Jazz, thoughts about jazz, and tools for thinking about jazz
Today I am going to compare two poignant instrumental tunes, each named after the composer's wife: Barbara by Horace Silver, and Beatrice by Sam Rivers. Both musicians were born in the 1920s, and lived well into this century. They wrote these pieces in mid-life, during the great flowering of jazz in the 1960s and 70s.… Continue reading Barbara and Beatrice
In part 2 of this series we used chromatic circle diagrams to show how chords and scales are affected by chromatic inversion - the basic operation of negative or mirror harmony. We noted that there are twelve available reflection points or 'axes'. Jacob Collier popularised the use of one specific axis, located 3½ semitones above… Continue reading Negative harmony part 3: the Levy legacy
By now I thought I would know exactly what this negative harmony thing is, to the point where I could explain it clearly in a paragraph or two, and perhaps apply some of it to my own humble efforts to play jazz piano. I was hinting as much in my previous post, which you might… Continue reading Negative harmony part 2
Take a moment to listen to Joss Stone, doing the Ray Charles tune I believe it to my soul with the able assistance of David Sanborn on sax. It's a 12-bar blues. Check the harmony on bars 10 and 11 of each chorus, where Joss sings "I believe you're trying to make a fool out of… Continue reading Negative harmony’s mirror world
This is the prototype of a visual aid for jazz musicians. It compresses a mass of essential jazz theory into a small, pop-up paper cube. I am looking for feedback from fellow musicians before I finalise the design. Currently you will have to meet me and ask for a demo. But if people are interested,… Continue reading Jazz in a box
I want to say something about the 'Lady Madonna' theory of jazz education. The approach which says that, to be a good improviser, you need to 'listen to the music playing in your head'. Sure, playing what you hear in your head is better than playing some formula from a theory textbook. And sure, for… Continue reading A tune won’t eat you alive. But try telling your ears that.
It was just a feeling at first. Listening to Carmen McRae singing Invitation I was reminded of another lovely song: Speak Low by Kurt Weill. You don't need to dissect the music on a technical level to notice a kinship of mood and style. As soon as I compared the life stories of the respective composers, it all… Continue reading These two songs will probably outlive four movies
From time to time I will be analysing a jazz tune or performance. I won't be overly dry or academic about this, nor overly reverential. Where (thanks to my excellent teachers) I can find a technical analysis which fits the way I hear the music, I will share it with you. Sometimes I may simply… Continue reading ‘So What’ Solos: an irreverent analysis
Our Links page is now live. From essentials like Youtube and Wikipedia, to jazz-related gems that you might easily have missed, we are still only showing you a tiny sample of what's out there. You can help by recommending further links, and reporting any links which don't work. Jolt your creativity with Steve Treseler's blog.… Continue reading Our Links page goes live
Jazz education is a fraught subject. If you think people get passionate about styles of music, wait until you encounter the emotions that surround different ways of teaching and learning jazz. The role of jazz theory is particularly controversial. I thought the discussions at a local jazz education conference, held in Brighton earlier this year,… Continue reading Teacher don’t teach me no nonsense
Jazzmodes 