Onttech7. How does jazz use the blues?

Discussion

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Definition of the blues

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Relevance of the blues to playing jazz

The website Jazz in America has an article on the influence of the blues on jazz and makes the following assertions that for convenience have been numbered for easier reference.

“From the perspective of musical structure, (1) jazz as we know it would not exist without the blues. The twelve-bar blues chorus, with its familiar harmonic structure and narrative form, was the (2) single most popular template for early jazz improvisation, as compact yet profound in its way as the sonnet proved to be in the realm of poetry. (3) Early jazz giants including Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver and Louis Armstrong used blues songs as the foundation for many of their most important creations, while (4) Duke Ellington, despite a half-century of composing that led him to write extended suites and programs of sacred music, continued to employ the blues as the primary template in his arsenal. As jazz evolved and jazz musicians applied more sophisticated ideas of rhythm and harmony, (5) the blues remained a constant, (6) the basis for such influential recordings as Count Basie's "One O'Clock Jump" in the '30s, Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso" in the '40s, Miles Davis' "Walkin'" in the '50s and Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" in the '60s.”

“From the outset, the blues frequently deviated from its twelve-bar form, and jazz musicians have similarly displayed a willingness to bend the blues to their own devices. Sometimes this means an adjustment of structure, as (7) when Ellington elaborates the form in such compositions as "The Mooche" or "Mood Indigo," or (8) when Miles Davis substitutes scales for chords in "All Blues." Even more frequently, what is involved is the application of blue notes in a scale or blues phrasing to non-blues material. (9) Billie Holiday rarely sang traditional blues songs but performed every ballad with blues feeling. (10) Charlie Parker, whose performance of "Lady, Be Good" with Jazz at the Philharmonic, is a textbook example of turning a pop song blue. These may be the ultimate examples of improvisers steeped in an aura of the blues. Yet, (11) the same could be said regarding such supposed radicals as Ornette Coleman, who retains the raw authenticity of a Robert Johnson in all of his alto saxophone solos, (12) or John Coltrane, who built his masterpiece "A Love Supreme" on a basic blues riff not that far removed from the one underpinning Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son."” (bold not in original)

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Are each of the above twelve claims true?

(1) Would jazz not exist as we know it without the blues?

➢ What would jazz be like without the blues?

The answer to this question is already known because there exists jazz that doesn't use the blues or does so minimally.

➢ Which types of jazz can lack the blues?

1. Latin jazz
2. Free jazz
3. Third Stream can lack the blues

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On the other hand, guitarist author Barry Finnerty in his The Serious Jazz Practice book claims that modern jazz does and should include the feeling of the blues even if not always using the simplified blues form.

“FORWARD: In order to become an accomplished modern jazz soloist, one will need talent, inspiration, and imagination. One will have to have a lot of love for and dedication to the art of improvisation, of spontaneous musical creation. And one will have to have the FEELING! There are a lot of musical emotions and grooves that meet and interact in the world of jazz, but to me, the most important one, the one that imbues and informs all the others, is the feeling of the blues. Not always the NOTES of the blues, because jazz is a far more melodically and harmonically diverse kind of music, but the FEELING.” (bold not in original)

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(2) Was the blues the single most popular template for early jazz improvisations?

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(3) Did early jazz giants Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver and Louis Armstrong use blues songs as the foundation for many of their most important compositions?

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(4) Did Duke Ellington continually employ the blues in many of his compositions?

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(5) Has blues remained a constant in jazz?

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(6) Was blues the basis for such influential recordings as (A) Count Basie's "One O'Clock Jump" in the '30s, (B) Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso" in the '40s, (C) Miles Davis' "Walkin'" in the '50s and (D) Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" in the '60s"?

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(7) Did Duke Ellington adjust the structure of the blues when composing "The Mooche" or "Mood Indigo"

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(8) Did Miles Davis substitute scales for chords in "All Blues"?

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(9) Did Billie Holiday perform every ballad with blues feeling?

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(10) Is Charlie Parker's performance of "Lady, Be Good" with Jazz at the Philharmonic a textbook example of turning a pop song blue?

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(11) Did Ornette Coleman retain the raw authenticity of a Robert Johnson in all of his alto saxophone solos?

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(12) Did John Coltrane build his masterpiece "A Love Supreme" on a basic blues riff like that underpinning Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son"?

While listening to the Art Farmer Septet, recorded for Prestige in July 1953, featuring Art Farmer (tp), Jimmy Cleveland (tb), Oscar Estelle (as,bar), Clifford Solomon (ts), Quincy Jones (p,arr), Monk Montgomery (el-b), Sonny Johnson (d), and unknown (perc-1). Marc Myers in his blog JazzWax reports that he noticed that in the song "Mau Mau" that the background riff sounded like the famous one John Coltrane used eleven years later in his "A Love Supreme".

Art Farmer and Quincy Jones's recorded "Mau Mau" in 1953. The relevant riff starts at 1:43 . . .

John Coltrane's "Acknowledgment" from A Love Supreme (Impulse) was recorded in December 1964. The relevant riff starts at 00:30 and continues throughout the track . . .

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NOTES