DISPLACE THE TIMING OF A PHRASE

How to displace the timing of a phrase, getting into polyrythms
This chap is explaining quite a difficult concept in a simple way, and he is very good at it.


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In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.
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PRACTICE TIMING AT A VERY SLOW TEMPO

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A professional bass player told me a nice way to train your 'tightness' of timing.

1) take a metronome, have it beat at very low tempo, e.g. 40 BPM. Use Biab these days.
2) play quarter notes for 10 minutes.
3) play triplets for 10 minutes
4) play 8ths for 10 minutes
5) play 16ths for 10 minutes
Repeat until you are bored out of your mind.

This exercise combines really nicely with other exercises, (e.g. scales or chord progressions that you would practice ANYWAY) because it doesn't really matter what you play as long as you play at a very low tempo.
the idea behind this would be that at high tempos, you don't notice the timing difference  or unsteadiness as much as on lower tempos - at 40 BPM, it's just a lot more evident if you've played early (or late) than at 80 BPM.

If you are pretty much rock solid on low tempos, quick solo's will 'fit' better to the groove.



In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.

QUESTION AND ANSWER MILES AND GARRETT

These exchanges are wonderful. Best question and answer ever - well, for me. Obviously you'll have your own views. Jazz at its best.

Miles Davis-Trumpet Marcus Miller -Bass, Kenny Garrett-Flute, David Sanborn-alto sax, Adam Holzman-keys, Don Alias-percussion, Ricky Wellman-drums, Joe McCreary- piccolo bass.



In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.
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RHYTHM DISPLACEMENT IN JAZZ. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS

Don't be put off because he uses a guitar. This applies to all instruments, all solos.
He is very good, a natural clear tutor.
We are going to be doing some of this on Sunday. I've asked our Jos on trombone to cook up an exercise for us.





In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.
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FASCINATING TALK WITH KJELL BERGLUND, TOP JAZZ TRUMPET

I've heard Kjell often in the past but not recently. I notice that he always plays with a certain intensity. He doesn't smile, he looks serious and there is no doubt that he is very serious about what he does. "For me, melody and rhythm together are the most important. The harmony is just colouring for the tune," he says.

Kjell likes playing ballads. He says it might be because of his Swedish background. "In this country they like energy, whereas in Sweden there is more openness and space. In Sweden you can have a jazz concert all evening consisting of ballads and you'll be popular"

To get colour in his solos he sometimes uses the diminished or the whole tone scales, but never too much. He would rather pick individual notes. "Every note is important in a solo, every one"

He would use a darker scale for some songs and a lighter scale for others. "There is a musical line to be navigated," he says. This to me is a very interesting idea which I have never heard before, although it seems obvious now he has said it. I guess it is the sort of thing one would feel if you pay a lot of respect to the tune.

Shortly after hearing this I heard them play a brilliant and fast 12 bar blues "Straight no chaser". This song sounds simple, with one idea being re-stated over and over, but the tricky bit is the fact that each time it is in a different part of the measure. Typical trickery in Monk's compositions.
Monk was a great user of Whole Tone scales. Because they are symmetric they float around without giving any tonal clue.

I asked him about riffs and patterns. Kjell says might start a phrase with a riff then extend it. He sometimes plays around with major scales. "For example, I might use Dmaj 7#11 which is the IV7#11 of an another A maj."

Very interesting man, very interesting player, and very thoughtful and interesting ideas. Lovely solos. I also noticed that he often uses a long note to resolve a phrase. So we all get time to settle down before he tensions it again.

John


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A FASCINATING TALK WITH JAZZ DRUMMER ALEX EBERHARD

This talk with Alex Eberhard for me was a challenge, because it always seems that the kit is quite separate from all the other instruments. Yet it was remarkable how much the drumming can be integrated into the tune, and into what the others are playing. Sorry, Alex, as a drum novice I never appreciated this before, you were a revelation.

He started off with a surprise. "It helps a lot if the drummer can play other instruments," he said. He played guitar and sang at 13 then piano. He still plays guitar and sings a lot. Maybe he is very different from other jazz drummers in this respect. I don't know and can't judge.

"Rhythm is most important followed by the tune - it's the phrasing that makes it swing or not," he said. You would expect that from a drummer but remember he also plays piano and guitar and still holds this view.

"If you know the tune you can shape the drum solo to fit over the particular song, as opposed to technical tricks that might work over any song. It is the form of the tune which is important,” he says. He says he always tries to carry the tune in his head. "The bass drum, snare drum & toms are melodic devices because of the differences in pitch. Most Jazz players prefer a resonant bass drum sound, rock people will often muffle the bass drum."

To get colour into the kit solos he might develop a rhythmic phrase and then displace it to start on a different beat.

"The point of jazz is to interact with the others. We take ideas from each other as we are playing," he says. You know, he really does that.

He was playing with Kjell, Terry, and Pete Burden at the Snowdrop. I listened to him carefully after our chat. He was picking up phrases from each of them. Terry was the best, the most prolific at feeding him rhythmic phrases, which he would pick up. Once I started to listen carefully to the drums I found their integration with the others fascinating. I've got so much to learn about this music.

John

In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.

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JAZZ FUNK. The year before Miles died.

Miles Davis and Kenny Garrett (flute and sax) in a brilliant performance. Absolutely stunning. Montreux 1990.





In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.
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