Author: MaryAnn Haynie

This came up on my Pandora station! Smells like Giant Steps. Perhaps their improvisation over the chord changes sounds better than our first time playing it…

While working on a jazz arrangement of “Out of Nowhere” for a different class (ahem, Jazz Theory), I ran across this similarly titled piece by Acoustic Alchemy. Perhaps this is a long shot, but I think this is an arrangement of the same song. Here is a more traditional arrangement for comparison. The melody sounds very different, but the chord changes could be the same. Either this song follows a general ABAB’ trend, or it is actually the same song under a thick disguise. Thoughts?

It seemed appropriate to post something about Cottontail… I really like the interaction between Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Allen. Similar to our last class, they really seem to be utilizing call and response. There’s a nice balance between repeating a previous motif and introducing new material. Also, I really like 7:43 where they play the same thing in a dissonant interval. Throughout the piece, they seem to be really enjoying themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbL9vr4Q2LU

Considering our recent discussion about jazz syllables and vocalization, I thought it would be appropriate to post an example of scat singing. I posted this particular clip because it is an impressive demonstration of Ella Fitzgerald’s ability to convey a distinct musical idea with her choice of syllables.

One example of this is at 3:02 where Fitzgerald starts her “drum solo”. She uses sounds like “shah, pah, diggidy-diggidy-boom, and rrrrrrrrrha-huh” that to me sound like plausible sounds for a drum kit. A second example is around 5:03 where she throws in (what I am interpreting as) a “trombone solo” that has a very brassy sounding “bwwwweeeeee-bop-biiii-bweeeeee-bop”.

Along with being an entertaining performance, I am impressed by Fitzgerald’s ability to sing in a way that reminds the listener of other instruments. She obviously has a thorough understanding of (or at least exposure to the music of) a variety of jazz instruments from which to draw inspiration. Having this understanding of other instruments can help us to really internalize the melodies, rhythms, and styles of the music we play.