Small Group Jazz Performances: Part IV

Read Part III. The time period of 1945-1965 contains four distinct stylistic shifts– bebop, cool jazz, hard bop and the free jazz styles that include literally hundreds of noteworthy performances. Choosing prime examples from what has been recorded is always a difficult task, but here are five as we continue in our series of essential recordings in jazz. Timings in the recordings are provided as a guideline for musically interesting passages.

Jimmy Giuffre: Scintilla II (Capitol, 1956) Jimmy Giuffre: tenor saxophone, Jack Sheldon: trumpet, Ralph Pena: bass, Artie Anton: drums. Recorded: June 6, 1955, Capitol Studios, Hollywood California.

Jimmy Giuffre recorded the 5 movement “Scintilla” in June, 1955. The saxophonist had made his mark in big bands, most notably with Woody Herman, and his inventive compositional stamp is all over “Scintilla II”. The tune expands on the brief 56 second thematic material of part 1 with a heavily contrapuntal foundation. Drummer Artie Anton adds commentary between the melodic phrases of the tenor saxophonist’s feathery Lester Young inspired tone. What makes the composition so unique compared to the hard bop coming out of New York around the same time is the use of an extended form beyond the favored 32 bar AABA structure that most musicians used for soloing. There is a brief section of collective improvisation beginning at 1:21 (9:21 in the above video) in the tune that seamlessly blends with written material, a dialogue between tenor saxophone, and trumpet. West Coast jazz had much more intricate structures, almost classical in conception, and Giuffre’s genius for unique instrumentation and tonal colors makes this performance special.

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Moanin’ (Blue Note, 1958) Lee Morgan: trumpet, Benny Golson: tenor saxophone, Bobby Timmons: piano, Jymie Merritt: bass, Art Blakey: drums. Recorded
October 30, 1958 at the Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ. Recording Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder. Produced by Alfred Lion.

The recordings of Art Blakey Jimmy Smith and pianist Horace Silver gave Blue Note records a much needed sales boost. Label head Alfred Lion considered selling the label, but one company’s offer was so meager that Lion decided to continue on and jazz fans are fortunate he did. Pianist Bobby Timmons’ 32 bar gospel inspired title track became one of the label’s most loved records, and a jazz standard. Timmons’ melody line functions as a preacher while the congregation; the horns of Morgan and Benny Golson respond with a two note “A-men” phrase. Morgan’s trumpet solo is filled with a lot of “grease”, a multitude of flatted notes achieved through the use of half valve effects, and his ever present trademark funky triplet licks. Golson echoes Morgan’s last phrase to start his own improvisation, as Blakey intuitively raises the dynamic level, hitting the ride cymbal and his patented shuffle rhythm even harder as Golson gets more exclamatory. Timmons follows with a funky solo of his own. The record itself contains many other classic tunes: Golson’s future standards “Are You Real?” and “Along Came Betty”, a perfect example of Blakey at his late fifties best. His greatest bands with Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, followed by Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller’s trombone, and Shorter were yet to come.

Miles Davis:: Boplicity (Capitol, 1949) Miles Davis: trumpet, Gerry Mulligan: baritone saxophone, Sandy Siegelstein: french horn, J.J. Johnson: trombone, John Lewis: piano, Nelson Boyd: bass, Kenny Clarke: drums. Arranged by Gil Evans. Recorded April 22, 1949 at WOR Studios, NY, NY.

In Miles’ lengthy career on record, groundbreaking stylistic shifts occurred every ten years for three decades. Birth of The Cool signaled the trumpeter’s first collaboration with arranger Gil Evans in a meeting of the finest East coast and West Coast musicians in a nine piece ensemble designed to highlight Davis’ warm melodicism. “Boplicity” a 32 bar composition features brief solo space for baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, while an interlude at 1:25 marked a sharp contrast to the aggressive nature of bebop, where the dark autumnal brass of the group marks the more structured approach of West Coast jazz. Davis’s middle register musings exhibit the mature style that would typify his best work in the 50’s, though he was just as capable of delivering muscular phrases with unrelenting ferocity as heard throughout the sixties and early seventies. Still, it is this melodic approach with Kenny Clarke’s tasteful accompaniment using brushes, that made Miles style beloved with general audiences. He would famously revisit this piece, with a large ensemble conducted by Quincy Jones in a rare moment of looking back, at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1991 his protégé, Wallace Roney alongside him to cover especially demanding written material. The easily swinging “Boplicity” captures Miles at his lyrical best.

Charles Mingus: Better Git it In Your Soul (Columbia, 1959): Charles Mingus: bass, composer, vocals, John Handy: alto saxophone, Booker Ervin, Curtis Porter: tenor saxophone, Jimmy Knepper: trombone, Horace Parlan: piano, Dannie Richmond: drums. Recorded May 5, 1959 at Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City.

Mingus Ah Um was an album in a year filled with significant leaps in jazz, accomplished by Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, and John Coltrane. Following on the heels of an historic run at Atlantic, Charles Mingus joined Columbia for just two albums, but Mingus Ah Um’s impact was significant. Mingus used tonal colors in fresh ways, making a relatively small group sound positively huge, and through his compositional acumen, was able to convey the full range of African music in a way that had rarely been done before. Second, the album contained the s political social statement “Fables of Faubus”, a reaction to Arkansas governor Charles Faubus preventing the integration of nine African American students into an all white school, Mingus’ searing lyrical indictment of the governor was was not performed in this version at Columbia’s behest. “Better Get It In Your Soul” brilliantly ties extended form composition, collective improvisation with a different section of chord changes for the solos, in this case a 12 bar blues. Mingus also employs smart use of different backgrounds during the solos, which can be heard at 3:25 where the band inserts hand claps underneath Booker Ervin’s tenor saxophone solo. Mingus’ use of collective improvisation, a classic New Orleans device, and expressive tonal colors laid the groundwork for the emerging free jazz movement. Mingus’ spirited vocals and sounds of band members goading each other on bring to mind the communal atmosphere of jazz’s African roots, and the call and response of prayer meetings.

Horace Silver: Song For My Father (Blue Note, 1964) Carmell Jones: trumpet, Joe Henderson: tenor saxophone, Horace Silver: piano, Teddy Smith: bass, Roger Humphries: drums. Reco October 26, 1964 at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Recording engineer: Rudy Van Gelder. Produced by Alfred Lion.

The pianist’s most loved tune, a 24 bar AAB structure original is one of the most covered tunes in music. Silver was inspired by bossa nova rhythms during a visit to Brazil, and the song’s melody reminded him of the Cape Verdean heritage of his upbringing. Horace begins the tune with one of his favorite musical devices, a piano and bass unison, most famously referenced by Steely Dan on “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”. Silver’s slick use of funky phrasing, first appearing at 1:51, and appearing throughout his solo, is a textbook example of melodic improvisation flowing so effortlessly it almost seems composed. Joe Henderson’s tenor follows suit in one of his most recognizable recorded moments. Much like former employer Art Blakey, Silver’s penchant for recognizable tunes, brought jazz back to the people, after the general listening public felt alienated at the virtuosity displayed in bebop. Silver’s use of unusually structured song forms maintained musical interest with the tightness of big band writing tailored to a small group, always with resourceful and clever rhythmic and harmonic creativity. In a 1999 issue of Jazz Times, on the subject of audience expectations to hear live jazz, the pianist expressed a bit of regret that the popularity “Song For My Father” was so large that it was challenging to come up with new things to say on the piece as some audiences expected to hear it exactly as played on the recording. Blue Note known as much for their artistic successes as much as commercial by 1964, rode high on the chart topping momentum that “Song For My Father”, along with Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder”, generated, the former, a shining example of a popular jazz piece without any compromise to artistic integrity.