DHC's Jazz Lexicon

Deborah Henson-Conant's "Blues: Harp-Style" LEXICON

DHC's Jazz Lexicon

"I probably got this all wrong ... but it's working OK for me" (DHC)

You will NOT be tested on this. Read it at your leisure.

A SHORT JAZZ LEXICON These are some of the idiomatic terms you may hear in jazz. Note that since many of these terms are idiomatic, the definitions are sometimes flexible and hazy. The definitions are based on Swing and Bebop traditions developed in America Thelonious in the 30’s-60’s. There have been many more developments Skunk that are not discussed here! These are just the basics. Don’t be concerned if you feel confused -- this is a lingo, almost like a dialect. You are not expected to understand at first.

Blues or 12-Bar Blues: a type of tune form that is 12 bars long and which follows a set harmonic pattern. As opposed to standard song form (which is comprised of four sections, usually called A-A- B-A), the blues is in 3 basic sections of 4 measures each. These three sections of four bars add up to twelve bars, thus the name “12 Bar Blues”. There are other lengths for Blues, such as a 16-bar blues, but 12-Bar Blues is by far the most common. You can play a “minor blues” or a “major blues”. In either case, the bass movement will still be basically the same. “I can’t think of a tune to play, so let’s just jam on a blues in F.”

Blow: To improvise a featured melodic solo over the form of the tune. (This originally came from the concept of “blowing” a wind instrument, since most soloist were horn players of some sort.) “So, listen, do you want to blow for just four choruses or do you want to keep it open?”

Bebop: a fast and complex improvisational style developed in the ‘40s; characterized by being phe- nomenally notey and with having a more disjunct or almost spasmodic rhythm. The style was originated by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Charlie Parker, in particular is famous for “composing” new songs (new melodies) based on the underlying harmony of other standards, such as “I Got Rhythm.” Bebop is intended as a listening type of jazz, as opposed to Swing jazz, which can be danced to. Danc- ing to Bebop is a faux pas. “That guy simply doesn’t have the chops to play bebop.”

Bridge: The “release” or “B” section of the standard song form (usually, the “B” section comprises measures 17-24 of the tune. (See Song Form). “The ‘A’s’ in this tune are fine, but the bridge is incred- ibly hard to play.”

Changes: "Changes" is sometimes also used to mean "chart" or "lead sheet." The“changes” is/are the harmonic structure of a piece, and refers to the changes in the harmony. “Playing the changes” means to simply play the chords of the piece in the correct harmonic rhythm (i.e. 2 bars of C7, one bar of D-7, one bar of G7(b9) etc.) When you play in an accompaniment role, you “play the changes.” “Playing over the changes” means that you improvise harmonically “over” using the basic harmonic movement of the piece as your underlying harmony. “So is this a totally free section or do we play over the changes?”

Chart: Also called a "lead sheet", a chart is the written music for a “tune” which includes melodic line and chord changes. In classical music the conductor has a “score” which shows every note of every player’s part. Each player will then have just her own part, the exact notes that she will play, and if she is lucky this part will include some cues from the other instruments. In Big Band music, the horn parts are written very similarly to those in classical music, with indications where someone

will take an improvised solo. But in trio or quartet jazz, there is only one chart (generally one to three pages long) which each player has an exact copy of. This chart is like a blueprint, and each player must understand her role in creating the jazz sound. She will get information from the chart that helps her to fulfill her role in the ensemble, but she must choose which notes she will play.“Did you remember to bring the charts for the band?”

Chorus: One time through the harmonic changes of the tune. In standard Be-Bop form, the first chorus comes immediately after the melody (or "head"), the second chorus comes after the first chorus and so on. When a player takes a solo, she will “blow” over one, two or more choruses. On a slow ballad, she may “take” only half a chorus. “Can you dig that dude taking fifteen choruses on ‘All Blues?’ Who does he think he is, Coltrane?”

Comp: To accompany a soloist. “Hey, lighten up, man. The way you comp, you’re walking all over my solo.”

Fake: To play by ear, without using the music. “That’s Ok, I can fake that one if you forgot the music.”

Fake Book: A book of music charts. “So I got this great new fake book with, like EVERY tune I’ve ever wanted in it.”

Form: Whereas the “chart” of a tune is the piece of paper on which the notes are written, the “form” is the concept behind the notes. You could think of the form as a harmonic analysis: for instance, the form of a 12-bar blues tune is always 12-bars long and basically always has the same harmonic structure. “So, this tune has a really strange form. It looks like it’s A-A-B-A, like a normal standard, but it’s really A-B-C-A.”

Head: The basic tune or melody which is usually played as written once through before the improvising begins and once again after all the improvising is over. (The “In-Head” is comparable to the “Exposi- tion” in a sonata, or the first verse in a song; the “Out-head” is comparable to the “Recapitulation” in a sonata or the last verse in a song, especially if that last verse is a literal repeat of the first verse.) “You take the head and let the sax take the first solo.”

Jam: To improvise together with two or more people. A Jam Session is a session where musicians jam together. “Man, those cats were really jamming up there!”

Lead Sheet: Another name for the "Chart" (see definition above)

Lick: A short musical phrase or line within a tune, usually one developed and used by a player in her/his improvisations. “Hey, stop stealing my licks, man.”

Man: Anyone, male or female. “Hey man, you look great in that mini-skirt.”

Rhythm Section: The group of instruments whose function it is to play the accompaniment. This usually refers to the bass and the drums in a trio, and in a quartet, can include the bass, drums and piano/guitar/harp. The rhythm section seems to be everyone who isn’t the soloist, and who therefore is playing an accompanimental role. “She’s a great rhythm section player, but her solos really stink.”

Rhythm Changes: The harmonic movement underlying George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm.” Rhythm Changes are similar to the Blues in that many, many different melodies have been written over the same basic harmonic and rhythmic form. The advantage of writing tunes this way is that you can use the same soloing ideas over and over in the “different” songs. It is also handy in the case that someone has written a “rhythm tune” that you have to play: even if you can’t play the melody, you will be able to solo over the “changes” or “comp” for the soloist without any problem. The history of “I Got Rhythm” and its relationship to “rhythm changes” is not clear. It is probable that jazzers found Gershwin’s tune so accessible that they started using it as the underpinning of their own tunes. It is equally possible that, like the blues, “rhythm changes” have been around for a long time and that Gershwin merely wrote the most popular tune based on these changes. "Don't worry about the tune. You can come in on the first chorus. You won't have any problem -- it's just rhythm changes."

Riff: a riff is somewhat like a “lick”, but it differs in this: it is usually a short phrase (1, 2 or 4 measures long) that is repeated, often “sequenced” (meaning each repeat of the riff might start on a different note, and the starting notes bear some important relationship to each other; for instance, they may be each a step apart, or a third apart, etc.) “That’s a cool riff, man, but do you really think you need to repeat it for four straight choruses?"

Set: A series of tunes played by a band (or a single performer) without a break. There may be two or three “sets” per night, interspersed by intermissions or “breaks.” “The gig is three 45-minute sets, and you’re welcome to all the hors d’oevres you can eat on the breaks.”

Solo: When one player takes a solo, that means that all the others in the band perform purely support- ing roles, allowing that player to improvise melodically in the capacity of a featured soloist. If you're playing alone, you can also take a solo. This will be the section where you create melodic improvisations over the “changes” or “form” , in other words this is where you will improvise over the basic harmonic movement of the piece. “Hey, nice solo, man.”

Song Form (Standard): Most standards are written in song form: A-A-B-A. The “A” sections are all similar, if not identical melodically and harmonically. Each section is usually 8 measures long and the whole form is usually 32 measures long. A player takes “solos” by improvising melodically over this A-A-B-A form, usually improvising new melodies while basically following the underlying harmonic movements.

Standard: An older tune, familiar to the jazz community or to the general public, such as “Satin Doll,” “As Time Goes By,” “Misty,” etc. Note: standard songs also have standard keys, for example, “As Time Goes By” is usually played in Eb; “Satin Doll” is usually played in C; “Autumn Leaves” is usually played in either E- or A-. “For this gig they only want standards, OK, so don’t bring out any of your hokey originals, OK?”

Straight Ahead: Straight ahead jazz is not experimental. A straight ahead player is one who is usually familiar with the standards and who is used to playing “over the form,” rather than soloing freely, without “chord changes.” "She's a real straight-ahead player, but not too uptight."

Tag: A tag is like a coda. The end of the “Out-head” may be stretched to create of sense of finality to the ending. (This is like the I-V-I-V-I-I-I at the end of a classical piece.) Often the tag will be cre- ated by playing the last 4 bars of the tune 3 times, the first two times, with a “turnaround.” “And don’t forget the tag this time!”

Turnaround: A turnaround is a harmonic sequence that gets you back in position to play whatever you want to play next. For instance, the “tag” to “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” starts on D7. But since the tag comes after the “end” of the tune and the tune ends on “C”, it is very awkward to move directly to D7. So, to put yourself in harmonic position to go to the D, you usually play at the end of the tune: (octaves:) C C B Bb (chord:) A7, thus putting you in a good position to go to the D7 again. If you want to “turn around” and get in position to play your tonic again (for instance, when you’re using a turnaround to “make something happen” between the end of one verse and the begin- ning of the next), you want to “go” from C to C, so instead of just staying on C, you may play: C Am7 Dm7 G7, and you are once again in position to play C. In the middle of a tune, a turnaround can almost sound like it’s saying, “Let me tell you just a little bit more:” At the end of a tune, a turnaround almost sounds like it’s saying “And one thing more ...” One of the most famous turnarounds is at the end of “Alice’s Restaurant,” where Arlo Guthrie sings “Except for Alice”. “So it’s a three-time tag, but we only do the turn-around twice, right?”

Top of the Head: Sometimes just called “the top.” The be- ginning note, chord or beat of the head. “Hey, I’m completely lost. Can we just go back to the top of the head.” Mole Trading Fours (or eights or twos): This is a type of Porter soloing wherein one player will improvise for four bars and then another will improvise for the next four bars, then the first (or a third player) will take the next four bars, and so on. Fours are often traded between a melody instrument and drums; they can also become the basis for good-natured and often exciting musical one-upsmanship, or they can sound sort of like a musical conversation between two instruments. “OK, after the sax solo, the piano and drums should trade fours for a few choruses.”

Tune: A song, the basic melody of a piece. “And now I’d like to play a little tune for you called . . .”

Vamp: A short (usually two chords, or two measures) repeating pattern; often played before the In- Head, under a solo, or (as in “Vamp and Fade”) at the end of a tune, as a fading ending. “I haven’t really worked out an ending for this, so let’s just vamp and fade, vamp and fade, vamp and fade, vamp and fade, vamp and fade, vamp and fade, vamp and fade, vamp and . . .”