CLASSICAL and JAZZ: FINDING the FUSION by Eric Myers [This Artic

CLASSICAL AND JAZZ: FINDING THE FUSION by Eric Myers _______________________________________________________________ [This article appeared in the September, 1981 edition of the ABC-FM Stereo magazine, 24 Hours] In Jazztrack at 11.00 pm on Tuesday, September 22, Jim McLeod will play Mother! Mother!! — a jazz symphony by Charles Schwartz featuring Clark Terry and Zoot Sims. Eric Myers, who is jazz critic with the Sydney Morning Herald, writes about this unusual new music. he dream of fusing jazz with classical music has long been a difficult one because, traditionally, jazz musicians have not had the iron T discipline and reading skills of classical musicians; while, conversely, classical players had stilted techniques and little jazz feeling. Still, 'third stream' music, as jazz/ classical fusion was described by Gunther Schuller in the 1950s, has been emerging from time to time. Gunther Schuller: in the 1950s he described jazz/classical fusion as 'third stream' music…PHOTO COURTESY ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA 1 Few people would regard such music as successful, usually because of the awkward juxtaposition of improvisatory jazz and notated classical styles. With more musicians, however, emerging over the last 20 years with the ability to perform authoritatively and comfortably in both idioms, the dream of jazz/classical fusion is closer to reality. Mother! Mother!!, a jazz symphony by the American Charles Schwartz, features the classical players who make up the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble: Susan Palma (flute), Anand Devendra (clarinet), Jean Ingraham (violin), Chris Finckel (cello), Donald Palma (double bass), Gilbert Kalish (keyboard instruments), Raymond Des Roches (percussion), and Anthony Cinardo (percussion). Lightning passages These magnificent New York players articulate their notated passages, many of which include lightning, highly technical passages and complex accents, with breathtaking precision. Because of their dominance, there is very little of the spontaneity and rough-and-ready approach which some see as essential to jazz. The soloists are Clark Terry (trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals, speaker), Zoot Sims (tenor and soprano saxophones), Jimmy Maxwell (trumpet) and Joan Heller (vocals). I cannot be absolutely sure, but I believe that the improvisations are handled chiefly by Sims and Terry, Maxwell plays only the occasional solo, and Heller's lines are notated. 2 The symphony, which is conducted by Arthur Weisberg, has four movements, entitled Celebration, Jubilation, Exultation and Revelation. The first movement, Celebration, begins with the spoken voice of Clark Terry. As he does throughout the work, Terry parodies in brilliant fashion the ‘hip’ talk or jargonistic speech patterns derived from African American culture, which have been widely adopted in the jazz world, particularly since the bebop era. “Mother's a super gig, a duper gig that celebrates and exultates, that moves and grooves and ool-ya cools, you dig?” says Clark Terry. “That's not flim-flam, on my honour man. Yeah baby, mother's a super gig.” The two main featured soloists are trumpeter Clark Terry (above) and saxophonist Zoot Sims (below)… 3 After this introduction, the music begins with vocal and ensemble passages juxtaposed against improvised harmon-muted lines from Terry, and Maxwell using the plunger, producing an ensemble sound which recurs throughout the work, and is reminiscent of Ellington and, at times, Mingus. Then there is a series of ascending runs which step up to percussive, staccato brass figures, and the piece takes off in tempo with Zoot Sims’s improvisation on tenor saxophone. This is a shot taken in the 1980s of US trumpeter Jimmy Maxwell (on the right), with Roy Eldridge (left) on the microphone… PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN I would like to describe the character of the music at this point, because I feel that the basic musical idea of the symphony is encapsulated here, and is explored at length throughout the four movements. Zoot Sims plays an improvisation on tenor which is modal. That is, he plays indefinitely on one scale without the hindrance of a chord structure. The important thing to note is that his improvisation therefore has a tonal centre which the listener will recognise. Behind Sims's improvisation, however, is a series of chromaticist figures, articulated by the vocalist Joan Heller and the ensemble, which have no tonal centre. That is to say, it is difficult to ascertain which key they are in at a given point time, because there apparently is no key. I mention this at length because, for me, the great beauty of the work (and indeed the element which might make 4 the symphony inaccessible to many lovers of orthodox jazz) is derived from the fascinating tension throughout between tonality and atonality. It would take a perceptive musicologist to analyse in detail the nature of the superimposition of keys throughout the four movements. The Sydney bassist Bruce Cale, whom I consulted about this work, uses this technique freely both in his jazz and classical compositions. As a student of George Russell's Lydian concepts, he describes the technique as 'pan-tonal'. As a student of George Russell's Lydian concepts, bassist Bruce Cale (above) describes the superimposition of two keys as 'pan-tonal'… The idea of superimposition of two keys together is not new. One thinks of Bix Beiderbecke, who dreamt of writing a jazz symphony in the 1920s, and was fascinated by Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. Stravinsky's Petrushka, written in 1911, as an instance of how two keys can be applied simultaneously, has inspired many jazz musicians. 5 More recently, Gil Evans, with his albums in the early 1960s, Out Of The Cool and Into The Hot, has freely explored the idea. Since then, a committed coterie of composers has continued in this vein, and Charles Schwartz must be regarded as a latter-day member of the school. 6 There are many lovely sections in the symphony, and many noteworthy achievements. I would draw the listener's attention to the second movement, Jubilation, and in particular to the extraordinary singing of Joan Heller. She is a magnificent soprano who soars through the work with a superb range, articulating her lines with such purity and faultless intonation that, at times, her voice sounds like a synthesiser. In Jubilation, note her phrases answering the trumpet with the plunger. The third movement, Exultation, is the highlight of the symphony. Clark Terry opens with the following words: “Celebrate and jubilate! Jubilate and celebrate! Exultate, that's right mate, jubilate and exultate, and then you'll be straight . (laughs) .. Gather round me all you cats and chicks, and listen to my spiel. I'm gonna lay a little Schwarzology on ya', that's gonna make your noggins reel.” Clark Terry: a greater artist than one might have given him credit for... Parody of scat Against an ensemble background, he then launches into nonsense syllables, and produces a brilliant parody of scat singing which is not only full of wit, but also fully alive to the rhythmic and melodic possibilities of that underestimated and difficult art. This is a tour de force, and the performance of the symphony. In fact, Clark Terry emerges as a greater artist than I had given him credit for. His improvisations in four-four tempo on flugelhorn throughout are stunning, well integrated into the notated background figures, and his swinging approach will comfort those jazz fans who may otherwise find the work inaccessible. 7 The flavour of the work suggests that Charles Schwartz is a classical composer utilising jazz elements rather than a jazz composer adopting classical conventions. His utilisation of jazz concepts is brilliantly done, so that the work is powerful and challenging. It deserves a careful hearing. Charles Schwartz in 1977, then Professor of Music, Hunter College, New York City…PHOTO CREDIT LIZA STELLE One word on the use of the term 'symphony'. Charles Schwartz uses, not a symphony orchestra, which presupposes the duplication of each part by a section of instrumentalists, but an eight-piece chamber ensemble plus four soloists. Therefore, the work must be considered an ambitious work of chamber proportions rather than a fully-fledged symphony. ______________________________________________________________ 8 .

Load more