84 DoWNBEAt JUNE 2012 solo Woodshed | BYJoNAthAN RoWDEN Seamus Blake’s tenor Saxophone Solo on ‘Amuse Bouche’ muse Bouche,” from tenor saxophonist “A Seamus Blake’s 2010 CD Live At Smalls (SmallsLIVE), is a long-form, up-tempo jazz waltz that consists of a series of chordal vamps bridged by chord progressions based on descending and ascending root movements. The melody is sweet and simple, and solos are over the form of the tune (with open vamps). The arc of Blake’s solo is genuinely motivic, with multiple themes and variations emerging from his voice, each one leading to the next, creating a cohesive, organic whole. This brief analysis describes the arc of the solo and touches upon the harmonic, rhythmic and melodic content of the various points of reference, such as rhythmic cycles, chromatic approach notes to triadic harmony and flurries/sheets of sound. Blake’s solo lasts about 281 measures, the first 90 of which are shown on the next page. The first vamp consists of the changes Gmin7–C/E–Gmin7–C/E. Blake’s opening phrase begins a rhythmic phrase (measure 1) based in the C mixolydian mode. The melody is almost static, pedaling back and forth between C and Csus4 sounds, focusing on developing the rhythm. Around bar 12 he begins pedaling the note C. Measures 17–19 feel like a 5/4 rhythmic idea over 3/4, moving the top notes higher. The melody further develops, moving intervallically in fourths and fifths, creating shapes that pedal on a Bb (bars 20–23). In bar 31, he introduces and develops a new rhythmic idea that makes use of the upbeat, moving into a scalar melody that extends into the altissimo range of the tenor (bars 41–45). The line then grows and expands into chromatic approach notes to triadic harmonies (bars 46–66). This harmonic approach introduces another element that he utilizes throughout the rest of the solo, and is even present in the blistering flurries of notes he plays (bars 59–61) and on chordal substitutions (bars 75, 77). The second vamp consists of the changes Ebmaj7–Bb6–Ebmaj7–Bb6–F6–F6/C–F6– F6/C. Starting at measure 105, Blake introduces a string of eighth notes in groupings of four that stretch across the bar lines (occasionally interrupted), casting a fog over the meter. He uses this technique extensively across this vamp while still at times harkening back to his earlier rhythmic motif and using chromatic approach notes to triadic harmonies within each mode, including upper extensions. Blake also makes use of “flurries” that interestingly utilize very Seamus Blake similar harmonic and scalar material as the lines that led up to them. The flurries are rhythmically free, according to Blake, and he is only really paying attention to the starting and ending points of these. The third section or bridge is a root-based chord progression that modulates from Eb major to F# minor. During this phase of the solo, Blake seems to build to a climax, climbing into the altissimo register with a lyrical melodic line that bookends earlier material (from bars 41–49). The final vamp alternates between F#min7 and B/D#, mirroring the initial vamp down a half step. Blake shouts in the extreme register of the horn, using familiar rhythmic material but beginning on the upbeat of 3, stretching across the bar lines and adding rhythmic tension. Blake then moves into the final stretch of the solo, using extended dominant harmonies to create tension over the vamp. Blake brilliantly ends the solo with an augmented reiteration of the original improvised melody. DB JoNathaN RowdEN IS a PRoFESSIoNaL SaxoPhoN- ISt aNd EdUcatoR IN thE oRaNGE coUNtY/LoS aNGELES aREa. hE REcEIvEd hIS b.a. IN SaxoPhoNE PERFoRmaNcE aNd m.m. IN Jazz StUdIES at cSU FULLERtoN, aNd PERFoRmS aNd tEachES REGU- LaRLY. EmaIL JRowdENmUSIc@GmaIL.com oR vISIt JoNathaNRowdEN.com FoR booKINGS, LESSoNS aNd Jazz bLoG. JuAn-CARloS hERnAndEz
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