All Blues, from Kind of Blue

Question 1

Melody

Answer 1

• Melody section - trumpet and saxes
• Intro - saxes play riff B in thirds
• Head - Trumpet, muted and supported by saxes has 12 bar theme
• Solos - based on scales/modes with overall key signature, made up of riffs and repeated themes

Question 2

Harmony

Answer 2

• Improvise on scales/modes with 12 bar blues chord pattern underneath
• Part of the pattern contains an augmented 9th
• Bars 9+10 contain altered chords (extra notes added), a jazz feature

Question 3

Tonality

Answer 3

• G major - modal jazz
• Melodies based around scales/modes, improv is free
• Davis improvises on G mixolydian mode

Question 4

Structure

Answer 4

• Repeated 12 bar blues in G under solos and heads/riffs

* Intro, head, four solos, head, coda (fades out).

Question 5

Instrumentation/Timbre

Answer 5

• Melody section - Trumpet (Miles Davis), alto sax (Cannonball Adderley), tenor sax (John Coltrane)
• Rhythm section - Piano (Bill Evans), bass (Paul Chambers), drums (Jimmy Cobb)

Question 6

Texture

Answer 6

• Typical jazz - made up of riffs
• Riff A - double bass
• Riff B - saxes in thirds, piano in solos
• Riff C - trumpet in outro
• Simple - wind instruments play in thirds and fourths, piano and bass have simple riffs and chords, drums keep a steady beat

Question 7

Rhythm

Answer 7

• Swung and syncopated with polyrhythms

* 6/4 - compound metre

Question 8

Tempo

Answer 8

• ‘Jazz waltz’ - moderate pace
• Crotchets quite fast but the bars feel split into two dotted minims so it feels steady and laid back
• Kept by drums throughout

Question 9

Mood

Answer 9

• Major sounding
• Relaxed, calm, lyrical
• Improvisations sound free and light

Question 10

Dynamics

Answer 10

• Varied but mainly p and mf, always subdued
• Diminuendo in head 4
• Fade out ending