Miles Davis

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Miles Davis
All Blues from the Album Kind of Blue
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Starter 3

• Match the term with the correct definition Put
  the correct letter in the answer box. Once you
  have finished have a quiet and quick discussion
  with your neighbour.
• Discuss

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In the study of this set work you will learn
about

• The features of All Blue
• The 12-bar blues chord sequence
• How the set work All Blues is constructed through
  an analysis of the music
• Jazz harmony.

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Recap Background to Kind of Blue

• Line-up for the album Kind of Blue
• Miles Davis trumpet
• Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley alto sax
• John Coltrane tenor sax
• Bill Evans piano
• Paul Chambers bass
• Jimmy Cobb drums

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• One of the things that makes this album so
  special - all the musicians were top jazz
  musicians of the time playing at the peak of
  their abilities - they all worked so well
  together.
• Davis felt that jazz was becoming too dependent
  on complex chord sequences
• In this album, he wanted to explore the concept
  of modal jazz.
• This means that rather than relying on
  complicated chord patterns the harmony focuses on
  a MODE or scale and the improvised solos are
  freer and longer
• This track is from the ALBUM, KIND OF BLUES which
  was recorded in one take in NY in 1959
• Instrumentation trumpet /alto sax / tenor sax /
  piano/bass / drums
• Unusually for Jazz the time signature is 6/4 and
  is marked JAZZ WALTZ

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12-bar blues sequence

• 'All Blues' is based around a repeated 12-bar
  blues sequence with a four-bar linking riff in
  between each section.
• The main melody (the head) and the solos are all
  played over the 12-bar sequence (the changes).
• The 12-bar sequence is repeated 19 times in total.

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Changes for 'All Blues' Head/Solos Changes for 'All Blues' Head/Solos Changes for 'All Blues' Head/Solos Changes for 'All Blues' Head/Solos Changes for 'All Blues' Head/Solos
Bar 1 2 3 4
G7 G7 G7 G7
5 6 7 8
C7 C7 G7 G7
9 10 11 12
D79 Eb79 D79 G7 G7

• Notice there are DOMINANT sevenths used and
  that the last line has ALTERED chords - the
  harmony is made more interesting by adding notes
• Adding extra notes to a chord is known as
  extending the chord.
• There are lots of extended chords in jazz.

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Structure of ALL BLUESThe piece can be broken
down into 5 sections

• INTRO the opening 4 bars, played by the rhythm
  section is followed by the riff
• HEAD 1 this is where the original tune or
  melody is played Head melody followed by the
  Riff is played 2x
• IMPROVISED SOLOS for trumpet / alto sax / tenor
  sax / piano each followed by the riff
• HEAD 2- the main theme returns Riff is played 2x
• OUTRO (Coda)-this fades outa solo for muted
  trumpet

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RIFFS what are they?

• A RIFF is a short rhythmic ostinato- very common
  in Jazz, Blues Pop.
• KIND OF BLUE uses 3 short riffs
• 1st Riff G D ED F DED is on Double Bass
• 2nd Riff alto and tenor saxphones play in the
  intro in 3rds (in harmony)
• D/B E/C F/D E/C

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THE INSTRUMENTS THEIR ROLES

• The RHYTHM section provides the harmony and
  rhythmic background- in this case it is the DRUMS
  / BASS / PIANO
• The frontline instruments are TRUMPET,ALTO
  SAXOPHONE TENOR SAXOPHONE
• THE WORD COMPING means
• accompanying- playing the background
• chords rhythms

Lets play detective
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Section Bar Numbers and timing Analysis
Intro 1-8 000-021 The piece begins with the drums (played with brushes), the bass playing riff 1 and the piano playing a trill in thirds (A-G and E-F Natural). The trill immediately causes a little dissonance. Riff 1 is played by the bass almost throughout the whole piece. The time signature is 6/4 with a tempo of crotchet 156. Although this may seem rather fast, the bar feels like it is split into two slow beats (two dotted minims), so it feels like a laid back tempo of Dotted minim 152. At bar 5 the alto and tenor saxophones join in with a harmonised riff (riff 2). All the parts are played quietly with a rather breathy tone in the saxes.
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Section Bar Numbers and timing Analysis
Head 1 9 20 021 052 Davis plays the main melody for the first time. The trumpet is muted and has the distinctive Davis 'vulnerable' tone. The melody is based on a very simple motif - a leap of a major sixth, with the long high note slightly ornamented (adding a mordent). The rest of the melody is made up of stepwise movement. It soars effortlessly over the rest of the band. Over the C7 chord the sax parts are more legato than the slightly chopped phrasing over the G7 chord. The altered chords D79 and Eb79 are highlighted by a change in texture and the bell-like piano chords replace the trill for a few seconds.
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Section Bar Numbers and timing Analysis
Link Head 2 Link 21-24 053 -103 25 36 103 -134 37 40 135 -145 The link section punctuates the whole piece it breaks up what would otherwise be 19 straight repetitions of the 12-bar sequence. This section is the same as bars 5-8 of the intro. The same as for the first time the head is played, but the melody is developed slightly. The piano trill drops out with Evans switching to riff 2 - the lack of the trill has quite a dramatic effect on the texture. Cobb introduces the ride cymbal with a few subtle hits before it plays a major role in the solos to follow.
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Section Bar Nos and timing Analysis
Solos Davis 41 88 135 351 The first solo focuses on the band leader, Miles Davis, with the other two frontline instruments dropping out to emphasise this. He has removed the mute to allow for his tone to comethrough a bit clearer. Davis takes four choruses for his solo (he allows himself four repeats of the 12-bar sequence). There is no link between the repeats - the four choruses are played back to back. The solo is modal - Davis improvises over the changes using the G mixolydian mode over the G7 chords and C mixolydian over the C7 chords. He uses a diminished scale over the altered chords. Evans (piano) comps chords underneath the solo based on riff 2. Cobb keeps time on the ride cymbal with flourishes and highly syncopated, quite unpredictable snare hits keeping some rhythmic interest throughout.
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Section Bar Numbers and timing Analysis
Link Solos cont. Adderley 89 92 351401 93 140 401605 Davis drops out (almost reluctantly), handing the spotlight to Adderley. The music is the same as the link before, but without the two saxophones. Each link seems to be anticipating the solo to come, sounding quite eager to hear what the new soloist can do. Adderley also takes four choruses for his solo. His solo is more angular than Davis's solo, including more leaps and shorter phrases. He includes more chromatic notes than Davis. He has a rhythmic quality to his soloing, placing strong accents on the beats. He has a thick tone, almost making his alto sax sound more like a tenor sax than Coltrane's tenor! There are quite a few technically difficult bursts of fast notes thrown in.
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Section Bar Numbers and timing Analysis
Link Solos cont. Coltrane 141 144 605 615 145 192 615 817 Similar to previous link. Adderley drops out, handing the spotlight to Coltrane. Coltrane's tone is very different to Adderley's, with almost no vibrato (or adding it late on in the note) compared to Adderley's wide vibrato. Coltrane also takes four choruses for his solo. The first chorus is kept quite simple, with some ideas exploring the mode. In the second chorus he plays some three- and four-note, short ideas and develops them using sequence and some clever rhythmic development. The third and fourth choruses successfully combine blindingly fast passages with long, sustained phrases. The phrases are different lengths and come in at different places in the bar, giving the solo the impression of being as natural as speech.
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Section Bar Numbers and timing Analysis
Link Solos cont. Evans 193 196 818 827 197 220 828 928 Coltrane drops out, leaving the spotlight for Evans Evans continues comping in the left hand, but it becomes slightly more intricate. Evans takes two choruses for his solo. In the first chorus, his right hand plays a melody line, very much like one of the frontline instruments. In the second chorus he combines the two hands into a chord-based solo, with some alternate motion in bars 213 and 215 to add some variation. He uses a fairly limited range of notes around the middle of the piano in typically understated fashion, slipping seamlessly into the link
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Section Bar Numbers and timing Analysis
Link Head 3 Link Head 4 221 224 929 939 225 236 939 1010 237 240 1011-1021 241 252 1021 1052 Evans starts with the chords of riff 2, but drops back into the trill idea after two bars. The two saxes begin playing their harmonised riff again. Cobb fades the ride cymbal down considerably. The same as for head 1, with slight developments of the melody. The trumpet is played with a mute again. Saxes continue to play through the link, along with the piano trill. Further minor developments of the melody
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Section Bar Numbers and timing Analysis
Link Outro 253 256 1052 1102 257 268/9 1103 - fade The drums back down quite a lot, contributing to an overall drop in volume. A final ('nineteenth) repeat of the 12-bar pattern with Davis playing a short solo on the tonic note of G over riff 2 in the saxes and the piano trill. The song fades out towards the end of the final chorus.
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Important points to note

• Jazz soloists often think in terms of chords and
  arpeggios when soloing, so it is almost as if
  they are spreading a chord out horizontally
  instead of playing it vertically like a piano or
  guitar
• But, in this track, the soloists are using
  scales or modes a lot more than usual, partly
  because the chords don't change very quickly.
• The solos are much more than simple
  improvisations using a pentatonic scale over a
  blues sequence - the soloists combine riffs they
  have learned previously with arpeggio ideas, the
  use of scales and modes and some clever rhythmic
  development to create solos with a sense of
  direction and development.
• The soloists never solo at the same time. When
  the frontline instruments are playing at the same
  time, they all have very clearly defined parts to
  play (saxes play the harmonised riff while the
  trumpet plays the melody).

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• The link gives the music space to breathe - the
  contrast in texture between each section builds
  up a sense of anticipation for the next section.
• The bass part repeats riff 1 constantly
  throughout the song. This makes it become part of
  the texture so that it doesn't take away from the
  soloists limelight.
• The piano part provides chordal accompaniment
  throughout the piece, but Evans maintains
  interest by constantly changing the voicings of
  the chords and the rhythm of his accompaniment.
• The drums provide a constantly shifting backing
  by Cobb improvising highly syncopated snare drum
  part, but he also keeps a steady beat throughout
  on the ride cymbal, varying how he hits it to
  create changes in dynamics and texture.