Music Test IV - Listening Examples
Shaw 'Nuff - People - correct answer-Here we have two of the three main originators of
bebop, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. The rhythm section in this recording is made up
of relatively unimportant bebop figures.
Shaw 'Nuff - Form - correct answer-Bebop
The form of the tune is typical of a bebop performance:
• There is an intro with angular unison and octave lines in saxophone and trumpet.
• The main melody is based on the chord changes to another standard. In this case it is
"rhythm changes (Gershwin's I Got Rhythm).
• This melody is stated once. This is called the "Head."
• Horn players and piano each take a solo. This may be as many time through the chorus as
the soloist chooses. Once through the entire tune's chord structure is one chorus.
• The tune ends with the Head again, followed by a coda made up of material from the intro.
• This is typical of the larger form of a bebop performance. It is basically Head - Solos -
Head.
I Should Care - People - correct answer-Thelonius Monk
Lyrics - Sammy Cahn
I Should Care - Song - correct answer-Bebop
The song is a standard, a "torch song" from the "Great American Songbook." You will see
how he uses tone clusters and unique phrasing to express the meaning of the words.Some
of Monk's trademark techniques can be heard here. They include the use of extreme
dissonance (chords and melodies with unconventional note choices that create a kind of
clash. This is expressed in tone clusters, bi-tonality, and alterations of certain notes within
the chords. He also has "stabbing dissonant chords, which 'evaporate' leaving a single note."
Thematic Improvisation, one of Monk's trademark techniques is not heard here because it is
only a one-chorus expression of a ballad.
A Night in Tunisia - correct answer-Bebop
The song is Dizzy Gillespie's most well known composition. It starts with an introduction of
riff patterns building from drums (Max Roach) through bass, then the left hand of the piano.
The first statement of the melody is built upon this pad set up by the rhythm section. The
form is the popular song form of AABA. In the head, the style changes from a
Cuban-influence Latin feel AA to swing B and back to a Latin A. The solo section is swing.
In the solo section, listen to the flow of those long phrases in Powell's right hand. They are
very much like Charlie Parker's saxophone lines. Also listen for Powell's vocalizations. He is
singing his improvisations to himself as he plays. Many jazz musicians do this. The process
of jazz improvisation is a mental one. It is natural for the vocal chords to respond to mental
music making. The jazz musician must actually use the instrument as an extension and
expression of the "mental/musical voice." Bassist - Curly Russel
KoKo - People - correct answer-Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach
Shaw 'Nuff - People - correct answer-Here we have two of the three main originators of
bebop, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. The rhythm section in this recording is made up
of relatively unimportant bebop figures.
Shaw 'Nuff - Form - correct answer-Bebop
The form of the tune is typical of a bebop performance:
• There is an intro with angular unison and octave lines in saxophone and trumpet.
• The main melody is based on the chord changes to another standard. In this case it is
"rhythm changes (Gershwin's I Got Rhythm).
• This melody is stated once. This is called the "Head."
• Horn players and piano each take a solo. This may be as many time through the chorus as
the soloist chooses. Once through the entire tune's chord structure is one chorus.
• The tune ends with the Head again, followed by a coda made up of material from the intro.
• This is typical of the larger form of a bebop performance. It is basically Head - Solos -
Head.
I Should Care - People - correct answer-Thelonius Monk
Lyrics - Sammy Cahn
I Should Care - Song - correct answer-Bebop
The song is a standard, a "torch song" from the "Great American Songbook." You will see
how he uses tone clusters and unique phrasing to express the meaning of the words.Some
of Monk's trademark techniques can be heard here. They include the use of extreme
dissonance (chords and melodies with unconventional note choices that create a kind of
clash. This is expressed in tone clusters, bi-tonality, and alterations of certain notes within
the chords. He also has "stabbing dissonant chords, which 'evaporate' leaving a single note."
Thematic Improvisation, one of Monk's trademark techniques is not heard here because it is
only a one-chorus expression of a ballad.
A Night in Tunisia - correct answer-Bebop
The song is Dizzy Gillespie's most well known composition. It starts with an introduction of
riff patterns building from drums (Max Roach) through bass, then the left hand of the piano.
The first statement of the melody is built upon this pad set up by the rhythm section. The
form is the popular song form of AABA. In the head, the style changes from a
Cuban-influence Latin feel AA to swing B and back to a Latin A. The solo section is swing.
In the solo section, listen to the flow of those long phrases in Powell's right hand. They are
very much like Charlie Parker's saxophone lines. Also listen for Powell's vocalizations. He is
singing his improvisations to himself as he plays. Many jazz musicians do this. The process
of jazz improvisation is a mental one. It is natural for the vocal chords to respond to mental
music making. The jazz musician must actually use the instrument as an extension and
expression of the "mental/musical voice." Bassist - Curly Russel
KoKo - People - correct answer-Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach
