As I mentioned last week, this year’s Portland Jazz Festival just wrapped up.  Some of the most interesting music that I heard at the festival came from several Norwegian musicians that came through as part of the festival — particularly Trygve Seim’s duo with Frode Haltli and the Christian Wallumrod Ensemble.  Rather than getting caught up in endless solos full of eighth notes, the Norwegians tended to play as an ensemble, rarely featuring any one particular musician.

The piece that I wrote for this week reflects some of the lessons I learned while listening to these groups.  The piece is truly a duet — there’s a small piano solo in the middle and a small saxophone solo near the end, but the majority of the piece is the two of us interweaving a relatively simple melodic idea.  The title, “Off Kilter,” comes from the fact that the piece, while generally a waltz in 3/4, has a couple of 2/4 bars thrown in that give the piece a different lilt than if it were in a constant 3.

If you check out the sheet music, you’ll see that both of us stay close to what is on the page — Clay’s piano part, for example, is completely written out for the majority of the piece, rather than being improvised based on a set of written chord changes like is often the case for jazz piano parts.  In many ways, the piece is more similar to a classical etude than a jazz piece — another idea inspired by the new music I saw at the festival.

Next week, we’ll be visit nearly the polar opposite of the spectrum — a dirty slow blues from Clay.

Special note: Duo Chronicles will be performing live at Brasserie Montmartre on March 18

Sometimes simplicity is nice.  This week’s song doesn’t have any complex chord changes, any odd meters, or strange phrasing.  It’s just a little pop tune that feels good.

The title, “Still Going,” is a reference to the fact that this song is kicking off the second half of our year-long project.  As we move into weeks 27-52, we’ve just finished the Portland Jazz Festival where we got to see some amazing Norwegian musicians that performed as headliners of the festival.  The most apropos to the Duo Chronicles project was the saxophone/accordion duo of Trygve Seim and Frode Haltli.  They played a beautiful set of melodic music intertwined with sound and texture-based improvisation.  I know that in the second half of our project here I’d love to explore some ideas that they inspired.

Look for new explorations coming in the next few weeks.

Already in the bullpen ready to go is a through-composed song that I wrote based on some of the sounds I heard from the Christian Wallumrod ensemble — another Norwegian group made up of piano, harp, trumpet, cello, violin, and percussion.

Some of you may recognize the title of this tune from a Clint Eastwood movie from years ago. Although not a great movie, I like the title and thought it summed up this weeks tune musically.

About ten years ago I started using manuscript paper notebooks to write down composition ideas, chord voicings etc… Kind of like an artist using a sketch book I suppose. Occasionally I will be browsing through or looking for a particular idea I’ve written down in the notebooks. This weeks tune came about through an idea (first two bars of the bass line) that was a sketch for something else that was from years ago. From there the bass and melody line developed pretty quickly, but I intentionally kept the chord structure open, harmonically speaking. In fact I didn’t really write in chord changes. Not that this is a free tune (music without predefined chord structures.) Rather I thought the melody and bass should imply the chord, giving the improviser freedom and to get away from the chord/scale relationship that sometimes seems too present to me in the improvising processs. In talking about how to approach improvising with my students, I think it is important to remember that a scale merely represents possible note choices to a given harmony, vertically. Musical lines are linear, they exist in time. The challenge is how manage note choices to form these musical lines in time (linear) and also imply the chord changes.

“Rejuvination” is a simple tune that I wrote based on the keyboard groove you hear in the intro -- sort of an “Afro-Pop” type thing.  Simple chord changes, simple melody, but a good feeling, thus the title.

If you check out the sheet music, you can see that we ditched the original melody that I wrote in favor of having us both play the keyboard figure.  I also play along with the montuno on the bridge some of the time.

Hope you enjoy it -- make sure to stick around for the “reprise” at the end.

]]> http://duochronicles.com/2010/02/16/week-25-rejuvenation/feed/ 0 alto,Clay Giberson,John Nastos,keyboard,wurlitzer httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Niyv8iNzC4 "Rejuvination" is a simple tune that I wrote based on the keyboard groove you hear in the intro - sort of an "Afro-Pop" type thing.  Simple chord changes, simple melody, but a good feeling, thus the title. httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Niyv8iNzC4 "Rejuvination" is a simple tune that I wrote based on the keyboard groove you hear in the intro - sort of an "Afro-Pop" type thing.  Simple chord changes, simple melody, but a good feeling, thus the title. If you check out the sheet music (http://duochronicles.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Rejuvenation.pdf), you can see that we ditched the original melody that I wrote in favor of having us both play the keyboard figure.  I also play along with the montuno on the bridge some of the time. Hope you enjoy it - make sure to stick around for the "reprise" at the end. John Nastos no 4:30 http://duochronicles.com/2010/02/09/week-24-second-chances/ http://duochronicles.com/2010/02/09/week-24-second-chances/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:51:06 +0000 John Nastos http://duochronicles.com/?p=377

A few weeks ago, Clay and I used the last few minutes of a recording session to take a crack at a tune that I had just scribbled out a couple of days before.  The song didn’t have a title, systems were scratched out on the paper, and I didn’t really have a form in mind, but somehow we managed to put it together and get what I thought would be a pretty good recording of it.

Unfortunately, while listening back to the mixes, we realized that the piano mics had some distortion due to some radio interference, which made us worry that the tracks might be unusable.  But, Clay went to work with ProTools and came away with a track where the interference was barely audible.  I thought we were in the clear, but when I started editing the video, I realized that I only had video from one of the cameras.  That take clearly wasn’t meant to be.

So now, a few weeks later, we present what I’ve titled “Second Chances” — our second attempt at recording the song.  No radio interference this time.  Both cameras did their jobs.  If you look at the sheet music, though, you still see that system scribbled out.

When going through some of our past episodes, I realized that we had very few songs where we can stretch out on our solos over simple chord changes.  Most of our pieces navigate through complex chords (some more than others) rather than just giving us something simple to explore.  Especially since many times one of us gets a first look at the song just a few minutes before we record, we end up devoting a lot of concentration to getting through the changes without mistakes.

In order to give us some freedom from the page, I wrote this song based on a McCoy Tyner sort of vibe with long stretches of D minor to play over.  Of course (because we just couldn’t resist), we added in some complexity in the melody and how we dealt with the form of the piece.  Nonetheless, I think we came away with something a little different than what we’ve done in the past.

The initial idea for “Common Ground” came pretty quickly and then details like form and instrumentation came together more slowly. A few things come to mind about this tune. One, is how ideas come about in the composing process. I have tried off and on to write away from an instrument altogether. Mostly unsuccessfully unfortunately. There are a couple of reasons why it might be good though. After playing an instrument for a while your hands tend to fall in certain patterns instead of relying on your ear to guide you. So without your instrument you have to really hear your ideas. Also when I’m writing for instruments other than the piano, it really helps to have some knowledge of that instrument’s range, sound etc… In that respect I’m glad I had the experience of playing the trumpet for many years in school bands. One definitely cannot play the trumpet without taking breaths or other woodwind instruments as well for that matter. In this tune I thought some kind of interplay between the soprano sax and flute might be interesting sound and it seemed to work pretty well orchestration-wise. Recently I was playing an instrument that I hadn’t played in a year or so, an old Wurlitzer electric piano. For some reason the sound and feel of the instrument drew out some of the musical ideas in this tune. I think sometimes a certain instrument can do that, not sure why. So perhaps this music wouldn’t have come about if I hadn’t been playing on the Wurlitzer? Hard to say.

Lately I’ve listening to music by the Brazilian guitarist/pianist Egberto Gismonti and I think some of that sound seeped in unconsciously. Also I was thinking about how Antonio Carlos Jobim develops his melodies and harmonic structures. Definitely one of my all time favorite composers. In fact when playing with jazz musicians and it comes time to play a Latin-type tune, most of the time a Jobim tune is suggested. I think there is a reason for that.

As for the title and its meaning? Well not sure if there is a definitive answer but, I am always trying to find a balance (musically and otherwise) between being tied to ideas and being open to unfamiliar ones or the ones that emerge unconsciously. This music seemed to reflect that to me.

For this week’s composition, Ice-Berg, I thought the clarinet would be a good choice. Luckily, John can play pretty much all of the instruments in the woodwind family. That is versatility for you.

A lot of the written music you see as a jazz musician is in the form of a lead sheet. A lead sheet usually contains the melody and a set of chord changes. The chord changes are also usually used for improvising as well as accompanying the melody. Chord changes could be thought of as musical shorthand, they give you a harmonic roadmap, but don’t necessarily spell out all the details. Sometimes it is difficult to really describe a chord voicing that I want, it is just easier to write out the notes. So if you take a look at the PDF for Ice-Berg you will see the chords written musically as well as the chord symbols. The second dilemma was that chords were pretty difficult to improvise over. Pretty chromatic. In this case I decided to play shapes over the harmony instead of worrying that every note fit every chord. Is there really such a thing as a wrong note? As long the note that follows makes sense to the previous one, does it matter? Music is not static like a painting. In taking that approach I also wanted the melody to always be played in order to provide some continuity. Basically to keep it from being too atonal sounding. The classic recording of Nefertiti by the Miles quintet of 1960’s basically play the melody chorus after chorus. The effect is a more subtle change than drastic.

What is interesting is what causes one to hear a sound as dissonant? In western music we have 12 individual notes, that are divided into octaves and repeated. Combinations of two notes form intervals, with three notes a triad and so on. Generally speaking the interval of a 5th is considered consonant while a minor 2nd dissonant. My harmonic approach is this tune was use dissonant and consonant intervals side by side. The music of twentieth-century composer Alban Berg made use of dissonance as well as the serial composition, the use of 12 tone rows. The line between harmony and atonality begins to disappear, or melt like an Ice-Berg. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Stephen Foster is a composer of true Americana.  His songbook is filled with compositions known by Americans of all walks of life -- songs like “Oh! Susanna,” “Camptown Races,” and “Beautiful Dreamer.”

This week, I’ve arranged Foster’s “Hard Times, Come Again No More” for the Duo Chronicles project.  Although not as well-known as the songs I mentioned above, it’s still a very common song, especially in the folk circles.  For example, my favorite version was performed by James Taylor with Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O’Connor.

For the Duo Chronicles version, I stretched the harmony, but not so much that the song is hidden -- it’s just presented in a different light.  I also tried to stay true to the lyrics and mood of the song, which transitions between hopeful and dark imagery.  Here are Foster’s original lyrics:

Let us pause in life’s pleasures and count its many tears,

While we all sup sorrow with the poor;

There’s a song that will linger forever in our ears;

Oh Hard times come again no more.

Chorus:

Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,

Hard Times, hard times, come again no more

Many days you have lingered around my cabin door;

Oh hard times come again no more.

While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,

There are frail forms fainting at the door;

Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say

Oh hard times come again no more.

(Chorus)

There’s a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away,

With a worn heart whose better days are o’er:

Though her voice would be merry, ’tis sighing all the day,

Oh hard times come again no more.

(Chorus)

Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,

Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore

Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave

Oh hard times come again no more.

This is our first departure from original material in the project besides the holiday songs -- we’ll be back to original compositions next week.