Post 563: 'OVER IN THE GLORYLAND' - FROM SAM MORGAN TO MARLA DIXON

Over in the Gloryland is one of the most famous tunes in our repertoire. It is a spiritual and is said to have been written by James Acuff and Emmett Dean in 1905. The reason why we all play it today is that we have been influenced by the recording of it made by the great Sam Morgan Band in 1927.

You can hear that recording:

BY CLICKING HERE.

The song has a Verse of 16 Bars (often sung with words beginning 'If you get to heaven before I do,...') and then a Chorus of 24 bars (usually beginning 'Over in the Gloryland,....').

I used to play this song with a band that went through Verse and Chorus every time. This felt right to me because the Verse is like a declamation by one person and then the Chorus is a chance for other people to join in.

However, guesting with another band, I found their tactic was to play the Verse only once and then stick on the Chorus - over and over. I was not very happy with this, as the effect is so limited and repetitive, harmonically as well as melodically.

So I checked the original Sam Morgan recording. He plays: Verse → Chorus → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus. In other words, the Chorus four times and the Verse three times. This works well and provides variety.

I decided also to check out the storming version from March 2015, when The Shotgun Jazz Band got together with Tuba Skinny. You can enjoy this memorable and historic performance

BY CLICKING HERE.

This runs for almost seven and a half minutes, and yet it is always exciting, even though it is a tune some musicians don't enjoy playing. They complain that its melody is so repetitive and that it uses essentially only the three most common chords.

But these two great bands show what can be fashioned from such simple material.

You will find they play Verse → Chorus every time.

That's good enough for me. So that's how I think we should all play it.

Specifically, here's what they do:

Verse (ensemble) → Chorus (ensemble) → Verse (vocal) → Chorus (vocal) →Verse (trombones) → Chorus (trombones) → Verse (reeds) → Chorus (reeds) → Verse (percussion) → Chorus (percussion) → Verse (piano) → Chorus (piano) → Verse (basses) → Chorus (basses) → Verse (vocal) → Chorus (vocal) → Verse (ensemble) → Chorus (ensemble).

By the way, if you need a lead-sheet for this song, you may find one on the site of the great and generous Lasse Collin:

http://cjam.lassecollin.se/songs2/overinthegloryland.html

Post 562: USING MOLESKINE MANUSCRIPT NOTEBOOKS FOR JAZZ

Until recently, I was only vaguely aware that in the stationers' shops there was a variety of elegant notebooks made by a company called Moleskine. Then I discovered that Moleskine produces a neat pocket-size (9 centimetres x 14 centimetres) notebook for the writing out of music. It has 192 pages of quality paper, each ready printed with eight staves. 

There is also a 'pocket' in the back that can be used to store business cards, for example.

Perfect, I thought, for making copies of the trickiest tunes and the ones easily forgotten because they are not often played, and also the tunes that have a Verse that is sometimes needed in addition to the more familiar Chorus.

So I bought three of these notebooks and have been filling them, to my great satisfaction. They are becoming - to me at least - little treasures.

Moleskine Pocket Music Book

I began by numbering the pages. I tried to keep the tunes roughly in alphabetical order, though I am also maintaining an Index which directs me to any tune at a moment's notice.

A typical 32-bar tune can usually be contained within one page. But for the longer tunes (with three parts, for example), I allow a couple of pages.

I shall also enjoy looking through the tunes and memorising some of them during bus journeys, of which I undertake plenty.

I think these little books will be extremely useful to me. Maybe I can recommend the idea to you too, if you don't already have something of the kind?

Post 561: JAPAN COMES TO NEW ORLEANS

Haruka Kikuchi, the great young Japanese trombonist who settled in New Orleans in 2014, has been busy both as a record producer and as a player in the last couple of years. She has produced a series (at present five 'volumes') of recordings under the general title 'JAPAN: NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION'.

What has happened is this: several of her Japanese jazzing colleagues have visited her in New Orleans over the past months and she has taken advantage of the opportunity to get them into a New Orleans recording studio, together with some of the local musicians, in order to record a few tunes.

By November 2017, she will have released the fifth Volume in this series.

I think this fifth volume could be the loveliest, to judge from the one sample track that I have so far been able to hear. Haruka uses just a quartet (see the photo above); and what a terrific team they are! Molly Reeves (guitar and vocals) and Joshua Gouzy (bass) are a super pair to provide the chords and rhythmic backing, as well as an occasional solo chorus. And Haruka herself, with the wonderful Makiko Tamura (currently considered by many of us one of the most talented and tasteful clarinet players in the world) produce delightful interplay in the 'front line'. The tune I have been able to hear is I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now, which is played through twice as a waltz before breaking into 4/4 time. Makiko takes the lead on the melody in the first chorus. This is such a beautiful and appealing performance, that I feel sure the other three tunes on the recording will be well worth hearing too. They are Give It Up, Burgundy Street Blues - wow, I bet Makiko will be brilliant on that - and Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor - which I know Molly has often sung beautifully.

I found the necessary information on all the above at:

https://harombone.bandcamp.com/album/japan-new-orleans-collection-series-vol-5

Also already available is Volume 4, in which Haruka uses a 6-piece combination which is most unusual in having no banjo or guitar or clarinet or trumpet or saxophone. What it offers is a feast for trombone enthusiasts, as the entire 'front line' comprises three trombonists! They are Shoichi Yamada and David L. Harris as well as Haruka herself. However, they do not get in each other's way, as you might expect. The music is well arranged and disciplined. It is quite something to hear Royal Garden Blues and When My Dreamboat Comes Home played by 'massed' trombones!

Post 559: TAKING TRADITIONAL JAZZ PLAYING SERIOUSLY - 'GRANDPA'S SPELLS'

When many bands decide to add a new tune to their repertoire, somebody beats it in, and off they go.

The results are often slapdash, with spur-of-the-moment arrangements, and everyone hoping for the best.

Of course it sometimes happens, where the musicians are very talented and listen well to each other, that the result is quite good.

But that great young band in New Orleans - Tuba Skinny - has shown us in the last few years how you need to approach the music more seriously if you are to achieve results that are truly outstanding.

There is nothing slapdash in their approach. When they tackle a new tune, they begin with a clear vision of what they want to achieve. They have a unity of purpose. Every individual is focused on the agreed arrangements. There is no room for compromise. Only the best will do.

A good illustration of this is their 2014 performance in Italy of Jelly Roll Morton's Grandpa's Spells. You can find it at https://vimeo.com/101422951. On the face of it, this is just a merry busking session in a public square.

Yet note the meticulous care that has been taken to present the tune. It is never muddled, despite its complexity. Everybody knows who is to do what, and when. There is no need for printed music on stands in front of the musicians, as we find with many bands playing such a tricky piece. Everybody has taken the trouble to learn what he must do.

Obviously, the band must have studied the original recording by Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers in detail, because they follow it closely.

The structure goes like this:

Both bands start in the key of C.

BOTH BANDS
INTRODUCTION
Four bars 'running up the ladder'

BOTH BANDS
THEME A
Featuring guitar breaks and then the cornet

BOTH BANDS
THEME B
Ensemble;
but with the break in bars 7 and 8 taken by the piano (Red Hot Peppers) and by the banjo (Tuba Skinny - not having a piano at the time)

THEME B second time
Clarinet leads throughout, including the break (Red Hot Peppers)
Clarinet leads but washboard takes the break (Tuba Skinny)

THEME B third time 
Trombone and string bass alternate the lead (Red Hot Peppers)
Trombone and Tuba alternate the lead (Tuba Skinny)

Without any need for a signal, there is then a seamless transition into the key of F (occurring at 1 minute 41 seconds into the Tuba Skinny video).

THEME C
BOTH BANDS
Melody (a firm statement stabbing out the notes of the chords) played by the cornet

THEME C second time
BOTH BANDS
Ensemble, featuring the clarinet on the flowing runs

THEME C third time
Taken as a piano solo (Red Hot Peppers) but as a Trombone solo (Tuba Skinny)

THEME C fourth time
Ensemble out-chorus (Red Hot Peppers)
Chorus led by Tuba (Tuba Skinny)

(The Red Hot Peppers version - under 3 minutes in total - ends at this point, but with a neat two-bar coda)

THEME C fifth time
Ensemble (Tuba Skinny - everyone swinging joyously)

THEME C sixth time
Ensemble (Tuba Skinny - again everyone swinging joyously). Simple end. No coda.

Note how nobody puts a foot wrong with the various two-bar breaks. Notice too how even Erika (whose main rôle is as vocalist) gets the bass drum beats exactly right - stopping at those moments when 'silent beats' are required. Notice how there is no need for signals from Shaye, though she gives the slightest indication (hardly required) at 2 minutes 35 seconds that Todd is leading the next chorus.

By the time when I videoed them playing the tune in Royal Street, New Orleans, three years later, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUICxSTjzPc), they had very slightly tweaked the arrangement, with minor alterations to the structures and playing of the breaks, for example. Have fun spotting the differences. They had added a Coda too.

Obviously, to get all that right, from memory, the members of the band have to put in plenty of hard work in the woodshed. Their dedication is an example to us all.

Post 558: THE CLASSIC MIDDLE EIGHT - MILTON AGER'S 'GLAD RAG DOLL'

Milton Ager, who lived from 1893 until 1979, was an important composer in the history of our music. He wrote dozens of well-known songs. Our bands still play Ain't She Sweet, I'm Nobody's Baby, Hard-Hearted Hannah, I Wonder What's Become of Sally, Big Bad Bill, and Happy Days are Here Again, to give just a few examples.

However, today I would like to highlight another of his tunes - Glad Rag Doll.

In its Chorus, Glad Rag Doll has a conventional Middle Eight, which offers a really good demonstration of the effectiveness of the 'Circle of Fifths'.

To begin with, the Middle Eight's first chord is III7 (for example E7th in the key of C). This happens in the Middle Eight of dozens of our tunes.

And over the eight bars, we find two bars on each of the 'Circle of Fifth' chords as we head towards the usual V7th.

To make clear what I am trying to explain, the result (in the key of C) is:

E7 | E7 | A7 | A7 | D7 | D7 | G7 | G7

How does it sound? Surprisingly effective, in this and a huge number of other tunes our bands play.

If you listen to this early Ted Lewis recording (CLICK ON HERE), you can sample the Middle Eight between 39 seconds and 52 seconds (where it is led by the trombone) and between 1 minute 40 seconds and 1 minute 51 seconds (with vocalist) and finally between 2 minutes 29 seconds and 2 minutes 41 seconds (led by the clarinet).

Post 557: HOW TO PLAY AND HOW NOT TO PLAY JAZZ - CHALK AND CHEESE

I watched and listened to two well-filmed YouTube performances by traditional jazz bands. While doing so, I jotted down my thoughts. They were:

Band A
Opaque sound, bottom-heavy; bland interpretation; succession of tedious 32-bar solo choruses; lethargic; tempo dragging; textures blurred; musicians looking bored; two players chatting to each other during another's solo chorus; not much sense of teamwork; lack of variety in the dynamics; clichés; signs of strain in the playing.

Band B
Plenty of drive; bustling energy, even in supporting teamwork; clear textures; well-judged tempo; meticulous attention to detail; delicacy of shading; superb ensembles and attack; varied dynamics.

There is such a wide range in the quality of traditional jazz to be seen on YouTube!

Which two bands were these? It would be invidious to name them. But I can tell you the first was a well-known elderly English band filmed at an English jazz club. The other was a band directed by a young lady on cornet, filmed in a New Orleans street.

Post 556: 'MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS' - A TUNE WORTH PLAYING

It struck me recently that a very good tune to play is Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis. Why?

First, it is a good melody but is rarely heard these days. With or without a vocal, it is a great tune to include in a programme.

Next, if you examine its structure - particularly the chord progression - you will find it is very simple, and therefore a good one for learners to master. And it trains you in so much that will be the basis for more difficult tunes as you progress in your studies.

For example, it is a 32-bar tune, with an AABA structure. You will discover that about 80% of all the traditional jazz tunes we play are based on such a structure.

The Middle Eight uses the chord progression:
III7  -  III7 - VI7  - VI7 - II7  - II7  - V7  - V7.

It is essential to become fluent in improvising over this progression because dozens of our tunes use it for the Middle Eight (sometimes with very slight variations).

The 'A' sections also use essential, basic chord progressions, all beginning with three bars on the tonic chord (I).

So beginners would do very well to practise improvising over this tune. It is an archetype for so much of the music you will have to learn to play in a traditional jazz band. If you can succeed with this tune, you are launched on your career as a jazzman.

I was surprised to discover that this song is well over 100 years old. It was composed in 1904. The music is by Kerry Mills, who also contributed such tunes as At a Georgia Camp Meeting, Whistling Rufus and Redwing to the repertoire that our bands still play. The words are by Andrew Sterling, who collaborated with several well-known composers over a number of years. (He also wrote the words for Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie, for example.)

In original performance, it had seven narrative verses (interesting in the context of their time), each followed by the Chorus. But generally it's best these days to forget the verses and work with the very fine Chorus. Here's my attempt to write it out. I hope this helps someone. By the way, it was originally composed - like several of the tunes we play - in waltz time (3/4) but it works very well as a typical jazz number in 4/4.

Finally, here, as a matter of interest, is how the beginning of the first verse looks in the original sheet music:

Post 555: MAKIKO TAMURA AND P TIME SELECTION - GREAT JAZZ FROM JAPAN

Just watch this video of young Japanese musicians playing High Society. Wouldn't you agree that they are emerging as one of the very best traditional jazz bands in the world? CLICK HERE TO VIEW.

I have written before about the very fine jazz being played in the Tokyo area by young Japanese musicians.

Well, there has appeared a batch of videos put up on YouTube by that very generous film-maker who calls himself ragtimecave. They show a band called P Time Selection and I must recommend them to you. To watch them playing Ballin' The Jack, CLICK HERE. And for Creole Love Call, CLICK HERE.

You can also see them playing at the Sumida Street Jazz Festival in Tokyo on 19 August 2017.

Unfortunately, the Jazz Festival was outdoors on  a breezy day,  so the sound quality is not quite perfect. But you can't help admiring the balance, the skills of the individual players, the fine improvisations, and the teamwork.

According to the video-maker, the musicians are Tamura Makiko (clarinet), Kitaura Yasuri (trumpet), Mauyama Tomomitu (banjo), Imaizumi Mari (keyboard), Arai Kentaro (bass) and Miwa Tomohiko (drums) and Watanabe Taiki (trombone).

Many of us have admired the wonderful playing of Tamura Makiko. And now here she is also in the rôle of leader. What a great band she has assembled! Her own playing throughout is a joy. You could start with their fine performance of Careless Love. CLICK HERE.

For a contrast of tempo, try this cracking performance of Weary Blues: CLICK HERE.

In the other P Time Selection videos, you will find such tunes as Panama and a very spirited version of Jesus on the Main Line. There is even Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans? with a very sweet vocal from Tamura.
=================
And now - in June 2018 - I have received the email below from Dag Ekholm in Sweden. I agree with what he says: Tamura Makiko's band has reached a sensational new level, probably as good as anything you will find anywhere. Watch their version of West End Blues, filmed on 19 May 2018, by the excellent Ragtimecave: CLICK HERE.

The musicians, we are told, are:
Tamura Makiko, clarinet
Kanno Atushi, trumpet
Watanabe Taiki, trombone
Imaizumi Mari, piano
Arai Kentaro, bass
Miwa Tomohiko, drums
Maruyama Tomomitu, banjo

Dag's email:

I have long considered Makiko Tamura one of the best New Orleans jazz clarinetists in the world today. I am also a great fan of her band, P-Time Selection, an excellent band with all very talented and skilled musicians, in my opinion.

There were several wonderful recordings of P-Time Selection last year, 2017, e.g. Feb 17, May 20, Aug 19 and Sep 18, as you have also mentioned in your blog.

Makiko made only three videos (and a few audios) during her visit to New Orleans in Oct 2017, all of them fantastic, one with Shotgun Jazz Band. Then she recorded a wonderful and highly inspired ”Tamura Makiko session” in November with a smaller group

But after that not so much happened during the winter – there were a few sessions with PTS which I find good but slightly less interesting. So I began to wonder if they were losing momentum.

But then it explodes with the session May 19, recently. I was completely stunned and speechless. It is so excellent!! I think it is a breakthrough, that the band has taken a leap to a completely new level.

I am no musician, only a listener and fan of N.O. music, and I can not analyze it. But I hear the new sound, the brilliant ensemble play and inspired solos by all of the members. The trumpet player is new and very skilled. Mari on piano is better than ever before. Furthermore they seem very happy. It really sounds as something new and great.

Post 554: THE MAGIC OF THE SONG 'YEARNING' BY JOSEPH BURKE AND BENNY DAVIS

We had just finished playing Yearning - the 1924 tune by Joseph Burke and Benny Davis. My good friend Al Harris, the string bass player, said: 'I love that tune. There's something really gorgeous about the Middle Eight.'

How right Al was! The tune is a standard aaba in structure. The 'a' sections are simple, catchy and, of course, repetitive. But that 'b' section - the middle eight - really does take the breath away. Quite apart from its emotional melody, can you think of any other middle eight in which the central four bars are based on the VII⁷ chord? The only one I can think of is Am I Blue?

This very unusual Middle Eight is:

III^m     III^m    VII⁷   VII⁷   VII⁷   VII⁷   III^m   V⁷

Lasse Collin, the great benefactor of jazz musicians the world over, has produced on his website [ http://cjam.lassecollin.se/ ] this excellent lead-sheet of the song. We must be grateful that Lasse includes even the Verse, which is all too rarely played:

You can hear a lovely relaxed performance of this tune played in 1961 by the great Jim Robinson band, including Slow Drag and George Guesnon, by CLICKING HERE.

Or, for a fine performance by one of the best bands in the world today, go to 27 minutes 18 seconds into this video. Better still, sit back and enjoy the entire video. It is one of the finest traditional jazz concerts of recent years: CLICK ON HERE TO WATCH IT.

Post 553: THE THREE-CHORD TRICK

Everyone who is learning to play jazz should know about 'the three-chord trick'.

What are the three chords? They are the tonic, the dominant seventh and the sub-dominant – the very three chords beginners need to learn first. They are almost certainly the chords you will most frequently use in your career.

It is possible to accompany some songs – particularly blues, folk tunes and spirituals – by using only the three chords. Of course, this is sometimes just a lazy way of keeping things simple. You blank out any subtle and transitional chords and stick with the three easiest chords. But the truth is that most members of your audience will hardly notice.

So in the Key of C, they would be
C (Major)

G (7th)

F (major)

A very basic 12-bar blues might well follow this pattern:

   C | C | C | C | F | F | C | C | G7 | G7 | C | C 

That pattern started with the Blues of the Deep South and eventually became the basis of rock’n’roll.

Here’s an example of the three-chord trick applied to a complete tune. This is Stephen Foster’s Way Down Upon the Swanee River: 

One of the most exciting tunes that requires only three chords is Dallas Rag. It is amazing to find what a great band such as Tuba Skinny can do with simple three-chord material. Click on this video to see what I mean:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbQaZWVS3lY

And here is 'Sing On', composed and recorded in the 1920s by the great New Orleans band leader Sam Morgan. It can be played perfectly well using only three chords. In the key of G, they are of course G, D7th and C.

And here's one from the wonderful website provided for us all by Lasse Collin:

Other examples of tunes that can be satisfactorily played with only three chords include Pass Me Not O Gentle Saviour,  Mama Inez, Nearer My God to Thee, the old Mississippi gospel number Mary Wore a Golden Chain and Take My Hand, Precious Lord.