Matthew J. Bellisario 2023
Many new to Jazz are often intrigued by the seemingly lack of structure compared to other genres of music. Those who primarily listen to Rock, Blues, Country, Hip Hop or R&B music are used to a repetitive beat, repetitive simple chord structures and limited short instrumental solos. These genres of music are often quite predictable and offer the listener easy access to the emotional feeling of the beat, lyrical content and repetition of the melody throughout the 3 or 4-minute song. There is nothing wrong with this music and at times I enjoy listening and playing these types of music. Compared to these genres however, those new to Jazz can often find it intimidating or even cryptic.
New listeners of Jazz can find themselves almost lost since the beginning melody (The head) often seems to quickly disappear and is entirely replaced by different players soloing back forth on a variety of instruments. To the unfamiliar listener it can seem as if these solos are random and have no structure. However, Jazz music demands the listener’s attention in order to really grasp what is taking place. These extended conversations of soloists make jazz unique, and is known as improvisation. Although there is some improvisation in the blues as can be heard normally by a guitar player such as Buddy Guy, there is usually not more than one or maybe two different instrument solos on any given song and they are usually over only one or two 12 bar progressions. Blues improvisation is often played in the pentatonic scale, while Jazz is not confined to any scale pattern. In Jazz, there is more freedom allowing for a wider musical conversation than other any other music.
When a saxophone player or trumpet player plays a solo over a series of chord changes they are not randomly playing a series of notes. They are usually improvising on the melody, the harmony or even rhythm. They are taking notes of the melody or harmony and rearranging them in a new a personal manner. This does not mean that they always must play notes that are only in the melodic or harmonic structure. Sometimes they play outside that structure but usually only for short periods, although there is no hard rule on this. Sometimes the soloist expands on the melody for example. This can be done in variety of ways. These can include intervallic variation, harmonic variation, rhythmic variation or modal variation. This improvisation is something that is not usually scripted out, although the performer may be using phrases or note runs that he has worked on beforehand.
What are the requirements for there to be true improvisation? For one, the musician should have the chops or technical ability to say something relevant on their instrument. This means practicing on the instrument in a practical manner to gain virtuosity. Secondly, the musician must be well acquainted with the Jazz language. This takes countless hours, really years, of listening to the masters either on record or at a live venue. Thirdly, the musician must be able to digest the language and then begin to learn the phrasing and playing techniques of the masters. This is replicated on their own instrument by playing their favorite phrasings of the masters and then finally integrating those phrasings into their own musical language. This process when fully integrated into ones’ playing should then be their own Jazz linguistic style much in the same way one speaks orally to another in their own unique voice or develops their own writing style. Just as important is that the musician knows the song, its changes and its melody! Otherwise the musician ends up doing nothing more than playing notes randomly in the same key not really saying anything.
Improvisation is not limited to any one instrument; in fact, the Jazz vocalist is also an improviser. All one has to do is listen to Billie Holiday’s various takes on a song such as ‘Georgia on My Mind’ recorded in 1941. All three of her takes are unique and illustrate Billie truly using her voice as an instrument to improvise. Finally, improvisation should be natural in that it is authentic to one’s own expression on their instrument which can even include drums and percussion. There also needs to be an authenticity between the band members since this musical conversation takes place among one's band peers. This authenticity usually takes years and for many even a lifetime. In closing, Wynton Marsalis said it best, “In Jazz, improvisation isn't a matter of just making any ol' thing up. Jazz, like any language, has its own grammar and vocabulary. There's no right or wrong, just some choices that are better than others.”
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