~ Pioneered by Miles Davis, Bill Evans and Wayne Shorter

~ Was a revolt against abundant chord changes associated with the Bop and Cool   movements

~ Miles Davis replaces show tunes and their chord changes with original tunes built on very few chords

~ Modal jazz helps to pave the way for the Free Jazz/Avant-Garde movement that is about to arrive on the scene

~ The first significant composition using a modal approach is “So What” from the Kind of Blue recording session made in 1959

Modal Jazz is based on the following principles:

- Uses  “modes” in place of the major and minor scales
       (E.g., the soloists select their notes from the Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Locrian, and
        Mixolydian modes)

 - Uses very few chord changes (often only two)
  - Creates static harmony
  - Forces the soloist to create new rhythmic activity and sense of forward motion
  - BUT it does provide the soloist with more freedom
  - Because fewer chords were used, the soloist could be more adventurous and 
                  could explore sonorities and musical directions at their relative leisure.  In 
                 other words, the soloist wasn’t being “pushed” by rapid chord changes.

 - Tunes can be either slow or fast or anywhere in between

Historical Facts Associated With the Recording of Kind of Blue 

~ Recorded in 1959 with the following personnel: 
 Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Cannonball Adderly (alto sax),
  Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums)

~ One of the best loved jazz recordings of all times!

~ Contains some of the best improvisational solos ever

~ Laid the foundation for how jazz was structured for the next 20 years (1960-1980)
- i.e., music based on modes 

~ Was a major departure from the (Be)Bop, Cool, and Hard Bop styles

Cannonball Aderly (1928-1975)(alto sax)

- One of the best alto players after Bird
- Some consider him to be the successor to Bird
- Highly fluid and super charged player
- Solos were predictable
- Had a sound that was deep and rich 
 (easy to mistake it for a tenor!)
- Had an earthy legato style
- Loved to double-time
- Often his solos portrayed a sense of fun 
 (Although they could also be quite reflective as in the Kind of Blue 
 recording session)
- Co-led a series of bands with his brother Nat (cornet)
- Their biggest hit was Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

John Coltrane (1926-1967) (tenor and soprano sax)

- A virtuoso tenor sax and soprano sax player
- An important composer and bandleader
- Helped to popularize the soprano sax
- A gifted improviser
- Was/Is extremely influential
- His biggest trademark and influence was his complete mastery of “playing the changes”
- He wrote the tune Giant Steps as an etude
- His other trademarks are/were: 
- Wailing in the high register
- Playing in a manner known as “sheets of sound” 
- In other words, producing a furiously paced stream of notes (rapidly executed arpeggios)
- Using mutliphonics
- Died at the age of 41 from a lifetime of drug abuse
 

Listen to the following cuts from the Kind of Blue CD:

 So What  track #1
  -- See handout and follow score
  -- Discuss the two modes: D Dorian & E-flat Dorian

 Flamenco Sketches  track #5
  - No melody, no composer – all improvisation 
   (Another foreshadowing of the Free jazz movement yet to come)

 Other tracks if time permits 

We’ll listen to more of Miles Davis when we cover the Fusion genre next week (i.e., the historic Bitches Brew recording)

Listen to: Blue Train from the Best of Blue Note CD track #1
   -- See transcription in handout packet

Before we listen to Giant Steps let’s cover a few significant facts:

- Recorded in 1959 ( a Hard Bop “burner” classic)
- Originally written as an exercise to gain mastery of rapid and unpredictable chord changes (etude)
- Is a good example demonstrating Coltrane’s love of rapidly changing chord progressions
       (The genesis of Giant Steps is taken from the harmonic movement and leap
  generated from the beginning B to the E-flat)
- The tempo is very fast
- The chords seldom last more than two fleeting beats
 (The chords change at the same pace as the melody notes!)
- *Is so challenging that it has become a popular test piece for improvisers
- *Contains some of the most difficult changes in the entire jazz repertoire

Listen to Giant Steps from the Giant Steps CD  track #1
   -- See hand out
-- Also discuss the form:
     -- Two repeated 16 bars (AA)

    Head (2xs)     |     Improv. Section     |     Head

32 bars 

tenor sax – 6 choruses
piano – 2 choruses
enor sax – 1 chorus

 Listen to Naima from the Giant Steps CD track #9
 Listen to Alabama from SCCJ, vol. 5, track #6
-- Uses a pedal point to construct his improvisation
---- Very religious performance
-- Meant to capture his feelings surrounding certain Civil Rights 
     episodes in Alabama

NOTE:  There are two ways in jazz in which the musicians avoid preset harmonies:
  One is modal and the other is free

In the 1960s, Coltrane explored both Modal and Free jazz

 - One of his best known modal improvisations can be found in his recording of My Favorite Things

   Listen to Favorite Things

The classic Coltrane Quartet consisted of:
     John Coltrane (ts)
     McCoy Tyner (p)
     Jimmy Garrison (b)
     Elvin Jones (d)

 -- Some historians consider this quartet to have been 
     the most influential of al jazz combos!
 

  Listen to: Promise from the text CD, track #68
   -- See and discuss handout

  Listen to: Your Lady from the Concise Guide to Jazz CD, track #77

  Listen to the Johnny Hartman/John Coltrane CD
    “Lush Life”