Woody Shaw: Development of Style in Three Three Versions of “The Moontrane. Moontrane.” Dr. Keith T. Karns
A Paper Presented at the 2017 Jazz Education Network Conference New Orleans, Orleans, LA January, 2017 Notes and Solo Transcriptions. This is an adaptation of my dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas, completed in May of 2016. For a complete copy of this research visit: http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc849774/?q=Keith%20Karns
Woody Shaw Woody Shaw was a highly influential postbop trumpet player. He was active from the mid 1960s through the late 1980s. In the 1960s and early 1970s Shaw worked and recorded with many of the top names in jazz including Eric Dolphy, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, and Chick Corea. In the mid 1970s Shaw became active as a leader, co-leading a quintet with Louis Hayes. Later, Shaw would take over the sole leadership role of this group. Shaw was active until 1987 when health problems brought his career career to an an end. Shaw Shaw died of of complications complications from a tragic subway subway accident accident in 1989. 1989. 1
Shaw was known for his virtuosic approach to the trumpet. This included a mastery of technique, exploration of intervallic improvisation — particularly intervals of perfect fourths fourths and fifths fifths — as as well as his fiery tone. He was also an accomplished composer and many of his iconic solos come from recordings of his own compositions. compositions. Free Jazz The term free jazz refers to the collection collection of free improvisation styles in vogue in the 1960s and 1970s. There are examples of music that can be classified as free dating back as early as the 1940s —Lennie Tristano’s “Intuition” “Intuition” comes comes to mind— mind— however, however, it is typically agreed upon that Ornette Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) and C hange of the Century (1960) are among the first free jazz recordings. Many writers use the term ‘free jazz’ and ‘avant -garde’ interchangeably. For the sake of clarity I use ‘free jazz’ exclusively in this discussion.
Free jazz is unique from conventional jazz styles in that it does not necessarily rely on tonal harmony, conventional metric structures or conventional performance practices, formal structures, or conventional ensemble roles. 2 At its core, free jazz is a collection of highly personal styles. Describing these styles collectively can be at times problematic. For our purposes one of the best descriptions comes from Keith Waters. Waters visualizes free jazz as a spectrum where performers can move from conservative styles (hard bop) to freer styles (free jazz) by preserving or abandoning the musical elements of meter, hypermeter, pulse, harmonic progression, and harmonic rhythm. The more musical elements that are abandoned the more free a performance becomes. Waters identifies the body music that falls in between hard bop and free jazz styles as postbop. 3
1
Barry Kernfeld. “Shaw, Woody.” The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz , 2nd ed.. Grove Music Online. Online .Oxford Music Online. Online. Oxford University Press, accessed December 28, 2015, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/J405600. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/J405600. 2 David Borgo. "Free jazz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed February 22, 2016,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2256589. 3 Keith Waters, The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 80
Postbop There were many artists active in postbop in the mid 1960s. Miles Davis ’s Second ’s Second Great Quintet was among the first groups to pioneer this style. What is important about the Second Quintet in relation to Woody Shaw is that they incorporated elements of free jazz with elements of hard bop. Davis and company would abandon specific pre-existing musical elements (meter, hypermeter, pulse, harmonic harmonic rhythm, rhythm, harmonic progression) in order to move move hard bop performance toward a 4 freer style. This conception of postbop is useful for considering not only Davis’ contributions, but the work of other postbop postbop performers performers as well. well. Differences Between Miles Davis and Woody Shaw In the music of the Second Quintet, entire solos abandon various musical elements. In these instances, free jazz techniques are a common presence throughout a solo or an entire tune. By contrast, free jazz elements in Shaw’s music are short and episodic— rarely episodic— rarely longer than four measures. This creates a constant contrast between passages that reinforce pre-existing musical elements and passages that challenge pre-existing musical elements.
Perhaps the most important difference between Shaw and Davis is how the group interacts during free episodes. One might think that an episode that “abandons” a musical element implies that the passage is totally free and not not governed governed by an underlying underlying structure. structure. This is is not the case in regard to most Woody Shaw solos. In these solos, episodes that challenge allegiance to various musical hierarchies hierarchies do so through the superimposition superimposition of new musical structures structures on top of pre-existing ones. This can be best heard when considering the role of the rhythm section — section — specifically specifically the piano — in both groups. In the Second Quintet, a common practice for pianist Herbie Hancock was to play little or no harmony, particularly during sections where the group abandoned pre-existing harmonic progression. This accompaniment tactic is not a feature in Shaw’s music. Indeed, episodes of of free jazz in Shaw’s solos depend on the dissonance created by superimposed lines, and so must rely on a highly active accompaniment, particularly in regard to the piano and bass. Harmonic Sequences on “The Moontrane” Harmonic sequences are an important part important part of Shaw’s Shaw’s compositional compositional style. style. Interestingly, Interestingly, episodes of free jazz that challenge harmonic progression typically occur over harmonic sequences.
All of the important harmonic sequences on “The Moontrane” are nonfunctional. Below is a list of these sequences. Circle of Fourths Sequence. A section, mm. 5-6 (1966 only)5 C6/9 Fmaj7 | Bb6/9 Ebmaj7 | Dmaj13+11 | Nonfunctional Sequence 1. A section, mm. 5-6 (1973 and later)6 C-7 D-7 | Eb-7 F-7 | Dmaj13+11 | Nonfunctional Sequence 2. Bridge, mm. 21-24 G-7 F-7 | Bb-7 Ab-7 | C#-7 B-7 | % |
4
Keith Waters, The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 80. The Circle of Fourths Sequence is found only on t he 1966 version of “The Moontrane” from Unity. All other versi ons of “The Moontrane” feature the published chord progression. 6 After 1966. Nonfunctional Sequence 1 replaced the C ircle of Fourths Sequence on “The Moontrane.” The earliest example of this can be heard in 1973 on the Woody Shaw’s Live Shaw’s Live at Montreux performance with performance with Bobby Hutcherson. 5
Bimodal Superimposition Using a scale or mode not typically associated with a particular chord. chord. Shaw’s primary examples of Bimodal Superimposition utilize the major pentatonic scale, however there are instances in his early and late periods wh ere Shaw superimposes the dominant bebop scale over modal sections.
This technique is representative of Shaw’s unconventional modal approach. Shaw used this technique alongside conventional modal approaches throughout his career, however by the 1980s Shaw favored conventional modal approaches to modal superimposition. Woody Shaw’s use of Bimodal Superimposition on the A sections to “The Moontrane” Unity (1966)
Nonharmonic Pentatonic Pairs This term refers to two pentatonic scales used to create intervallic lines that move “in and out” of a harmonic sequence. Woody Shaw used this technique on harmonic sequences throughout the beginning and middle part of his career. Shaw preferred pentatonic pairs that shared no common tones, therefore were u sually a half step apart (although on occasion Shaw used pairs a tritone apart). These pairs were typically based on b7 and ♮ 7 of the chord of resolution. Nonharmonic Pentatonic Pairs and Intervallic Sequencing on three versions of “The Moontrane”.
Intervallic Sequencing This technique superimposes a motif based on a specific interval — — usually usually a perfect fourth or fifth — over over a harmonic sequence. The motif is typically transposed across a sequence that does not reinforce the original sequence of the tune. The lines created using this technique are very similar to Nonharmonic Pe ntatonic Pairs. This approach begins to appear in Shaw’s playing in the 1970s. It is quite common in Shaw’s S haw’s playing in the 1980s. Intervallic Intervallic Sequencing on “The Moontrane” from The Eternal Triangle
Scale Superimposition A single scale or mode superimposed over a harmonic sequence. Like Nonharmonic Pentatonic Scales and Intervallic Sequencing, this technique can creates phrases that move “in and out” of a harmonic sequence, but are often less dissonant than Nonharmonic Pentatonic Pairs or Intervallic Sequencing. It is difficult to predict what scale Shaw uses in these episodes. The primary common factor in all instances of this technique is that each scale contains at least one common tone with the first chord of the sequence. This technique is an artifact of Shaw’s approach in the 1980s. Scale Su perimpositio perimposition n on “The Moontrane” From The Eternal Triangle (1987)
Selected Recordings7 Horace Silver – Silver – Cape Cape Verdean Blues (1965) Blues (1965) Larry Young – Young – Unity Unity (1966) (1966) Woody Shaw – Shaw – Song Song of Songs (1973) Songs (1973) Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – Messengers – Anthenagin (1973) Anthenagin (1973) Woody Shaw – Shaw – The The Moontrane (1975) Moontrane (1975) Dexter Gordon – Gordon – Homecoming Homecoming (1977) (1977) Woody Shaw – Shaw – Stepping Stepping Stones: Live at the Village Vanguard (1978) (1978) Woody Shaw – Shaw – Little Little Red’s Red’s Fantasy Fantasy (1978) Woody Shaw – Shaw – Rosewood Rosewood (1978) (1978) Woody Shaw – Shaw – Setting Setting Standards (1984) Standards (1984) Freddie Hubbard/Woody Shaw – Shaw – Double Double Take Take (1986) Freddie Hubbard/Woody Shaw – Shaw – The The Eternal Triangle (1987) Triangle (1987)
Acknowledgements I am greatly indebted to Mr. Mike Steinel and Dr. John Murphy for their patience, assistance and advice in this project. It has be en through their guidance that I was able to focus my research and complete this study. I would also like to thank Mr. Tony Ton y Baker, Ms. Jan Kagarice, and Dr. Vern Kagarice Ka garice for their assistance in my studies. I am especially grateful to my wife Courtney Karns, my son Jack Karns and the rest of my family for the love and support I received throu ghout this research and all of my studies. stud ies.
This is a list of recordings representative of Shaw’s style as well as important moments in his c areer. It is not a comprehensive discography of Shaw’s recorded Shaw’s recorded output.
7
