Jazz PerspectivesPub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/17494060.2020.1734050
Rich Pellegrin
{"title":"Motive, Collection, and Voice Leading in John Coltrane's “Giant Steps”","authors":"Rich Pellegrin","doi":"10.1080/17494060.2020.1734050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734050","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Coltrane's “Giant Steps” is a tightly-woven, theoretically-dense composition containing zero-sum characteristics, hexatonic and nonatonic properties, and various types of patterns on both the surface and deeper levels of the piece. However, the theoretical neatness of “Giant Steps” is offset by several irregularities, creating a cohesive and nuanced whole. This article examines “Giant Steps” from several different analytical perspectives, and considers mathematically the question of whether certain nonatonic aspects of the piece could have occurred by chance or whether they were necessarily part of Coltrane's compositional design.","PeriodicalId":39826,"journal":{"name":"Jazz Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734050","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42043059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jazz PerspectivesPub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/17494060.2020.1734053
K. Frieler
{"title":"Miles Vs. Trane: Computational and Statistical Comparison of the Improvisatory Styles of Miles Davis and John Coltrane","authors":"K. Frieler","doi":"10.1080/17494060.2020.1734053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734053","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Much has been written about John Coltrane and Miles Davis, from autobiographical works to detailed musicological analyses and cultural/sociological accounts of their lives, work, and legacy. Fewer publications are concerned with a direct comparison of both artists' approach to improvisation. I introduce a new analytical perspective, developed in the context of the Jazzomat Research Project, by using computational and statistical methods. Based on a large set of solo transcriptions taken from the Weimar Jazz Database spanning different stylistic phases for both artists (20 solos by Coltrane and 19 solos by Davis), I identify common and differing stylistic traits. This approach utilizes a set of 143 musical features extracted from the solos. Results indicate that both players differ in quite many aspects. Clichés of the “extroverted” style of Coltrane and the “introverted” style of Davis are evidenced by vastly different note densities and overall spacing of phrases. Some surprising and subtle differences also showed up. For instance, Davis has a tendency to avoid the third of the underlying chord and also major and minor third intervals, whereas Coltrane has a preference for playing out chords. Furthermore, both players seem to have no large overlap in their respective pattern vocabularies.","PeriodicalId":39826,"journal":{"name":"Jazz Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734053","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47819814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jazz PerspectivesPub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/17494060.2020.1734055
John O’Gallagher
{"title":"Pitch-Class Set Usage and Development in Late-Period Improvisations of John Coltrane","authors":"John O’Gallagher","doi":"10.1080/17494060.2020.1734055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734055","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The recordings Stellar Regions and Interstellar Space, made by John Coltrane shortly before his death in 1967, are among his least studied and understood works. While these recordings are generally regarded as representative of “free jazz,” three case studies present evidence that Coltrane’s improvisations on these recordings are highly organized, utilizing a structural methodology focused on trichordal pitch-class sets. Musical set theory is used as a primary analytical tool in combination with common jazz harmonic and improvisational practices. Analyses will illustrate the extensive use of Tn-types (0,1,3) in “Iris,” and (0,2,4), and (0,2,5) in “Saturn.” As an exemplar of this methodology, compelling evidence in “Iris” demonstrates the use of Tn-type (0,1,3), as a structural progenitor for both the saxophone improvisation and piano accompaniment for the entire length of the piece. En route, the potential influence of Nicolas Slonimsky’s Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns (1947) is examined. As an archetype for an improvisational methodology focused on pitch-class sets, the significance of “Iris” resonates throughout Stellar Regions and Interstellar Space and more broadly to Coltrane’s other late-period recordings, challenging the persistent characterization of this music as chaotic and “free.”","PeriodicalId":39826,"journal":{"name":"Jazz Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734055","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42681705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jazz PerspectivesPub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/17494060.2020.1734051
M. Mermikides
{"title":"‘Straight and Late’: Analytical Perspectives on Coltrane’s Time-feel","authors":"M. Mermikides","doi":"10.1080/17494060.2020.1734051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734051","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper examines aspects of Coltrane’s rhythm by adopting a relatively simple model of expressive micro-timing (“time-feel”), wherein swing (the symmetry of the offbeat subdivision) is treated as a discrete parameter for each ensemble member and is kept distinct from latency – the relative micro-rhythmic placement of each player’s onbeats. The interaction of these two parameters is examined in the context of original analyses from Coltrane’s repertoire, with the micro-rhythmic placements of onsets in Coltrane’s ensemble visualized in linear, planar and – similar to those conceived by Charles Mingus1 and employed analytically by Fernando Benadon2 – circular representations at the tactus level. Coltrane’s characteristically straight-and-late eighth feel3 is here seen not just as a solution to creating a swung offbeat at high tempos, but as a dynamic expressive mechanism, with the ability to move from a high swing value to a behind-the-beat straight feel in varying consonance and friction with his ensemble’s onbeat and offbeat placement. This perspective offers novel analytical and pedagogical approaches, as well as an insight into an otherwise hidden facet of Coltrane’s virtuosity.","PeriodicalId":39826,"journal":{"name":"Jazz Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734051","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46890470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jazz PerspectivesPub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/17494060.2020.1734335
Rich Pellegrin
{"title":"Preface from the Guest Editor","authors":"Rich Pellegrin","doi":"10.1080/17494060.2020.1734335","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734335","url":null,"abstract":"This special issue of Jazz Perspectives grew out of a fiftieth-anniversary special session on John Coltrane (1926–1967), which was presented at the 2017 annual meeting of the Society for Music Theo...","PeriodicalId":39826,"journal":{"name":"Jazz Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734335","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46430142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jazz PerspectivesPub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/17494060.2020.1734054
Barry Long
{"title":"Black Blowers of the Now: Jazz and Activism from King’s Birmingham to Coltrane’s “Alabama”","authors":"Barry Long","doi":"10.1080/17494060.2020.1734054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734054","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT When Martin Luther King, Jr. described the “fierce urgency of now” at 1963s March on Washington, he at once drew upon a shared cultural memory and social consciousness. In a manner as much musical as rhetorical, Dr. King explicated his theme through a series of calls and responses on the riff, “now is the time.” When poet and activist Amiri Baraka cited John Coltrane as the “black blower of the now” in his 1979 poem “AM/TRAK,” he asserted the saxophonist’s contemporary cultural weight more than a decade after his passing. In ways similar to improvised performance, each example leverages the vitality and relevance of a forward-looking emphasis on “the now” against the blurred borders of jazz and spoken word. Coltrane’s recording of “Alabama” less than three months after King’s legendary speech marked a seminal confluence of journalism, rhetoric, and improvisation. This essay will explore John Coltrane’s pivotal if involuntary role in shaping this changed dynamic in black activism and in particular, his incorporation of text as both inspiration and musical device.","PeriodicalId":39826,"journal":{"name":"Jazz Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734054","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45478617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jazz PerspectivesPub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/17494060.2020.1734052
Brian A. Levy
{"title":"Harmonic and Rhythmic Oppositions in Jazz: The Special Case of John Coltrane and His Classic Quartet","authors":"Brian A. Levy","doi":"10.1080/17494060.2020.1734052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734052","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The body of work produced by John Coltrane's Classic Quartet is notable for its rhetorical language of tension and release among the band members and Coltrane's transcendent playing, seemingly free of the underlying substructure. This paper examines selected historic recordings, culminating with an analysis of two paradigmatic recordings by John Coltrane's Classic Quartet: “Miles’ Mode” (Coltrane, 1962) and “Pursuance” (A Love Supreme, 1964). The paper argues that there are four important ways that Coltrane's Quartet creates tensions that distinguish it from the way tensions were created by its predecessors, resulting in longer, more complex, and more abstract oppositions. To contextualize those oppositions of Coltrane's Quartet, the paper cites historical examples that challenge an underlying harmonic or metrical substructure. Coltrane's quartet uses enhanced techniques of harmonic and temporal displacements that reveal how multiple players can create the effect of freedom experienced by listeners.","PeriodicalId":39826,"journal":{"name":"Jazz Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17494060.2020.1734052","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47010723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jazz PerspectivesPub Date : 2018-09-02DOI: 10.1080/17494060.2019.1686258
Eva Spring
{"title":"Book Review Essay: Spokesman of Cool","authors":"Eva Spring","doi":"10.1080/17494060.2019.1686258","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17494060.2019.1686258","url":null,"abstract":"What was postwar cool? For Joel Dinerstein, professor of English at Tulane University, the time frame is 1943–1963, and the emblematic figures are from jazz (Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins), noir (Robert Mitchum, Humphrey Bogart), existentialism (Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir), and the standard 1950s cool pantheon (Marlon Brando, James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Jack Kerouac). Dinerstein defines cool as “synonymous with authenticity, independence, integrity, and nonconformity; to be cool meant you carried personal authority through a stylish mask of stoicism.” Cool achieved an “aestheticization of detachment ... a resonant tension between felt emotion and performed nonchalance.” Cool was masculine, projecting “toughness and self-mastery through a blank facial expression and a corresponding economy of motion,” yet “with one’s vulnerability just visible enough to show the emotional costs of the stance.” Straddling our dark and noble sides, cool was “a post-Christian concept, a devaluation of the virtuous (or good) man as an unrealistic ideal.” The book’s opening photograph, from Paris in 1949, depicts a young Miles Davis and Juliette Gréco, not any cool character on a street corner. The goal is to unmask the “cultural work” such icons perform, consciously or otherwise: “Cool is clarified through its icons ... In effect, popular culture represents society – or a generation – thinking out loud.” The title promises a bit more than it can deliver, as Dinerstein is more interested in “reading” movies, literature and celebrities as projections of popular desire than tracing cultural norms systematically. Still, he determines that cool “emanated out of African-American jazz culture to become an umbrella term for the alienated attitude of American rebels.” Lester Young was “the primogenitor of cool” who “disseminated the modern usage of the term.” West African cool, a “force of community” associated with “smoothness, balance, silence,” shifted in postwar America to a “new valuation of public composure and the disparaging of the outward emotional display long associated with stereotypes of blacks.” Dinerstein also draws in the English upper class and its “stiff upper lip” – and even the Greek Stoics – to sketch a “convergence of Angloand AfricanAmerican masculine ideals.” In the 1930s, proto-cool took form in “shadow selves of Anglo-American positivism: the ethnic gangster, the jazz musician, the devil-may-care song-and-dance man, the hard-boiled detective, and later on, the spy.” Its art form was film noir, “a working-","PeriodicalId":39826,"journal":{"name":"Jazz Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17494060.2019.1686258","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42083151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}