Listening Guides

Listening Guide 7.1

Listening Guide 7.2

Listening Guide 7.3

Listening Guide 7.1
"Grandpa's Spells" 4 beats per measure

iTune link = Grandpa's Spells

Analysis of "Grandpa's Spells" (SCCJ, 1/8)

"Grandpa's Spells," originally a piano rag written by Jelly Roll Morton, was recorded by him in 1924 as a piano solo. For our analysis we shall study the arrangement Morton did for his Red Hot Peppers band in 1926.
       Typical of a rag, the piece has three 16-bar strains, with the third strain modulating up a fourth. Typical of the jazz treatment of a rag, the first two strains are repeated once apiece and the third theme is repeated four or five times, devoted to improvised variations by the different soloists. In this manner the first two strains act almost as introductory material or as a prologue to the third strain.
       Morton's arrangement shows his characteristic variety of instrumental combinations that perfectly complement the composition. Following the four-measure introduction, the first A strain is played in stop-time rhythm by solo guitar in the low register answered by the ensemble. The second A is played in stop-time by the cornet and answered by the ensemble. It is not an exact repetition of the melody played by the guitar, but it is related to it rhythmically and in the design of its phrasing.
       The presentation of the B strain compares and contrasts with the A strain in two ways. First, the full ensemble plays all the way through the strain, contrasting with the call-and-response format of the A strain. It compares with the A strain in that it continues the format of four bars of stop-time followed by four bars of steady rhythm. The repeat of the B strain is played by solo clarinet, balancing the ensemble presentation of the previous B.
       The A strain appears once more; and Morton chooses, on this third time through, to fragment the music orchestrationally. Instead of one soloist versus ensemble, as in the first two A strains, Morton has two soloists. The trombone and bass, the two low instruments, play two measures apiece, followed by four measures of ensemble.
       We now come to the C strain. The key moves up a fourth; and the solo cornet, playing with a mute this time, introduces the theme. To contrast with the fragmented orchestration of the previous strain, the cornet solo continues for the duration of the 16-bar strain. The second time through, C is a clarinet solo. In contrast to the cornet solo, the band plays stop-time accents behind the clarinet. The third time through, the C strain is shared by the piano and clarinet. The piano plays the first half unaccompanied by the rhythm section; the clarinet plays the second half accompanied by a calypso-flavored guitar rhythm. The fourth and final repetition of the C strain is played by the entire ensemble as a rousing finale.

Listening Guide 7.2
"Hotter than That" 4 beats per measure

iTune link = Hotter than That

Analysis of "Hotter than That" (SCCJ, 1/16)

This recording was made on Columbia's Okeh race record subsidiary. It was part of a series recorded between 1925 and 1928 by a studio band that was alternately called the Hot Five and the Hot Seven, under the leadership of Louis Armstrong. Though the group usually featured New Orleans veterans, such as Johnny and Baby Dodds and Kid Ory, and employed some of the stylistic conventions of the New Orleans bands, such as King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, this was a new context for these musicians. Individual solos play a much more prominent role; arrangements are slicker and reflect the influence of popular dance bands of the day. (Armstrong greatly admired the "sweet" sound of Guy Lombardo's orchestra.)
       "Hotter than That" prominently features the individual work of Armstrong, in his capacity as a vocalist and as a trumpeter, and guest guitarist Lonnie Johnson, who was also featured on Jelly Roll Morton's "Grandpa's Spells."
The piece opens with an eight-bar introduction and a statement of the 32-bar theme by Armstrong. Each succeeding chorus is preceded by a two-bar solo break. The clarinet takes the first solo, playing a full 32-bar chorus.
       Armstrong follows with a scat vocal chorus, accompanied only by the guitar. Compare the lines he sings with those he plays on the trumpet. You will hear that, with the exception of a few effects and range differences that are idiomatic to the trumpet, the melodic ideas are very much the same. A particularly effective tension-building device is used in the last half of the vocal chorus. Armstrong sings a repeated figure that sounds like triple meter and superimposes it over the duple rhythm maintained by Johnson's guitar. The fact that Armstrong keeps this effect up for about six measures signifies that this was not intended to be just another dance piece, if a dance piece at all. That intention is even more doubtful in the next chorus, when the constant beat and tempo stops while Johnson and Armstrong indulge in a musical dialogue with no accompaniment. Unlike the subservient role of the New Orleans practice, these two soloists have stolen the show for two choruses.
       The piano then ushers in the rhythm section to accompany a muted trombone solo that, while adequate, pales in comparison to the events of the previous two choruses. Armstrong once again takes command with a two-bar break leading into the final ensemble chorus. The break is a thrilling climbing chromatic figure, spiced with carefully placed accents and almost inaudible ghosted notes. Once the chorus has begun and the rhythm section reenters, the perpetual motion of the break figure is countered with a repeated note riff that serves more as a rhythmic device than a melodic one. It is the perfect choice by Armstrong for reenforcing the hard-driving rhythm required to achieve the triumphant big finish effect.

Listening Guide 7.3
"Singin' the Blues" 4 beats per measure

iTune link = Singin' the Blues

Analysis of "Singin' the Blues" (SCCJ, 1/21)

This recorded performance is one of the most celebrated in jazz. It features Beiderbecke and longtime colleague Frank Trumbauer. Trumbauer played the C-melody saxophone, an obsolete instrument whose range lies between the alto and tenor saxophones. Trumbauer and Beiderbecke's solos influenced many jazz musicians, including black saxophonist Lester Young and black trumpeter Rex Stewart. This performance is also exemplary of the ballad style that Beiderbecke was perfecting.
       After the introduction, Trumbauer plays the first solo. In style and character he is similar to Beiderbecke: a velvety tone, an elegant and intimate presentation, and a sound almost devoid of vibrato.
Beiderbecke takes the second chorus of the song. Notice in the first four measures that he has a straightforward and effective technique for constructing his improvised solo. He plays a line in the first measure, repeats it in a slightly altered version in the second measure (to fit the change of chord), then plays a two-measure idea to balance the 1 1 1 combination. In the next phrase, he plays a four-measure line that balances the previous 1 1 1 1 2 phrase. This is a technique jazz historian James Lincoln Collier calls correlated chorus. It is a technique that closely follows the symmetrical construction of the preexisting music, where melodic phrases begin and end when the chords change. As jazz improvisation evolved, soloists began to construct phrases that did not line up with the chord changes (see Chapter 9); but this more "boxed-in" technique served early improvisors well, and Beiderbecke used it with finesse.
       Notice that Beiderbecke's note choices are slightly eccentric, creating angular contours in his melodies. His notes are not wrong, but they are approached in an atypical way