Miles Davis

‘All Blues’ from the Album Kind of Blue

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

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.

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

• 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

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.

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

D7#9 Eb7#9 D7#9 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.

Structure of ALL BLUES:The piece can be broken down into 5

sections 1. INTRO: the opening 4 bars, played by the rhythm

section is followed by the riff2. HEAD 1 – this is where the original tune or

melody is played: Head melody followed by the Riff is played 2x

3. IMPROVISED SOLOS – for trumpet / alto sax / tenor sax / piano each followed by the riff

4. HEAD 2- the main theme returns Riff is played 2x5. OUTRO (Coda)-this fades out…a solo for muted

trumpet

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

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

Let’s play detective

Section Bar Numbers

and timing

Analysis

Intro 1-8 0:00-0:21

• 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.

Section Bar Numbers

and timing

Analysis

Head 1 9 – 20

0:21 – 0:52

• 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 D7#9 and Eb7#9 are highlighted by a change in texture and the bell-like piano chords replace the trill for a few seconds.

Section Bar Numbers

and timing

Analysis

Link

Head 2

Link

21-240:53 -1:03

25 – 361:03 -1:34

37 – 401:35 -1:45

• 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.

Section Bar Nos and timing

Analysis

Solos

Davis 41 – 881:35 – 3:51

• 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.

Section Bar Numbers and timing

Analysis

Link

Solos cont.

Adderley

89 – 92

3:51–4:01

93 – 1404:01–6:05

• 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.

Section Bar Numbers

and timing

Analysis

Link

Solos cont.

Coltrane

141 – 1446:05 – 6:15

145 – 1926:15 – 8:17

• 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.

Section Bar Numbers

and timing

Analysis

Link

Solos cont.

Evans

193 – 1968:18 – 8:27

197 – 2208:28 – 9:28

• 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

Section Bar Numbers

and timing

Analysis

Link

Head 3

Link

Head 4

221 – 2249:29 – 9:39

225 – 2369:39 – 10:10

237 – 24010:11-10:21

241 – 25210:21 –10:52

• 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

Section Bar Numbers

and timing

Analysis

Link

Outro

253 – 25610:52 –11:02

257 – 268/9

11:03 - 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.

• 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).

Important points to note

•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 soloist’s 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.