2.1. Analyzing recordings and videos of the masters
As mentioned in the methodology I collected videos of live performances of singers and instrumentalists of the past and of today, in order to analyze their phrasing and the amount of interplay they were creating during their playing. To better illustrate the desired information, I isolated a fragment from every video, to showcase my point in the analysis. However, in the bibliography chapter, there are all the details regarding each video and the specific link, where it can be found on the internet on the YouTube platform. The lead sheets for each piece can be found in the Appendix and were taken from the New Real Book editions for jazz standards in their original key (tonality).
Betty Carter is singing "What a little moonlight can do" live at The Montreal Jazz Festival in 1982. I isolated this song out of the whole concert because it is one of the pieces that reveal her loose and spacious way of phrasing the lyrics. Also, she is scatting and the phrasing of her solo clearly stimulates interplay, as she is very rhythmical and leaves quite a lot of space for her band to comment and participate in her story-telling.
Excerpt from Betty Carter’s solo: In this particular part of her solo, she is very syncopated and repeats the last part of her phrase, giving the pianist a clear rhythmical suggestion. Then he "fills in" rhythmically, playing the chord in quarter note triplets.
Carmen Mc Rae sings "No more blues" live at Tokyo in 1986.
Her phrasing is very "talkative" and syncopated when she's singing the theme thus leaving space between the phrases of the melody.
Excerpt of how she phrases the theme, leaving space for the pianist to comment on.
Excerpt on how Carmen Mc Rae is soloing, leaving space for the pianist to complete her distinctive phrase.
DeeDee Bridgewater sings "Speak Low" during the International Jazz Day All Star Global Celebration at UNESCO on April 27, 2012.
Her phrasing shows her great ability to bend the time, being very creative with her rhythmical ideas.
Dee Dee Bridgewater - vocals
Herbie Hancock - piano
Lionel Loueke - guitar
Ben Williams - bass
Terri Lynne Carrington - drums
Excerpt on how she's phrasing the theme, imitating the rhythmical "suggestion" of pianist Herbie Hancock.
Excerpt from Betty Carter’s phrasing the theme: In this particular example she phrases the lyrics in an almost staccato way, leaving space, that the pianist uses to “comment” with his accompaniment, arpeggiating the chord.
Miles Davis Quintet plays Wayne Shorter's composition "Footprints" in Germany 1967-11-07.
Miles Davis - trumpet
Wayne Shorter - saxophone
Herbie Hancock - piano
Ron Carter - double bass
Tony Williams - drums
Excerpt of Miles's soloing, that showcases the rhythmical interaction with pianist Herbie Hancock. Herbie is emphasizing Miles' descending phrase by providing a parallel downward motion in his response.
Excerpt on how DeeDee is soloing. Her rhythmical idea is being developed by Herbie Hancock and she takes his new melodic suggestion to elaborate her next phrase.
Dianne Reeves sings "Triste" in a live performance at Lotos Jazz Festival in Poland on February 19, 2014.
Dianne Reeves - vocals
Peter Martin - piano
Peter Sprague - guitar
James Genus - bass
Terreon Gully - drums
Excerpt of Dianne Reeves soloing. In her solo, she offers very clear rhythmical phrases and this enables the rhythm section to instantly grasp her suggestions and provide a tight comping, accenting her rhythmical ideas.
2.2. Information derived from the interviews
I had some very interesting and fruitful conversations with drummer Eric Ineke, saxophonist David Liebman and bassist Hein van de Geyn on the matters of phrasing and interplay. It is worth noting that they were all very interested in the topic and happy to contribute to this research. Their answers were similar in some questions and a little different in others, according to each interviewee’s perspective.
1. What does the word phrasing mean to you?
Since there hasn’t been a concrete official definition in music literature about the word phrasing, every musician is free to define the word according to their experience and perception.
In my question about what the word phrasing meant to each one of my interviewees, they all offered a different suggestion; yet all of those descriptions shared a common emphasis on the connection of the term with speech. Jazz music is a sort of language and the musical sentences we create are characterized by the way each jazz musician articulates, pronounces and reflects his/her own sound and personality on the material.
In particular, bassist Hein van de Geyn defined it as “the coherence within a musical phrase or within a series of musical phrases. … It’s the music understood as a language” and gave me this remarkable example (among many others!) of the YouTube video entitled “the jazz dispute”, that characterizes the playful, irregular and rhythmical almost rapping-like language of jazz.
Drummer Eric Ineke offered another definition to the word, emphasizing on the need for rhythmical clarity. He suggests that phrasing means “to clear up the articulation of musical sentences.”
According to saxophonist David Liebman the word phrasing (in jazz music) contains all these elements: “how one articulates the note…. legato vs staccato and everything in between; the end of a note like whether one does a vibrato or cuts it off or lets the note fade away; time feel meaning the swinging eighth note, which is the essence of jazz rhythm and swing; nuance of course which makes, each artist unique…. meaning in essence the way each individual speaks and gestures.”
2. Why is phrasing considered to be one of the most important elements in jazz music?
They all agreed on the great importance of phrasing in music. “…otherwise there would be just a bunch of notes and that would be utterly uninteresting!”
3. Besides the limitation of the lyrics and the fear of risk-taking while scatting, what more differences have you noticed in the rhythmical phrasing of an instrumentalist in comparison to that of a vocalist when playing the theme of a song and during their solos?
All of them referred to the great importance of the lyrics, answering my third question; and to the fact that lyrics should not be taken for granted for the sake of creating variations in interpreting the theme of a song.
Hein van de Geyn commented that a true “musical singer” has the tools to sing nice variations of the theme (phrase the lyrics of the theme in a different way from the rhythmical text provided on the lead sheet) without getting obsessed or hysterical about making it different. He also observed that a big percentage of singers have poor soloing skills and uninspiring lines. The fact that they scat some shoo-bee-doo-bee-doo diatonic lines doesn’t make them jazz singers.
Eric Ineke had the exact same view on the improvisational performance of most singers. He mentioned that a shoo-bee-doo-bee-doo without real swing feel and “drive” does not reach his ears, does not interest him at all.
David Liebman emphasized on the respect he has for singers that can do that (scat singing) really well because it means that they have worked hard to achieve it; since they don’t have any buttons to press, they have to work really hard in order to sing nice soloing phrases, find the pitches, get the nuances correctly, etc.
4. Besides the obvious contribution of the story that lyrics offer into music, what more strong points/advantages or tools of the jazz singer are there, that could reinforce her/his role in the band?
In the fourth question about the strong points that a singer has, apart from contributing a story while singing the lyrics, Hein van de Geyn referred to the unique personal sound of the voice that each singer has.
David Liebman spoke about the physical presence of the singer on stage, especially if it’s a woman. The fact that singers don’t hold an instrument but only produce sound with their body, distinguishes them from the rest of the musicians on stage. He also pointed out that due to the fact that singers have to stop in order to take a breath, they inevitably leave more space between their phrases.
Eric Ineke mentioned that a singer can make great use of "playing" with the time (bending, stretching the time) when singing the lyrics of the theme of a song. This is also the way to become more adventurous in phrasing, answering my fifth question; by singing over the barline like all great jazz players used to do! He pointed out that there should be no difference between a singer and a horn player.
5. How can a jazz musician achieve a more adventurous and interesting phrasing in your opinion?
Answering my fifth question about how to become more adventurous, David Liebman firstly mentioned the importance of copying the masters as the fundamental step for acquiring the jazz language. And secondly, recording oneself and trying to find what is that little something that makes one unique. Before getting adventurous he said that one has to know what one's own sound is, what is unique about the way one is playing/singing.
Hein van de Geyn spoke about the importance of acquiring all the tools for practicing phrasing, learning the variation techniques and deepening into improvisation. Mastering these tools can form a real jazz singer with a real jazz personality.
6. What are the elements of phrasing itself that encourage the interplay within a band?
In the sixth question about what are the elements of phrasing that can stimulate interplay, Eric Ineke immediately pointed out that leaving space is the most important thing, because if one doesn’t make some space, then nobody will have room to interact in any way.
Hein van de Geyn referred to the dynamics and the importance of listening to each other very closely when playing in a band, in order to follow and respect the musical context and not do something irrelevant that could harm the music at that point.
David Liebman stressed the importance of nuance, how one takes each note and make it his/her own. And of course the way one sings the eighth notes, the rhythmical phrases; that’s what the rhythm section is waiting for, in order to be able to respond.
7. What are the different types of interplay in your opinion?
In the seventh question about the different types of interplay, Eric Ineke talked about the importance of hearing an interesting rhythmical phrase, as a stimulus for him to get inspired and respond in a musical way. "Receiving" nice phrases will make him play something different and “continue the conversation”. Especially if one gets the chance to play with top musicians, then one gets so inspired that can play things that had never played before! If one plays with musicians that don’t speak the same language (jazz idiom) then there can be no music, thus no interaction at all.
David Liebman referred to the same situation of playing with top musicians that share the same language and therefore the interplay comes naturally. He also talked about the difference between playing in a jam session with musicians that don’t know each other musically and on the contrary, playing with a band that it is kept together for years. In that ideal situation, everyone knows how everyone else is responding and they eventually build a very strong musical connection and interplay.
That same idea was also shared by Hein van de Geyn, who offered an example of a performance of Stan Getz (he had witnessed himself) with Kenny Barron on piano and Ben Riley on drums. These top quality players were totally “together” in their comping, accenting Stan Getz’s rhythmical soloing phrases on the spot.
8. In what way(s) can the interplay become a sort of musical conversation?
In the eighth question about how can interplay become a sort of musical conversation David Liebman pointed out that jazz improvisation is all about having a conversation!
Eric Ineke referred to the importance of how interesting your phrases are as a prerequisite, in order to get involved in a musical conversation.
Hein van de Geyn commented on the fact that sometimes interaction is an overemphasized element but at the same time crucial to making music. He distinguished that there is the imitating aspect as one way of interplay; but also the dynamic aspect, the bending of the time and many other more subtle ways of interaction. Respecting the rests and the silences of the music, deciding to NOT interact is also a way of interacting. In order to have a beautiful conversation, one has to respect the musical context. One can’t keep adding things into the music for the sake of the so-called interaction, when the only thing that is required from the music itself, is to keep it as simple and “empty” as possible.
9. How do you teach your students to become more elaborate and interactive while playing in a band?
In the ninth question about how can students be taught to become more elaborate and interactive while playing, Eric Ineke said that the main thing he tells his students is to listen to everybody in the band; not only to themselves. Also, he stresses the importance of being alert and concentrated, so that they can hear everything at once. In addition, he advises them to learn the historical context of what they’re playing, so that they can adapt to the style of each song and provide the most appropriate accompaniment. He tells them to listen to as many albums as possible; not only one piece but the whole album and pay attention not only to the drummer but to all the instruments because that’s the best way to get the language of jazz. In addition, a good exercise is to play over album recordings, because playing over Sonny Rollins or Hank Mobley can really “feed” you with great information.
David Liebman referred to the importance of the transcription in order to get the language right and then during playing they have to record themselves and observe without criticism what could be done to get better. He specifically said: “Once you do your homework as we call it, then you’re ready to take more chances and naturally feel more confident.”
Hein van de Geyn described the way he teaches his students on the combo lesson: He asks the rhythm section to play in the simplest way while he was pretending to be a horn player soloing. He would scat without pausing at all and then after a while, he would make a distinctive rhythmical phrase and he would then make a pause (space) for them to be able to participate and respond to what they heard. By that way he wanted them to realize that it’s important to interact only when it’s absolutely needed and not getting obsessed with commenting on everything that they hear, getting in the way of the music and disrespecting the musical context.
listen and read the full interviews here
2.3. Practicing phrasing
In this section, I’m placing some suggestions on how I practice the tools of phrasing, after having collected ideas that derived from the jazz literature, the interviews and my musical experience so far. Through these descriptions, I provide examples of how one can make rhythmical variations on the theme and create captivating phrases-musical statements.
For each of the suggestions-exercises below, a specific audio is available. For the realization of these audio recordings, pianist Luca Ridolfo kindly offered me his accompaniment. The lead sheets for every audio fragment can be found in the Appendix.
- While practicing a song at a particular tempo, I try different ways of phrasing each melodic phrase of the theme. For example, I am changing its rhythmical values, back-phrasing and perhaps loosening it or anticipating and tightening it.
- Likewise, I can phrase the theme by back-phrasing a melodic line but at the same time keeping it short and not necessarily legato with a loose or laid-back feel.
- In addition, I have the choice to anticipate a phrase and instead of keeping a tight articulation, I make it last longer within the bars.
- In my solo, I enrich my ideas by mixing different rhythmical values and articulation features within the same phrase.
- I start and finish each one of my soloing phrases in a clear rhythmical way, in order to be easily perceived by the rhythm section and manage to stimulate "imitative" or even "accenting interplay".
- I also think about the direction of my phrase; whether I want to lead it upwards or downwards in terms of pitch range.
- With the previous idea, I also create "call and response" phrases, giving a sense of a question-tension going upwards melodically and then "respond" with one more phrase that offers the release and perhaps goes downwards melodically, as an answer.
- I make sure to leave space between each phrase so that I can allow it to linger in my ears; thus I create the next one, aiming to make it coherent to the previous, continuing the "story". Making rests and creating space between my phrases is an effective way to offer a chance for a possible response on behalf of the rhythm section.
- When I sing a phrase, I create a distinctive rhythmical pattern (motive) that is repeated, making it relevant according to the chord changes if needed. By doing this, I establish a rhythmically fixed musical layer upon which my co-players can introduce a rhythmically "contrapuntal" or "parallel" idea and lead the interactive improvisation to a new direction.
- I aim to create contrast or continuity within my phrases in terms of length, direction, range and rhythmic density. This is a way to engage in "contrapuntal/parallel interplay".
- A more advanced exercise is to start my phrase from a non-predictable spot of the stave. Additionally, instead of beginning my phrase from the first beat of the bar, I start from the third beat for example, either on the downbeat or even better on the upbeat. These two ideas create a kind of non-symmetrical approach, that will possibly bring some "elasticity", provided that the form will not get lost.
- While listening to a recording of the masters, I choose a phrase from a solo and I explore the ways I can phrase it differently, by changing its rhythmical values or articulating it in another way. In this audio fragment I chose Chet Baker's first soloing phrase at the song "It could happen to you", taken from the album Chet Baker sings - It could happen to you.
2.4. Practicing interplay
Given the actual meaning of the word, interplay is supposed to be practiced within a group yet there are ways to practice being interactive and elaborate on the spot, even on my own.
- Singing over a recording of the masters is a nice and real-time exercise of filling in and "commenting" with my own phrases on the spot, according to what has been offered. In this audio fragment, I chose to sing over "All blues" from the album Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. The lead sheet for this audio fragment can also be found in the Appendix.
- Applying the rhythmical tools for building phrases, described in the previous section (Practicing phrasing), I provide myself with useful material, in order to stimulate interplay and on the other hand become more responsive to the musical conversation within the band.
- Playing the same song with different musicians and in a different tempo is a good way to find out how phrasing and consequently interplay are being affected.
- While rehearsing with a band I focus on creating space and aim to listen to every noticeable phrase-statement that is being offered by my co-players. It is important to become as quick as possible at making decisions on the spot, regarding how and if I'm going to respond to what has been played.
- A good way to find out how well I listen to the other musicians of my band, how much space I leave for my co-players to interact while playing and what kind of interplay I'm mostly engaging in, is recording the rehearsal and listening back to it for evaluation.
Audio of the song "Alone together" (composed by Arthur Schwartz with lyrics by Howard Dietz) in duet with pianist Yiannis Papadopoulos. Recorded live during a performance on Dec. 14, 2014. The lead sheet of this piece can be found in the Appendix.
My phrasing of the theme is changing from legato to slightly more staccato, depending on how I want to emphasize the lyrics. Either legato or staccato I'm quite clear rhythmically most the time, accenting the upbeats right on the groove, without bending the time.
During our solos, there was an obvious attempt to "support" and elaborate one another's musical suggestions and have a sort of collective improvisation. We're listening closely and leaving space for one another to have time to respond. I sing phrases over the barline and not in obvious and expected parts of the four-measures staves. Most of the time I sing rhythmically clear phrases so that the pianist can respond easily. When I'm stretching the time-feel excessively, the pianist is following me but quickly returns to the original pulse of the piece, to provide the certainty of where we are on the form. After the vocal solo, I continue providing a baseline for the piano solo, while at the same time I respond as much as I can in his soloing phrases by creating contrast with long notes when he's very syncopated, engaging in a "contrapuntal interplay". In the end of our collective solo, we're "landing" on the beat together. In addition, he responds and enhances the dynamics of the theme at the end.
Recording of my song "Waltz of broken dreams" in trio during the performance of my recital on May 15, 2017. Georgios Tsolis-piano, Philipp Zarfl-double bass. The lead sheet of this piece can be found in the Appendix.
I play this song for the first time in a recital context in trio voice-piano-bass formation. I'm phrasing the theme of the song in a rather staccato and talkative way, mostly tightening the rhythmic values, depending on the lyrics. The rhythm section chooses to play quite simple and not mess up with the rhythm, as the feeling of the song is demanding a minimal approach. During the first two A parts of my solo, I sing legato phrases and at the second A, I pick the rhythmical idea of the bassist to begin a new idea at the second bar, singing a long note using the lower part of my range. At the B part of the form towards the end, the pianist responds to my denser rhythmical phrases by playing staccato phrases on the upbeats with a parallel rhythmical movement.
Studio recording of my song "Waltz of broken dreams" with piano, double bass and drums in June 2017. Georgios Tsolis-piano, Philipp Zarfl-double bass, Jacopo Zanette-drums.
The same song but in a quartet formation with drums. The tempo is slightly slower than in the recital version, so my phrasing of the theme is more legato and I stretch the lyrics within the bars. In my solo, I try to remember to leave space between my phrases, so that it can create anticipation and as drummer Eric Ineke mentions in the interview he gave me: "if you leave space, then it swings harder"!
I sing long notes followed by a more rhythmically "dense" phrase, in order to create contrast. I also create contrast by changing between a long note at the bottom part of my voice's range and then continuing with sixteenth notes with an upwards ascending direction to my higher range.
When I sing a certain rhythmical motive and repeat it, I give the chance to the rhythm section to grasp the phrase and elaborate it, by either imitating it or answering with a different rhythmic suggestion.
As saxophonist David Liebman mentioned in the interview he gave me: "The way you sing your eight notes and your rhythmic ideas will immediately have an effect on the rhythm section. They're waiting for the rhythmic information of the soloist to reach their ears and then for them to take that material and see what can be done with it."
Video from the musical theatre performance "Singing the love affair" on Oct. 9, 2014. In this particular excerpt, we're playing "Alone together" in duet with pianist Kostas Yaxoglou.
During the vocal solo, the pianist is listening closely to my phrases and responds, accenting and emphasizing my musical ideas. He chooses to play in a tight rhythmical manner and mostly staccato, in order to emphasize the playful manner of my improvisation. He imitates rhythmically and melodically my last high notes following my soft dynamics and then he goes to a bluesy pianistic accompaniment, following the stronger dynamic level, as we're proceeding to the end of the solo.
During the singing of the theme, in the end, the pianist fills in with intriguing ideas and creates a sort of "call and response" sensation as he continues to follow my exchanging of the dynamic level.
Excerpt of one more studio recording of my song "Waltz of broken dreams" in quartet formation, in November 2017. Georgios Tsolis-piano, Yussif Barakat-double bass, Owen Hart Jr-drums.
In this excerpt of the recording, there is only my solo part. I leave space between my phrases, to create room for interaction. The pianist and the drummer are responsive to my phrases, imitating, offering parallel or contrasting rhythmical suggestions. I use long notes to sing over the barline and create an asymmetric feel of the form. On my rhythmically loose phrases, changing between stretching and tightening the time (ping-pong irregular bouncing effect) near the end of my solo, the pianist and the drummer respond with equally loose rhythmical answers. I immediately go to a contrasting legato and loose ending phrase, to finish my solo.
Audio of "Alone together" with bassist Ntinos Manos recorded during a live performance on Dec. 1, 2012.
This performance marked the beginning of my collaboration with this particular bass player in a bass and voice duet formation. Due to the very intimate character of this duet, I had instantly decided to sing the theme very softly in terms of volume.
He is accompanying me in a simple way, providing the baselines to support my singing of the theme and my rhythmical ideas during my solo. Whenever I'm leaving space or singing very specific rhythmical ideas and repeating them, only then does he respond by imitating them. He mostly chooses to not interact too much and prefers to keep the fundamental role of the bassist to keep a steady pulse and provide the harmonic progressions in the clearest way.
So according to bassist Hein van de Geyn sayings, during our conversation, while I was interviewing him: "Sometimes the best choice is the choice to NOT interact".
Video of "Centerpiece" (a jazz standard composed by Harry Edison with lyrics by Jon Hendricks) in duet, during a live performance with bassist Konstantinos Manos on Nov. 9, 2014. The lead sheet of this piece can be found in the Appendix.
After our first bass and voice duet performance in 2012, we're now more accustomed with each other's language and more comfortable about taking rhythmical risks, knowing and trusting, that we're supporting each other in case any mistake occurs.
His steady pulse gives me the freedom to bend and stretch the time during my solo and when he chooses to fill in, he's only doing it when he knows that he's not gonna mess around with my solo's flow. At some point, he is playing in parallel movement downwards keeping the same rhythmic values along with me, to emphasize my phrase. Later he is grasping my repetitive rhythmical motive and plays it back accenting the rest of my phrase.
During our four-measures trading, we're getting into a "conversational battle", by imitating one another's ideas and trying to raise the difficultness level, in order to emphasize our joyful match on stage.
Excerpt of my song "Spicy life", recorded during my recital at Koncon on May 15, 2017, with Georgios Tsolis-piano and Philipp Zarfl-double bass. The lead sheet of this piece can be found in the Appendix.
This song is a fast and harmonically challenging composition of mine. As a consequence, it requires more time for my inner ear to "absorb" and internalize the chord progression.
I'm phrasing the theme in a dense way, as the tempo is fast and there is no time for phrasing it in a more loose way. I presume that when more time and effort is spent on this, I will eventually become more confident and able to move freely within its form.
In my solo, my main concern is to find the correct notes within the fast and difficult changes, so I'm less concentrated in the interaction. I create some clear phrases but being carried away by the fast tempo, I'm not making enough rests for my co-players to interact. There is a moment though, where the pianist is responding in between two distinctive and repeated phrases of mine, by imitating them rhythmically.
Excerpt of "Blue in Green" (a jazz standard by Miles Davis and Bill Evans with lyrics of mine), recorded during my recital at Koncon on May 15, 2017 with Georgios Tsolis-piano and Philipp Zarfl-double bass. The lead sheet of this piece can be found in the Appendix.
This is a piece by Bill Evans, in which I wrote my own lyrics and arranged it in 5/4. In this jazz standard, that starts with this fixed baseline pattern in the first four bars of every chorus, I sing the theme back-phrasing the lyrics and bending the time. I am being legato, in order to make it sound loose and create a contrast between the narrative lyrics and the fixed rhythmical pattern of the rhythm section. During the repeat of the theme of the melody, the bassist starts to fill in with syncopated notes on the upbeats, to create tension.
During my solo, I aim to sing over the barline, starting and ending my phrases on unexpected parts of the harmonic cycle (form) and in a sharp syncopated manner. I finish my second soloing phrase using a clear syncopated rhythmical statement accenting the upbeat, in order to create a noticeable stimulus for reaction on behalf of the pianist, who imitates it straight away.
I also build up some tension by repeating a specific rhythmical pattern and then resolve it with a subtle rise in volume, in terms of dynamics, which the rhythm section follows. I also mix different rhythmical values and use a variety of rhythmical ideas, in order to make it sound more adventurous.
Audio of "Equinox" (a jazz standard of John Coltrane with lyrics by Chris Caswell "A long way to go") recorded during a live performance in October 2013. Andreas Papagiannakopoulos-guitar, Ntinos Manos-double bass, Thanos Hatzianagnostou-drums. The lead sheet of this piece can be found in the Appendix.
During the vocal solo, I sing almost continuously my musical phrases without leaving much space for my co-players to interact, so although I'm making a lot of musical statements-suggestions, they go unanswered. Nearly at the end, the rhythm section is supporting the climax of my solo by clearly increasing the dynamic level. The fact that there was no obvious interaction in terms of elaborating phrases, etc, made me feel free and uninterrupted to spread my improvisational story and take it where I wanted it to go.