Elements of Jazz Composition

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/5/11 Elements Of Jazz: Composition: Performance

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While an arrangement of a jazz composition specifies many of the details of a performance, itusually leaves much to be decided upon by the performers. Some of the matters determined during

performance may include choosing the tempo, who will play the head, the rhythm section parts,introductions and codas, the order of soloists, and, of course, the contents of the solos themselves.

A Jazz Improvisation AlmanacUnit:Elements Of JazzChapter: Composition

The IntroductionThe Theme

The Solo Section

Accompaniment

Performance of Complex Arrangements

This is a preview of the educational programA Jazz Improvisation Almanacwhich is under developmentfor the Outside ShoreMusic Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, checkout the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.

Unlike in many other forms of music, an arrangementof a jazz composition does not usually specifyall aspects of the performance, so two performances of the same arrangement may differconsiderably. In addition to improvised solos,which almost always differ between performances,some details of the arrangement itself may be left open until the time of the performance.

The Introduction

The first aspect of a composition to be finalized during performance is the tempo or speed. Anarrangement may suggest a tempo in broad terms such as "slow", but the leader of the ensemblewill have to count off a specific tempo to let all the players know what the pulse will be. The samearrrangement might be played at different tempos for different performances, and this can affect howthe musicians play their parts. Everything from the swing feel to the style of accompaniment can beaffected by tempo. For example, here is an excerpt from a slow performance of a jazz composition:

Here is that same arrangement performed faster:

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The arrangement may specify an introduction.If it does not, the performers often supply oneanyhow, using any of a number of standard devices. Here is an example of a introduction providedduring performance, based on improvising over the last four measures of the tune:

The Theme

Once the performance has been started by the count off, there are many more decisions to make. Ina head arrangement, the thememay be played in unison, in which case it is usually played aswritten, or one musician may take the head himself, which allows him to take more liberties with it.This is particularly common in ballads. For example, here is a theme played in unison by the trumpetand saxophone:

And here is that same theme as it might be interpreted if only the saxophonist were playing it:

Sometimes, in an AABA or similar form, one musician will take the A-section, and another thebridge, in order to provide contrast:


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In short tunes like blues forms, the head is often played twice; otherwise, it is usually played onlyonce.

The Solo Section

During the solo sectionof a head arrangement, it is common to not decide the order of the soloistsuntil it is time for the solos. The leader of the group may point to someone as they approach the endof the head to indicate that person should solo first, or someone in the group may decide they wantto solo first, and simply step forward to indicate this to the others.

Often, the first solo is begun with a break - the rhythm section stops playing for the last two measuresof the head while the first soloist improvises unaccompanied:


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This may be called for in the arrangement, but it is also commonly decided upon during theperformance by either the leader, the first soloist, or someone in the rhythm section. A visual cue is

often employed to make sure everyone knows there will be a break.

Sometimes the arrangement specifies how many choruses a soloist should take, but in many casesthis is left to the discretion of the soloist, who often does not decide in advance how many choruseshe will take but instead simpl stops when he feels he is done. As a result, solos may differ in lengthfrom performance to performance. And of course, since the solo is generally improvised, solos willdiffer in content between performances as well.

During the first solo, the musicians usually decide amongst themselves who should solo next. Thisis usually done in the same manner as the decision as to who should solo first. While a solo breakmay be used to introduce each solo, it is more common to use a break only to introduce the firstsolo.

The tendency in head arrangements is for the leader to solo first, followed by any other horn players,

then by the pianist, and then possibly a bass solo or a drum solo. Most bands make a consciouseffort to vary this solo order between compositions during a performance or on a recording,however. The solo order for a performance of a composition can thus be affected by the solo orderin the compositions played earlier - if the saxophone soloed first on the previous tune, the trumpetmight solo first on the next.

Sometimes, a band will engage in collective improvisation during the solo section. More than oneplayer may improvise at once, forming duets, trios, or larger collections within the ensemble:


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Before returning to the theme, musicians occasionally will elect to trade fours, which can besignalled by someone holding up four fingers. When trading fours, the rhythm section continues toprovide accompaniment based on the original chord progression, but soloists take turns improvisingfour measures at a time. Usually the exchange follows the original solo order, although the cyclemay go around several times. Here is an excerpt from an exchange of fours:

Often when trading fours, particularly if there was no drum solo during the solo section, the drumswill take four measures between each of the other soloists:

At the conclusion of the solos, the ensemble may return to the head. The visual signal for this is

universal: the leader, the last soloist, or any another musician points to his own head. The theme isthen played as described earlier.

After the final time through the head, the arrangement may specify a coda or ending.If not, theperformers may devise their own. There are a set of standard endings known to most musicians, sousually all it takes is for one musician to start playing one of them and everyone else will be able tofollow along. Here is an example of a common ending, created by playing the last four bars threetimes:


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Accompaniment

Throughout the performance, accompanimentto the theme and to the solos is usually provided bythe rhythm section. This accompaniment is normally improvised and will vary betweenperformances. This is especially true during the solo section. The accompaniment may beimprovised during the head as well, but since the head is similar if not identical from performance toperformance, the rhythm section often falls into patterns that are similar between performances as

well. In some cases, the arrangement may specify particular accompanying figures called "kicks" tobe used for the head:


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The accompaniment during the solos may then employ some of the same kicks as theaccompaniment for the head, in order to keep a sense of continuity to the performance:

Often, however, the rhythm section will switch to playing a more generic accompaniment behind thesolos, based only on the chord progression and not the specific kicks used for the head:

The rhythm section is usually free to respond to what the soloist is doing in creating theiraccompaniment. This can work both ways - sometimes the rhythm section may initiate an idea thatthe soloist responds to. Or one member of the rhythm section may play something that is built uponby the rest of the rhythm section. Each member of the ensemble improvises their part based on whatis happening around them, as well as the chord progression:

Unlike the soloists, who usually stop playing when not playing the head or soloing, the rhythmsection generally plays the whole time. However, in order to maintain interest, the pianist or guitaristmay stop playing for a few choruses in order to give the soloist a sparser sound to improvise over.This is called laying out, or strolling. For example, the pianist in the excerpt below lays out for the

second A section and the bridge of an AABA form:

Sometimes the drums will lay out as well. This creates greater contrast, and provides the opportunityfor an even greater release when the drums reenter:


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Bassists lay out more rarely, but it generates an even more dramatic effect when they do.Sometimes the pianist provides accompaniment, but sometimes the soloist is allowed to playunaccompanied:

Because the bass is usually somewhat limited in its ability to project its sound while soloing, andbecause the usual accompanying pulse provided by the bassist is missed during a bass solo, theother rhythm section players generally accompany in a more subdued fashion during a bass solo:

During a drum solo, there is normally no accompaniment at all:

In a head arrangement, the rhythm section improvises its parts based on the chord progression ofthe tune. There is usually some indication as to the general style of the composition - swing, ballad,bossa, funk, or whatever. The arrangement specifies the desired feel, but does not always provideinformation on how to achieve i t. Occasionally a notated arrangement such as one for a big bandwill contain suggested written parts for the rhythm section, but they usually provide chord symbolsas well to allow the musicians to improvise their own parts. Rhythm section players are expected tobe able to adapt their accompaniment to the style of the composition being played. In order to dothis, they usually have a vocabulary of different patterns they can apply to achieve different feels. Forexample, here is a chord progression played with a swing feel:

And here is that same progression played with a bossa nova feel:

Performance of Complex Arrangements

Some arrangements allow for more freedom in performance than others. While simple headarrangements allow the rhythm section to create their own parts and allow the horns to decide whenand for how long to solo, more complex arrangements (such as of long form compositions) mayrequire more specific structures to be followed. There may still be ample opportunity to improvise,but the arrangement may specify something more than just a success of solos based on a singlerepeating chord progression. There may be notated parts interspersed with improvised onesthroughout the arrangement. There may be passages where some musicians are playing writtenparts and others are improvising. Improvisations in such contexts do not necessarily take the form ofsolos, where one musician is clearly leading and the others accompanying. Here is an excerpt from

such a performance, in which collectively improvised sections and notated sections are intermixed:

It can be difficult to tell simply by listening to a performance of such an arrangement where a givenmusician is improvising and where he is playing written parts, since one cannot simply assume thatthe first phrases played are the theme and that everything the follows is improvisation. There areoften clues to the listener as to which is which, however. For instance, any passage that more thanone instrument plays in unison (melodic or rhythmic), or one that is repeated, is almost certainlynotated:


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There are not always such obvious clues, however. Also, some composers blur the distinctionbetween notation and improvisation, using their own systems of notation that do not specify theexact pitches or rhythms to be played, but provide enough information to the player to suggest whatthey should play. A shape notation may be used to specify the general contour of the line. Forinstance, here is a notated shape, and an example of how it might be interpreted in performance:

And here is another example of how that same shape might be interpreted:

Shape notations tend to be specific to each composer that uses them, so it is difficult to generalizeabout them.

Improvised sections may also be simply marked as free or open improvisation, with no more specificnotation, in which case the musician is free to improvise whatever he feels wil l complement themusic in that spot:

Whether improvising over a chord progression, over shape or other nontraditional notations,improvising freely, improvising an accompaniment to a soloist, or simply deciding upon a solo order,

jazz musicians enjoy considerable freedom in the performance of a composition.

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore MusicAuthored byMarc Sabatella

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