Th ree things to keep in mind while listening to this recording: (1) the source material is a popular song, introduced in 1920; (2) the song is never actu-ally played as written except in the eight-bar ensemble passage following the cornet solo; (3) the tempo and feeling of the performance are indicative of a ballad. Th ese aspects were considered novel in 1927, when jazz musicians rarely drew on Tin Pan Alley songs, when improvisers embellished the writ-ten melody instead of displacing it with original variations, and when con-templative tempos were usually reserved for the blues.
Th is performance is dominated by full-chorus solos by Trumbauer and Beiderbecke, accompanied by Eddie Lang, whose fi rm second- and fourth-beat accents and fl uid, responsive arpeggios give it much of its propulsion and charm. Trumbauer’s virtues are beautifully displayed in this, his most famous solo. Beiderbecke’s performance is even more celebrated. We can immediately feel the quality of his playing that so startled his contemporaries. Jazz is a music of individuality and, therefore, of sensibility. Beiderbecke introduced
arpeggio chord in which each note is played one at a time
Austin High Gang
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BIX BEIDERBECKE ■ 153
LISTENING GUIDE
singin’ the blues
FRANKIE TRUMBAUER AND HIS ORCHESTRA Frankie Trumbauer, C-melody saxophone; Bix Beider-becke, cornet; Bill Rank, trombone; Jimmy Dorsey, clarinet; Doc Ryker, alto saxophone; Paul Mertz, pia-no; Eddie Lang, guitar; Chauncey Morehouse, drums
■ Label: OKeh 40772; Bix Beiderbecke, vol. 1:
Singin’ the Blues (Sony/BMG 723808)
■ Date: 1927
■ Style: Chicago-style jazz
■ Form: 32-bar popular song (A B Aⴕ C)
What to listen for:
■ chorus 1: Trumbauer’s fl uid solo on C-melody saxophone, answered by Lang’s inventive guitar
■ chorus 2: Beiderbecke’s introverted, delicate cornet solo
■ Chicago-style collective improvisation and solos
INTRODUCTION
0:00 In a passage arranged by Bill Challis, the horns enter in block-chord texture, ac-companied by fi lls on the cymbals.
CHORUS 1
0:07 A Trumbauer begins his solo on C-melody saxophone, swooping up to his fi rst note, accompanied by Lang on guitar (with the pianist distantly in the background).
0:16 Lang’s accompaniment occasionally provides improvised countermelodies.
0:21 B Trumbauer’s high note is preceded by a lengthy scooped entrance.
0:31 A two-measure break features Trumbauer’s subtle phrases. The break ends with guitar chords and a cymbal crash.
0:35 Aⴕ
0:41 A passage by Trumbauer in rapid triplets is neatly extended by Lang’s guitar.
0:49 C
0:59 Trumbauer’s concluding break is fast and unpredictable.
CHORUS 2
1:03 A Beiderbecke enters on cornet. He plays with a cool, introverted feeling, pulling back in volume at the end of each phrase.
1:17 B His melody features the hint of a blue note.
1:28 On his break, Beiderbecke improvises a fast passage that ends with delicately played repeated notes.
1:31 Aⴕ He suddenly erupts into a dramatic upward rip. This heated emotion quickly sub-sides, as if he were letting off a bit of steam.
1:46 C
1:52 To bring his solo to a close, he hints at bluesy playing.
CHORUS 3
2:00 A The band states the original melody of the song, disguised by a mild version of New Orleans polyphony. The drummer adds accents on the cymbals.
2:15 B Dorsey’s clarinet solo loosely suggests Beiderbecke’s restrained style.
a new sensibility, quite diff erent from the extroverted Armstrong. Th ere is a shy politeness to Bix’s playing, as he rings each note with the precision of a percussionist hitting chimes. He plots his variations with great care—
as Lang does his accompaniment, playing with greater harmonic daring to match Bix’s melodies.
1.23
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154 ■ CHAPTER 6 LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND THE FIRST GREAT SOLOISTS
Th e two long solos on “Singin’ the Blues” instantly entered the lexicon of jazz, and have since been endlessly studied and imitated. Fletcher Henderson recorded a version in which his reed saxophone section played the Trumbauer solo and cornet-ist Rex Stewart played Bix’s improvisation, as though they were composed pieces of music, which in this instance they were (by virtue of being transcribed and played from a written score).
Th ese solos are also believed to be the fi rst to which lyrics were written (a process known as “vocalese” when it became popular in the 1950s). In 1935, Marion Harris made a very fi ne record-ing srecord-ingrecord-ing both Beiderbecke and Trumbauer.
■ COLEMAN HAWKINS (1904–1969)
In contrast with Beiderbecke’s meteoric career, Coleman Hawk-ins’s spanned fi ve decades of jazz history, at the end of which he had become one of its universally admired patriarchs. We will encounter him later, as we explore the 1930s and 1940s.
Hawkins, born in St. Joseph, Missouri, began learning piano at age fi ve from his mother, a teacher and organist. He also stud-ied cello, and added the C-melody saxophone at nine; as a teenager, he played both instruments professionally at Kansas City dances. In 1922, Hawkins joined with Mamie Smith and Her Jazzhounds; that summer he also took up the tenor saxophone. Touring with Smith, he traveled from Kansas City to Chicago and eventually to both coasts, electing to stay in New York to freelance with top musicians, including ragtime clarinetist Wilbur Sweat-man. When Fletcher Henderson heard Hawkins with Sweatman’s band, he engaged him for a record session and then for a spot in his new orchestra.
Hawkins stayed with Henderson for eleven years, establishing himself as the leading fi gure on tenor saxophone.
From the beginning, he demonstrated tremendous authority, bringing to the saxophone qualities more often associated with the cello: wide vibrato, dynamics, and a huge sound. What he lacked in swing, blues sensibility, and emotional clarity became clear to him when Henderson hired Louis Arm-strong in 1924. Like everyone else in the band, Hawkins was stunned by the power of Armstrong’s music. During the next few years, he strove to adapt Armstrong’s style to the tenor saxophone. An early indication of his increas-ing maturity was an explosive solo on Henderson’s 1926 record “Stampede,” a great success among musicians and often cited by the next generation of tenor saxophonists as a decisive infl uence on their education.
Coleman Hawkins, shown here in 1949, was known for his powerful timbre and rhap-sodic improvisational style. He established the tenor saxophone as the most iconic instrument in jazz.
FRANK DRIGGS COLLECTION
2:26 Dorsey’s break ends almost in a whisper.
2:29 Aⴕ The band returns with collective improvisation, with Beiderbecke’s cornet on top.
2:44 C
2:46 A one-measure break features Lang playing a rapid upward arpeggio on guitar.
2:51 Beiderbecke begins his last line with another aggressive rip, followed by short riffs on a repeated note.
2:58 A cymbal stroke brings the piece to a close.
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COLEMAN HAWKINS ■ 155
Hawkins’s masterpiece, “Body and Soul” (1939), has been called the great-est of all jazz solos (we will hear it in Chapter 9), but it was a decade in the making. Th e performance we examine here, “One Hour,” was a benchmark in that process. Up to this point (1929), Hawkins’s playing had conspicu-ously lacked a legato, or smooth attack. His phrasing had consisted of clearly articulated notes, even at very fast tempos. An essential component of swing was missing: relaxation. Nor was there any romance in his music. Playing more legato meant learning how to soften the gruff edges of his timbre and move from one note to another with a fl uid, more gracefully expressive man-ner. In “One Hour,” Hawkins accomplished this, and unveiled a radically new approach to the tenor saxophone—one that transcended the smooth melodi-cism of Trumbauer with nearly rapturous power.