Identifying Classical Vocal Collaborative Piano Practices In
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COLLABORATIVE CROSSOVER: IDENTIFYING CLASSICAL VOCAL COLLABORATIVE PIANO PRACTICES IN JAZZ VOCAL ACCOMPANYING David Jonathan Morgenroth Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2015 APPROVED: John Murphy, Major Professor and Chair of the Division of Jazz Studies Steven Harlos, Committee Member John Dan Haerle, Committee Member Benjamin Brand, Director of Graduate Studies, College of Music James C. Scott, Dean of the College of Music Costas Tsatsoulis, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Morgenroth, David Jonathan. Collaborative Crossover: Identifying Classical Vocal Collaborative Piano Practices in Jazz Vocal Accompanying. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), August 2015, 160 pp., 8 tables, 18 figures, 27 examples, bibliography, 457 titles. Classical vocal collaborative piano and jazz vocal accompaniment are well-established fields with long-standing performance traditions. Classical collaborative performance practices have been researched and codified, but jazz accompanying practices largely remain in the domain of aural tradition. Both classical and jazz accompaniment share associated practices, such as rubato, transposition, and attention to lyric diction and inflection, but there is little previous investigation into the idea that classical collaborative practices might apply to jazz accompanying. This research examines jazz piano accompanying practices in sung verses of standard tunes to demonstrate how accomplished jazz pianists intuitively use many of the same techniques as classical collaborative pianists to create balance with singers. Through application of expressive microtiming analysis to graphical displays of transcribed recorded performances, a strong correlation is established between the classical and jazz vocal accompanying traditions. Linking classical practices to jazz potentially creates a foundation for jazz accompanying pedagogy. Copyright 2015 by David Jonathan Morgenroth ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to the University of North Texas and its wonderful jazz faculty for several wonderful and fulfilling years. I would like to thank the following people whose guidance was instrumental in my process of researching and writing this dissertation: John Murphy, my esteemed advisor and writing coach, whose knowledge, ideas, and insights were invaluable, all offered with an inimitable mix of humor and gravitas; Steven Harlos, my collaborative piano coach and mentor, whose enthusiasm and love for music continue to resound within me; Dan Haerle, my dear friend of many years, whose ongoing encouragement and support I feel more deeply than ever; and Barbara Koostra, my wife and best friend, whose love, patience, and belief in me made this project ultimately possible. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF EXAMPLES ................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 — INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 Purpose .................................................................................................................................2 Overview of Methodology ...................................................................................................3 Rationale and Significance ..................................................................................................4 Role of the Researcher .........................................................................................................5 Assumptions .........................................................................................................................6 Definitions of Key Terminology ..........................................................................................7 Collaborator/Accompanist ...................................................................................... 7 Comping .................................................................................................................. 7 Expressive Microtiming and Participatory Discrepancies ...................................... 8 Jazz and Jazz Singer................................................................................................ 9 Recitative and Lyric Recitative ............................................................................... 9 Rubato ................................................................................................................... 10 Terminology Pertaining to Method ....................................................................... 12 iv Verse ..................................................................................................................... 13 Scope and Delimitations of the Study ................................................................................14 Summary ............................................................................................................................17 CHAPTER 2 — LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................18 Review of the Classical Collaborative Literature ..............................................................20 Review of the Jazz Piano Accompanying of Voice ...........................................................23 Review of Research Literature on Expressive Microtiming ..............................................25 Literature on Ancillary Topics and Musical Material ........................................................35 CHAPTER 3 — HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND PERFORMANCE PRACTICE ...........38 Recitative ...........................................................................................................................38 Rubato ................................................................................................................................41 Form Development in American Popular Music ...............................................................43 Verse in Jazz ......................................................................................................................46 The Art of Collaboration ....................................................................................................48 Accompanying a Jazz Singer .............................................................................................50 Background on Songs ........................................................................................................52 “Der greise Kopf” ................................................................................................. 52 “My Man” ............................................................................................................. 53 “Star Dust” ............................................................................................................ 56 “Lush Life” ........................................................................................................... 57 v CHAPTER 4 — METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................59 Research Approach and Literature on Methodology .........................................................60 Methods and Materials .......................................................................................................66 Data Analysis Methods ......................................................................................................70 Limitations and Delimitations of Methodology .................................................................74 CHAPTER 5 — FINDINGS: ANALYSIS OF TRANSCRIPTIONS AND GRAPHICAL DISPLAYS ....................................................................................................................................80 Study 1: “Der greise Kopf” ................................................................................................90 Inflection: Measure Timings ................................................................................. 82 Diction: Shared Eighth Notes ............................................................................... 87 Study 2: “My Man” ............................................................................................................90 “My Man”: Form and Structure ............................................................................ 91 Inflection: Flanagan and Drinkard ........................................................................ 93 Diction: Shared Eighth Note Instances ................................................................. 97 Study 3: “Star Dust”.........................................................................................................101 Inflection: Measure Timings ............................................................................... 101 Diction: Vocal Onsets ......................................................................................... 107 Study 4: “Lush Life” ........................................................................................................108 Inflection: Measure timings and variable phrasing