"Before the Music Dies"

Simply put, making money is first and foremost in the eyes of large record labels.  They do not always have the best interest of promoting the highest quality of music.  Sadly, the person that can make the quickest buck for the label is the first to be signed while the talented original musician is left behind.  Check out the trailer to the documentary "Before the Music Dies" which dives into the inner workings of the music industry.  The full film (roughly an hour and a half) is also linked below.  HIGHLY recommended.





Below is the full documentary hosted on HULU.



"With outstanding performances and revealing interviews Before the Music Dies takes a critical look at the homogenization of popular music with commentary by some of the industry's biggest talents like Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, Elvis Costello, Erykah Badu, Branford Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt and more. Using historic footage the film looks at the evolution of American music and the artists who created it and pulls back the curtain (in a very creative way) to expose the sad truth behind today's "artificial" music stars. "The reality is that superficiality is in," says Marsalis. "And depth and quality is kind of out." Inspired by the death of his brother, director Andrew Shapter and his crew traveled thousands of miles, visiting dozens of cities, speaking with hundreds of fans, journalists, record executives and musicians while searching for "real" American music. What they found were mega-talents without a major label, including one artist Eric Clapton believes is "the real thing."

"The Sidewinder" by Lee Morgan

Factoids:

• Album released in 1964 with 6 tracks
• the Album was entitled after the first track "The Sidewinder"
• All six tracks were original compositions by Lee Morgan and five of the six were heavily blues influenced
• Artists on the album
• Lee Morgan (trumpet), Joe Henderson (Tenor sax), Billy Higgins (Drums), Barry Harris (piano), Bob Cranshaw (Bass)
• Critics label it "soul jazz"
• The entire album influenced the format of many future albums by having a long funky blues-based chart followed by more hard bop tunes
• Chrysler car company used "The Sidewinder" in television commercial advertisements 
• Listen for:
• the chord structure is based on the 12 bar blues - The Sidewinder is 24 measures
• I7 (8 bars) |  IV7 (4 bars) |  I7 (3 bars) | iii7 VI7b9 (1 bar) | ii7 V7 (4 bars) | 17 (3 bars) | break on the last bar
• the use of repetition in the head, piano accompaniment, & bass line
• Lee Morgan (at the 2:17 mark) pulls a lick from the head in his improvisation to give structure and foundation to his solo

Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown (ULHS)

Factoids:

• Jazz has an extensive history that is directly tied to culture & its current events
• Lindy Hop - danced based on the popular Charleston dance step.  It evolved in Harlem, NYC in the 1920's and 1930's.  Lindy is a fusion of many dances from jazz, tap, breakaway, and Charleston
• When Bebop style music came around in nightclubs in the late 40's and 50's, there were signs that strictly prohibited lindy hop dance
• This made bebop seem very "elitist".  Many people hated Bebop because they just simple "didn't get it" since it was a radical change from playing in large swing bands to small combos playing tunes and improvising seemingly at the speed of light
• Listen to the band in the background
• Listen how the soloists use their range when improvising to rise above the chatter of the people 

"I Adore You" by Esperanza Spalding

Factoids:

• Born 1984
• Esperanza recently won the Grammy award for "Best New Artist" in 2011
• first jazz artist to ever win the award in the Grammy's 53 years
• Jazz bassist and vocalist who arranges and composes
• She started on the violin at a very young age and then discovered the bass at 15
• she also plays the guitar, oboe, and clarinet
• Attended the Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship
• Upong graduating she was hired by the college of music
• At the age of 20, she was the youngest professor ever hired at Berklee
• Her music pulls from world sounds as inspiration
• this particular song is influenced by Brazilian music
• she does a pretty sweet solo where she improvises & scats at the same time

"Malaguena" performed by the Stan Kenton Orchestra

History:

• Latin tune first arranged for jazz big band by Bill  Holman
• Stan Kenton Orchestra's 1961 album "Adventures in Jazz"
• Stan Kenton is known for usng alternative instruments in his band
• This recording, Kenton even mentions the use of the "mellophoniums"
• it was used to "bridge the gap" between the trombone and trumpet sections
• He used a 4 man mellophonium section between the years 1961-1963 to create 11 albums
• Upon his death in 1979, he donated his entire music collection to the music department of The University of North Texas (A collegiate jazz powerhouse)
• There is a recital hall in the University of North Texas named after Stan Kenton
• Listen to the intensity that his band plays with
• all of the phrases use a contant air stream with energy
• The complexity of the Latin rhythms

"Take the A Train" by Billy Strayhorn

History:

• Written by Billy Strayhorn (piano) in 1939
• ASCAP (American Society of  Composers and Publishers) raised their broadcasting fees in 1940
• This made it very expensive to play live recordings over the radio (compositions by ASCAP members - Ellington was a member)
• Most radios hired bands to perform live over the air to broadcast to a jazz hungry audience
• Strayhorn, a non-ASCAP member, was playing in Ellington's band at the time and composed this as The Duke Ellington Orchestra's new "signature" jazz chart
• Duke Ellington is considered one of America's best composers (he wrote over 1000 compositions)
• Billy Strayhorn collaborated with Duke Ellington for almost 30 years
• Duke Ellington's band was a symbol of racial equality - it toured around the country with both black and white jazz performers
• That is Duke Ellington playing the opening piano solo in this video clip
• The Duke Ellington Orchestra still tours the world to this day 
• after Duke's death, Mercer Ellington (his son) took over as bandleader and it is currently being led by Paul Ellington

"Take Five" performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Factoids:

• Written by saxophonist Paul Desmond (1924-1977) and premiered on The Dave Brubeck Quartet's album "Time Out" in 1959
• How "Take Five" came to be...
• Morello came up with an awesome 5/4 riff and Brubeck wanted Desmond to write a melody to go along with it
• Desmond was thinking, "Um...I don't think so.  No one does 5/4 time."  But Brubeck insisted
• Desmond came back a few days later and showed Brubeck what he came up with...2 small phrases
• Brubeck smiled and said, "Ok. Well, play that first part twice, then the second part, and then repeat the first part again.  There's your song."
• So the whole tune started with a small drum riff made up by Joe Morello (whereas most charts start with a melody)
• Written in 5/4 meter
• Although it wasn't the first jazz chart in the unusual meter, it was one of the most popular reaching #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 list
• Desmond left all of the royalties for his compositions and performances to the American Red Cross which takes in about $100,000 per year
• Artists of The Dave Brubeck Quartet:
• Sax - Paul Desmond
• Piano - Dave Brubeck
• Bass - Gene Wright
• Drums - Joe Morello

Bonus:
Check out another vocal rendition of "Take Five".  They use the lyrics written by Dave Brubeck's wife.

"Cherokee" performed by Clifford Brown

Factoids:

• written originally by Ray Noble in 1938
• is a jazz standard
• known for its long notes (whole notes and half notes) but is at a very fast tempo (quarter notes = 250 beats per minute or more)
• Many artists have performed this chart to showcase their virtuosic talents

This recording:

• Performed by the Max Roach Quintet featuring:
• Trumpet - Clifford Brown (1930-1956)
• Richie Powell's (pianist) wife was driving Richie and Clifford Brown to an engagement when she lost control of the vehicle on the PA turnpike.  All three people tragically died.
• He died at the age of 25 in a car accident leaving only 4 years worth of recordings, but was HIGHLY influential to jazz 
• He defied the "jazz druggie" cliche and led a clean life by staying away from heroin, marijuana, and even alcohol
• Drums - Max Roach (1924-2007)
• composer, band leader, and soloist
• led the forefront in hard bop style (quick playing)
• Tenor - Harold Land (1928-2000)
• Bass - George Morrow (1925-1992)
• Piano - Richie Powell (1931-1956)
• Here is a transcription of Clifford Brown's solo in Cherokee...prepare to be amazed

Also, check out another recording of Arturo Sandoval, Chuck Findley, Randy Brecker, and Byron Stripling perform Cherokee.  All four trumpeters play the beginning of Clifford Brown's solo in the beginning with amazing accuracy.  Truly amazing!

"Fables of Faubus" - Charles Mingus

History:

• Just like other art-forms, music is an outlet for expression - in this case, political protest
• Composed by Charles Mingus (Bass) in 1959 to protest against Arkansas governor Orval E. Faubus
• in 1957, Faubus sent the National Guard  to prevent integration of Little Rock Central High School by nine African American teens
• Appeared on Mingus' 1959 album "Mingus Ah Um" on the Columbia record label
• Columbia refused to let Mingus release the recording with the lyrics 
• Under the Columbia label, just the instrumental version was released
• A year later, Charles Mingus released the uncensored version (with lyrics) under the Candid record label on the album "Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus"
• due to contractual issues, they had to release the song under the name "Original Faubus Fables"
• Charles Mingus - bass & vocals
• Ted Curson - Trumpet
• Eric Dolphy - Alto Sax
• Dannie Richmond - Drums (featured in the Call & Response with Mingus)
• listen to the uncensored version HERE 
• This was one of Mingus' most proud compositions and played it quite often

Lyrics:

Oh, Lord, don't let 'em shoot us!
Oh, Lord, don't let 'em stab us!
Oh, Lord, don't let 'em tar and feather us!
Oh, Lord, no more swastikas!
Oh, Lord, no more Ku Klux Klan!

Name me someone who's ridiculous, Dannie.
Governor Faubus!
Why is he so sick and ridiculous?
He won't permit integrated schools.

Then he's a fool! Boo! Nazi Fascist supremists!
Boo! Ku Klux Klan (with your Jim Crow plan)

Name me a handful that's ridiculous, Dannie Richmond.
Faubus, Rockefeller, Eisenhower
Why are they so sick and ridiculous?

Two, four, six, eight:
They brainwash and teach you hate.
H-E-L-L-O, Hello.

"St. Thomas" - Sonny Rollins

Artists in this video:

• Tenor Sax - Sonny Rollins
• Piano - Kenny Drew
• Bass - Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (Danish bassist)
• Drums - Albert "Tootie" Heath

Factoids:

• First released on Sonny Rollins' 1965 album "Saxophone Colossus" 
• The melody is based on a traditional nursery song sung to Rollins as a child in the Virgin Islands, hence the Caribbean feel.
• "St. Thomas" was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.  When you steal your next cop car or taxi in the game, tune into JNR 108.5 Radio Station and listen to some Sonny Rollins!

Listen for:

• The clip clearly highlights how jazz artists use the head (main melody/tune) as a foundation during improvisation 
• Notice how the bassist (Pedersen) starts his improv using the main tune as the opening statement.  When improvising, take the head and expand on it melodically and/or rhythmically.
• Albert Heath does a GREAT job using the main melody at the beginning of his solo.  The cymbal and snare hits nicely outline the syncopation in the melody.  He continues to play around rhythmically with the head throughout his solo.  Try humming or singing along as he plays.
• When the head comes back towards the end, Sonny Rollins really plays around with the basic framework.  He changes the rhythm and also plays other notes within the chord progression.

Bags Groove - Milt Jackson

Factoids:

• Composed by Milt Jackson (1923-1999)
• Apart of the 1957 album "Bag's Groove" 
• was first recorded with the Miles Davis Quintet in 1954
• other songs listed on the album have become jazz standards like "Oleo" and "Doxy"
• Milt Jackson is known for his amazing vibraphone chops
• was discovered by Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet) in 1946 when he hired Milt for his sextet
• he set the oscillator to 3.3 revolutions per second for a subtle vibrato sound
• known for his variations of harmony & rhythm
• Milt Jackson formed the "Modern Jazz Quartet" in 1952 
• The simple melody in "Bag's Groove" makes it a popular tune that has been arranged for many different groups & ensembles
• Listen to Milt Jackson in this clip 
• he uses simple patterns and then expands on those ideas
• on the close-up shots, you can see him using the foot pedal (dampens or lets the metal bars ring) as the metal bars are pushed up and down
• if you look closely, you can see the spinning oscillator plates underneath the metal bars

"So What" - Miles Davis

History:

• "So What" appeared on Miles' album "Kind of Blue" released in 1959
• The album included jazz all-stars:  Bill Evans (piano), Jimmy Cobb (piano), John Coltrane (sax), Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (Sax), and Paul Chambers (bass)
• Miles handed his musicians just small sketches of some chords and scales before taping
• One track, "Flamenco Sketches", was finalized in the first take
• This was a pivotal stretch of album releases for Miles Davis and the jazz culture because it was a shift away from hard-bop (fast and technically demanding) to a more harmonically rich modal sound

Factoids:

• Miles Davis (1926 - 1991) composed "So What" 
• "So What" was revolutionary in the fact that the main melody is given to the bassist.  The bass was previously thought as just an instrument to outline chord progressions through a walking bass line, not a melodic tool
• is written in the Dorian mode - AABA form
• 16 bars of D Dorian, followed by 8 bars of Eb Dorian, then another 8 of D Dorian
• Miles Davis often faced his back towards the audience when playing - he had a certain presence that went unmatched 

click HERE to go to a page that has an audio clip and free transcription of his improv in "So What"

"One Note Samba" - Ella Fitzgerald

Factoids:

• Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)
• American jazz vocalist known for her amazing diction and "horn-like" improvisational scat singing
• Won 14 Grammy Awards
• Greatly influenced by Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, and the Boswell Sisters
• Had a VERY tough early childhood where she was abused by her stepfather, worked for the mafia as a lookout, put into an all-black orphanage, escaped and was homeless for quite some time
• Made her big break at the age of 17 while singing at an amateur night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York
• Listen to her amazing diction and how syllables seem to effortlessly fall from her mouth
• She also throws in a musical quotation at the 5:00 minute mark to play with the audience
• Her scat style is very indicative of  jazz instrumentalists
• She alters the timbre of her voice just as horn player would - even mimicking how different mutes would alter the sounds of a trombone or trumpet player's instrument 

"September in the Rain"

Factoids:

• "September in the Rain" was written by Harry Warren  (lyrics by Al Dubin) in 1937
• Towards the end of this song, Hargrove scats (singing nonsense syllables) along with the band while engaging in Call & Response echoes
• Many groups have performed arrangements of this song from The Beatles to Norah Jones to Willie Nelson
• Roy Hargrove (1969 - ) is a jazz trumpet player and bandleader
• He has played with numerous jazz greats - Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock as examples
• Leads the "RH Factor" big band that combines elements of jazz, funk, hip-hop, soul and gospel
• He is known for his stage presence along with his bold Nike shoes & tuxedo combination

Yardbird Suite - Charlie Parker

History

• Composed by Charlie Parker (sax) in 1946
• originally titled "What Price Love?"

Factoids

• Charlie Parker's nickname was Yardbird, later shortened to just 'bird
• follows AABA form 
• is considered a jazz standard
• Charlie Parker is known for his contribution to the "bebop" sub genre
• This is considered very "lyrical" for his style
• Charlie Parker tragically died in 1955 at the age of 34
• official cause of death was pneumonia and an ulcer (but he also suffered from cirrhosis of the liver and a heart attack.  Any one of those could have killed him

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

History:

• Written by Joe Zawinul for Cannonball Adderley's album "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at The Club"
• 1966
• reached #11 on the Billboard Charts
• Been performed by many bands from beginners to professionals

Factoids:

• The above band is the Buddy Rich (drummer) Memorial Big Band
• Dave Weckl is playing drums (he rocks the mullet really well, don't you think? ha)
• Theme is first played twice in the introduction
• Notes from the major pentatonic scale
• The chord progression has a 20 bar structure (unusual)
• The chords are mostly dominant 7th chords building on the first, fourth and fifth scale degrees giving it a "12 bar blues" effect
• This arrangement is driven by the high intesity of the drummer (there's also a key change towards the end)

Straight No Chaser

History

• Composed by Thelonious Monk (Piano) in 1951
• Blue Note Sessions album

Factoids

• This recording features Joshua Redman and James Carter
• the head of the tune is very repetitious
• 5 note motive starts before beat 1
• 7 note motive before beat 4
• everywhere else is a 4 note motive
• 12 bar blues
• originally recorded with Sahib Shihab (alto), Milt Jackson (vibes), Al McKibbon (bass), and Art Blakey (drums)

Redman and Carter’s “battle” throughout the chart is energy-packed and filled with virtuosic licks.  Listen to how their improvised lines compliment eachother

James Morrison - Trumpet/Trombone

James Morrison is an Australian jazz musician who plays numerous instruments, but is best known for his trumpet playing. He is a multi-instrumentalist, having performed on the clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, bari sax, flugelhorn, trombone, euphonium, tuba, and piano.  He is also a composer, writing jazz charts for ensembles of various sizes and proficiency levels.

The video is a clip from a demonstration where he talks about digital music.  His demonstration leads to a performance where he solos using both the trombone and trumpet while being backed up by his computer software.  Check out the beginning where he uses multiphonics to create a unique effect while playing a walking bass line.