It is also known for the solo by jazz drummer Joe Morello. Blue Rondo à la Turk. •
Blue Rondo à la Turk starts in 9/8 (the rhythm of the Turkish zeybek, equivalent ...
Lecture 20 Odd Time Signatures Dave Brubeck (b. 1920) • • •
Born David Warren Brubeck on December 6, 1920 in Concord, California Brubeck is a pianist and composer generally regarded as a genius in his field Brubeck’s style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother’s attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills
Early Years •
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Brubeck was not particularly interested in learning by any particular method, but preferred to create his own melodies and therefore avoided learning to read sheet music In college, Brubeck was nearly expelled when one of his professors discovered that he could not read sheet music Several of his professors came forward arguing for his ability with counterpoint and harmony, but the school was still afraid that it would cause a scandal, and only agreed to let Brubeck graduate once he promised never to teach piano After serving in the army under General Patton, Brubeck returned to college to study under Darius Mihaud who encouraged him to study fugue and orchestration but not classical piano
The Dave Brubeck Quartet •
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Following a near-fatal swimming accident which incapacitated him for several months, Brubeck organized The Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1951, with Paul Desmond on saxophone The quartet took up a long residency at San Francisco’s Black Hawk nightclub They gained great popularity touring college campuses, recording a series of albums with such titles as Jazz at Oberlin, Jazz Goes to College and Jazz Goes to Junior College In 1954 he was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, the second jazz musician to be so honored
Time Out • • •
In 1959, the Dave Brubeck Quartet released Time Out, an album their label was enthusiastic about but nonetheless hesitant to release The album contained all original compositions, almost none of which were in common time Although the album was intended as an experiment and received negative reviews by critics upon its release, it became one of the best-known and biggest-selling jazz albums
Take Five •
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Take Five is a classic jazz piece first recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet and released on its 1959 album Time Out, although the single itself was released two years later Composed by Paul Desmond, the group’s saxophonist, it became famous for its distinctive, catchy saxophone melody and use of quintuple time, from which the piece got its name While Take Five was not the first jazz composition to use this meter, it was the first of United States mainstream significance, becoming a hit on the radio at a time when rock music was in fashion It is also known for the solo by jazz drummer Joe Morello
Blue Rondo à la Turk • •
Blue Rondo à la Turk starts in 9/8 (the rhythm of the Turkish zeybek, equivalent of the Greek zeibekiko), but alternates with 4/4 Personnel – Dave Brubeck (piano) – Paul Desmond (alto saxophone) – Eugene Wright (bass) – Joe Morello (drums)
The Sequels •
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The quartet followed up the success of Time Out with several more albums in the same vein, including Time Further Out (1961), Time in Outer Space, and Time Changes These albums were also known for using contemporary paintings as cover art, featuring the work of Neil Fujita on Time Out, Joan Miró on Time Further Out, Franz Kline on Time in Outer Space, and Sam Francis on Time Changes A high point for the group was their classic 1963 live album At Carnegie Hall
Brubeck Today •
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Today, Brubeck continues to write new works, including orchestrations and ballet scores, and tours about 80 cities each year, up to recently about 20 of them in Europe in autumn From his 85th birthday his European appearances will be limited His area of focus is the US, where he still premieres new works, like the Cannery Row Suite, a jazz opera drawn from the characters in John Steinbeck’s American classic writing about Monterey’s roots as a sardine fishing and packing town
Take Ten • • •
Take Ten is another excursion into 5/4 or 10/8, whichever you prefer Since writing Take Five, a number of other possibilities in meters of 5 and 10 had come to mind, and Desmond decided to explore another Personnel included Gabor Szabo (guitar) and Jack DeJohnette (drums)
Don Ellis (1934 – 1978) • • •
Born July 25, 1934 in Los Angeles He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of unusual time signatures He later worked as a film composer, contributing a score to 1971’s The French Connection
Early Career • • • • • •
Ellis’ first job was with the Glenn Miller band In September 1956, he joined the Seventh Army Symphony and Soldiers’ Show Company In the Army band, Ellis met pianist Cedar Walton, and saxophonists Eddie Harris and Don Menza It was also in this band that Ellis got his first opportunity to write for a big band Ellis became involved in the New York City avant-garde jazz scene He appeared on albums by Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, and George Russell, belonging to the Russell’s sextet for two years
New Rhythms • • •
In 1964, Ellis began graduate studies in ethnomusicology at UCLA where he studied with Indian musician Hari Har Rao Greatly inspired by Rao, Ellis sought to implement odd meters in a Western improvised context Along with Rao, he co-authored an article in 1965 called An Introduction to Indian Music for the Jazz Musician
The Don Ellis Orchestra • •
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Ellis wrote arrangements for and rehearsed what would grow into the Don Ellis Orchestra This rehearsal band played every Monday night for almost a year, first at a venue called Club Havana and later relocating to a club called Bonesville in Hollywood, where they began to gain a significant following The group started making money by charging a small admission fee to the rehearsals
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The Don Ellis Orchestra was different from most other big bands in several ways, specifically in its instrumentation and in Ellis’ incorporation of Indian musical elements into modern big-band writing Drawing from his compositional and arranging experience as well as from his studies of Indian music, Ellis began to write jazz-based music with the time signatures he had studied with Rao
Instrumentation •
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Inspired by his experiences with Latin bands, Ellis expanded his rhythm section to two drum sets, three double-basses, at least two auxiliary percussionists, piano, and organ His horn sections were often fairly typical, although he later added a tuba and French horn to augment the brass section, and sometimes had the saxophonists double on instruments like flute, oboe, clarinet and saxello Ellis also had a customized trumpet made for him by the Holton company, which had an additional valve which enabled his trumpet to produce quarter tones In 1971 for the Tears of Joy tour, Ellis added a string quartet to his band
‘Live’ at Monterey • • • •
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The group began a letter writing campaign to get the band a spot at the 1966 Monterey Jazz Festival The campaign eventually succeeded, and the band was scheduled to perform that September All of the unusual elements of the Orchestra combined to create a musical experience unlike anything the Monterey audience had ever seen The Orchestra received thunderous applause and a standing ovation at the conclusion of their first tune, titled 33 222 1 222 in accordance with its subdivision of 19 The band went on to play tunes in 7, 9 and 27, as well as a couple in more standard meters
33 222 1 222 • •
Recorded live on September 18, 1966 Personnel – Don Ellis, Glenn Stuart, Alan Weight, Ed Warren, Paul Lopez (trumpet) – Dave Wells, Ron Meyers, Terry Woodson (trombones) – Ruben Leon, Tom Scott, Ira Schulman, Ron Star, John Magruder (saxophones) – Dave Mackay (piano & organ) – Ray Neapolitan, Chuck Domanico, Frank de la Rosa (bass) – Steve Bohannon, Alan Estes (drums) – Chino Valdes (congas & bongos)
Beat Me Daddy, 7 to the Bar • • •
A boogie-woogie in 7/8 Recorded live in 1966 at the Monterey Jazz Festival This recording was previously unreleased
The Aftermath •
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Following their successful breakthrough performance, the band performed at the Pacific Jazz Festival in October 1966 and at Shelly’s Manne Hole in March 1967, releasing segments of each on 1967’s Live in 3 2/3 4 Time Around this time, Columbia Records producer and A&R man John Hammond sought to recruit the band for the label The band was signed, and by September 1967, they were in the studio in September to record Electric Bath which was released the following year to wide acclaim
Later Years • • • • •
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Ellis was approached by film director William Friedkin to compose the music to his film The French Connection Ellis accepted the project and wrote the music to be performed by his own Orchestra Ellis later won a Grammy for this project (Best Instrumental Arrangement) Ellis started having health problems, feeling out of breath after walking up a single flight of stairs He checked himself into a hospital in New York City where a doctor diagnosed him with mitrol-stenosis, a condition which (ironically) caused his heart beat in very odd rhythms On December 17th, 1978, Ellis suffered a fatal heart attack at the home of his mother and father
Indian Lady • • •
Recorded in 1967 A bluesy tune in 5 Personnel – Don Ellis, Glenn Stuart, Alan Wright, Ed Warren & Bob Harmon (trumpets) – Ron Myers, Dave Sanchez & Terry Woodson (trombones) – Ruben Leon, Joe Roccisano, Ira Shulman, Ron Star, John Magruder (saxophones & woodwinds) – Mike Lang (Fender rhodes) – Ray Neapolitan, Frank de la Rosa, Dave Parlato (bass) – Steve Bohannon (drums) – Chino Valdes, Mark Stevens, Alan Estes (percussion)
Sources • History and Tradition of Jazz by Thomas E. Larson • Jazz for Dummies by Dirk Sutro • Jazz a film by Ken Burns • http://en.wikipedia.org
Discography 1. “Whiplash” by The Don Ellis Orchestra from the album Soaring MPS 2. “Take Five” by The Dave Brubeck Quartet from the album Time Out Columbia Records CK 65122 3. “Blue Rondo a la Turk” by The Dave Brubeck Quartet from the album Time Out Columbia Records CK 65122 4. “Take Ten” by Paul Desmond from the album Skylark CTI Records 5. “33 222 1 222” by The Don Ellis Orchestra from the album ‘Live’ at Monterey! Pacific Jazz CDP7243 4 94768 2 0 6. “Beat Me Daddy, 7 to the Bar” by The Don Ellis Orchestra from the album ‘Live’ at Monterey! Pacific Jazz CDP 7243 4 94768 2 0 7. “Indian Lady” by The Don Ellis Orchestra from the album Electric Bath GNP Crescendo Records GNPD 2223
