Stylistic Features – Instrumental Music ‘Black and Tan fantasy’ (Duke Ellington) 1927
Piece
Structure
Based on 12 bar blues also known as
the head arrangement so called as it
provides the pattern of chords that the
players must keep in their head.
Black and
Tan fantasy
Duke
Ellington
Tonality
Bars 1-12 = Bb minor
Bars 13-86 = Bb major
Bars 87-90 = Bb minor
Head – bars 1-12
Alto sax solo – 13-28
Head with trumpet solo – 29-52
Piano solo – 52-64
Head with trombone solo – 65-76
Head with trumpet solo – 76-86
Coda – 87-90
Harmony
12 bar blues pattern
Frequent pitch bends creating blues
notes – bars 3 & &
Bars 1-12 – muted trumpet melody
accompanied in parallel 6th’s. Head is
diatonic apart from a passing d natural.
Bars 13-28 – Chromatic substitution.
chord (Gb7 instead of F7 bars 13-14; 2122).
Bars 19-21 - Rapid circle of 5ths.
Bars 29-52 – Backing simple and triadic.
Occasional 7ths – bars 32-33.
Bars 52-64 – Secondary dominant
chords.
Dim 7th chord bar 58.
59-63 Longer circle of 5ths pattern.
1927
Melody
First melody heard is adaptation of a
popular ballad Holy day that was
familiar to black and white audiences of
the day.
Solos are improvised and use lots of
blues notes.
Reference to Chopin’s’ funeral march in
the coda.
Instrumental Writing
Jungle style – use of heavy drums; dark
sax; rough growling brass sounds.
Three main sections: Reeds (sax and
clarinet); Brass (trumpet and trombone);
Rhythms section (piano, banjo, drums
and bass).
Interesting effects – vibrato and slides on
sax; Trombone uses plunger mute and
small trumpet mute for timbre effects such
as ‘wah-wah’ and glissandi.
Stride bass pattern in piano – wide leaps
and decorations.
Other
Duke Ellington played at the cotton club in
Harlem New York. Although located in a black
community it catered for a purely white
audience. The title ‘Black and Tan’ fantasy is
full of meaning. Behind it is Ellingtons
‘fantatsy’ that racial integration may one day
be possible. This can be seen through two
ways: 12 bar blues structure contrasted with
the white European 16 bar structure of the Sax
solo and the reference to popular ballade at
the start and Chopin’s pessimistic funeral
march at the end.
Texture
Rhythm
Mainly MDH.
Steady 4/4 time.
Bass outlines root
and 5ths of chord.
Use of triplets in solos.
Simple triadic
piano
accompaniment.
Jungle style (see
instrumental
writing).
Coda –
homophonic.
Piano solo begins with
anacrusis (also known as
a ‘pick-up’) and has
syncopation.