The Book Of Jazz - online reference book
Its Nature, Instruments, Sources, Sounds, Development & Performers
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ITS NATURE |
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Curiously, Eldridge placed the accent on you in the second part of the phrase, instead of using hut you as a pick-up. His main melodic thought did not differ from Armstrong's in any significant respect, but the final G Sharp clearly implied a change from the tonic chord to a C augmented 7th, leaving the way clear for a logical continuation.
John Gillespie, confronted with the same line, commented: "That sounds like the blues to mel" and played:
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Here the melody, though simple, was piquant in its use of grace notes; and instead of staying within die confines of the major triad, as had Armstrong and (but for the last note) Eldridge, he used the sixth (D) at two points and the second (G) at another.
Jazz improvisation most often constitutes a reaction to certain chord sequences (and sometimes to melodies based on those sequences) just as the above samples are a melodically free reaction to the rhythmic pattern suggested by a line of lyrics. In order more fully to illustrate the extemporaneous musical emotions that have always been the core of most jazz, I have selected examples of the work of those musicians whose instruments are among the commonest jazz solo vehicles (trumpet, trombone, clarinet, alto and tenor saxes, piano, guitar) and whose styles have been among the most influential.
To commence a survey of this nature without initial recourse to Louis Armstrong would be comparable with the omission of Bach from a primer of classical composition. The example chosen dates back to the year of his creative zenith, 1928, and to the phase marked by his partnership with Earl Hines, whose piano is a vital part of the overwhelmingly effective interaction that made Muggles one of the definitive jazz records of its period. |
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