role of the instrument. Their use of countermelodies is enhanced
by exceptional blending. The detailed attention to resembling the sonic characteristics and timbre
of the saxophone also contributed to developing the leading voice of the guitar in jazz.
5) Contour: The data presented in this dissertation suggested that motivic development
is associated with the variation of the contour of melodic ideas. Also, the analysis of the contour
of jazz motives presented in this study may work as a different approach to the teaching of the
melodic construction of dialectic phrases in jazz.
This document was intended to be an example of research and analysis in jazz that the
literature has missed. It investigates other elements of jazz style in order to provide a resource
that would benefit musicians, teachers, and students, satisfying their curiosity to delve into the
understanding and assimilation of jazz music.
Delimitations and Suggestions for Further Study
This study was not designed to cover elements associated with chord-scale theory and
harmonic devices and how they are part of the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing. Further
studies may combine the devices analyzed in this dissertation and matters related to harmony and
scales in order to produce a more comprehensive understanding of the concept of style in jazz.
For example, a comparison between length of the phrases, range, and altered dominant chords
and their dramatic role in solos’ construction would be educative.
Other influential guitar-saxophone collaborations in jazz history also contributed to the
evolution of the guitar as a lead voice in jazz. Some examples include Kenny Burrell and John
Coltrane, Billy Bauer and Lee Konitz, Peter Bernstein and Joshua Redman, and Kurt
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Rosenwinkel and Mark Turner. It would be interesting to read a study on these collaborations
and their influence on modern jazz and jazz guitar in particular.
Additionally, this dissertation suggested that just as saxophone-like phrasing influenced
the development of modern jazz guitar performance practice, guitar-like playing may have
influenced other eras of jazz. It would be interesting to read a study that addresses the role of the
adaptation of blues guitar-like phrasing in early jazz.
Finally, the different approaches used to analyze these saxophone-guitar collaborations,
and particularly the analysis of contour, length, and range, can be used to study many other
settings of style in jazz, including different instruments’ collaborations.
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