Study: Lee Morgan's "Raggedy Ann"
My fifteen-year-old son is playing trumpet in his high school jazz ensemble for the first time. (He also plays mellophone in marching band and French horn in symphonic band, which means we spend a small fortune on various oils...) His instructor has all of the jazz students keep a weekly listening log, where they pick a tune and analyze it on various levels. For those who might be interested, I have posted scans of the log form down below. (The form, by the way, is the creation of Chet Chwalik at http://www.thetuningnote.com.)
I think this is a great resource for closely, attentively studying how a piece is put together and performed. Last week my son picked one of Dizzy Gillespie's umpteen versions of "Salt Peanuts", which I thought was a pretty cool choice with some unusual aspects to it. I didn't really assist him with the analysis, but we talked about it quite a bit afterwards and he went back and added some points to the form.
This week I got to select the tune for him, and I chose Lee Morgan's composition "Raggedy Ann", from his 1962 album Take Twelve. This happens to be my favorite Morgan release, so I will admit to some bias in selecting it. However, I felt this tune would be a good choice to study, as it has some interesting tempo and stylistic shifts within an otherwise traditional structure.
The quintet includes Morgan on trumpet; Clifford Jordan on tenor sax; Barry Harris on piano; Bob Cranshaw on bass; and Louis Hayes on drums. "Raggedy Ann" is essentially a B-flat minor blues head, taken at a brisk 140 beats per minute on the theme and some solo choruses. In these fast passages the rhythm section plays a tight vamp beneath the horns; Cranshaw locks in with the four-note clusters from Harris' left hand while Hayes chugs along on the closed hi-hat.
Four choruses into Morgan's bleating, dynamic solo -- and two choruses into those by Harris and Jordan -- the tempo drops in half, to 70 beats per minute, and the rhythm section settles into a comfortable blues stroll. Hayes then explores the whole drum kit, Cranshaw walks the changes, Harris comps respectfully beneath the horn solos and delivers his own thoughtful improvisation. After each soloist takes two slow choruses, the tempo leaps back up to 140 and the band is off to the races once more. Following two final runs through the theme, the track fades out with the vamp.
In analyzing the tune tonight, we discussed not only the structural matters mentioned above, but the soloists' methods of attack, flow of ideas, and ability to shift mood along with tempo. I think the boy learned a lot, and I look forward to working with him in the coming weeks if he seeks my help. But I think pretty quickly he will be able to do these analyses on his own.
I think this is a great resource for closely, attentively studying how a piece is put together and performed. Last week my son picked one of Dizzy Gillespie's umpteen versions of "Salt Peanuts", which I thought was a pretty cool choice with some unusual aspects to it. I didn't really assist him with the analysis, but we talked about it quite a bit afterwards and he went back and added some points to the form.
This week I got to select the tune for him, and I chose Lee Morgan's composition "Raggedy Ann", from his 1962 album Take Twelve. This happens to be my favorite Morgan release, so I will admit to some bias in selecting it. However, I felt this tune would be a good choice to study, as it has some interesting tempo and stylistic shifts within an otherwise traditional structure.
The quintet includes Morgan on trumpet; Clifford Jordan on tenor sax; Barry Harris on piano; Bob Cranshaw on bass; and Louis Hayes on drums. "Raggedy Ann" is essentially a B-flat minor blues head, taken at a brisk 140 beats per minute on the theme and some solo choruses. In these fast passages the rhythm section plays a tight vamp beneath the horns; Cranshaw locks in with the four-note clusters from Harris' left hand while Hayes chugs along on the closed hi-hat.
Four choruses into Morgan's bleating, dynamic solo -- and two choruses into those by Harris and Jordan -- the tempo drops in half, to 70 beats per minute, and the rhythm section settles into a comfortable blues stroll. Hayes then explores the whole drum kit, Cranshaw walks the changes, Harris comps respectfully beneath the horn solos and delivers his own thoughtful improvisation. After each soloist takes two slow choruses, the tempo leaps back up to 140 and the band is off to the races once more. Following two final runs through the theme, the track fades out with the vamp.
In analyzing the tune tonight, we discussed not only the structural matters mentioned above, but the soloists' methods of attack, flow of ideas, and ability to shift mood along with tempo. I think the boy learned a lot, and I look forward to working with him in the coming weeks if he seeks my help. But I think pretty quickly he will be able to do these analyses on his own.
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