The Microrhythms of Joe Pass: Analysis and Application of Swing Ratios and Tempo by Adam Hernandez A.A. Miami Dade College

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The Microrhythms of Joe Pass:

Analysis and Application of Swing Ratios and Tempo

Adam Hernandez

A.A. Miami Dade College, 2014

B.M. University of Miami, 2016

A thesis submitted to the

Faculty of the Graduate School of the

University of Colorado in partial fulfillment

of the requirement for the degree of

Master of Music

Department of Music

2020

This thesis entitled: The Microrhythms of Joe Pass: Analysis and Application of Swing Ratios and Tempo written by Adam Hernandez has been approved for the Department of Music

Dr. John Gunther

Bradley Goode

Date 4/27/2020

The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline.

Abstract:

Hernandez, Adam Paul (M.M. Jazz Performance & Pedagogy)

The Microrhythms of Joe Pass: Analysis and Application of Swing Ratios and Tempo

Thesis directed by Dr. John Gunther

Joe Pass is one of defining guitarists of the jazz genre, and has produced a vast amount of recordings in various orchestrations. Pass has demonstrated a mastery of the swing rhythm, which is one of the defining features of the jazz style of playing. This thesis consists of analysis utilizing digital audio software to measure and record BUR

(beat-upbeat ratio) data from excerpts of Pass’ playing. It was found that Pass utilized a wide range of swing ratios at different tempi, oftentimes fluidly throughout the course of a single excerpt. A method of practicing and applying the concepts discovered from the

BUR data is also offered, for the purpose of utilization in jazz pedagogy or by the reader themselves.

iii

Table of Contents

Introduction: 1 Example 1: Triplet Swing Notation 2 More on BUR 4 Method of Analysis and Data Collection 5 Analysis of Figures: 6 Figure 1. There Is No Greater Love MM. 91-95. Tempo ~ 194 BPM 6 Figure 2. There Is No Greater Love MM. 25-26 8 Figure 3. Cherokee (1:40) ~ 207 BPM. (Cont. on next page) 9 Figure 4. Cherokee (2:27) 12 Figure 5: Cherokee, Solo Guitar (1:53) (Cont. on next page) 15 Figure 6: Tempo profile of Figure 5. 16 Figure 7: Night and Day, Solo Guitar (1:29) 18 Figure 8: Tempo Profile of Figure 7. 19 Figure 9: Night and Day, Trio (2:00) 20 Figure 10: Tempo Profile of Figure 9 21 Figure 11: Night and Day, Trio (2:31) 22 Figure 12: Tempo Profile of Figure 11. 23 Application of BUR Concepts to Jazz Pedagogy 24 Figure 13: Even Eighth Notes 26 Figure 14: Triplet Swing Eighth Notes 26 Figure 15: Extreme Swing 27 Figure 16: Reverse Swing 28 Figure 17: Low Swing 28 Figure 18: Swing - Straight Contour 29 Figure 19: Straight – Swing - Straight Contour 30 Figure 20: Swing – Straight – Swing Contour 31 Figure 21: Low swing with isolated high swing beats 31 Conclusion 32 Bibliography 34

The Microrhythms of Joe Pass: An Analysis of Swing Ratios and Tempo By: Adam Hernandez

Introduction:

The following research will be analyzing the improvisations of jazz guitarist Joe

Pass with an emphasis on rhythm, particularly microrhythm. Joe Pass was selected as the subject for this research because he is one of the most influential guitarists in all of jazz, and produced a vast amount of recordings of jazz standards in different group settings, and solo guitar recordings. Pass has clearly demonstrated a mastery of the swing rhythm, and while there are many factors involved in a player’s “feel” such as articulation, dynamics, and phrasing, this research will focus purely on the microrhythmic traits of

Pass’ playing.

In my own experience with the world of music education, most efforts to impart knowledge to students have revolved around the concepts of harmony and melody, particularly when addressing non-percussion instrumentalists. Classical music theory classes spend their time ensuring that every student has a thorough knowledge of major keys, minor keys, roman numeral analysis, counterpoint, etc. Jazz theory classes typically span several semesters teaching students how to analyze chord progressions, and improvise using the popular chord-scale method. The common theme is that the main focus of study is pitch, disproportionately to rhythm.

One of the most important elements of jazz that is generally considered to be unique to the genre is the swing eighth-note. Consequently, it can be assumed that part of the job of a jazz educator is to provide the student with the information required to

develop as thorough of an understanding of swing eighth notes as any other fundamental harmonic concept. The most common method for educators to teach swing eighth notes, is basing the rhythm on a triplet subdivision such as in example 1.

Example 1: Triplet Swing Notation

The student is told to think of the first and third partial of the triplet as the new

“downbeat” and “upbeat,” terms that would normally refer to the partials of even eighth notes. The result of this method is that the student learns to play eighth notes in an uneven manner, with the downbeat lasting longer than the upbeat (in the case of the triplet, the downbeat lasts exactly twice as long as the upbeat.) This method of teaching swing is found in countless sources such as John Riley’s The Art of Bop Drumming1

(admittedly, Riley acknowledges that the triplet isn’t a 100% accurate representation) and websites such as studybass.com (which also acknowledges that there is some room for interpretation in the eighth notes.) Fumi Tomita counters the presentation of swing as based on the triplet subdivision in his book The Jazz Rhythm Section: A Manual for Band

Directors, where he states:

1 John Riley, The Art of Bop Drumming (Manhattan Music Publications, 1998): 7

“Learning how to “swing,” students are commonly told to think of swing eighths as being the first and third triplets of an eighth-note triplet. But in practice, swing eighth notes fall somewhere between the even eighth note, which falls halfway through the beat and the third eighth note of an eighth-note triplet.2”

Beyond this method, swing is often described as something that needs to be “felt” or heard, which is done by learning jazz vocabulary by ear. Despite the prevalence of the triplet pedagogical practice, there has been research in recent years that has called into question the idea of the swing eighth note being based on a triplet subdivision. In his journal article Slicing The Beat: Jazz Eighth-Notes as Expressive Microrhythm, music researcher Fernando Benadon utilized software as an analytical tool to measure the exact length of swing eighth notes and calculate the ratio between the downbeats and upbeats.

Benadon’s term (which I will be using for my analysis) for this value is the BUR (Beat-

Upbeat Ratio), which “describes the temporal proportion between two subsequent eighth- notes by measuring and comparing their duration.”3 Benadon’s research revealed that many jazz soloists were not adhering to the triplet subdivision, which resulted in eighth notes being played that exist somewhere in between even eighth notes and triplets.

BUR provides a new lens through which to analyze rhythms on a staggeringly nuanced level, far beyond the level that would be covered in a typical music theory course. For this research, I have also implemented an expansion upon this analytical tool

2 Fumi Tomita, The Jazz Rhythm Section: A Manual for Band Directors (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019): 4 3 Fernando Benadon, “Slicing The Beat: Jazz Eighth-Notes as Expressive Microrhythm,” Ethnomusicology vol. 50, no. 1 (Winter 2006): 74

by adding the length of the downbeat and upbeat together to get the BL (Beat Length) value. The goal of this research is to use BUR and BL as a tool to analyze the way Joe

Pass played swing eighth notes, compare the findings to commonplace definitions of swing eighth notes (the triplet), and to provide a method by which to practice and apply the micro-timing concepts to jazz performance.

More on BUR:

In Slicing the Beat, Benadon provides a basic chart illustrating ways of notating different BURs4:

EX. 2 - Notated swing ratios

Even eighth notes have a BUR of 1.0, as they are exactly equal in length. As previously mentioned, the commonplace definition of swing eighth notes is based off first and third partial of the triplet, which results in a BUR of 2.0. One other less commonly

4 Benadon, Slicing The Beat, 75. 4

used method of teaching the swing eighth note is the BUR of 3.0 (based on sixteenth notes.)

Far less commonly taught are the ratios that lay in between 1.0 and 2.0, which

Benadon demonstrated to be an area of subdivision that many jazz soloists favored. In the analysis of various examples from Joe Pass, we will see whether or not he also favors ratios that lay in between “even” and “triplet” eighths. The criteria for the selections to be analyzed will be similar to Bendon’s approach: to use “lines” in which there are long chains of consecutive eighth notes exclusively (as opposed to including rests, quarter notes, and other non-eighth note material) however, I will include some examples that contain rests on beat 1 or triplets and sixteenth notes that may occur in the middle of a line.

Method of Analysis and Data Collection:

The process by which the following figures will be analyzed is by collecting the

BUR data from each pair of eighth notes occurring in the phrase. The data was collected using the flex-time feature on the software Logic Pro 9. This allows the wave form of each recording to be slowed down, and assists in locating the beginning and end points of each note. Using the scissor tool, a cut is made at the beginning of each successive note, which then allows the length of the note to be viewed in the sample editor on the bottom of the window. In order to expedite the calculation of the BURs after taking the measurements of each note, the data was placed to an excel spreadsheet, setting up one

column for downbeats and another for upbeats. A third column is then assigned with a simple formula to divide the length of the downbeat by the length of the upbeat, which then produces the BUR. A fourth column is also added to calculate the sum of the downbeat and upbeat, giving the beat length that is used to generate tempo profile data.

Analysis of Figures:

Figure 1. There Is No Greater Love MM. 91-95. Tempo ~ 194 BPM

1.9 1.95 2 1.5 1.57 1.65 1.5 1.12 1.56 1.41 1.41 1 1.36 1.26 1.01 1.01 1.01 1.07 0.5 0.94

Figure 1 is an excerpt from a Joe Pass solo on the jazz standard There Is No

Greater Love, performed in a quartet setting with piano, bass and drums. The BUR values of each pair of eighths have been plotted on a line graph above the excerpt to help visualize the change in ratios as the line progresses (the higher the data point occurs on the vertical axis, the higher the BUR and vice versa.) Each data point on the graph corresponds with one beat on the transcription directly below, indicating the BUR that is performed within that beat.

When the BURs of this line are examined, it is already evident that the way Pass is playing his swing eighths doesn’t match up with the 2.0 BUR triplet concept that swing is commonly presented as. It is worth considering that the tempo of this example could be considered “medium-up” at approximately 194 BPM, and eighth notes are typically recognized to become straighter, the higher the tempo becomes.

From a visual perspective, the values on the line graph tend to gravitate towards the middle range with most beats falling between 1.0 and 1.5, and most of those values falling closer to 1.0. Out of the 16 total beats spanned in this example, four of them are almost perfectly even eighth notes with between 1.0 and 1.1 BURs. Only twice in the line did the BUR resemble triplet swing, with one 1.9 beat and another 1.95 beat (both of which occur on beat three of measures two and three respectively.) On beat four of measure two, there is an interesting occurrence of a beat with a <1 BUR value of 0.94, which immediately follows the one of the ~1.9 BUR beats and precedes a 1.36 BUR.

This <1 BUR value indicates that the downbeat was actually shorter than the upbeat, an effect that can be referred to as reverse swing. In Benadon’s article, there were many examples found of soloists playing eighth note pairs with a <1 BUR as well.

While there is a benefit to conducting detailed beat-by-beat analysis of these examples, I will also attempt to utilize the visual element given by the graph to provide a more general analysis that is applicable for practice and implementation in performance.

In figure 1, approximately half of the beats with a BUR value close to 1.0 are found in the first measure, and the other half are found in the last measure (with one isolated in the middle.)

From this it can be concluded that the general arc of the line tends to be straighter

in the beginning, swung more in the middle, and straighter towards the end. Analyzing

the average BUR on a measure-by-measure basis further supports this, with the values

from measures two and three being higher than measures one and four.

Figure 2. There Is No Greater Love MM. 25-26

4.00 3.38 3.57

3.00 1.87 1.91 1.93 2.00 1.27 1.50 1.50

1.00

In Figure 2, which comes from earlier in the same solo as Figure 1, there are

already some notable differences in the type of swing that Pass utilizes. The first main

distinctive element is the use of beats with a >3.0 BUR, occurring on beat three of the

first measure and beat four of the second measure respectively. The most “straight” time

occurs on the first beat with a 1.27 BUR, and for the rest of the line, does not drop below

the 1.5 mark. There is also a more frequent use of ratios close to the 2.0 triplet mark, with

three occurrences of approximately 1.9 BUR in a span of two measures, as opposed to the previous figure’s two occurrences within four measures.

The two >3.0 beats are worthy of further examination because at a medium-up tempo, this type of drastic swing ratio is not something that would be expected to occur.

If multiple consecutive beats were played with this extremely high BUR at this tempo, it would certainly create a very disconnected effect that would also be more challenging to execute than a lower BUR. These beats do not occur successively though, but in isolation from each other, juxtaposed against more moderate BURs in adjacent beats. Because of the fact that these high BUR beats are sparsely placed in the line, they could be said to create a sort of temporary rhythmic dissonance that resolves on the next beat. Beat three of measure one has a 3.38 BUR, which then resolves to a (relatively) more moderate

1.91. Immediately on beat one of measure two the BUR value is 1.5, which is much closer to the common range found in Figure 1.

Figure 3. Cherokee (1:40) ~ 207 BPM. (Cont. on next page)

4 3.6 3 2.17 1.76 1.66 2 1.44 1.43 1.29 1.31 1.41 1.49 1.25 1.03 1.03 1.44 1

2.5 2.13 1.73 2 1.53 1.78 1.44 1.66 1.39 1.68 1.55 1.5 1.25 2.2 1.22 1.41 1.39 1.44 1.5 1

2 1.39 1.53 1.52 1.35 1.33 1.35 1.5 1.03

Figure 3 is an excerpt taken from a Pass recording of the standard “Cherokee”

performed in a duo setting with guitarist Herb Ellis with a tempo of ~207, only slightly

higher than the There Is No Greater Love recording referenced in the previous two

figures. The line is extremely long, which presents an opportunity to explore how Pass’

sense of swing develops over a more extended phrase. There are two distinctive elements

of this figure to address before continuing on to the analysis, the first being that the line is

not entirely made of eighth notes. The first beat begins with a rest on the downbeat, and

there is also a triplet in the second to last bar. This particular recording allows for the beat

with a downbeat rest to be addressed fairly simply because of the quarter note chordal

accompaniment by Herb Ellis. On that beat, the downbeat that Ellis plays is used to

calculate the BUR. The second point to address is the use of a triplet in the second to last

measure. Rather than skip over this beat, the first two partials of the triplet will be considered as the downbeat, and the final partial will be considered as the upbeat (in the same manner that swing is often conceptualized.)

In this example, the line graphs produced are remarkably straight, indicating a very consistent sense of swing throughout the line, although there are some key points of variation. In the first four measures, there are five instances of beats that have almost identical BURs within the 1.4 range, with three of those being either 1.43 or 1.44. The majority of the other beats in the measure all have BURs, which fall between the 1.3 and

1.7 range. There are also two beats that are almost even with 1.03 BURs. The two major outliers in the first four bars are the two beats with BURs of 2.17 and 3.6, respectively.

The occurrence of the 3.6 BUR is unique, as no other beat within the rest of the entire 10 bar figure has an extremely high BUR like this. There is a common feature of this beat with the other >3.0 occurrences in Figure 2, which is that the pitch of the upbeat is lower than the pitch of the downbeat.

In bars 5-8 of the figure, the BURs remain in an even more tight range in between

1.4 and 1.7 with the only variation being from beat two of measure 5 to beat one of measure 6. Interestingly enough, this variation is evenly distributed with two beats having a BUR of ~2.2 and two of them having a BUR of ~1.2. These beats also occur at the lowest pitches in the line. From that point forward, as the pitch in the line increases, so too does the consistency of the swing ratio. Six of the beats from beat 3 of measure 6 until beat 1 of measure 9 are almost exactly at a 1.4 BUR, with a few ~1.7 and 1.5 beats interspersed.

Regarding the triplet that occurs on beat 4 of measure 9, it would actually be hard to notate this rhythm exactly as a triplet, but it is notated that way because three notes are played within the span of one beat. The length of the first two notes to the last note in the beat produces a 1.5 BUR, which doesn’t fit perfectly in to either a triplet subdivision, or a

16th note subdivision. Despite this, the tempo the notes are played at naturally makes the rhythm be heard as some sort of triplet.

The essence of this passage could be described as having a very consistent middle

BUR range, which occasionally implements higher BURs. This could create a subconscious effect of forward momentum by utilizing the rhythmic dissonance caused by the higher BURs, both on a very small (beat-by-beat) scale, and on a larger (spanning multiple beats or measures) scale.

Figure 4. Cherokee (2:27)

2.5 2.06 1.87 1.67 1.94 1.47 1.46 1.47 1.22 1.5 1.07 1.33 1.29 1.34 1.23 1.08 1 0.5 0.82

Figure 4 is another phrase from Pass’ solo on Cherokee with Herb Ellis. This example presents yet another set of contingencies to deal with that differ from previous examples. The first is that there is a beat with an 8th – two 16th rhythm, which creates a 12

similar effect to the triplet in the previous example, but not exactly the same. The BUR for this beat is calculated in the opposite way of the triplet BUR calculation; by using the first note in the beat as the downbeat, with the second and third notes combining durations for the upbeat (this method of calculation also lines up with the manner in which it is notated, as the second note in the beat is in fact beginning on the upbeat.) It turns out that even when playing this rhythm, Pass is still adding a swing inflection to the beat, with the BUR being calculated at 1.47 and falling in line with his tendency so far to favor the 1.4-1.7 range. In essence, the 16th notes played on this beat do not fall in line with either straight eighth notes (which would have given a BUR of 1.0 or at least close to it) and they also do not fall in line with the typical concept of swing 16th notes (which are usually found at much slower tempos.) Instead it seems that Pass conceptualizes this rhythm in the same way that he does a simple pair of swing eighth notes, only that the swung upbeat is filled with two notes instead of one.

This figure also presents the opportunity to examine another factor in Pass’ sense of swing, his beat placement when playing consecutive upbeat eighth notes found at the end of the phrase. In a similar manner to the previous example beginning on an upbeat eighth note, Ellis’ quarter note accompaniment will be used as a base to measure the downbeat portion of the BUR. The figure begins with an upbeat leading in to the line, and ends with three consecutive upbeat eighth notes, totaling to four instances. On the upbeat to begin the phrase, the BUR is 1.87, favoring the triplet subdivision BUR of 2.0. At the end of the phrase, the upbeats of beat 2 and beat 3 both have BURs of ~2.0. The phrase then ends on the upbeat of beat 4, when the BUR suddenly drops off to exactly 1. This is

an interesting phenomenon, considering that Pass was favoring the 2.0 triplet BUR heavily in all of the previous upbeat eighth notes in the phrase. One possible reason for this happening (not to imply that this would be a conscious decision that Pass was making while improvising this solo) is that the placement of the upbeat exactly in between the two downbeats provided a stronger sense of anticipating the downbeat of the next measure, again creating more forward momentum. When including beat one, the last measure has an even split of straight eighth notes, and ~2.0 triplet feel eighth notes.

On beat four of the first measure, there is yet again another instance of the reverse swing effect with the BUR being 0.82, even lower than the 0.94 mark found in figure 1.

At full speed, the 0.82 beat is easier to perceive the reverse swing effect than the example found in figure 1, because of how close 0.94 is to being an even pair of eighth notes. For the rest of the line the BURs are remarkably consistent, with three different beats having values of 1.47, 1.46, and 1.47 respectively. Seven consecutive beats have BURs that fall within the range of 1.2-1.4, a difference margin of only 0.2.

Some general swing principles that can be derived from figure 4:

1. Utilizing low BURs for the majority of the line (often between 1.2 and 1.5)

2. Higher BURs on upbeats with rests on the downbeat

3. Application of swing to the 8th – two 16th rhythm

Figure 5: Cherokee, Solo Guitar (1:53) (Continued on next page)

2 1.9

1.39 1.41 1.5 1.31 1.25 1.68 1.17 1.21 1 1.25 1.29 1.12 1.11 1.11 1.01 1 0.5 0.7

2.5 2 1.55 1.34 1.33 1.38 1.43 1.42 1.36 1.5 1.95 1.25 1.26 1.07 1.14 1.24 1.03 1 0.5

Figure 5 is another example of Pass playing on Cherokee, but this recording is a solo guitar version from the album Virtuoso. Once again, this excerpt contains some unique elements that distinguish it from the previous figures. The first main difference is

Pass’ tempo, which gradually is speeding up throughout the line. At this point, the factor of beat length will come in to play for analysis. The length of each beat is calculated by adding together the values of the downbeat and upbeat, which will provide a picture of the tempo fluctuation throughout the line.

Figure 6: Tempo profile of Figure 5.

Beat Length (ms)

380 360 340 320 300 280 260 240 220

The relationship between the tempo of the line and the BURs is one that warrants further examination. The longest beat within the line is 370ms long, which translates to a tempo of 162 BPM and the shortest beat in the passage is 250ms, translating to a tempo of 240 BPM. Even though there is a clear decrease in beat length throughout the development (translating to an increase in tempo), the BUR generally is unaffected by the increase in tempo. Also notable is that the increase in tempo is not linear, and often speeds up, only to slow back down for a beat or two, then to increase past the previous speed. This allows the tempo increase to draw out over a more extended period of time, eight measures in this case. Considering the common notion that eighth notes should become more even as tempo increases, it is remarkable that the BUR (while it is certainly in a fairly low range) does not show any direct relationship to the tempo increase.

The other element that Pass incorporates into this line that differentiates it from the previous figures, is the use of 16th note triplets on beat 4 of measure 2, and beat 4 of measure 3. For these beats, the BUR is calculated by counting the three 16th note triplets

(which begin on the downbeat) as the downbeat, and then the following eighth note as the upbeat. The context in which this rhythm occurs is in a very clear motif that Pass plays in measure two, which is transposed down a half step in measure three. Even though the rhythm occurs as part of the same motivic idea, the BUR of the first instance is 1.11, whereas the second instance significantly changes to 1.41. Essentially, the first version of the rhythm approximately falls within the even eighth grid, and the second instance is swung (but not to an extreme degree.) This difference in the time serves to create a more subconscious effect of variation to the listener, while simultaneously maintaining a strong foundation in a melodic idea.

From the beginning of the line up until measure 4, the BURs found are remarkably consistent, and remain in a relatively low range between 1.0 and 1.3 with only two instances of ~1.4 BURs (one of them being the aforementioned final 16th note triplet beat.) On beat two of measure three, there is another instance of a reverse swing beat, the lowest one found thus far with a BUR of only 0.7. The ratio on this beat is low enough that it is plainly audible at full speed to have the reverse swing effect. If the upbeat and downbeat were flipped, it would create a 1.43 BUR that still doesn't come close to fitting the 2.0 triplet swing grid.

From measure four going in to measure five, the BURs peak with two instances of

1.9 occurring. These instances coincide with the transition back in to the key of Bb from the side step started in measure three. By beat three of measure five, the BURs return back to a range of 1.0-1.4 that almost matches the beginning of the line. In the whole line, there are only four instances of BURs that are near 1 without being 1.1 or over. Out of

those four instances, three of them occur on beat three of their respective measures. This suggests that there are some relationships between sporadic large variances of the BUR and beat placement.

Figure 7: Night and Day, Solo Guitar (1:29)

2.00 1.71 1.74 1.67 1.60 1.63 1.51 1.55 1.49 1.43 1.43 1.42 1.37 1.29 1.32 1.50 1.21

1.00 1.11

Figure 7 is another example of Pass’ solo guitar playing on the album Virtuoso, this time on the standard Night and Day. This example consists entirely of eighth notes, but there is a melodic technique employed by Pass that hasn't been used in any of the previous examples; the use of a pedal on the open A string of the guitar. The BUR content of this line is fairly consistent, but gradually changes over time. The first two measures stay overwhelmingly within the range of 1.3-1.4, with five beats falling within that range. The pedal point begins on the second measure, after which the BURs gradually increase. In measure four, the BURs all fall within the 1.6-1.7 range. With a tempo of approximately 160 BPM, the line falls well within the medium range of tempos.

This tempo is also exactly where it would be most expected to find BURs at or near 2.0, accentuating the triplet subdivision swing. Instead, it seems thus far that Pass favors lower BURs regardless of the tempo. Despite the generally consistent occurrences of

BUR, the total range of the line is still fairly wide, with the lowest beat having a 1.1

BUR, and the highest having a 1.74 BUR. The overview of this line would be that the first half is lower in BUR, generally ranging between 1.1 and 1.4, and the second half is higher in BUR, ranging between 1.5 and 1.7.

Figure 8: Tempo Profile of Figure 7.

Beat Length (ms) 400

390

380

370

360

350

340

In contrast to the large tempo increase in Figure 6, Figure 8 demonstrates Pass playing with a remarkably consistent tempo. Visually, the graph appears to show large fluctuations, but the vertical axis based on increments of 10ms. The shortest beat in the line is 355ms, and the longest is 388ms, resulting in a tempo range between 154 and 169

BPM (and an average tempo of 160.) The last five beats are nearly metronomic in their consistency, with the variance only being 11ms and three beats of that set being within a

2ms range. In this instance, the tempo and BUR development of the line do seem to be related to each other, albeit with the tempo changing more subtly than the BUR.

Figure 9: Night and Day, Trio (2:00)

3.00 2.69 2.67 2.50 2.03 1.75 1.79 2.00 1.89 1.59 1.54 1.50 1.54 1.00 1.39

Figure 9 is another example of Pass playing the standard Night and Day, but this time in a trio format with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass and Martin Drew on drums, from the 1982 album Eximious. This excerpt is the first that features Pass’ use of octaves to play eighth note lines. The tempo of this excerpt is approximately 144 BPM, which is the slowest thus far. Immediately noticeable is a marginally increased use of higher BURs, particularly those 2.0 or greater. The second measure specifically is where the higher BURs are found, which coincides with the low point in the line, shifting back to an ascending pattern on beat three. Even still, only two of these beats are laying on the triplet swing profile, the 1.89 and 2.03 beats. The two approximately 2.7 beats create a similar effect, but even more exaggerated. In the third bar, the BURs become more

moderate, with the first two beats being 1.59 and 1.54 respectively. The line the seamlessly transitions in to being played in octaves, at which point the BUR makes a fairly large jump to 1.79, but then immediately drops to a more moderate 1.39 and slightly back up to 1.54.

In contrast to the previous examples, Pass does favor a higher BUR considering that there is only one occurrence of the 1.39 ratio. This within the typical BUR range that most of Pass’ lines exist in, but is more of an outlier in this case. For the rest of the beats, there is a relatively even split of higher and lower BURs, with five instances within the

1.5-1.7 range, and four instances between 1.9 and 2.7.

Figure 10: Tempo Profile of Figure 9

Beat Length (ms) 460

440

420

400

380

360

340

The tempo of the line is very consistent, especially considering the variability found in the BUR. One thing to take note of is the tempo data is solely based on the material that Pass plays, not the rhythm section, which is out of the scope of this thesis. In the first five beats, the variance is only 23ms, which reduces further to 8ms if the third

beat is disregarded. The major points of departure are the sixth and seventh beats in the series, which have a 58ms difference between them.

Figure 11: Night and Day, Trio (2:31)

2.42 2.34 2.50 1.82 2.00 1.56 1.34 1.50 1.54 1.57 1.00

Figure 11 is another example of Pass’ playing from Night and Day that occurs further along in the solo. This phrase also incorporates polyphony, but this time in the form of third intervals instead of the octaves found in Figure 9. There is also a quarter note that is placed in the middle of the line, on beat two of measure two. Since there is no upbeat on this beat, there is no BUR calculated. The quarter note will be addressed in the next figure.

Much like Figure 9, there is more prevalence of some higher BURs. On beat three of measure two, immediately succeeding the quarter note, the BUR is 2.34. The final beat of the phrase marks slightly higher at 2.42. Even though these beats do not comprise the majority of the line, the short length of the phrase makes two occurrences a fairly high

proportion compared to many of the previous figures that only have one or two high

BURs over more extended phrase lengths. Other than those two >2.0 beats, four out of the seven total beats are between 1.3 and 1.5 BUR, with three of those being within 1.5.

The beat that most closely resembles the 2.0 triplet swing mark is beat one of measure two with its 1.82 mark, but is still far enough away to have a distinctly different sound.

After analyzing Figures 9 and 11, it can be concluded that Pass has, in fact, raised the overall BUR of his phrases to go along with the slower tempo of 144 BPM, but it has still not resulted in more overall occurrences of 2.0 or near 2.0 BURs. Rather, there are more instances of beats with BURs that go well past the 2.0 mark, up to points such as the ~2.4-2.7 range. Along with this comes an increased lower end of the overall BUR range, with large majority portions of the lines containing beats within the ~1.5-1.7 BUR range, as opposed to the massive prevalence of BURs falling within the ~1.2-1.4 range that is found at only slightly faster tempos.

Figure 12: Tempo Profile of Figure 11.

Beat Length (ms) 500 450 400 350 300

When analyzing the tempo profile of this line, it shows much more variance than the previous examples. This is an interesting phenomenon, considering the context of the recording being with a rhythm section. The longest beat in the line is the first beat (which

is the beat that Pass is playing third intervals on) measuring at 481ms, and the shortest beat is the second, measuring at 348ms. This translates to a total tempo range of 124

BPM – 172 BPM. After the second beat, the tempo becomes much more consistent, with three beats falling within the 404-426ms range (140-148 BPM) and the average beat length translating to a tempo of 148. When including the first two beats, the average tempo still comes out to 148. A combination of the short duration of the tempo variations that occur over this line (only lasting one beat at a time) and the average beat length still remaining unaffected by the variation suggests that there is still an overall consistency to the tempo. The large variations can simply be heard as the “pushing” and “pulling” effect of playing behind or on top of the beat, where the longer beat durations indicate playing behind, and the shorter durations indicate playing on top. Like BUR, there doesn’t necessarily have to be a selection of one or the other (i.e. playing behind the beat for the whole entire line) rather, there is an ebb and flow to the tempo.

Application of BUR Concepts to Jazz Pedagogy

While the analysis of the previous examples have shed some light on the ultra- nuanced aspects of rhythm that aren’t often discussed, it is important to devise a plan for applying the concepts discussed to performance. This will allow music students to be able to practice playing these rhythms in a more nuanced way, and simultaneously serve as a form of ear training, allowing more attention paid to the subtleties in performance. I can

certainly say that engaging in the analysis of BUR and practice of controlling it has changed the way that I have been listening to jazz performers.

There is inherently a near-infinite spectrum of BUR variations that can occur throughout a line, which makes an effort to exactly duplicate another player’s BUR futile.

With that in mind, the method proposed to practice BUR is an attempt to generalize parts of the swing spectrum, to get the student into the mindset of controlling the way they are playing time.

The following figures are based on BUR data collected from recordings I made attempting to perform different BURs. Each figure was recorded on Logic, along with a click track playing at 140 BPM. This tempo was selected because of its medium range, where it will be easier to perceive the difference between BURs. Figures 13-21 are recorded using a repeating C note in an effort to focus attention solely on the BURs, and it is recommended to begin the process of practicing these concepts in a similar manner.

Once the ear has developed to hear the differences between BURs, then other melodic information such as scales and improvised lines should be incorporated. To fully take advantage of practicing these concepts, it is highly recommended that the student also utilize Logic or another similar digital-audio-workstation software, which will allow them to analyze recordings of themselves and measure BUR data.

Figure 13: Even Eighth Notes

1.04 1.04 0.99 1.07 1 1.07 1.1 0.94 0.94

0.9

0.7

0.5

Figure 13 is a BUR representation of my attempt to perform even eighth notes.

Before attempting to perform any other BUR modifications, it is important to establish a baseline of even eighth notes, and be able to perceive the length of each note while playing them. Beginning with this figure, it will again become apparent that performance of these BURs to an absolutely perfect consistent degree is nearly impossible.

Considering that the BUR data collected from Joe Pass also has a fairly high degree of variation, perfect consistency is a questionable goal to strive towards. Only one of the

BURs over and eight beat span perfectly made the 1.0 mark, with the others falling within a +-0.1 range.

Figure 14: Triplet Swing Eighth Notes:

2.8 2.35 2.13 2.15 2.09 2.17 2.1 2.3 1.93 1.84 1.8

1.3

0.8

Figure 14 is a representation of the many times aforementioned triplet swing.

Again, it is notable that the BUR’s aren’t perfectly consistent, but they are remaining fairly close to the mark of 2.0 that represents triplet swing eighth notes, and thus are heard as triplets. This is important to hear as a baseline, just because of the massive prevalence of utilization of the triplet as a method of introducing the concept of swing eighths.

Figure 15: Extreme Swing

3.8 3.44 3.31 3.31 3.21 3.27 3.23 3.3 2.91 2.98

2.8

2.3

1.8

In several of the lines analyzed from Joe Pass, there were interspersed instances of pairs of eighth notes producing BURs that were higher than the mark of 2.0, and also over the mark of 3.0. Due to the very large BUR and resulting jarring rhythmic dissonance, this sound is assigned the label “extreme swing”. This is another area of the swing spectrum that should be accessible for the student to use. In this case, several beats are played with well over 3.0 BURs, with the last beat nearly reaching the 3.5 mark.

Figure 16: Reverse Swing

1.1

0.9 0.68 0.67 0.62 0.63 0.59 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.5

Another concept that occasionally appeared in Pass’ lines is the use of BURs

<1.0, which will be labeled as “reverse swing.” While sometimes these beats were not far enough below the 1.0 mark to have an extremely noticeable difference from straight eighth notes, Figure 5 contained a beat with a BUR of 0.7. Practicing this will serve to further gain control over BUR, and also allow beats to be interspersed in to improvisations that will provide subtle time variation. Extended use of this BUR in improvisation is certainly uncommon, but should be experimented with.

Figure 17: Low Swing

2 1.66 1.72 1.6 1.56 1.44 1.5 1.24 1.44 1.57 1

0.5

Figure 17 is an attempt to more closely replicate the BUR range that Pass most commonly plays in, which tends to gravitate between 1.2 and 1.7. One thing that I found notable when recording this example was that it felt much more natural and musical to play within this BUR range than the triplet range demonstrated in Figure 14, which felt much more rigid.

The extremely common occurrence of BURs within this range shows that it is an extremely practical sound to have accessible, and will result in a swing feel that falls more in line with not only Pass, but most widely recorded jazz soloists in general.

Figure 18: Swing - Straight Contour

1.7 1.51 1.34 1.36 1.5 1.3 1.31 1.26 1.3 1.04 1.01 1.01 0.97 1.1 0.88 0.88 0.9 0.7 0.5

One other common finding in the analysis of the Pass excerpts, is a mixture of swung BURs and straight BURs found within the same phrase. Figure 18 offers a method of combining and transitioning between a relatively low, natural sounding swing feel, to a straighter BUR. The first half of the phrase is frequently centered around the 1.3 area, and

transitions to the second half centering around the 1.0 area (with two beats falling slightly under 1.0.)

Figure 19: Straight – Swing - Straight Contour

1.5 1.34 1.41 1.3 1.24 1.27 1.21 1.27 1.11 1.15 1.03 1.03 1.06 1.03 0.99 0.96 1 0.82

0.5

Another possibility in modifying the BUR over the course of a phrase is demonstrated in Figure 19. In this case, the phrase begins with BURs centered around

1.0, which then transition to the 1.3-1.4 swing range in the middle, and then back down to being centered around the 1.0 straight mark. One of the more challenging things to do in the performance of this type of fluctuating phrase is a smooth transition between BURs, rather than a sudden point of change. In this case, the initial transition from straight to swing is bridged by a beat with a 1.15 BUR, but coming back to straight from swing has a more sudden point of change from a 1.27 BUR directly to 0.99.

Figure 20: Swing – Straight – Swing Contour

2.5 2.03

2 1.5 1.52 1.6 1.47 1.36 1.34 1.28 1.23 1.35 1.23 1.5 1.19 1.1 1.08 1.13 1.2 1

0.5

Figure 20 is essentially the same concept presented in Figure 19, but inverted. The phrase begins with one beat of triplet swing, and then stays in the 1.3-1.5 area. Towards the middle, the BURs drop to near straight, and then gradually increase to end on a 1.6

BUR.

Figure 21: Low swing with isolated high swing beats

2.35 2.5 2.05 2.04 2.1 1.89 1.88 1.93 1.96 1.7 1.72 1.81 1.8 1.71 2 1.66 1.55 1.55 1.5

0.5

Figure 21 is an attempt at a more nuanced way of modifying the BUR within a phrase. The phrase is four bars long, and the idea is to increase the BUR on beat 4, which creates a sense of forward momentum heading into the next measure. The most extreme point in the phrase where this happens is on beat four of the second measure, where there is a 2.35 BUR, immediately dropping to 1.81 on the next beat. On this particular 31

recording, there was also a tendency to gradually increase the BUR, peaking on beat four.

This concept can also lend itself to creating a different sort of accenting on the high BUR beats, particularly to accent the upbeat.

Conclusion:

The analysis of the BUR and BL data from each of the excerpts from Joe Pass has illuminated an often-overlooked aspect of not only his playing, but also the playing of any jazz musicians analyzed through traditional methods. Description of a player’s time was previously analyzed in extremely broad terms, but is now able to be studied in a quantifiable, tangible method. Through this analysis, Pass has demonstrated to have a very broad range of possibilities for playing the swing sound, and also has very clear tendencies. There is a lot of potential to be tapped through this form of analysis, and my hope is that others will continue to pursue this form of nuanced analysis with other jazz performers.

From the first moment that I was introduced to the concepts that are explored in this thesis, I began to hear music differently, whether it was listening to a recording, listening to live music, or listening to people I was playing with. The simple awareness of the many possibilities that exist in the way that eighth notes can be played made me pay constant attention to it, and subsequently amplified my level of awareness. What previously went unnoticed was now blatantly obvious. I realized I had found the missing link in my previous idea of swing being purely based on the triplet subdivision.

As far as practice and pedagogy are concerned, the examples provided in this thesis far from cover all of the possibilities for studying this subject. Presumably it would take years if not a lifetime to master these concepts, but the process of doing this type of practice is intrinsically beneficial. Recording yourself and analyzing the rhythmic properties to this ultra nuanced extent allows for the revelation of tendencies in your own playing that you would not have been able to realize through any other method. I’m excited to continue exploring the world of rhythm through this and other forms of analysis that technology has allowed students of music to engage in

Bibliography:

Benadon, Fernando. "Slicing the Beat: Jazz Eighth-Notes as Expressive Microrhythm." Ethnomusicology 50, no. 1 (2006): 73-98. Accessed January 17, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/20174424.

Pass, Joe. “Night and Day.” On Virtuoso. Pablo Records 2310-708, 1974.

— “Night and Day.” On Eximious. Pablo Records 2310-877, 1982.

— “Cherokee.” on Virtuoso. Pablo Records 2310-708, 1974.

— “Cherokee” On Two for the Road. Pablo Records 2310-714, 1974.

— “There Is No Greater Love” on The Complete Pacific Jazz Joe Pass Quartet

Sessions. Mosaic Records MD5-207. 2001

Pouska, Andrew. “Shuffle and Swing Rhythms: Rhythm.” StudyBass. Accessed February 18, 2020. https://www.studybass.com/lessons/rhythm/shuffle-and-swing-rhythms/.

Riley, John. The Art of Bop Drumming. Manhattan Music Publications, 1998.

Tomita, Fumi. 2019. The Jazz Rhythm Section : A Manual for Band Directors. Blue Ridge Summit: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Accessed February 18, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central.