This is a series of responses to various jazz pieces. IN each one, the role portrayed by the drum, horn, bass, and piano is explained. Also, one solo from each piece is highlighted and explored further. Finally there is an emotional response to both the four individual pieces and then the concert as a whole cohesive unit.
¶ … Listening
"Blues After Dark."
Belgium 1958 ~ Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Sonny Stitt (tenor and alto sax), Lou Levy (piano), Ray Brown (bass), and Gus Johnson (drums)
Style of the Piece: Jazz blues (Early Jazz)
Role(s) of piano: The piano is heard in the background, against the horn. The piano player Lou Levy has a solo towards the end of the song but it is brief.
Role(s) of bass: The bass provides a deep sound to counter the loud horns and intermittent piano sound.
Role(s) of drums (including sticks or brushes or mallets): The drum is barely audible, seeming present to serve the rhythm more than anything. He uses sticks on both the drum and cymbals.
Role(s) of horn players: The horn player is the first sound that is heard in the piece and is the most audible. Gillespie uses a mute on his horn for this piece.
In Greater Detail:
For your selected solo within this song:
Identify the Solo: The solo is performed by Dizzy Gillespie from about the 2-minute mark to the 4. He is playing the horn.
How did the solo progress from beginning to end?
The solo begins soft and then builds to a crescendo, slowly becoming louder and more profound until the horn speaks alone among the many instruments.
Was the solo successful? Why or why not?
The solo was extremely successful because it drew attention to Gillespie and seemed to drown out the other players.
What was your emotional response to it?
While listening to the piece, it seemed that at first the horn player was trying to find a voice, representing someone who was not heard in society. Then as he got louder it was like he was forcing people to hear him. It was very powerful to me.
2. "On the Sunny Side of the Street."
Belgium 1958 ~ Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Sonny Stitt (tenor and alto sax), Lou Levy (piano), Ray Brown (bass), and Gus Johnson (drums)
Style(s) of the piece: Up tempo jazz (Swing Era)
Role(s) of piano: Bass and piano work together to provide the basic song melody during the saxophone solo. During the horn solo, the piano is even more audible.
Role(s) of bass: Bass and piano work together to provide the basic song melody during the saxophone solo.
Role(s) of drums (including sticks or brushes or mallets): The job of the drummer is in keeping the rhythm with sticks; sounds almost like a soft-shoe tap dancer. Symbols pick up during saxophone solo to provide counterpoint.
Role(s) of horn players: Gillespie plays with a mute on his horn. The horns are the most prominent part of the ensemble, serving to replace the vocals for much of the piece. The sax and horn actually seem to be talking to one another as if they are having a discussion through music. Towards the end of the song, Gillespie sings but it is atonal and not entirely pleasant, making the audience desire him to return to the horn.
In Greater Detail:
For your selected solo within this song:
Identify the Solo: Saxophone solo by Sonny Stitt
How did the solo progress from beginning to end?
Starts of strong, continues with long runs which repeat from high notes to lower ones.
Was the solo successful? Why or why not?
The solo was less successful because it took away from the strong melody of the piece.
What was your emotional response to it?
Whereas the rest of the song has a sort of melancholy cheerfulness to it, the solo is sad and somber making it seem disconnected to the rest of the piece.
3. "Lover Man"
Belgium 1958 ~ Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Sonny Stitt (tenor and alto sax), Lou Levy (piano), Ray Brown (bass), and Gus Johnson (drums)
Style(s) of the piece: Blues or torch song (Ballad)
Role(s) of piano: Piano serves as keeping tempo and tune for headliner instruments.
Role(s) of bass: The bass serves to provide a deep baseline, keeping the overall sound downbeat and somber.
Role(s) of drums (including sticks or brushes or mallets): Use of brushes at beginning creates a very light sound as the sax plays.
Role(s) of horn players: The alto saxophone is the primary instrument in this piece. Much of the time, the other players are not even touching their instruments in fact.
In Greater Detail:
For your selected solo within this song:
Identify the Solo: Saxophone played by Sonny Stitt
How did the solo progress from beginning to end?
The solo begins the song with a downbeat, torch song sound to it, picking up tempo to the point where it is a series of runs before the song ends.
Was the solo successful? Why or why not?
The solo was not successful because it took up the entirety of the song and did not allow for the real emotion to carry through, although it was successful at the start of the song.
What was your emotional response to it?
The beginning of the song was emotional in that it carried a deep, depressing sound to it. It seemed that the player was missing someone or lacking something but then when the sax player continued into his runs, that feeling of sadness disappeared into a complex series of notes which confused the emotion.
4. "Blues Walk"
Belgium 1958 ~ Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Sonny Stitt (tenor and alto sax), Lou Levy (piano), Ray Brown (bass), and Gus Johnson (drums)
Style(s) of the piece: blues; upbeat jazz (Afro-Cuban Jazz)
Role(s) of piano: It is hard to make out the piano amid the other more powerful sounds, indicating that its function is to create a rainbow of musical textures until the point of his own solo.
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