The Adaptation of Saxophone-Like Phrasing Into the Improvisatory and Compositional Vocabulary of Jazz Guitar
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THE ADAPTATION OF SAXOPHONE-LIKE PHRASING INTO THE IMPROVISATORY AND COMPOSITIONAL VOCABULARY OF JAZZ GUITAR: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PHRASING, ARTICULATION, AND MELODIC DESIGN IN THE STYLES OF JIMMY RANEY, JIM HALL, AND JOHN SCOFIELD Daniel Mauricio Pinilla Vera, B.M., M.M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2020 APPROVED: Davy Mooney, Major Professor Warren Henry, Committee Member Robert Parton, Committee Member and Interim Chair of the Division of Jazz Studies Felix Olschofka, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music John Richmond, Dean of the College of Music Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Pinilla Vera, Daniel Mauricio. The Adaptation of Saxophone-Like Phrasing into the Improvisatory and Compositional Vocabulary of Jazz Guitar: A Comparative Analysis of Phrasing, Articulation, and Melodic Design in the Styles of Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John Scofield. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), May 2020, 195 pp., 11 tables, 15 figures, 92 musical examples, 1 appendix, bibliography, 50 titles, discography, 8 titles. This study investigates how different guitarists introduced saxophone-like phrasing into the improvisatory and compositional vocabulary of jazz guitar through their collaborations with saxophonists. This research presents a comparative analysis of phrasing, articulation, and melodic design in solo improvisations. The mixed approach to this study includes analysis of motives, voice leading, articulation, length of phrases, melodic contour, and the execution of bebop vocabulary on the guitar. The findings are based on original transcriptions from significant recordings by guitar-saxophone pairs. These highlight the similarities between and adaptations of musical devices from saxophonists Stan Getz, Jimmy Giuffre, and Joe Lovano into the jazz guitar styles of Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John Scofield. This study supports the argument that the evolution of modern jazz guitar playing is directly connected to the adaptation of saxophone- like phrasing at an improvisatory and compositional level. It also shows that the concept of style in jazz flows between different instruments’ lineages. Understanding these findings provides a more complex and accurate concept of the development of style in jazz. Copyright 2020 by Daniel M. Pinilla Vera ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my family Arturo Pinilla, Nubia Vera de Pinilla, Francisco Pinilla, Miguel Pinilla, Mayra Pinilla, and Luisa Alejandra Pinilla, for their unconditional support. You are my true inspiration. I want to thank my advisory committee, Dr. Davy Mooney, Dr. Warren Henry, and Professor Robert Parton, for sharing their knowledge with generosity. I especially want to thank Dr. John Murphy for his guidance and support during my time at UNT and in this project in particular. Your scholarship and work ethic will always be guidelines in my academic career. Thanks to my mentor Fred Hamilton for his wisdom and for opening a new world of opportunities in my career. Your trust in my capabilities brought me here. I am thankful for all the support I received from all the faculty at the University of North Texas, and would like to mention particularly Alan Baylock, Brad Leali, Mike Steinel, Noel Johnston, José Aponte, Rodney Booth, Jay Saunders, and Dr. Don Taylor. I also want to thank Erica Peterson for her professionalism and work ethic. Thanks to Richard Narvaez and Enrique Mendoza for awakening in me the love for this music and their support through the years. Finally, I want to thank Jon Raney for his collaboration, which included sharing photographic material that contributed to my research. I thank him also for his support and encouragement. This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of Jimmy Raney and Jim Hall for their enormous contribution to jazz guitar. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES .............................................................................................. viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Purpose ................................................................................................................................ 1 Significance of Research and Review of Literature ........................................................... 2 Significance of Jazz Guitarists ............................................................................................ 4 Method ................................................................................................................................ 6 CHAPTER 2. JAZZ GUITAR AND ITS ROLES IN JAZZ HISTORY ........................................ 7 From a More Percussive Approach to a Solo-Voice in the Jazz Band. .............................. 7 Saxophone-Like Phrasing ................................................................................................. 12 CHAPTER 3. JIMMY RANEY: EARLY YEARS AND MAJOR RECORDINGS ................... 17 Jimmy Raney’s Technique ................................................................................................ 22 Jimmy Raney´s Equipment ............................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 4. CHARACTERISTICS OF RANEY’S IMPROVISING STYLE ON JIMMY RANEY PLAYS .............................................................................................................................. 27 Melodic Design ................................................................................................................. 31 Motivic Design between Players ...................................................................................... 35 Contour ............................................................................................................................. 41 Articulation ....................................................................................................................... 45 Counterpoint ..................................................................................................................... 54 Length ............................................................................................................................... 57 Range ................................................................................................................................ 59 CHAPTER 5. JIM HALL: EARLY YEARS AND MAJOR RECORDINGS ............................. 69 Jim Hall’s Technique ........................................................................................................ 75 Jim Hall’s Equipment ....................................................................................................... 77 iv CHAPTER 6. CHARACTERISTICS OF HALL’S IMPROVISING STYLE ON THE JIMMY GIUFFRE 3 ................................................................................................................................... 80 Tone and Counterpoint ..................................................................................................... 80 Contour and Melodic Design ............................................................................................ 86 CHAPTER 7. JOHN SCOFIELD: EARLY YEARS AND MAJOR RECORDINGS ................. 92 John Scofield’s Technique ................................................................................................ 94 John Scofield’s Equipment ............................................................................................... 95 CHAPTER 8. CHARACTERISTICS OF SCOFIELD’S IMPROVISING STYLE ON WHAT WE DO ................................................................................................................................................. 98 Contour and Motivic Design ............................................................................................. 98 Blending and Articulation ............................................................................................... 111 Length ............................................................................................................................. 120 Range .............................................................................................................................. 122 CHAPTER 9. FINAL CONCLUSIONS..................................................................................... 134 Delimitations and Suggestions for Further Study ........................................................... 136 APPENDIX: ANALYZED TRANSCRIPTIONS ..................................................................... 138 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 191 DISCOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 195 v LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Motives’ contour in Getz’s and Raney’s main motives solos in “Motion.” ................... 42 Table 2: Motives’ contour in Getz’s and Raney’s main motives solos in “Signal” ..................... 43 Table 3: Motives’