Jazz Improv I

C Jam Blues

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by

Kevin Burns Sullivan
in

 

 

This is a performance of C Jam Blues by Wycliffe Gordon.  I was completely unfamiliar about soprano trombones until now. Gordon seems to have mastered them. I really like the brassy edge – It’s a very unique sound, especially with the split tones/raspy tonality he plays the instrument with. Tons of energy in his solo.  Also noticed a piano lick from classical music in the pianists solo at 4:53, which I found playful. The piano and sax solos sound so light in comparison to the trombone. Gordon’s hilarious with the call and response with the audience later on the video too. The band was definitely all about entertaining the crowd and playing around, a group of seasoned performers for sure.

Comments

2 responses to “C Jam Blues”

  1. saiganeshravikumar Avatar
    saiganeshravikumar

    This is a really swinging performance. I really liked the very legato pitch bends esp at 3:30–they really resembled a vocal inflection which is very hard to do on other instruments. The sax solo at the beginning had a lot of space and very good blues licks. They really emphasize what Prof Motley mentioned in class about using the blues pentatonic scale a minor 3rd down of the key and starting from scale degree 5.

    Reply
  2. Brandon Weiss Barber Avatar
    Brandon Weiss Barber

    I really liked the tenor trombone solo as well. It creates a really neat prolonged tension. It also reminded me of the discussion we had about the origin of the term “blue note” and how those notes found their way into jazz by cultures that don’t practice equal temperament.

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