Form-Growth

Vehicles for ImprovisationComposed pieces or tunes consisting of a melody and an

accompanying harmonic progression, have provided the structures for improvisations throughout most of jazz history. Jerry Coker has classified the vehicles1 or tunes that are most common in jazz into six basic categories; modal, blues, contemporary, bebop, free-form, and standard.2 These six types of vehicles dominate the repertoire of jazz musicians, and the characteristics associated with individual vehicles will dictate, to a certain extent, the improviser’s approach to his improvisation.

Montgomery was essentially a “mainstream” jazz guitarist and felt quite comfortable improvising in the established tradition, without having to revert to the more experimental jazz styles being explored by some of his contemporaries. Valerie Wilmer recognized that

Wes Montgomery’s guitar is part of the mainstream of jazz. He is not impressed by the avant-garde and has no inclinations toward complete freedom in music. He finds freedom enough within the conventional pattern of improvisation.3

John Scofield made similar remarks about Wes’ music:

1 Jerry Coker, Listening to Jazz (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1978), 9. According to Coker, “The term vehicle was first applied in jazz by Dizzy Gillespie as a near-synonym of tune, describing the improviser’s use of a tune as a sort of machine on which he rides during his improvisation.”2 Ibid., 45-66. Coker provides a brief historical background tracing the development of the various types of vehicles, including discographical examples and analyses.3 Valerie Wilmer, “Wes Montgomery Talks to Valerie Wilmer,” Jazz Monthly, Vol.11, no.3, May (1965), 25.

The temperament of Wes’ music is amazing, given that this was also the time that Ornette [Coleman] and [John] Coltrane were taking the music somewhere else. But though he stayed in the mainstream, he came up with a way of playing that was revolutionary....4

Because Wes felt he could express himself most adequately and freely within the “conventional pattern of improvisation,” it is understandable that this would directly affect his choice of vehicles. In view of Montgomery’s salient “mainstream” disposition, it is not surprising that the Riverside recordings, particularly the ones on which he was the leader, reveal that his most favored vehicles were the blues and the standard tune.5 On approximately 70% of the total Riverside recorded output, Montgomery employs the standard tune as the principal structural vehicle for improvising. The remaining 30% consists of original compositions, out of which approximately half are based on the blues vehicle (15%). It has also been noted that some of Wes’ non-blues compositions are “original works that don’t neatly compare with those of anybody else. Most of them have different forms than the standard song form.”6

Preliminary Remarks4 Bill Shoemaker, “Birth of The Modern Guitar,” Downbeat, Vol. 60, no.5, May (1993), 21.5 Standard tunes include many popular tunes of the thirties and forties, originally used in musical theater, such as Broadway show tunes. They have a wide range of tempos, the harmonic rhythm is usually medium fast, the chord sequences are generally traditional (common), and the chord structures are relatively simple.6 Shoemaker, op. cit., 22. Guitarist Kevin Eubanks believes this had a lot to do with Wes developing his own sound: “Wes did the same thing [Thelonious] Monk did, or that Wayne Shorter did. When a musician needed something to establish what they did improvisationally, that’s how tunes like ‘Confirmation’ and ‘Giant Steps’ get written. The compositional format that lays out an improvisational approach goes together. But, since Wes was such an incredible guitar player, his compositions get overlooked.”

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When analyzing form or growth7 we soon come to realize that it has a dual existence as both the product and the adjusting mold of the other four elements already discussed: sound, melody, rhythm, and harmony. LaRue concurs that growth is the “combining and controlling element, absorbing all contributions into the simultaneous processes of movement and shape.”8 Therefore, it is not surprising to see the disparate sound, melodic, harmonic and rhythmic Montgomerian techniques discussed in previous chapters, combined and used as contributing elements to the form. The analyses will illustrate occasional overlapping among these elements and techniques. However, this comes as no surprise since the analytical separation of musical elements in a piece of music is an artificial device, though a helpful and necessary one.9

Formal analyses of Montgomery’s improvisations establish that he developed intensity, achieved balance, unity and diversity within formal structures, through various recurring techniques. The analyses further reveal that the techniques were discerningly employed to outline different levels of the formal structures such as; individual choruses, and its sub-sections comprising sixteen, eight, or four-bar phrases.

7 Jan LaRue, Guidelines For Style Analysis (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1970), 115. LaRue is of the opinion that the “style analytical view of musical form as a resultant and combining element requires a fresh, stimulating term to express the vitality and immediacy of a functional approach as well as to dissolve the rigidities suggested by the unfortunately static word ‘form’.” Instead, he prefers the word “Growth” because it “admirably fulfills these needs, since its connotations include both the feeling of expansive continuation so characteristic of music and also a parallel sense of achieving something permanent.”8 Ibid., 11.9 Ibid., 10.

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Progressive-Commensurate Increase of IntensityMissile Blues is a Montgomery composition that is alloted the

longest duration on the The Wes Montgomery Trio album.10 This 12-bar blues in G exhibits Montgomery’s artistry in progressively generating structural unity and balance within a solo through the masterful use of idiosyncratic procedures. Over the stretch of nine choruses Montgomery delineates the form by increasing the sound texture and rhythmic intensity in key areas of the solo, ultimately preparing an eventual climax. The first three choruses are played in single-note lines with a vocabulary borrowing more from the bop

Fig.1 Missile Blues

10 See solo transcription in the Appendix.

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idiom than the blues. In the fourth chorus- exactly one-third of the way through the solo- Montgomery increases the sound texture and volume by using octaves for three more consecutive choruses. At the seventh chorus Montgomery has already played two-thirds of the solo. Being a subtle musical architect, he realizes that he must now further increase the sound texture and intensity for the final dénouement. He ingenuously intermingles the octaves and chords to build a call-and-response pattern, simultaneously occasioning a smooth transition to the feverish block chord choruses- the poignant high point of the solo.

Polyrhythmic Techniques & Diversity Jingles, another original Wes Montgomery composition, is

apportioned a longer duration than most of the other tracks on this recording (The Wes Montgomery Trio). This composition is a fifty-six measure AABA structure played in an up-tempo (248), hard-bop style. The A sections consist of sixteen measures each and the B section of eight measures:

A|16| A|16| B |8| A|16|

Montgomery improvises for two choruses but waives the octaves solo and proceeds immediately to block chords after his single-line chorus (fig.2). A formal analysis of this solo further reveals the structural logic

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and internal cohesiveness of his improvisation. The first complete chorus is executed in single-note style as well as the first A section of the second chorus. In the second A section- two-thirds through the solo- Montgomery does not abruptly impose block chords, but slowly prepares us for what is to transpire via a transitional eight-measure vamp. The intensity and texture build up through the last eight measures of the second A and B sections. In the last A section Montgomery now achieves full climax by intensifying the block chord solo through polyrhythmic effects. Hence, in the first four measures (ex.1) he intensifies the rhythm by superimposing a repeated, feverish 3/4 rhythmic pattern over the basic 4/4 pulse. This cross-rhythmic pattern is also being accented by drummer, Paul Parker, displaying the spontaneous interactive unity among the trio’s members. This is immediately followed by another four-measure cross-rhythmic pattern in 2/4. In the last eight measures of block chords he returns to, and adheres to the basic 4/4 pulse.

Fig.2 Jingles

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Ex.1 last A (m.1-4)

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Ex.2 Airegin (m.57-62)

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Many of Montgomery’s improvisational idiosyncracies are apparent in Sonny Rollin’s composition, Airegin, and his penchant for diversity and rhythmic variety is further evidenced in this performance. In the first chorus he sets up his improvisation using predominantly eighth-notes, and as he reaches the middle of the second chorus- half way through the solo- he introduces a cross rhythm implying 9/8 + 9/8 + 6/8 metric patterns over the basic 4/4 meter (ex.2). He concludes his second chorus by reverting to the 4/4 meter and immediately shifts to octaves at the beginning of the third chorus. To further highlight variety and diversity of approach, Montgomery solos in octaves using quarter notes exclusively in the middle of the third chorus. After Tommy Flanagan’s and Percy Heath’s improvisations, Montgomery trades “fours”11 for thirty-six measures with drummer Albert Heath. In this section he varies his delivery one last time through the use of a chordal improvisation.

Fig.3 Airegin

11 A term applied to the trading or alternating of four-bar improvisations between sections or instruments.

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(chord solo)

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Again, this analysis clearly illustrates one of Montgomery’s principal tenets of improvisation- form and diversity of approach. These musical principles are alluded to in a rare unpublished interview with Ralph J. Gleason. Wes worked hard to develop this approach and it is clear that he was remarkably attentive to the need for form and variety in improvisation:

My aim is to move from one vein to the other without any trouble. Like, if you’re going to take a melody line or a counterpoint or a unison line with another instrument....then maybe next time you’ll play phrases and chords, or maybe you’ll take an octave or something. That way you’ll have a lot of variations there.12

The question that remains to be answered is why was Montgomery so successful with his approach- what made it so noteworthy? Close scrutiny reveals that he unfailingly introduces new elements (octaves, chords, call-and-response patterns, cross rhythms, etc.) in key areas of the formal structure. For example, in fig.2 Montgomery initiates new approaches in the middle of the second chorus (cross rhythm), at the beginning of the third chorus (octaves in eighth-notes), and in the middle of the third chorus (octaves in quarter-notes). Because Montgomery is aware that his improvisation must be limited to three choruses- not including the trading “fours”- he uses the halfway points within the thirty-six measure chorus to alter his approach and promote formal coherence. In a description of Wes’ solo on Gone with The

Wind,13 Jack Duarte also emphasizes the variety, progressive

12 Ralph J. Gleason, “Wes Montgomery, 1925-1968: A Rare Unpublished Interview” in Jazz Guitarists: Collected Interviews From Guitar Player Magazine (New York: Music Sales Coroporation, 1975) 75-77.13 The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, (RLP-9320).

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development, and periodic inclusion of new elements, which all contribute significantly to the form and to outlining individual choruses:

The flow of invention nevers stops, the taste is impeccable and, when all is done, the technical command takes your breath away. Every listener will find his own special highlights in this track. For me I might choose for mention (i) the underlining with responsive octaves of part of the first chorus (ii) the sudden electrifying break into triplet movement in the second chorus at the half-way mark and the sequential phrase that closes it (iii) the whole conception of the third chorus- the first in octaves (iv) the melodic outline of his first chord chorus- the fifth (v) the lead-in-to the sixth chorus in crochet-tripleted chords and its continuation for a whole half chorus (vi) the sureness of thought and execution in everything from beginning to end and (vii) the way in which the piece builds steadily from the leisurely single-line of the opening to the chorded closing sections.14

Elements of Predictability and UnpredictabilityMontgomery’s musical grammar and syntax is not unlike that of

other prominent jazz musicians. Jazz is a musical language characterized by a particular vocabulary- clichés, rhythms, harmonies, rules of performance- shared and understood by all those participating in the art form. These musical elements are unquestionably predictable and the jazz public certainly expects to perceive varying degrees of these materials in a jazz performance. This is what makes the music recognizable and discernible to the jazz community. However, what makes jazz or any other music truly appreciable is when musicians or composers have achieved that perfect equilibrium between the predictable and unpredictable, the expected and unexpected, the known and the unknown. Part of Montgomery’s

14 Jack Duarte, “Wes Montgomery”, B.M.G., Sept (1962), 370.

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genius lay in his innate ability to equalize these factors, creating accessibility and excitement through the manipulation of distinctively new materials and approaches in key structural areas of the solo.

In fig.2 Montgomery makes contact with his audience establishing common, unobtrusive grounds in the first chorus with typical eighth-note phrases. Once connected with the listener he unexpectedly initiates cross rhythms breaking the regularity and predictability of the rhythm previously established. In chorus three he reinstates the fundamental eighth-note pulse but varies the texture through the use of octaves. In the second half of this chorus he retains the octaves but plays them in an unusual, bass-like quarter-note pattern. The listener is constantly confronted with recognizable materials and unfamiliar elements are also periodically ushered in important strategical areas of the form.

Growth in “Four on Six” Montgomery’s solo on his popular composition Four on Six,15 is

another example which displays his inexhaustible ability to vary and transform improvisations from chorus to chorus through very subtle means. This improvisation extends over nine sixteen-measure choruses, and comprises unique approaches used by Wes to develop dynamics, density, momentum, and overall solo intensity.

Ex.3 Four on Six (first chorus)

15 This composition is based on “Summertime” by George Gershwin.

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Montgomery’s first chorus (ex.3) is melodically sparse and is characterized by short, fragmented phrases. He exclusively exploits the instrument’s middle register and the full range of this first chorus spans approximately one-and-a-half octaves. The second chorus is evidently more dense with longer phrases, nonetheless, the range remains unaltered. In the first measure of the third chorus, Wes signals his intention to extend the improvisational melodic range by playing what is to be the highest note in the solo (high F). By the the tenth measure of this chorus, Montgomery has also played the lowest note (F#) of the solo and has extended the melodic range over three octaves (ex.4). The expansive range, the eighth-note density at its peak, and the lengthened phrases played without any sustained interruption, make this one of the most dramatic single-line chorus of the solo.

Ex.4 Four on Six (chorus 3)

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Ex.5 Four on Six (chorus 4)

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Wes highlights the beginning of the fourth chorus with a brief call-and-response pattern which comprises octaves (ex.5). This transient change from single-note lines adds distinctness and musical freshness to the initial measures of the chorus. Here again, Montgomery introduces unique elements to structurally outline new choruses and sustain musical interest. Similarly, five measures into the fifth chorus (ex.6), he increases harmonic interest by playing three consecutive measures of augmented triads (m.5-8). Melodic tension is increased because these augmented “licks” have an abstract “outside” sound and some of the triads overlap measures (m.6-7). Having

Ex.6 Four on Six (fifth chorus m.5-8)

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varied and intensified his single-note melodic line to the maximum for five consecutive choruses, Montgomery increases the dynamics at the beginning of the sixth chorus through the use of octaves. The sixth and seventh choruses (exactly two-thirds of the way into the solo) are used as intensification areas preparing the listener for the seven-measure musical climax beginning at the eighth chorus (ex.7). He effectively heightens the rhythmic momentum, dynamics, and textural density by playing a percussive octave riff for half of the chorus. This analysis not only demonstrates Montgomery’s limitless inventory of improvisational techniques and their varied application within the chorus structure, but also clearly establishes his proficiency at pacing, developing and progressively intensifying a solo to its climax.

Ex.7 Four On Six (eighth chorus, percussive octave riff)

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Growth & Rhythmic Density - “West Coast Blues” West Coast Blues is one of Montgomery’s most revered

improvisation and is also included in the revised Smithsonian

Collection of Classic Jazz. This improvisation comprises four single-line choruses, three choruses in octaves, and two in block chords. In many of his solos Montgomery frequently increases the rhythmic density of the second octave chorus and second block chord chorus. More importantly, it appears that it is usually the beginning of the new chorus that is rhythmically denser. In example 8 Montgomery has already replaced his single-line melodies with octaves. He highlights and accentuates the new sixth chorus (ex.9) by increasing the rhythmic activity of Ex.8 West Coast Blues (5th chorus, m.1-6)

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Ex.9 West Coast Blues (6th chorus, m.1-6)

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his octave soloing in the first six measures. The rhythmic density is now increased twofold- from predominantly eighth notes in the fifth chorus to sixteenth notes at the beginning of the sixth chorus. This simple procedure enables Wes to contrast a chorus from the preceding one more effectively, and allows him to pace and develop musical climaxes fully.

Ex.10 West Coast Blues (8th chorus, m 1-8)

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Ex.11 West Coast Blues (9nth chorus, m.1-8)

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In the eighth chorus (ex.10) Montgomery amplifies the sound mass and texture through the use of block chords, as he customarily does. In the ninth and final chorus (ex.11) he uses rhythmic intensification to elicit the improvisational climax. Again, the first two measures contain the greatest rhythmic density and these rhythms are very similar to those played in example 9, measures five and six.

Growth Through Varied Melodic-Rhythmic MaterialsMontgomery’s improvisation on the standard Mean To Me,16

reveals other procedures used to outline the form and promote musical variety within a single chorus. In this improvisation Montgomery does not use his habitual octave and block chord techniques to outline the chorus structure. Wes only applies these techniques when he is alloted three or more choruses to improvise. Using single line melodies, octaves, and block chords within a single thirty-two measure chorus such as this one, would undoubtedly generate an overwhelmingly brusque array of sounds, textures, and dynamics within a too brief time span. It is evident that one chorus is insufficient to build and intensify a solo improvisation effectively, and it does not appear to be Montgomery’s main focus here. However, even within this single (AABA) thirty-two measure chorus, Montgomery structurally outlines individual eight-measure segments by varying the melodic and rhythmic content, thereby achieving musical balance and coherence.

In the first eight measures of A1 in the transcribed solo, Montgomery uses ample rests intermingled with short fragmented

16 A full transcription of this solo is included in the Appendix.

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phrases. He emphasizes and reiterates the note, C- the major third of the key (Ab) in measures 2, 3, 6, 7. This C, played on downbeats and often preceded by its blue note B, is the principal note in the short motive used in measures five to seven. A2 (m.9-16) is denser melodically than A1 and includes longer musical phrases, greater continuity, and an extended improvisatory range. The highest note of the solo is Eb in measure sixteen, and the lowest note is Ab in measure fifteen.

The B section or the bridge of thirty-two measure “popular song forms” such as this one, usually provides melodic and harmonic contrast to the A section. In this improvisation Montgomery sustains overt rhythmic contrast in the B section (m.17-24) by playing a continuous, uninterrupted stream of triplet figures in a slightly higher register of the instrument. Both melodically and rhythmically, this is the densest and most intense area of the chorus. In the last A section (m.25-32) Montgomery reverts to his previous eighth-note rhythmic feel but modifies the melodic content in favor of a more blues-drenched approach. As previously mentioned (in chapter 6), this melodic material is based entirely on the Ab minor blues scale (Ab, B, Db, Eb, Gb). Whereas, the first A section undescored the major third, C, this last A section emphasizes the blue third, B. It also includes a main motive- a blues riff in measures 25-26, that is reiterated in measures 27-28, and modified and extended in measures 29-32.

Montgomery’s twelve-chorus improvisation on Dizzy Gillespie’s Blue n’ Boogie,17 is a summation of disparate techniques employed to outline, vary, and gradually intensify individual twelve-measure

17 Refer to the Appendix for a full transcription.

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choruses. Once again, Wes utilizes varied melodic and rhythmic materials throughout the improvisation. The following outline summarizes the fundamental rhythmic changes and variation in melodic materials that coincide with the beginning of new choruses.

Blue n’ Boogie

chorus 1: Montgomery improvises in the middle and low registers of the instrument (highest note B); in the first four measures he outlines basic chord tones (root, third, fifth, flat seventh).

chorus 2: He improvises in the middle register (highest note E); he sustains and punctuates the ninth (of F7) and the sharp eleventh (#11 of Bb7) in the first six measures- an observable move to upper extensions.

chorus 3: He increases the rhythmic activity with a cross rhythm in the first measure.

chorus 4: Wes uses a call-and-response pattern with sliding double stops, intermingled with descending blues tetrachords (Cb, Bb, Ab, F).

chorus 5: He improvises in the high register of the instrument; plays the highest note of the solo (F); reiterates high C for half of the chorus.

chorus 6: This is the melodically densest single-line chorus of the entire solo.

chorus 7: Rhythmic intensification transpires with a four-measure “slurred” cross rhythm.

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chorus 8: Montgomery solos with octaves; riff#1 (punctuates Ab- the “blue third”).

chorus 9: Octave solo; riff#2 (punctuates Eb- the “blue seventh”).

chorus 10: Octave solo; Wes develops a rhythmic motive descending in the lower range.chorus 11: He utilizes the sliding octave riff (punctuates F and D).

chorus 12: Sliding octave riff (punctuates Eb and C); Wes generates a final cross rhythm.

Two of the most distinguished jazz scholars, Gunther Schuller and the late Martin Williams, have recognized and discussed the problem of form in extended improvisations.18 Both have contended that improvised solos in jazz “have suffered from a general lack of cohesiveness and direction- the lack of a unifying force.” This is generally true since many improvisations are a spontaneous “stringing together of unrelated ideas.” However, in Blue n’ Boogie we observe Wes’ attempt to bring thematic and structural unity into his improvisation. In each of the aforementioned choruses Wes tries to structure and balance his solo through the use of a reiterated rhythmic pattern, a melodic idea, or cell which he develops. Joe Goldberg has also observed this aspect of Montgomery’s style: “He has, further an innate sense of how to structure a solo, giving it form and balance,

18 Gunther Schuller, “Sonny Rollins and The Challenge of Thematic Improvisation,” The Jazz Review, Vol. 1, no.1 (1958), 6. Martin Williams, “Extended Improvisation and Form: Some Solutions,” The Jazz Review, Vol. 1, no.2 (1958), 13.

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often through repeating an idea or rhythm pattern while building in direct, uncluttered style to a climax.”19

Concluding RemarksMontgomery’s vehicles for improvisation consist mainly of

standard tunes, blues tunes, and some original compositions. We have shown that many of the basic techniques discussed in previous chapters are often combined to contribute to the form or growth of a particular improvisation. The intensity that Wes generated and which became a most distinguishable surface feature of his style, is developed gradually in extended improvisations through balanced and well-thought-of transitions from single-notes, to octave passages, to block chords. Moreover, polyrhythmic and cross-rhythmic effects are often utilized in the later stages of a solo to augment the intensity further. Montgomery promotes diversity and variety in the form by introducing new elements (single-lines, octaves, octaves and chords, block chords, call-and-response-patterns, varied rhythmic and polyrhythmic approaches, etc.) throughout individual choruses or sub-sections of choruses. Growth is also promoted through more subtle means such as, the gradual increase of the instrumental range from one chorus to the next, or through rhythmic intensification especially at the beginning of new choruses with octaves and block chords. In instances when octaves or block chords are not employed, individual sections of a chorus are outlined and contrasted through the use of varied melodic and rhythmic materials.

19 Joe Goldberg, liner notes to Boss Guitar: Wes Montgomery, Riverside (RLP-9459)

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