'How High The Moon' - Hamilton/Lewis

Question 1

Who was Ella Fitzgerald?

Answer 1

• Ella Fitzgerald (also known as the ‘First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz and Lady Ella’), was an American jazz vocalist. With a vocal range spanning three octaves and was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a ‘horn-like’ improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.
• Over the course of her 59-year recording career, she was the winner of 13 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush.

Question 2

Background to the Composition and Most Notable Recordings

Answer 2

• ‘How High the Moon’ is a Jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue ‘Two for the Show’. The musical would run at the Booth Theatre for 124 performances.
• In 1947, Ella Fitzgerald was offered a performance with Dizzy Gillespie’s all-star big band going from a straightforward reading of the song to some playful alterations of the lyrics and a scat solo.

Question 3

1947 Recording personnel

Answer 3

Leonard Graham (trumpet), Illinois Jacquette (tenor saxophone), Hank Jones (piano), Hi White (guitar), Ray Brown, John Simmons (bass) and J. C. Heard (drums). I

Question 4

The Music - Form

Answer 4

A-B1-A-B2 or ABAB: similar in structure to binary or modified binary.

Question 5

Tonality

Answer 5

F major (the original is in G major)

Question 6

Harmonic progression

Answer 6

The progression is made up of many instances of ii7 - V7 - 1 covering three main key centres. In this F major version, the keys are F major, Eb major and Db major. The harmonic progression follows a pattern where the I chord becomes the ii chord of the key a tone below. F major turns into F minor which is chord ii of Eb major a tone below.

Question 7

Melody

Answer 7

• The melody features a three-note/beat anacrusis which is present throughout the composition.
• The A sections use a 5 - 1 - 2 - 3 patterns for their anacrusis.
• Guide tones are used throughout the composition in that each phrase ends on a 3rd or a 7th and many of the notes chosen for the melody are in fact 3rds and 7ths.

Question 8

‘Ella Solo’ from the 1947 recording

Answer 8

Bar 1-8 : This is a four bar phrase that is a repetition and sequence.

Bar 9-10 : This is a classic Bebop syncopated phrase.

Bar 20-21 : Clever use of chromatics and an echo of the phrase in bar 10.

Bar 22 : First beat and a half is a surrounding technique.

Bar 24 : This is another classic bebop phrase.

Bar 26-27 : This is another echo/semi-repetiiton from bars 10 and 21.

Bar 34-61 : Ella Quotes ‘ornithology’ which is a contract of this composition. This is also a characteristic of Bebop improvisation where soloists quote other tunes to show their knowledge and quick musical wit.

In the last chorus Ella also quotes a Duke Ellington tune ‘Rockin in Rhythm’. This shows her understanding of not just Bebop compositions but also the history of jazz.

Question 9

Significance of the designated work

Answer 9

• This set work very importantly represents Bebop vocal jazz and perhaps the greatest exponent of scat singing, Ella Fitzgerald.
• It demonstrates the influence bebop saxophone and trumpet players had on vocalists of the time who were performing in the Bebop era.
• This set work demonstrates the idea of a contract very well in that ‘How High the Moon’ became ‘Ornithology’ and both melodies are quoted in this set work and the scat solo chosen.