ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to examine various bass players’ accompanying approach in the context of jazz that uses uneven meters combined with moving harmony as in jazz standards. The study explores the foundation of this approach using qualitative data obtained from interviews with groundbreaking bassists Scott Colley, Larry
Grenadier, and Johannes Weidenmueller, along with analyses of musical transcriptions done by the author. Findings reveal that bassists use a clave pattern to divide an uneven meter bar into two, uneven parts; they are then able to feel a half-time pulse, enabling them to think in larger phrases. They also employ syncopation, over the bar line
phrasing, and pragmatic interaction, to make music played in uneven meters swing with more fluidity.
ACKOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank first and foremost Scott Colley, Larry Grenadier, and
Johannes Weidenmueller for taking the time to grant me interviews that added to my data and encouraged my research efforts. I would also like to thank my thesis advisor Dr. Timothy Newman for all his great suggestions and support, as well as Dr. Carol Frierson-Campbell for her formatting help. Thanks to Dr. David Demsey and to my wonderful teacher and friend Steve Laspina for being on my committee and making my thesis stronger. Finally, thanks to Andrea Ferrara for all her support and meticulous proof reading.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT iii
ACKOWLEDGEMENTS iv
LIST OF TABLES vii
LIST OF FIGURES viii
CHAPTERS
I THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
Introduction 1
Background 3
The Desire For a New Rhythmic Vocabulary 6
Uneven Meters and the Bass 8
Purpose 8
Methodology 9
II RELATED LITERATURE
Review of Literature 11
III ANALYSIS
Uneven Meters in Jazz Before the 1990s: “Take Five,”
“Hat and Beard,” and “Nommo” 19
A Method Emerges 24
The Clave and Half-time 26
Walking Bass Lines 29
Syncopation 31
Phrasing Over the Bar Line and Against the Clave 33
Pragmatism 36
IV CONCLUSION
Summary of Findings 40
Need For Further Research 41
REFERENCES 44
APPENDIXES
A INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT 46
B CONSENT FORM 62
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
1 Eugene Wright’s bass line on “Take Five” Played on all
A sections and solos 20
2 Eugene Wright’s Bass line on the bridge to “Take Five” 20 3 Richard Davis’s first bass line on “Hat and Beard” 22 4 Richard Davis’s second bass line on “Hat and Beard” 22 5 Richard Davis’s third bass line on “Hat and Beard” 23
6 Jymie Merrit’s opening bass line from “Nommo” 23
7 Exmple of a lead sheet for “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” 24 8 Brad Mehldau playing the melody to “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was”
in 5/4 and Mario Rossy’s bass line 25
9 5/4 clave over two bars showing the three-two division of the bar 26 10 7/4 clave over two bars showing the four-three division of the bar 27 11 Larry Grenadier’s bass line on “All The Things You Are” showing
a walking line (mm. 109-116) 29
12 Scott Colley’s bass line from “Airegin” showing a walking line (mm. 83-84) 30 13 Johannes Weidenmueller’s bass line from “Nardis” showing a walking line
(m. 108) 30
14 Scott Colley’s bass line on the melody to “Airegin” 32 continued
15 Johannes Weidenmueller’s bass line from “Nardis” showing syncopation
and how it lines up with the 7/4 clave (mm. 89-90) 32 16 Scott Colley phrasing over the bar line on “Airegin” (mm. 21-24) 33 17 Larry Grenadier phrasing over the bar line on
“All The Things You Are” (mm. 57-58) 34
18 Johannes Weidenmueller phrasing over the bar line on “Nardis”
(mm. 17-24) 34
19 Larry Grenadier’s bass line to the melody of “All The Things You Are” 35 20 Larry Grenadier reacting rhythmically to drummer Jorge Rossy on
“All The Things You Are” (mm. 69-70) 37
21 Scott Colley reacting to drummer Bill Stewart (mm. 10-13) 38 22 Johannes Weidenmueller reacting to a rhythm played by
Kenny Werner on “Nardis” (mm. 85-88) 38
23 The two half-notes of the 7/4 clave reduced to quarters and the
CHAPTER I
THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
Introduction
Perhaps no instrument has come as far within the history of jazz as the double bass in terms of expectations of the performer. When used in early jazz, the bass was little more than a percussive instrument thumping out the time. Its role has since
developed into one of the most important instruments within the jazz ensemble because the bass is responsible for maintaining the harmonic rhythm of the tune (Taylor, 2002). By designating which beat of the bar a new chord will begin on and establishing a sense of forward propulsion rhythmically, the bass allows the rest of the ensemble to play freely over a solid foundation (p. 2). The fundamental approach of designating harmonic rhythm has varied little in jazz, since the vast majority of the repertoire throughout the first hundred years of its history has been in 4/4 and later 3/4.
Since the bass is so closely tied to harmonic rhythm, bands that change the meters of jazz standards to uneven meters, such as 5/4 or 7/4, pose a new challenge for the modern bassist. This practice started becoming popular in the 1990s. Until then, harmonic rhythm was almost always divided evenly with chords landing either on beat one or beat three of a four-beat bar, and lasting either two or four beats of the bar in a 4/4 measure and three beats in a 3/4 measure. With the practice of applying uneven meters to
standards, chord changes can be divided unevenly within the bar. Because this upsets the bassist’s balance, a new approach had to be developed.
For a bass player it is essential to develop an understanding of how to approach this type of uneven harmonic rhythm. Bassists Larry Grenadier, Scott Colley, and Johannes Weidenmueller are three of the principle architects of this model of bass accompaniment. With limited models to draw from, these bassists all arrived at a similar foundational approach to playing standards in uneven meters, mastered it, and then invented their own unique approaches. Their scale of influence is indicated by how in demand all three are as sidemen in jazz, and the number of recordings they appear on with major artists. All three of these bassists are best known for mastering uneven meters in the world of jazz bassists, but the specifics of their contributions are not yet well documented. Method books designed to facilitate a student’s ability to play in uneven meters make no mention of these bassists or any of the recordings they appear on, some of which are among best existing examples of musicians playing uneven meters.
Understanding the bass in this context is so important to the entire concept of standards in uneven meters that any musician who wants to pursue this type of jazz must understand its role.
Although uneven meters are more commonly referred to as “odd” meters, the author has decided against using this term except for certain instances. This is because some synonyms of the word “odd” such as “strange,” “unusual,” or “weird” no longer apply to uneven meters. Since “odd” meters are now fairly common, they have shed these other characteristics. “Uneven” is a more accurate term.
Background
Standards are tunes that are considered necessary repertoire for any jazz musician. Most standards are from Broadway shows but some tunes written by jazz musicians that are played or recorded often enough can also become standards. The vast majority of standards are composed in 4/4, or common time. Common time is the time signature most identified with jazz and with the concept of swing. The terms “four on the floor” and “walking bass line” are heavily associated with having four beats in each measure
(Taylor, 2000, p. 24). Common time is a base that jazz has grown up around. At one time, 3/4 or waltz feel was considered “odd” to most jazz musicians (Joahnnes Weidenmueller and Larry Grenadier in separate interviews with the author). Many tunes such as a “Lover” by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart were originally composed as waltzes, but jazz musicians would change the meter to 4/4 (Aebersold, 2000, p. ii). By changing the tune to common time, jazz musicians were able to apply their existing vocabulary without altering their phrasing. In 1942 Thomas “Fats” Waller composed the first jazz waltz entitled “Jitterbug Waltz,” but it was still some time before 3/4 became a typical part of the jazz language (p. ii). Sonny Rollins composed the tune “Valse Hot,” a waltz based on the chord changes to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Harold Arlen. One of the early efforts to make the waltz feel a permanent element of jazz was Max Roach’s 1957 release, Jazz in 3/4 Time. Bill Evans recorded versions of waltzes such as “Alice In Wonderland” and “Someday My Prince Will Come.” Miles Davis also recorded
“Someday my Prince Will Come” and composed the tune “All Blues,” a blues in 3/4 on the legendary album Kind of Blue.
Despite the fact that they are sometimes called “odd,” uneven meters can actually be very accessible to the average listener. In 1959, when the jazz waltz was still coming into its own, Dave Brubeck and his quartet achieved immense popularity with an album entitled Time Out, made up exclusively of tunes written in uneven or “odd” meters. Based on the success of this album, the quartet became “the most successful of all organized, touring, recording jazz groups in the 1960s” (Hall, 1996, p. 83). Paul Desmond, the group’s saxophonist, composed the most famous track on Time Out entitled “Take Five.” “Take Five” is the only tune written in 5/4, or any uneven meter, that is widely
recognized as a jazz standard. Despite high record sales, the reviews of Time Out were unflattering, and many serious jazz musicians were skeptical of this album that
sometimes drew more heavily from classical music than jazz. Also, in the famous version of the tune, there was no improvisation over moving harmonies.
In the 1960s trumpeter and bandleader Don Ellis emerged as a leading figure in uneven meters and modern big band music. In addition to uneven meters his orchestra became known for its experimental instrumentation, use of electronics, and quarter-tone harmonies. Ellis wrote a book on the subject of uneven meters entitled The New Rhythm Book (1972). In his dissertation, The Exotic Rhythms Of Don Ellis (2002), Sean Fenlon devotes an entire chapter to “Attitudes Toward Unconventional Meters in Jazz.” The quotes in this chapter include a collection of scathing reviews and writings that dismiss the use of uneven meters in jazz as a gimmick. A quote in Ellis’ book from jazz educator John Mehegan reads, “…anything that was not in 4/4 could not possibly be considered jazz” (quoted in Fenlon, 2002, p. 68). Mehegan’s own definition of jazz reflects this notion: “Jazz is an improvised indigenous American folk music employing eighth, half,
and quarter-note rhythmic units moving through a diatonic system of harmony in 4/4 time” (Mehegan quoted in Fenlon, 2002, p. 69). Of course this is inadequate, since one would have to exclude any jazz that contained triplets or non-diatonic harmony. Fenlon maintains that the detractors of uneven meters were simply wary of them because they made otherwise rhythmically advanced players feel insecure. As Fenlon puts it, “For many, it was easier to condemn the approach as meaningless or absurd rather than commit the necessary effort to master it (69).”
The most important contribution of Brubeck and Ellis, regarding uneven meters, is that they exposed people to them. Many people probably never heard an uneven meter in jazz before hearing the album Time Out. Ellis was also influential in his film scoring. He composed and performed the music to the 1971 film, The French Connection. Many of Ellis’ charts have also been performed in high schools, exposing a younger generation of musicians to uneven meters.
Although uneven meters did not disappear from jazz in the following years, they were siphoned further away from swing and “traditionalist” jazz. Instead, uneven meters became a mainstay of the fusion movement throughout the 1970s and 80s. Fusion music is sometimes identified more with rock and roll but won the interest, at least temporarily, of such jazz giants as Miles Davis, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock among others. John McLaughlin’s group, Mahavishnu Orchestra, which featured Jan Hammer, Rick Laird, Billy Cobham and later violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, was one of the powerhouses of the fusion movement (Yanow, 2005). They frequently employed uneven meters as well as what could be called “mixed” or changing meters. Chick Corea’s band Return To Forever was another group known for its unusual meters, note groupings and
clear melodic lines. Herbie Hancock’s legendary group Headhunters became the epitome of a funk-fusion band and had many compositions in uneven meters.
The Desire For a New Rhythmic Vocabulary
It is impossible to determine who was the first musician to perform a standard in an uneven meter. This event is certainly undocumented and could well have happened mid-twentieth century or even earlier. However, recording dates and interviews with musicians suggest that this practice started gaining momentum in New York City in the early 1990s (See interview with Weidenmueller, Appendix A). In the opposite way that musicians of bebop and earlier eras changed waltz feel tunes to common time to fit their needs, musicians during this period adapted standards into uneven meters, forcing them to change their vocabulary. Weidenmueller names several key figures whom he met early on in New York and associates with this movement. They include, Brad Mehldau, Jorge Rossy, Chris Cheek, Mark Turner, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Marc Miralta, and John Stetch.
Harmonically and melodically speaking, jazz music has exhausted its resources because so much has been done with pitch. According to Weidenmueller, “because of the lack of harmonic development in the last 20 years in the language of jazz… because so much has been said already…the rhythmic and metric language in the last 20 years has really developed a lot with playing in odd and uneven meters.” This is not to say that new, original melodies are unavailable. However, with the advent of arbitrary scales and free jazz, as well as drawing sources like classical, folk, rock, and even hip hop, the pallets for pitch have all been used. This left groups of musicians in the early 1990s who
wanted to take an original approach to jazz music, turning to rhythmic ideas in jazz that either had not been explored or were comparatively undeveloped. As mentioned, this departs functionally from what bebop musicians did with tunes in 3/4, but is in step with their desire to innovate. Beboppers changed the chords and melodies of standards, making them more complex. Uneven meters are, therefore, another medium to apply to standards -- another vocabulary to master.
Pianist Brad Mehldau is almost certainly the central figure in applying uneven meters to standards. The Brad Mehldau trio has performed definitive versions of many standards in uneven meters in such an impressive way that they can be regarded as the first to set a standard of this practice while reaching a large audience. Their method, which is simple and consistent, has been imitated in nearly every recording the author could find of an uneven meter applied to a standard and will be discussed at greater length in Chapter III. In light of his influence, Mehldau can be considered the codifier of this aspect of the modern jazz language.
Ways of playing with the rhythm of a standard, other than changing the time signature, were taking place almost simultaneously with the development of uneven meters. Wynton Marsalis’ 1986 album, Standard Time reflects the same desire for rhythmic advancement. This recording contains many examples of unusual note groupings and metric modulations. These devices were also seen in the mid-twentieth century, used by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Lennie Tristano but were not fully incorporated into the language and developed further until much later.
Uneven Meters and The Bass
In this movement of developing uneven meters, bass players have maintained their relevancy and perhaps become even more important to the rest of the band. As primary keepers of the harmonic rhythm, bass players must adapt their bass lines, so central to the feeling of common time, into a uneven meter. Scott Colley, Larry Grenadier and Johannes Weidenmueller have done this in such a way that simply by listening to their bass lines, even a novice musician can understand how the harmonic rhythm of standards is divided in uneven meters and keep track of the harmonic form.
The bass’ function in uneven meters is to outline a type of half-time that a musician can count easily and use to keep track of the harmonic rhythm without getting lost. If musicians do not understand the function of the bass, they will have a more
difficult time playing uneven meters in a relaxed manner. There is a need to document the techniques these three musicians use the bass to establish the harmonic rhythm in a way that facilitates conceptualization and phrase structure.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the foundational approach of bass
accompaniment in the context of uneven meters when there is moving harmony as within standards. First explored is how the bass functioned in early examples of uneven meters in jazz. These early bass lines that were only applied to vamps and stagnant harmony evolved when moving harmony became a factor in uneven meter performances. This study shows how bassists outline the harmonic rhythm clearly by using an ostinato pattern that has replaced the two-feel bass line and facilitates a conception of half-time.
This is followed by an analysis of the individual approaches of Scott Colley, Larry Grenadier and Johannes Weidenmueller. They make tunes in uneven meters swing and feel fluid by 1) applying syncopation to their lines, 2) applying over-the bar line phrasing to make the music more free, and 3) interacting in a pragmatic way with other members of the group during a performance. The study gives historical context to uneven meters and shows that they are not just a whim of a small group of musicians, but an evolving aspect of jazz. According to Scott Colley, changing the meter of a tune is just a different way of approaching a standard: “They’re great songs… these different standards that we’ve kind of inherited, but at some point you got to figure out how it really relates to modern music.”
Methodology
The methodology for this study is qualitative and consists primarily of data obtained from interviews with bassists Scott Colley, Larry Grenadier and Johannes Weidenmueller combined with analyses of musical transcriptions of their work done by the author. The bassists were all contacted via email and agreed to an interview on the subject. The interviews took place between March 6th and March 27th of 2009 and lasted approximately thirty minutes each. Johannes Weidenmueller was interviewed in person whereas Scott Colley and Larry Grenadier were both interviewed over the phone. All interviews began with the same question: “How is it that you learned to play standards in uneven meters?” Further into the interview the bassists were asked how they think about uneven meters in the context of standards and what specific techniques they used to practice them. Transcripts of all three interviews can be found in Appendix A.
Scott Colley gained recognition for his work with Chris Potter, John Scofield, Jim Hall, and Herbie Hancock. He also has six albums as a leader to date. Colley frequently uses uneven meters in his own compositions and when playing tunes written by his colleagues. The recording transcribed for this thesis is from his album This Place (1997). The track is a performance of the standard “Airegin” by Sonny Rollins adapted to 5/4.
Larry Grenadier is most known for his work with the Brad Mehldau Trio but has also worked with Joe Henderson, Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman, and many others.
Performing standards in uneven meters is something the Mehldau trio has become known for. They could be credited with the dissemination of this practice perhaps more than any other group, and Grenadier has been a member since the early 1990s. The piece
transcribed for this thesis is his accompaniment on the standard “All The Things You Are” by Jerome Kern played in 7/4 from Art of the Trio Volume 4 (1999) by the Brad Mehldau Trio.
Johannes Weidenmueller has been a member of the Hank Jones Trio, the Joe Lovano Trio, the Carl Allen/Vincent Herring Quintet, and the John Abercrombie Quartet, in addition to being a committed educator at the New School in New York City. Some of his most exciting work comes from the Kenny Werner Trio, which is known for
employing a wide range of unique rhythms, metric modulations, and uneven meters. Transcribed for this thesis is his bass line on the standard “Nardis” by Miles Davis played in 7/4 by the Kenny Werner Trio from the album Form and Fantasy (2001).
Earlier examples of uneven meter playing from the work of bassists Eugene Wright, Richard Davis, and Jymie Merrit show how far expectations for accompanying have come in terms of syncopation, over-the-bar line phrasing, and group interaction.
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
Review of Literature
Very little literature exists on the subject of the bass and uneven meters. That which does exist tends to fall short of the expectations for a modern jazz bassist. One likely reason for this is the lack of musicians who have mastered uneven meter playing and are involved in publishing or education. An upcoming exception is a book written by Johannes Weidenmueller in collaboration with drummer Ari Hoenig. In their book, which will be released in May of 2009, they discuss the modern rhythmic vocabulary of jazz.
Odd Meter Bass: Complex Time Signatures Made Simple is a method book for bass by bassist and educator Timothy Emmons (2008). According to Emmons, the
purpose of his book is “to help bassists decipher the mysterious language of odd (uneven) meter rhythm” (p. 4). This is followed by a “What,” “Where,” “When,” “Who,” “Why” and “How” section that traces the roots of uneven meters back to the indigenous music of the Balkans, Greece, and Asia Minor. Emmons acknowledges the use of uneven meters in classical music by Tchiakovsky, Stravinsky, and Bartok. Emmons’ rationale for why uneven meters are used is simply “for the emotional effect” (p. 5). He reinforces this statement by citing Holst’s 5/4 theme for Mars, the god of war in the piece The Planets
and in Bernstein’s depiction of the “spastic energy” of the New York City in West Side Story. He also notes that modern rock bands sometimes use uneven meters.
Emmons has confidence in this book. His method of subdividing time signatures into smaller groupings that can be counted more easily “always works” (p.5). The first chapters of the book are devoted to making the student comfortable with the concept of subdividing and do not contain uneven meters. Odd Meter Bass comes with a play-along and example CD that illustrates his method clearly. Emmons makes use of simple chord changes, usually based on the blues, showing how to make a bass line function as the harmony moves. Also included are sample bass lines applicable to uneven meters and suggested methods of variation. The examples become increasingly complex as they move into 9/8, 11/8, and finally into changing meters. Emmons focus is on how to play over these meters confidently in a reading scenario. He states in the introduction that he encounters uneven meters frequently when reading in a recording studio or for film or theater music (2008, p. 5).
Odd Meter Bass: Complex Time Signatures Made Simple is a good resource for introducing a bassist to uneven meters. For a rock or a session bassist, it might be the only necessary literature. However, Emmons does not discuss the role of the bass in modern jazz music with uneven meters. The recommended listening section in the back of the book is void of any of the bass players who are the focus of this study. Applying uneven meters to jazz standards in the context of swing goes unmentioned.
Emmons’ approach is based on sub-dividing the measure into smaller beats. This increases accuracy in a reading scenario and perhaps for a written line, but when it comes to freeing up the music this approach can be counter-productive. As Hal Galper states in
Forward Motion (2005), for the music to swing, and for the performers to be relaxed, fewer beats need to be counted, not more. Subdividing in this way for any other purpose than accuracy in reading has a danger of making the music sound jerky and un-relaxed. The half-time feel is what the performer needs to become acquainted with. This grants rhythmic freedom within the phrase and helps the rest of the band loosen up. Sub-dividing is still taking place but the focus should be on a mental state that conceives of the music in half-time.
Odd Meter Workout (2000), from the Jamey Aebersold jazz play-along series, is a book and CD package designed to help a student of jazz play in uneven meters. The Abersold series is among the most successful and popular jazz education tools available. The CD is in the typical Aebersold format of a rhythm section playing time. The student is supposed to play along with the recording to get used to the unusual nature of uneven meters and practice soloing or accompanying. It contains 10 tracks: 1”) First Step,” which is a sequence of ii-V progressions, 2) “Blue Minor,” a minor blues with a Latin 5/4 feel, 3) “On Green Dolphin Street” with alternating choruses in 4/4 and 3/4, 4) “Guido Rides Again,” a 4/4 Latin tune with a 3/4 bridge, 5) “Major Scales in 5/4,” a series of ii-V-Is intended for the student to practice playing scales in 5/4, 6) “Take Five,” the famous Paul Desmond composition from the Dave Brubeck Quartet, 7) “The Girl From Ipanema” in a Latin 7/4 feel, 8) “Backdoor Shuffle,” a Jamie Aebersold Blues in 5/4, 9) “Seven for Twelve” is a groove-based blues in 7/4, and 10) “My Favorite Things” the Rogers and Hammerstein classic, in 11/4 with alternating between bars of 6 and 5.
The introduction is by Phil Bailey, who gives a brief history of uneven meters in jazz music. He notes that “Jitterbug Waltz” by Fats Waller was the first Jazz composition
to be written in 3/4, and until that time other tunes written in 3/4 would actually be adapted to 4/4 (p. ii). He mentions the work of Dave Brubeck, Stan Kenton, and the Don Ellis Band and how they composed music in uneven meters and also Bossa Nova
compositions in uneven meters such as Misturada by Manfredo Fest.
Odd Meter Workout (2000) is a good introduction to the subject of uneven meters but is inadequate when compared to the modern rhythmic demands of bassists in jazz. Aebersold states in the discography that none of the tunes contained in this book have ever been recorded in the meters that they are presented in and lists no other tunes in uneven meters besides “Take Five” (p. iii). By 2000 there were already numerous recordings of standards adapted to uneven meters, none of which are found in the
discography. The introduction does not mention any of the artists that are the focus of this study. Aebersold’s “How to Solo” section is taken directly from his other books and is not tailored to the unique requirements of playing in an uneven meter.
Aebersold should address more fundamental questions pertaining to uneven meters such as: What are some recordings of standards in a uneven meter? How does one convert a tune from common time or a waltz feel into uneven meter? What are the more common uneven meters that jazz musicians are using? How is the harmonic rhythm divided and how does it relate phrasing?
Bassists who play jazz in uneven meters almost invariably outline the time with a type of half-time that will be discussed in Chapter 4 of this paper. Discussion of this approach is absent from Odd Meter Workout. Although played by the bassist on some of the tracks, it is not given the specific attention that a student needs to get a firm grasp on the concept of half-time which is the essential for improving phrasing. All musicians
interested in uneven meters, especially those just becoming familiar with them, should rely heavily on this bass figure for keeping their place in the music. A solid foundation in the bass is what allows the rest of the band to loosen up.
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (ed. Kernfield, 2001) contains short biographic information on Larry Grenadier and Scott Colley. It notes the groups that they are best known for working with: The Brad Mehldau Trio and Chris Potter respectively. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz does not mention uneven meters at all in reference to Colley, Grenadier. It is the belief of the author that if the trend of performing standards in uneven meters gains more recognition in the future, these bassists will be remembered
specifically for their contributions to it. Uneven meters are not mentioned under Brad Mehldau either, whose trio with Larry Grenadier made performing standards in uneven meters one of its signature aspects.
Forward Motion (2005) is the work of pianist, composer, and educator Hal Galper. In this book he redefines the first beat of the bar and shows that in music it tends to be used not as the beginning but as the end of a phrase (p. 52). Galper includes many exercises in the book, both instrumental and mental, to help the student develop an ear for what Galper calls “target notes” (chap. 1). In Chapter 2, which is devoted entirely to rhythm, Galper states that “learning to play in half-time is an adult rhythmic behavior” (p. 53). Jazz musicians, in order to obtain a more relaxed feel while soloing, should be
counting half-notes rather than quarter-notes and be thinking of eighth-notes as sixteenths.
Uneven meters fall outside the scope of Forward Motion, yet what Galper says about half-time playing is pertinent. Galper asserts that half-time is the key to freeing up
a players time feel (chap. 2). For example, when playing a tune that is 300 beats per minute, it helps musicians to phrase and conceptualize the music if they think of the tempo as 150 beats per minute and think of sixteenth notes instead of eighth-notes (p. 53). Playing in uneven meters is inherently un-relaxed because of the structure of the bars. The problem with applying half-time to uneven meters is that if musicians counted half-notes as they would in 4/4, they would end up on the other side of the beat from where they started in the previous measure. When Galper discusses improvising in 3/4 his approach is sound because each chord typically lasts three beats. But in 5/4 or 7/4
alternating chord durations are employed, making the harmonic rhythm uneven. Galper’s superimposition method works for soloing, but the way the bass functions as an
accompanying instrument is different. A bassist must land clearly on beat one of every bar unless intentionally obscuring the bar line. This clarity is what allows for the
superimposition of melodic and rhythmic phrases Galper discusses in his book (chap. 9). In the article, A Personal Approach to Contemporary Jazz: Works for Saxophone and Computer Controlled Electronic (1996), Neil Leonard states that bassist Jymie Merrit, following his most well known work in the 1960s with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, then put his effort towards the use of uneven meters. Leonard cites a composition by Merrit entitled “Nommo” from the album Live at the Lighthouse by trumpeter Lee Morgan. “Nommo” happens to be in 7/4 and is a swinging blues-influenced tune. Leonard talks about working with Merrit in a group and how the compositions, whatever meter they were in, swung just as hard as anything in common time (p. 17).
In his dissertation, James Blanton, Raymond Brown, and Charles Mingus: A Study of the Development of the Double Bass in Modern Jazz (2002), Michael Taylor outlines a broad history of the bass in jazz and its role. According to Taylor early jazz bass duties were within the parameters of harmonic and rhythmic elements (p. 2). He evaluates the contributions of three bass players: Jimmy Blanton, who expanded melodic bass playing within the prescribed rhythmic and harmonic parameters, Ray Brown, who made melodic advancements pertinent to bebop, and Charles Mingus, who expanded the harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic role of the bass (p. 19). Taylor provides a model for examining three bass players and their respective contributions to jazz. This work contains regional history, cultural history, and transcribed musical examples that support Taylor’s claims well. The work also contains transcriptions and analyses of bassists Walter Page, Pops Foster, Israel Crosby, and Leroy “Slam” Stuart.
Taylor provides a model of how to display findings on different bass players. It contains relevant information about stylistic development in bass playing. Taylor describes clearly how the bass functions within the rhythm section and how bassists James Blanton, Raymond Brown, and Charles Mingus raised the expectations of the modern bassist.
Pops Foster: The Autobiography of a New Orleans Jazzman (1971) is a work by drawn from interviews with New Orleans bassist Pops Foster edited by Tom Stoddard. Although this book is mostly historical and contains many anecdotes about being a jazz musician in the early to mid-twentieth century, Foster also discusses the role of the bass. He was a key figure in making the transition from a two beat per bar bass line a four beat per bar bass line and witnessed its development across the country (Foster & Stoddard p.
xviii). This book shows that the bass has always been evolving within its fundamental role. What Foster says relates to the lightness that is desired by modern jazz music. He mentions how the drummer changed the time-keeping drum from the snare to the ride cymbal and the bass from two beat to four beat (p. xviii). This can be related to what modern bassists have done with uneven meters. By using syncopation and other rhythmic devices they are seeking the lightness that has always been favored by jazz musicians and leaving behind the practice of adhering strictly to an unvarying, heavy ostinato.
The dissertation, The Exotic Rhythms of Don Ellis (2002), by Sean Fenlon offers an in depth look at the life and music of Don Ellis. One of the most intriguing sections is “Attitudes Towards Unconventional Meters In Jazz” (p. 68). Uneven meters have always had detractors within jazz. Fenlon offers their opinions as well as critics and writers such as Gunther Schuller and Leonard Feather who looked favorably upon this development in jazz.
CHAPTER III ANALYSIS:
Uneven Meters in Jazz Before the 1990s: “Take Five,” “Hat and Beard,” and “Nommo” The three factors in a bass line that work together to define the beginning of a bar in a uneven meter are duration, tessitura, and pitch. When using duration, a longer note will usually indicate the top of a bar. When using tessitura, a very low note in the bass can be used to indicate the top. Usually the bass plays the root of the chord on beat one of the bar, so pitch is also an indicator. Any one, or all three of these factors could be used to cue the beginning of a bar for the rest of the band. This chapter shows how these factors were used in various combinations to define the bar in early examples of uneven meters in jazz. Also shown is how the use of these factors evolved in the 1990s and how, at times, modern bassists purposely avoid clearly defining the beginning of the bar in order to create a more elastic and free sounding performance.
Paul Desmond’s composition “Take Five” is perhaps the only tune widely recognized as a standard that was originally composed in a uneven meter. When the album Time Out was released, the Dave Brubeck Quartet was catapulted into the
spotlight. The album is one of the few in jazz to ever go platinum, and “Take Five” was its biggest individual hit. The melody of the tune is in A- B-A form. Each A section is a
harmonic vamp in Eb minor. Figure 1 shows the bass line played by Eugene Wright on each A section and throughout the solos.
Figure 1: Eugene Wright’s bass line on “Take Five” played on all A sections and solos.
Figure 1 shows the three-two division of the bar with a dotted half-note followed by two quarter-notes. Wright is using the factors pitch and duration to indicate the top of the bar. He plays the root of the chord on beat one and this note lasts the longest. The B section, or bridge of the tune, offers a more active harmonic rhythm in the relative major key of Gb. Figure 2 shows Wright’s bass line from the bridge of the same recording:
Figure 2: Eugene Wright’s Bass line on the bridge to “Take Five”
Wright does what a good bassist should: he outlines the harmonic rhythm of the tune and plays a clear bass line. He plays what sounds like a written line or a scale pattern in the relative major key going downwards diatonically from the fourth scale degree, Cb. Although the bridge of the tune contains moving harmony functioning in a way similar to jazz standards, it is not used for the solo sections. Saxophonist Paul Desmond and
Drummer Joe Morello improvise only on the A sections of the tune and no form is adhered to. “Take Five” essentially becomes a vamp until the melody is reintroduced at the end.
Uneven meters were a staple of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. The album Time Out boasted a time signature unusual to jazz on each tune but these meters, and sometimes even the form, were not applied to solos. For example “Blue Rondo A La Turk,” a classically influenced piece in 9/8 contains no improvisation in 9/8. Instead the 9/8 sections are through composed and the solos are over a blues in 4/4, interspersed with fragments from the melody.
Brubeck and his quartet failed to gain the same respect from the most serious jazz musicians that they did from the listening public. Johannes Weidenmueller says this was probably because musicians did not develop uneven meters and make them as
comfortable as music in 4/4. Because Brubeck and his band did not employ moving harmony while playing in uneven meters, their work became further removed from what most musicians considered jazz. Therefore “Take Five” remained a novelty to jazz musicians rather than a challenge to be met. The sudden success of Time Out surely had the opposite effect on many musicians who did not believe Brubeck’s recognition was completely deserved.
The 1960s brought new trends, notably modal and free jazz. These new styles facilitated developments in uneven meters because, for the most part, they left chord changes behind. Tunes could therefore center around a groove or a one-key vamp in the same way the solo section of “Take Five” does. One example is “Hat and Beard” from
Eric Dolphy’s 1964 album Out to Lunch. It begins with a bass line played by Richard Davis (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Richard Davis’s first bass line on “Hat and Beard”
This bass line serves as the foundation for the beginning of the piece. Early in the composition, all other parts are based on this bass line. First, Dolphy doubles it on the bass clarinet, and then Bobby Hutcheson doubles it on the vibraphone. Then the bass line changes to accommodate a new section of the melody (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Richard Davis’s second bass line on “Hat and Beard”
The octave displacements in Figure 4 line create an angular sound. The dotted quarter at the beginning of the 5/4 measure is important. With this, the longest and lowest note, tessitura and duration come into play, marking the form of the two bar phrase for the listener and the band. This bass line is what Eric Dolphy improvises over on his solo. At first the line does not vary, but toward the end of the solo Davis plays more freely while still maintaining the form. He then plays a different bass line that acts as a cue to the next soloist, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Richard Davis’s third bass line on “Hat and Beard”
Davis clearly defines the bar through duration and pitch. A dotted rhythm cues the top of the 5/4 bar and the 4/4 bar is a half-step down in pitch making it easy for the listener to hear.
The similarity between the bass lines on “Take Five” and “Hat and Beard” is the use of longer durations of notes to indicate the top of the bar. On “Take Five” Wright uses the dotted half-note. On “Hat and Beard” Davis uses the dotted quarter. Also notice that the quarter-notes at the end of the bar in Wright’s bass line are found in Davis’. This leads the listener hear the third beat of Davis’ bass line as a pickup to the last two quarter-notes. Both of these bass lines contain similar rhythmic functions that outline minimal harmony.
An early example of a tune in 7/4 can be found on the 1970 recording by
trumpeter Lee Morgan entitled Live at The Lighthouse. As in the previous examples, the tune “Nommo,” composed by bassist Jymie Merrit, begins with an ostinato figure in the bass (Figure 6).
Here again is a modal tune with an uneven time signature. Merrit varies this bass line considerably throughout the tune, creating exciting rhythms, but is restricted by the static harmony. In 1970, rhythmic freedom within uneven meters was beginning to show, but was still not found in the context of moving harmony. Also absent from the bass and the rest of the rhythm section was a loose, over-the-bar line type of phrasing which by this time was becoming common in 3/4 and 4/4.
A Method Emerges
Pianist Brad Mehldau and his trio with drummer Jorge Rossy and bassist Larry Grenadier have become very much identified with adapting standards into uneven meters like 5/4 and 7/4. According to Weidenmueller, “Brad was one of the guys who… really took it to another level.” As of this writing the earliest recording of a standard adapted to an uneven meter found by the author was one with pianist Brad Mehldau, drummer Jorge Rossy, and bassist Mario Rossy, on the album When I Fall In Love, recorded in 1993. Here the jazz standard, “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” is changed from the typical 4/4 to 5/4. Figure 7 shows a notation in 4/4 of the first four bars of the tune.
Notice the harmonic rhythm of the tune. Each chord lasts two beats. To change the meter into 5/4 Mehldau adds a beat to the first chord in each measure (Figure 8). Note the clever syncopation of the melody.
Figure 8: Brad Mehldau playing the melody to “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” in 5/4 and Mario Rossy’s bass line
Rossy’s bass line further illuminates the harmonic rhythm. It shows the influence of “Take Five,” but it moves harmonically. The bar is still divided into three beats followed by two beats, but, like Davis’ second bass line from “Hat and Beard,” Rossy breaks up the three beats into two dotted quarters. This generates syncopation, helping to propel the piece better than a dotted half-note would. When asked about the harmonic rhythm Larry Grenadier referred to the tendency of the bar to be divided into a long section followed by short one. While playing in 5/4 the three plus two division of the bar is the most common way of playing a standard, and in 7/4 the division is typically four plus three. This is evident in all examples of standards adapted to uneven meters contained in this thesis. Weidenmueller maintains that musicians were dividing the harmonic rhythm in different ways, and ultimately to do it in any way is the goal, but perhaps that the step in the process of deliberately changing the division was never recorded. In any case, Mehldau can be considered the codifier of this division, which has emerged as the most widely used.
The Clave and Half-time
Playing a standard in an uneven meter can seem a daunting challenge. When asked about specific difficulties Grenadier said, “…your balance harmonically is off… and rhythmically.” The first step is to determine how the harmonic rhythm is divided in this new time signature. On every recording of standards played in a swing style and uneven meter found, the harmonic rhythm was always divided into a long bar followed by a short bar. Weidenmueller and Grenadier both refer to this rhythmic ostinato as a “clave” (klah-vay) (Figures 9 and 10).
Figure 9: 5/4 clave over two bars showing the three-two division
The term clave comes from Latin-American music. In his book The Latin Bass Book: A Practical Guide (2001), Bassist Oscar Stagnaro defines the clave as “a two measure rhythmic pattern which forms the basis for the parts played by all rhythmic and harmonic instruments.” He continues, “The importance of understanding the clave and its variations as the root of rhythm for Afro-Cuban music cannot be overstated” (p. 72).
Keeping the clave in mind helps the bassist keep track of the form. That Grenadier and Weidenmueller employ the term clave to describe the ostinato that they base their conception of uneven meter playing on is telling of its importance. The interviews with Colley, Grenadier, and Weidenmueller support this premise. Larry Grenadier, for instance, explained that the clave functions as his root and helps him to free up the time. By feeling the clave pattern, the bassist can avoid having to count to five or seven in every bar. Why is this important? In a 4/4 rendition of a tune that is not a ballad or slow medium tempo, the bassist feels the bar in half-time. At very fast tempos, he or she may count only the downbeat of this bar. The great trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie said, “The faster you play, the slower you count” (Galper, 2005, p. 51). Galper maintains that counting quarter-notes is a “hold over from childhood musical experience” (p. 52). According to Galper, a characteristic of rhythmic maturity is counting in half-time, enabling the musician to play in a more relaxed manner (p. 53). The obvious problem with playing in half-time while playing in a uneven meter is that after one bar a player would end up on the other side of the beat. The clave helps the bassist maintain a half-time feel during the piece without ending up on the other side of the beat. Notice there are four note values total in Figure 9 and Figure 10 but that the pattern takes up the entire
bar. This means that when the next bar begins, the same pattern will be played without having to land on a different beat.
Larry Grenadier suggested that the clave also keeps him from playing too many notes in an up-tempo piece. This is another characteristic of most standards adapted to uneven meters. They tend to be performed at fast tempos, particularly 7/4. Table 1 shows tempo markings from standards played in 7/4. Based on the quote from Dizzy Gillespi, a half-time approach would be very useful when playing at these tempos. In fact, when asked if a half-time approach helps him in a uneven meter, Grenadier said it did because it helps in 4/4 and all the rules are the same.
Song Title Group Album/(year) Bassist Tempo
“It Might As Well Be Spring” Brad Mehldau Trio Introducing (1995) Larry Grenadier 280 bpm
“Summertime” Joshua Redman Timeless Tales For Changing Times (1998)
Larry Grenadier 298 bpm
“All The Things You Are”
Brad Mehldau Trio
Art Of The Trio Volume 4 (1999)
Larry Grenadier 272 bpm
“Nardis” Kenny Werner Trio Form and Fanstasy (2001) Johannes Weidenmueller 250 bpm “Alone Together” Brad Mehldau Trio
Art Of The Trio Volume 5 (2001)
Larry Grenadier 322 bpm
“East of the Sun”
Joshua Redman Back East (2006)
Larry Grenadier 280 bpm Table 1: The tempos of various standards performed in 7/4
Walking Bass Lines
Playing along with the clave is very useful for place keeping and outlining the harmonic rhythm in a clear way. Eventually, though, as energy builds within the piece, the bassist may find that a walking line is more appropriate. Walking bass is heavily associated with common time by nature of being a steady pulse on every beat. Walking a bass line in an uneven meter takes practice so that one does not fall back into 4/4. Figure 11 shows Larry Grenadier walking a bass line on Jerome Kern’s “All The Things You Are.”
Figure 11: Larry Grenadier’s bass line on “All The Things You Are” showing a walking line (mm. 109-116)
The third bar of Figure 11 is the top of Mehldau’s sixth solo chorus. At this point the piece has gathered some momentum and Grenadier has decided to switch to a walking feel. Notably, there is a lack of linearity here usually associated with a walking bass line. The bass is functioning almost as a percussive instrument. Bars three and four are made up entirely of roots and fifths of the chords and are arranged in a way that clearly outlines the time signature by dividing the bar into a two-plus-two-plus-three pattern using only quarter-notes. This occurs in many places throughout the piece and is not unique to Larry
Grenadier. Figure 12 shows an excerpt of Scott Colley’s walking bass line on Sonny Rollins’ “Airegin” in 5/4.
Figure 12: Scott Colley’s bass line from “Airegin” showing a walking line (mm. 83-84)
Like Grenadier, Colley uses only roots and fifths in this example, with the exception of the G natural on the Eb7 chord. He places more importance on outlining the harmonic rhythm and the three-two division of the bar than on creating a bass line that moves in a smooth step-wise fashion. Weidenmueller too uses this concept. Figure 13 shows a bar from the piano solo on “Nardis:”
Figure 13: Johannes Weidenmueller’s bass line from “Nardis” showing a walking line (m. 108)
The notes and rhythmic structure are the same: roots and fifths grouped in phrases that do not create a smooth step-wise line but clearly outline the harmonic rhythm.
Syncopation
As useful as the clave is, Weidenmueller cautions against relying too heavily on it because it can become a rhythmic crutch. When asked about using the clave to divide the bars he said his approach was about “being as loose as possible within that frame of the seven, which meant getting away from that basic harmonic subdivision.” His goal in playing uneven meters is to feel and play them as fluently as one would in 4/4 time where there is no need for ostinatos or clave patterns to keep track of the form. One way of making the time feel looser or lighter is through syncopation. As Galper (2005) notes, this goes back to the teachings of Dizzy Gillespie who said, “The more upbeats you have in the music the more it swings” (p. 14). Using syncopation this way can be seen by comparing Eugene Wright’s bass line from “Take Five” (Figure 1) to Mario Rossy’s bass line from “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” (Figure 8). Scott Colley’s bass line on “Airegin” gives an example of a third, more contemporary treatment of 5/4. Figure 14 shows the bass line that Colley plays during the statement of the melody.
Whereas Wright’s bass line contained no syncopation at all, and Rossy’s introduced a dotted quarter-note to the first beat followed later by more syncopation, Colley’s is bubbling with syncopated accents, freeing the music from the heaviness imposed by an ostinato pattern. Notice the emphasis on up-beats throughout the example but particularly in bars nine through eleven in Figure 14. Colley still outlines the clave pattern anchoring the piece but does not play the actual clave pattern until bar 17 when the melody has almost ended.
Figure 14: Scott Colley’s bass line on the melody to “Airegin”
Figure 15 shows Weidenmueller doing something similar to syncopate Miles Davis’ “Nardis” in 7/4.
Figure 15: Johannes Weidenmueller’s bass line from “Nardis” showing syncopation and how it lines up with the 7/4 clave (mm. 89-90)
The clave pattern is maintained but broken into smaller note values. The two half-notes are broken into a dotted quarter and an eighth and three quarters into eighths. Still, the bar is clearly divided rhythmically into four-three.
Phrasing Over the Bar Line and Against the Clave
When asked how he felt he had matured in relation to uneven meters, Colley stated, “really what I… strive to get… In the same way that most people feel comfortable playing over the bar lines in 4/4 or 3/4, I want to be in that kind of freedom with my ideas in any meter that I play.” It could be said of music in general that when a musician is able to phrase over the bar line, it represents a high degree of freedom within the music. Figure 16 shows Colley phrasing over the bar line.
Figure 16: Scott Colley phrasing over the bar line on “Airegin” (mm. 31-32)
Figure 16 shows Colley’s bass line, during the first chorus of Chris Potter’s saxophone solo, delaying the resolution of the C7 chord until the second beat of measure 32.
Phrasing over the bar line also came up during the interview with Larry Grenadier who said, “[the long followed by short clave pattern] is the typical thing but you but it could go any way. You could divide it up even more than that… or make it much longer a slower beat that goes over phrases.” Figure 17 displays Grenadier’s approach to two kinds of over-the-bar line phrasing.
Figure 17: Larry Grenadier phrasing over the bar line on “All The Things You Are” (mm. 57-58)
The first type of phrasing is harmonic. Grenadier delays resolution in both bars by staying on a chord tone from the previous bar, thereby resolving each bar on beat two. The C# in the first bar is the root of the previous chord, and the F# in the second bar is the fifth of the B minor chord that comes immediately before it.
The second type of phrasing is both harmonic and rhythmic but occurs against the bar clave. It is on beat four of the second measure of Figure 17 rather than over the literal bar line. The phrasing is against the claves four-three division of the bar. The chord change that has four beats (E7) stretches into the one of three beats (Amaj7) again, delaying the resolution.
Weidenmueller also stated that in his early days of practicing uneven meters he would “try to play over the bar line.”
Figure 18 displays Weidenmueller’s over the bar line approach. These eight bars show Weidenmueller phrasing over the actual and implied bar line in almost every measure then landing clearly on the clave pattern. When comparing the third bar of Figure 18 to the second bar of Figure 17 it is evident that Weidenmueller and Grenadier tie the last quarter-note of the implied four-beat measure to the dotted quarter in the implied three-beat measure. This obfuscation of beat one is, according to Larry
Grenadier, the simplest way to loosen up the time feel and bring the music closer to the same fluency that musicians exhibit when playing in 4/4. Figure 19 shows Grenadier’s bass line on the melody of “All The Things You Are” after an extended piano intro by Brad Mehldau.
Figure 19: Larry Grenadier’s bass line on the melody to “All The Things You Are” (mm. 1-18)
Based on his comments in the interview with the author, it can be concluded that what Grenadier intends is a very loose feel, and he wastes no time establishing this. He leaves out beat one of the very first bar. Only in bars seven and sixteen does he literally play the clave pattern, however, its essence is evident in every bar.
Pragmatism
When asked about developing his approach Grenadier stressed the importance of “pragmatism.” He explained:
…Overall… my approach to all this and pretty much to music in general is very pragmatic in the sense that I just kind of do what… comes out… My method of learning it and playing it has really just been to do it and to… be in the moment… and just go for it.
This means playing what the music needs and reacting to the other members of the band, requiring a high level of communication between band members. Figure 20 displays an excerpt of Grenadier’s bass line near the end of Brad Mehldau’s third chorus on “All The Things You Are,” where he exhibits this kind of communication.
Figure 20: Larry Grenadier reacting rhythmically to drummer Jorge Rossy on “All The Things You Are” (mm. 69-70)
Jorge Rossy begins a rhythmic line based on dotted quarter-notes. Grenadier picks up on this and syncs up with the phrasing. After this obfuscation of the time, Grenadier lands strongly on beat one and plays the clave pattern, re-establishing the harmonic form. Weidenmueller called this “laying down the seven” or marking the form. Colley also commented on this aspect of bass playing, stressing the importance of playing more basic ideas until all members of the group were comfortable with the piece. He stated, “I won't start trying to make abstractions of the forms or stretch them over the bar line a lot. I'll be a little more conscious.” He then added that when he is playing with musicians of similar ability, marking the form is still useful: “ while we're, maybe, … experimenting with poly-rhythms on top of poly-rhythms and stuff, we can still… give each other a clue as to where we are, and I think that's kind of a great thing to be able to work on.” Figure 21 shows Colley reacting to a half-note pattern played by drummer Bill Stewart then marking the form by implying the clave with a dotted quarter-note.
Figure 21: Scott Colley reacting to drummer Bill Stewart on “Airegin” (mm. 10-13)
The bottom staff of Figure 21 shows where Bill Stewart is placing accents using the snare drum and how the rhythms of Colley’s bass line interact with them.
Stewart’s pattern consists of notes with the accent on every other quarter-note (shown by the X quarter-notes in the third space of the staff). This implies a half-quarter-note pattern against the 5/4 meter. The third bar of Figure 21 and to some extent the second, show Colley breaking away from the clave pattern in favor of something that
complements what Stewart is doing. Then, just as Larry Grenadier did in the third bar of Figure 21, Colley implies the Clave pattern by placing a dotted quarter-note squarely on beat one of the fourth bar of Figure 21.
Johannes Weidenmueller also reacts rhythmically to the members in his group. Figure 22 shows Weidenmueller reacting to Kenny Werner’s rhythmic idea on Nardis.
Figure 22: Johannes Weidenmueller reacting to a rhythm played by Kenny Werner on “Nardis” (mm. 85-88)
Werner starts to play two quarter-notes followed by a dotted quarter-note in bar 85. Weidenmueller then picks up on this rhythm and plays it along with Werner. The rhythm is the clave pattern played twice as fast (Figure 23).
Figure 23: The two half-notes of the 7/4 clave reduced to quarters and the two dotted quarter-notes reduced to one dotted quarter
CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION
Summary of Findings
This study shows how concepts that have applied to jazz for decades are in the process of being incorporated into uneven meters. Historically syncopation has served the purpose of making jazz lively and danceable. Phrasing over the bar line was
developed by the bebop musicians as a way of improvising more fluently, unrestrained by bar lines. Finally, pragmatism has always been one of the central aspects of jazz and bass playing specifically. Bass playing is a balancing act of being interesting and clear but not obstructive. These aspects of jazz are exemplified in uneven meters by the work of bassists Scott Colley, Larry Grenadier, and Johannes Weidenmueller.
Interviews with Colley, Grenadier, and Weidenmueller confirm that the long-short harmonic rhythm that follows the clave pattern is more than a coincidence. This is a natural and easy way to feel the harmonic rhythm of a tune in uneven meter. All three bassists acknowledge that while playing a standard in 5/4 or 7/4, they use the clave pattern to feel the bars. This is also shown through musical transcriptions of these artists performing uneven meter standards in a band setting. When the rhythmic ideas between the members of become less certain, the bassist usually goes back to the original clave pattern to eliminate any doubt about the form. This is not to say that the rest of the band
is lost. On the transcribed recordings the clave operates as a musical checkpoint, but Weidenmueller said that if it seems as though someone is struggling because of too much rhythmic ambiguity, he returns to the clave pattern because it is easy to hear.
It appears that adapting standards into uneven meters came as a response to a plateau in harmonic options. Rhythms, and uneven meters specifically, had not been developed in a significant way for many years. Colley’s statement, “they’re great songs… these different standards that we’ve kind of inherited, but at some point you got to figure out how it really relates to modern music” gives merit to the idea that changing the meter of a tune is similar to changing the chords or melody as beboppers did.
By applying them to standards uneven meters are brought into the tradition of common repertoire that allows musicians to play together without musical notation, rehearsals, or even previously meeting. This is more central to the tradition of jazz. Now that recordings of mixed meters exist with musicians playing as comfortably as they would in common time, it raises the bar for a new generation of musicians who have access to these recordings.
Need For Further Research
Applying uneven meters to standards is only one of many possibilities. There are many recordings in uneven meters featureing the bassists focused on in this study that are not standards. In terms of harmonic rhythm, some of these pieces function in a
completely different way than the standards discussed within this thesis. If a researcher opens the door to exploring uneven meters in general, then there are many bassists to study such as Christian McBride, Miroslav Vitous, Avishai Cohen, Vicente Archer, Ben
Street, and others. Dave Holland in particular has a massive body of work in uneven meters where the harmonic rhythm functions in many different ways.
The bass player is not the only band member who accompanies the soloist. An analysis of piano or guitar accompaniment in uneven meters could be conducted. The accompanying styles of Brad Mehldau, Lionel Loueke, Robert Glasper, and others would lend themselves well to analysis. Drum comping patterns would be relevant as well. Drummers Jorge Rossy, Bill Stewart, and Ari Hoenig are featured on the recordings that this study analyzed, but there are many others who play with incredible fluency in uneven meters such as Brian Blade, Chris Dave, Mark Guiliana, Nate Smith, and Jeff Ballard.
Not addressed in this thesis at all is the topic of soloing. How are phrases constructed in uneven meters? What are the various approaches between different bassists/pianists/saxophonists/etc.? A researcher could examine many works by any one musician or compare several.
Uneven meters, unusual rhythmic groupings, and metric modulations are
becoming a larger part of the creative output of an entire generation of musicians. Young musicians have access to a wealth of recordings featuring players who have mastered uneven meters and are applying them freely to standards and to original compositions with moving harmony. This has never happened before, and sets new standards for a generation of musicians who have the opportunity to be exposed to it. A study could be conducted on the abilities of students at a young age to grasp the concept of uneven meters. These results could be contrasted with the students’ ability to gain fluidity in 4/4 and in 3/4. It is possible that this would allow some conclusions to be made regarding the cultural affinity in the United States for music in 4/4 and 3/4. From there, the rhythmic
aptitude of children, or even adults, from other cultures that have uneven meters embedded in the music of their ancestors could be tested. As Scott Colley said,
…a lot of younger musicians are now more fluent in odd meters than they were… If we grew up in a different society where five and seven was part of our musical upbringing then it would have been a lot easier… But now… because of the internet and… colleges and universities… musicians are playing at a really high level, I think, at an earlier age, relative to these kinds of rhythms.
It is the belief of the author that as uneven meters become more commonplace, fewer and fewer people will regard them as novelty. If what has happened since 1990 is any
indication, uneven meters are well on their way to becoming a standard device of the modern jazz musician.
REFERENCES
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Brubeck, D. (1959). Time Out. [Compact Disc]. New York: Columbia Records. Colley, S. (2000). This Place. [Compact Disc]. Copenhagen: Steeplechase Records. Dolphy, E. (1964) Out To Lunch. [Compact Disc]. New York: Blue Note Records. Galper, H. (2005). Forward Motion: A Corrective Approach to Jazz Phrasing.
Petaluma: CA. Sher Music Co.
Gridley, M. C. (1991). Jazz Styles: History and Analysis. Engelwood Cliffs: NJ. Prentice Hall.
Emmons, T. (2008). Odd Meter Bass: Complex Time Signatures Made Easy. Van Nuys: California. Alfred Publishing Company.
Foster, P & Stoddard, T. (1971). The Autobiography of a New Orleans Jazzman. Berkley: California. University of California Press.
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APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
Johannes Weidenmueller Conducted on March 6th at 2pm T= Trapchak, W= Weidenmueller
T: How is it that you learned to play standards in uneven meters?
W: I think it was when I first came to New York in ’91 there was a group of people that played sessions at peoples houses and one of the places was a house on 2nd street. Jorge Rossy lived there Kurt Rosenwinkle lived there, Chris Cheek lived there. And the other apartment was an apartment with John Stege, Marc Miralta, Seamus Blake and Mark Turner and Josh Redman Came over and Brad Mehldau came over a lot. That circle of people, we played a lot together and for some reason we always called standards in odd meters, we always wanted to broaden out horizons so that’s something we did every session is play at least one tune.
T: So it wasn’t a teacher, it was more like your peers.
W: Yea I’m trying to think whether there were a lot of people playing tunes in odd meters, if there were a lot of recordings but I actually don’t think so. I think playing in odd meters and the whole metric modulation concept and all that kind of stuff was just a language that was just developing, I actually think it was developing in the context… mostly of those people. Brad was one of the guys who introduced playing tunes in odd meters, in seven, in five, and really took it to another level and he was somewhat part of that group so I think the seeds of that actually at least partially came out of that group of people.
T: What was the first recording you know of, of a standard in a uneven meter? W: When you say uneven meter you mean odd meter so you don’t mean 3/4? T: …no I don’t mean 3/4… (I mean) five or seven..
W: Ok Because I remember either talking to Dave Holland or reading an interview with him… I think I was just talking to him… where he said… there was a certain period in
