Black and Tan Fantasy - Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley.

Question 1

What is the context/background of the Black and Tan Fantasy?

Answer 1

Jungle style jazz.
Ironic - minor chords.
Trumpet solo - Bubber Miley.
Recorded several times in 1927.
Cotton Club.
Funeral quotation - pessimism.

Question 2

What is the instrumentation of the Black and Tan Fantasy?

Answer 2

Piano.
2 trumpets.
Trombone.
3 saxophones.
Banjo.
Bass.
Drums.
Pitch bending - 7.
Glissando - 33.

Question 3

What features of ‘jungle style’ appear in the Black and Tan Fantasy? 3

Answer 3

Very heavy drum.
Low saxophone textures.
‘Growl’ of Bubber Miley and plunger mute.

Question 4

What is the texture of the Black and Tan Fantasy? 4

Answer 4

1. The opening/closing sections: trumpet/trombone in parallel sixths.
2. Low saxophone sustained chords - interlude/84.
3. Choruses 1, 2, 5 and 6 - melody dominated homophonic.
4. Chorus 4 piano - ‘stride’ style of accompaniment.

Question 5

What is the structure of the Black and Tan Fantasy?

Answer 5

Chorus 1 (head/introduction) 1-12.
(Head - 12 bar blues).
16 bar interlude - alto saxophone: 13.
Choruses 2 and 3 - trumpet solo: 29.
Chorus 4 - piano solo: 53.
Chorus 5 - trombone solo: 65.
Chorus 6 - Miley trumpet solo - incomplete: 77.
Coda  - Chopin's Funeral March: 87.

Question 6

What is the tonality of the Black and Tan Fantasy? 2 keys

Answer 6

Starts and ends - Bb minor.
Parallel key Bb major: 37-87 (coda).
Major/minor tonality.

Question 7

What is the harmony of the Black and Tan Fantasy? 13

Answer 7

1. 12 bar blues sequence.
2. Head - diatonic/functional - pitch bends: 7.
3. Chromaticism.
4. 7th chords, secondary dominant chords.
5. Substitution chords 37.
6. Circle of 5ths - 19.
7. German augmented 6th chord - 21.
8. Parallel harmonic movement - 27.
9. Coda - repeated plagal cadences.
10. Ghost note - 48.
11. Whole tone scale - 13.

Question 8

What is the melody of the Black and Tan Fantasy? 9

Answer 8

1. Head - based on ballad ‘The Holy City’.
   Augmented rhythm/minor tonality - ironic.
2. Saxophone interlude melody - more optimistic, (major), with whole tone scale - 13.
3. Chromaticism - 25.
4. First trumpet solo uses ‘clash’ notes.
   • ‘Blue’ minor 3rds/sevenths -33.
   • Diminished 5th - 41.
   • 2 octave range.
5. Piano solo - mostly diatonic.
6. Trombone solo - high/small range - 10th.
7. Trombone horse ‘whinny’ - 72.
   8 Second trumpet solo - restricted range, trills, repeated notes/repetitions of small cells, some
   rhythmically displaced.
8. Coda - Chopin’s ‘Funeral March’ - pessimistic.

Question 9

What is the rhythm/metre of the Black and Tan Fantasy? 8

Answer 9

1. Quadruple time throughout.
2. Steady swing tempo.
3. Head - crotchet accented chords.
4. Triplet crotchets.
5. Syncopation - 14.
6. Swing rhythm.
7. Straight quavers - 45.
8. Straight coda - seriousness.