Chapter 12- Jazz-Rock Styles
“My main thing is to create and not to
compare… I don’t wanna be like I used to be
years ago… Stravinsky never wrote anything
the same way.” Miles Davis
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Jazz influences on fifties rock:
Bill Haley and the Comets combined western
swing style with country music and jazz
The blues became rockabilly when preformed
by Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee
Lewis
Jazz instruments such as saxophone were
used to play jazz-styled improvisations in
recordings by Little Richard, and others
12-2
Jazz Big (or Swing) Bands:
Played from musical arrangements Improvisation limited to solos accompanied by
other band instruments
Rhythm section
piano
acoustic or amplified guitar
string bass
drums
Horn section
Brass instruments
several trumpets
trombones
Woodwind instruments,
saxophones
sometimes clarinets and/or flutes
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Jazz and Rock style comparison
Jazz style:
Improvisation involves a “jazz sense” including:
How long to dwell on a note
When to bend it
What notes to accentuate and what ones to merely suggest
What liberties to take with the beat
When to play non-chordal notes
When to move away from the rhythms of the accompaniment
When to be quiet and break the constancy of the solo
Rock style:
Improvised solos tend to stay closer to the accompanying instruments:
Stay within the scale or mode of the rhythm section
Repeat melodic patterns
Stay close to the beat played by the rhythm section
Solos often very fast, flashy, and continuous
12-4
Jazz Rock
Combined the horn section sound of swing dance music with a rock
rhythm section and a rock beat, generally included vocals
Late-sixties Jazz Rock bands:
Electric Flag (formed in 1967)
Singer – Nick Gravenites
Horn section – trumpet, tenor and baritone saxophones
Rhythm section - keyboards, bass, and drums
Chicago (formed in 1967)
Singer – Terry Kath
Horn section – trumpet, trombone, and saxophone
Rhythm section – guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums
12-5
Blood, Sweat and Tears (formed in 1968):
Many personnel changes through career, beginning instrumentation
included:
Singer
Al Kooper
Horn section
2 trumpets
trombone
alto saxophone
recorder
flute
Rhythm section
keyboards
guitar
bass
drums
Late 1968 – Kooper left, replaced by David Clayton-Thomas
12-6
Listening Guide:
“Spinning Wheel” by Blood, Sweat and Tears (1968)
Tempo: 96 beats per minute with 4 beats per bar, but the speed doubles
during the instrumental section that precedes the last A section.
The last A section returns to the beginning tempo
Form: Most sections are 8 bars, with some extensions
Features: The recording begins with a crescendo in the horn section, then
the horns playing one bar of sixteenth notes (4 notes to a beat)
Even beat subdivisions are used except during the bebop jazz-style
trumpet solo
Stop time is used in the a sections
Drums sometimes accent the backbeat, not always
The meter changes to 9 eighth notes per bar at the end
The recording ends with maracas shaking and band members
making casual comments
Lyrics: The spinning wheel compares life to gambling and fate.
Charts: Pop, #2 for three weeks, R&B, #5
12-7
Fusion:
An experimental jazz style that made use of rock instrumentation,
took rhythmic and melodic patterns from rock, generally avoided
vocals
Miles Davis (1926-1991), jazz trumpet player, writer, band leader,
created the styles of Cool Jazz in 1949s and Fusion in 1968
Specific rock elements in Fusion –
1. Evenly subdivided beats in drums
2. Bass plays short repeated riffs
3. Electric instruments from rock bands used including electric
piano, electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and various
electronic devices to alter
sounds
Fusion bands that were formed by members of Miles Davis’ original
fusion group include Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report,
Return to Forever, and Headhunters
12-8
Listening Guide:
“Miles runs the Voodoo Down” by Miles Davis (1969)
Tempo: Varies from 116 beats per minute to 126 in the middle section,
with 4-beats per bar
Form: No standard form with repeated sections. Davis’s use of a
returning motive gives the effect of unity
Features: Even beat subdivisions
Jazz instruments include trumpet, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet,
acoustic bass, and drums with other percussion
Rock instruments include two electric pianos, electric bass guitar,
electric lead guitar, and the use of distortion
Electric guitar plays rhythmic punctuations in a funk style
No standard chord progression, but many chord extensions and
nonchordal tones are used
Some solos use dorian mode (natural notes from D to D)
Some use of polyrhythms in thick background
Lyrics: No vocals
12-9
Rock musicians who played fusion or
other jazz-influenced styles:
Carlos Santana (born in 1947), guitarist, singer,
songwriter, worked with fusion musicians
Dixie Grits, later Dixie Dregs, started by southernrock guitarist Steve Morse and bassist Andy West
Steely Dan, started by pianist Donald Fagen and
guitarist/bassist Walter Becker and added many
jazz musicians to their recordings sessions
12-10
Listening Guide:
“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” by Steely Dan (1974)
Tempo: 120 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: After a six-bar introduction, A and B sections vary in length
Features: Even beat subdivisions
A marimba-like instrument plays an ad-lib introduction, then
acoustic piano, bass guitar, and drums enter and
establish a relaxed Latin beat
A bell tree adds shimmering effect several times
Lyrics: The singer adopts the persona of the tempter who is trying
to persuade Rikki to reconsider his or her decision not to
engage in a “wild time.”
Charts: Pop, #4, British hits, #58
12-11
Discussion Questions:
Miles Davis started two important styles of music: cool jazz and
fusion. He said that he tried new things to keep from
repeating what he had done in the past. Is that how most
new artistic ideas come about?
Do any current bands use jazz instrumentation such as a horn
section?
12-12