Approaching jazz composition through the music of Billy Strayhorn

Leonie Freudenberger

Name: Leonie Freudenberger Main Subject: Jazz Saxophone Research Coach: Karst de Jong Title of Research: Approaching jazz composition through the music of Billy Strayhorn Research Question: What are the most important elements of Billy Strayhorn's compositions? How can I incorporate his compositional approach in my own writing? Billy Strayhorn (1915–1976) was a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, orchestrator and lyricist whose works have influenced the genre of jazz music until today. The research contains two phases: First, the analysis of his compositions. Second, the attempt to compose originals using the detected stylistic, harmonic, melodic and conceptional tools. Considering the enormous oeuvre that Strayhorn produced, it is inevitable to make a selection of songs to analyze. My criteria for this selection are the following: Which songs have become part of the standard repertoire in jazz, performed by various artists throughout the 20th (and 21st) century? Where can I find aural trademarks, which I recognize both as a listener and as a player and which contribute to my personal perception of the “Strayhorn sound”? Can the compositions be reduced to a lead sheet and performed by a small jazz combo without losing their essence? My final intention is not only to compose using Strayhorn-typical elements and tools, but also to write music for myself as a performer and for my group to play it. On longer terms, I hope that I can abstract this method further on and profit from it beyond the results of this research. Biography: Leonie Freudenberger, born 1988 in Baden-Baden (D), has played the alto saxophone since her childhood. She started her professional jazz education at the University of Music in Mannheim in 2008 and came to Den Haag in 2011, where she finished her Bachelor's degree. Apart from her Master studies, she writes music and performs with her own group and takes part in various projects, playing alto and baritone saxophone.

Compositions

Description of process

I have tried to use the stylistic devices that are enlisted in the chapter before to create new music. Anyway, it was important for me not only to “mix and match” the elements, but to follow my inspiration, like I usually do when composing, and allow my ideas to be guided by the research I have done. Due to the fact that I have spent so much time with Strayhorn’s music – reading, listening and playing – I am able to enter a state of mind in which I try to recreate the sound of this music in my inner ear.

The method is to combine the Strayhorn sound in my head with the techniques that I have discovered. That means, when I come up with an idea, I manipulate it using Strayhorn’s tools.

This chapter shows the current status of my composing for the time being. I will continue to work on the pieces shown here, and I intend to write more music for the final recital of my Master studies.

In the online research catalogue, you can find recordings of the two pieces with the working titles B.S. I and B.S. II.

Please note that these recordings are the first attempts of performing the compositions; their purpose is to give an aural impression, but also, to help me understand what can still be improved. One helpful aspect is the feedback of fellow musicians.

In my final presentation during the Master Research Symposium, I will demonstrate how the music has developed after rehearsing with a band.

Composition B.S. I

My first composition is inspired by Chelsea Bridge, A Flower and The Far East Suite. The starting point was the aural atmosphere of The Far Eats Suite with its exotic soundscapes. I wanted to establish the idea of a harmonic ostinato, just like in Chelsea Bridge and A Flower and make a tonal color the central idea of the piece.

The melodic minor color of the Ebm^maj7 chord is the defining sound. The form is AABA. The melody is agile and expressive, starting out with a long sustained major 7, then moving downwards quickly within one octave; this is a tribute to melodies out of The Far East Suite such as Isfahan (which also has a descending arpeggio as the central motive) or Agra.

My intention was that the melody of “A” always stays within the tonal material of the Eb minor melodic scale, so that theoretically the theme could be played without any other chord progressions. However, when the first 4-bar phrase is repeated, the bass starts moving – as an element of surprise - on beat 3 of bar 5 (thus during the phrase), coming back to Eb on beat 2 of bar 7. This way, the tonal material is reinterpreted in its function because the bass note is changing; the melody leaves the harmonic ostinato, moves through harmonically functional chords, touching a new tonic of Bb⁷, and going back “home” to Ebm^maj7.

The 12-bar “A” section is structured in a sentence. The 4-bar phrase is repeated twice; at the third time, the phrase is modified. Also, in the final 4 bars, the harmony moves away from Ebm^maj7, through a cadence of IIm⁷-V⁷s, ending on dominant that leads back to the top. This structural form of the “A” section is borrowed from A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing.

The “B” section (8 bars) has a new character. It consists of one 2-bar motive, which features a certain chord progression: A major seventh chord followed by a dominant a half-tone lower, then again a major chord a half-tone lower, and so on. The major chord could be seen as a substitute for a IIm^7b5; that means, we have descending minor II-V⁷s, starting on Bb^maj7(or Em^7b5).

The 2-bar motive stays the same, sequenced through the chord changes. It is repeated twice, then the final 2 bars modulate back to “A” through the same dominant as in the end of “A”. The last bars of “A” and of “B” are identical, also in the melody.

When I composed this piece, I imagined that it could be arranged for a set-up similar to the Ellington Orchestra playing The Far East Suite, so that the instrumentation emphasizes the effects of the music. Already the use of two or three different brass and wood wind instruments would add to the character. However, the piece can also come to life just with one horn and harmonic accompaniment.

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