Joel's A112
Jazz Colony 7/15/2025
Tunes:
After You've Gone:
https://youtu.be/984ksjle4YA?si=KyY7nb_Ae-ADZDnG – Patrick Bartley Emmet Cohen
https://youtu.be/CGnjedwMvQM?si=VvjL9jv1a_epBhU9 – Sonny Stitt Arrangement (I will have parts for everyone next week)
Lady Bird:
https://youtu.be/lLlsaextTl8?si=LGyPxlmpt8IxmTYl – Dexter Gordon
The Intimacy of the Blues:
https://youtu.be/wpSTjeO-oUg?si=5Pcx_xduyLAUQ22d – Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn
Concepts:
Playing Fast
We experimented with playing Lady Bird at various ‘up’ tempos, and learned that a good strategy when it comes to approaching these tempos is to relax.
There are many different ways to approach relaxing while we play with the most important of all being that we should practice, as that gives us the confidence to relax and stay calm.
Keeping track of larger beats is much easier than keeping tabs on the quarter notes that are flying along at higher tempos
Something Michael suggested trying (for non-horn players) is to stick your tongue out while you play and notice what triggers you to suddenly retract it as that would be a sign of something that is making you tense up.
Trading Fours
Everyone should listen and try to complement each other’s playing. This can take many different forms such as mimicking (i.e. copying a similar rhythm), continuation (i.e. further developing an idea that someone presented), or playing something completely opposite (i.e. someone playing a big string of notes, and you responding with very few) of the person prior.
There are of course and endless number of examples of what and how we can accomplish this task, but the most important takeaway is to listen during trading, rather than just waiting for our turn to play.
Voice Leading
This week we got more examples of voice leading in After You’ve Gone
From the A section to the B section of this tune, if we start on the 3rd of the first chord, we can track a downward path of notes which helps us keep track of and outline the chord changes:
Once again, starting at the beginning of the C section we can do the same thing if we start on the 3rd of the first chord and find neighboring or common chord tones in the next chords that creates a descending line:
- Rimmy Le
Preview YouTube video Emmet Cohen w/ Bruce Harris & Patrick Bartley | After You've Gone
Emmet Cohen w/ Bruce Harris & Patrick Bartley | After You've Gone
Preview YouTube video After You've Gone
Preview YouTube video Lady Bird
Preview YouTube video Duke Ellington, The Intimacy of the Blues (Strayhorn)
Duke Ellington, The Intimacy of the Blues (Strayhorn)
Joel's Giants - A112
Tunes Worked On:
Tom Thumb
Twelve More Bars to Go
Girl Talk
Strasbourg / St. Denis
Tenor Madness
Git Go Blues
The Singing Song – Stan Getz
Somewhere in the Night – Grant Green
Catty for Daddy – Hank Mobley
Gypsy Blue – Freddie Hubbard
Personal Notes & Goals:
Work on locking in better time with the rhythm section.
Stay mentally engaged—don’t zone out. Keep intense focus on the time feel, even without drums. It’s challenging, but a great opportunity to build internal time.
Rushing is better than dragging, but the goal is a relaxed, forward-moving pocket.
The bass tends to play on the front edge of the beat—try to lock in with that energy.
Improvisation Practice: Dominant Chord Vocabulary
Scales that work well over dominant chords (especially in blues contexts):
Mixolydian scale – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7
Minor Pentatonic off the 2nd and 5th degrees
Example: Over Bb7, use C minor pentatonic (2nd) and F minor pentatonic (5th)
Minor 6 Pentatonic off the 5th of the dominant
Example: Over Eb7, use Bb minor 6 pentatonic → Bb, C, Db, F, G
Standard Minor Pentatonic – 1, b3, 4, 5, b7
Dominant Pentatonic – 1, 2, 3, 5, b7
Minor Pentatonic up a half step – useful for a more “outside” or altered dominant sound
Experiment with pentatonic patterns across these scale choices to add rhythmic and melodic interest.
Advanced Sound Concepts / Harmonic Substitutions:
Over C minor 7:
Playing Eb7 gives a Phrygian flavor
Playing Bb7 implies an Aeolian color
Minor 6 Pentatonic up a half step can be a hip choice on dominants
Listening Recommendation:
A Love Supreme – John Coltrane
(Listen for spiritual intensity, rhythmic drive, and modal vocabulary)
Foxy Royals - Theater
We handed back our theory work sheet for spelling all the major scales, and passed out a new sheet discussing intervals.
We can learn tunes all day, but in order to understand this like professionals, we have to learn it like adults. The goal is to identify intervals by ear, not by paper.
We did some ear training, identifying major and minor triads. Then we did interval identification, only between minor 2nds and perfect 5ths. 5ths sound very medieval, solid. 4ths sound like a conclusion, they’re confusing because they are inverse of each other.
We had a new face today, so we went back over the Honeysuckle Rose melody, we sang it so we could remember it easier. We then worked on soloing over the A section, your ideas will be passable if you play within D major, the key of the tune, but steer clear of using the 7th C#, without resolving it upwards to the root.
-Max Bartron
- Armstrong: raspy, vocal tone. Strong sound, fluent playing. His singing matches his playing.
- Henderson Shanghai Shuffle: driving beat, very coordinated players. The saxes are very well balanced. The lead alto is present without sticking out. Very simple yet effective trumpet solo!
- Eldridge: bold, bright, very articulated sound. Influenced Dizzy Gillespie
- Mulligan: smooth, relaxed tone, almost like an alto sax, but on the bari! Paul Desmond on alto has an incredibly buttery, lithe sound, without a noticeable articulation. His sound just floats in the air like violin or a recorder.
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