1 - Introduction
Preface
As a teenager a became fascinated by jazz. Hearing Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Dizzy Gillespie and many other great trumpet players lighted a fire that is still very much alight today. In my work as a jazz musician, composer and teacher of jazz composition I have allways had a keen interest in nice chords, and finding surprising harmonic variations.
I was fortunate to have had some very good jazz teachers from a very early age. Especially Frans Elsen who I had weekly lessons with from the age of 13, and who I heard playing for at his weekly sessions for many years in a row in café de Sport in The Hague. Just hearing him harmonize so beautifully, on the spot, whilst sight reading a tune he never played before, made me realize the endless possibillities in music, and the vast knowledge of fuctional harmony he posessed.
In the 80's I also discovered the playing and writing of Tom Harrell, who's use of harmony and remarkable melodic sense made a lasting impression. I started transcribing his compositions from LP's, and have played a great many of them.
Introduction
What makes up for a great jazz composition? This is of course a highly subjective topic, and at large a matter of taste. So personally I feel that when the listener is taken on a journey, and at the end of the ride one has learnt - or felt - something, or has been moved to an interesting place, the music has served it's purpose.
The focus in this research will be on harmonic movement, the effect sorted by certain progressions, and the choice making proces when composing or harmonizing.
To illustrate the effect of harmonisation, here in this video you can hear Jacob Collier, considered by many a genius, talk about harmony, explained on 5 different levels. He often uses terms like the gratification of resolution, and uses comparisons to a journey, with interesting views along the way, and coming "home" in the end, or as we say in Dutch "Oost west, thuis best". An interesting question is asked at 6:25 in this video: "How "home" do I want to go here?"
Harmony has it's expressive purpose, determines the feeling, the sense of expectation, to surprise or to resolve...
The research will focus on the kind of short form compositions, comparable to the American songbook standards, usually anywhere between 12 to 64 bars, with inviting harmonies that are used as a vehicle for improvisation.
It can be argued that jazz has evolved mostly rhythmically. In David Berkman's book "The jazz harmony Book' he makes the point that while rhythm has evolved, harmony in modern jazz music seems to have devolved. It has become commonplace to play in odd or compound meters, with very complicated cross rhythms or metrical modulations, but I allso see a tendancy in modern jazz to keep the harmonic movement relatively simple, and I hope through my research and my teaching to inspire students to expand their horizons when it comes to the use of harmony. Berkman also makes a good point in stating that because jazz students nowadays have so many visual ways to learn the music (books, sheetmusic found on internet) that they don't learn things as much by carefully listening. They tend to think of the harmony as they see it on the sheetmusic, in stead of hearing all the ways in which the harmony can be changed, like one hears it on recordings. In other words if you see "Sweet Georgia Brown" on paper, you might think the first 4 bars have to be only that dominant seven chord for 4 bars.
Listening to Art Tatum for instance, and hearing all the ways you can move around, will give you much more information about harmonic possibillities.....
Over the years I have come to notice that many students have no shortage of creative ideas, but lack the harmonic knowledge to come up with pleasing chord sequences, and lack a sufficient number of possible solutions for harmonizing.
In the years of listening to and analysing jazzcompositions, and teaching composition classes I have come up with a few tips and tricks, advice to students that i will weave through my research. So this is aimed at aspiring jazz composers, conservatory students, and all interested in how jazz tunes work.
One of attractive aspects of jazz is also one of the dangers in my view: That is has to be new and fresh per definition. When music is aimed at not sounding like anything you allready know, which a lot off jazz is nowadays, it turns many people off as well. The composers that I admire and will focus on, use things that allready exist and build upon them, make them into something different, telling great stories that many people can relate to. (And often use very sophisticated and intriguing harmony to do so)
I hope through the examples and excercises I will encourage and inspire students to analyse many compositions themselves, vasten their knowledge of harmonic possibillities, and to stir a lifelong interest in rich and exiting chord progressions.
In the chapters on analasys I will take a look at tunes by Tom Harrell and onother contempory trumpet player I admire greatly, Bert Joris. Finaly I will describe the thought processes behind a few of my own compositions.
When discussing compositions I have made hyperlinks to the recordings, either on youtube, soundcloud or spotify, that will open in new windows, and I have added the sheetmusic that you will see on the right side of the page.