dave liebman on jazz rhythm

8/11/2019 Dave Liebman on Jazz Rhythm

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WHAT IS JAZZ RHYTHM

When one listens to music what are the key elements that a

listener responds to aside from the o!ious factors of !olume and

intensity" #eyond the actual notes played $melody and possily

harmony dependin% upon the music& there are two aspects thatimmediately a'ect any listener( This is especially true in an impro!ised

art such as )a** where the composition is secondary to the

performance itself( It is also true that these two elements are central to

discernin% the style and musical personality of the artist( In )a**+ if we

were to %i!e ,!e sa-ophonists the same notes to play in the same

tempo and conte-t+ why would we immediately know that player one

was Sonny Rollins while the other was for e-ample Wayne Shorter"

The ,rst impression that a'ects the listener is the sound

emanatin% from the instrument( The tone that is heard is an e-tensionof that artist.s !oice and on a deeper le!el+ their persona( This is why

instrumentalists in any serious music spend so much time learnin% to

control tone /uality and sound( In the ,nal result it is the !oice of the

performer throu%h an instrument that is ein% heard(

In )a** after tone+ it is what I call 0time feel1 that most

e-presses an artist.s uni/ue conception( The manner in which the

player rhythmically phrases is to an e!en lar%er de%ree more re!ealin%

than the actual melodic and harmonic content( It con!eys a truly

physical impression to the listener which is di2cult to descrie in

words(

There are impro!ised traditions outside of )a** which ha!e

e-isted for centuries+ one of the most prominent ein% Indian classical

music( The idea of takin% a melody and spontaneously creatin%

!ariations within a certain rhythmical conte-t is hardly new( 3ne factor

that separates )a** from other impro!ised idioms would seem to e the

harmonic implications+ stemmin% from the Western classical tradition(

#ut as we know there are styles of )a** where harmony is either not

employed or minimi*ed to such a de%ree as to not e rele!ant( So it

seems that what really distin%uishes impro!ised traditions worldwide is

the speci,c rhythmical conte-t( And )a** certainly has a uni/ue

character in that respect(

In the ,rst one hundred pa%es of 4unther Schuller.s seminal

work+ 05arly Ja**1+ the author %i!es a fantastic account of how certain


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that play a role in their e-ecution( It is important to rememer that

thou%h there are technical !ariales which are peculiar to each

instrument in the actual playin% of ei%hth notes+ the e'ect is still the

same( So thou%h a pianist must for e-ample ,%ure out the proper

,n%er mo!ement to articulate ei%hths compared to a sa-ophonist.s use

of the ton%ue strikin% a reed or the strin% player.s pluckin%+ the %oal is

still the same which is well placed ei%hth notes( It.s understood that

from the standpoint of ein% an instrumentalist+ each musician must

disco!er and practice the intricacies of e-ecution which are

idiosyncratic to their instrument(

To return to the discussion of what I term 0time feel1 I am not

discussin% aspects of syncopation+ rhythmical au%mentation and

diminution+ hemiola+ etc(+ which descrie actual rhythmical constructs

themsel!es( Co matter what rhythms are employed+ e they ei%hths+

si-teenths or whate!er+ it is the way these rhythms are played which

determine the amiance or feel of the music( I would !enture to say

that the emotional aspect of the music is %reatly a'ected y how

rhythm is played+ maye more so than what the rhythms themsel!es

are made up of( A plausile de,nition of a %ood )a** rhythmic feel

should in!ol!e words like 0accurate1 $meanin% as close as possile to

the ori%inal and on%oin% pulse&+ 0e!en1 $connotatin% a smooth rather

than choppy or awkward Dow&+ 0!ariale1 $meanin% not entirely

predictale usin% a !ariety of rhythms& and of course our ori%inal word

0swin%in%1(

What is swin%in% or not is to some e-tent a matter of taste and

acclimation( That which swin%s to the no!ice !ersus the educated

listener may e entirely di'erent+ ut e!en amon% so;called e-perts+

the feelin% of swin% is so personal and su)ecti!e as to seem to e

eyond discussion $thou%h there is indeed much intense discussion

aout what does or does not swin%&( Howe!er+ I think we could

%enerali*e that a feelin% of swin% has a dri!e or momentum in alance

with a feelin% of rela-ation and e'ortlessness( There is a 0lilt1 or

ounce to the music that is eyond words( It is proaly easier to pointout what doesn.t swin% than what does88

Cote some words of caution when attemptin% to descrie

rhythm in words( Enlike harmony and melody which can e clearly

seen on the pa%e makin% it a!ailale to e dissected and analy*ed in

!ery speci,c terms+ descriin% a rhythmic feel+ no matter whether it e


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)a** or #ra*ilian or whate!er is from the start !ery di2cult( Thou%h we

can descrie rhythms themsel!es with technical terms+ the e'ect or

what I call time feel is asically eyond words( Howe!er we can

descrie the elements which determine this feel(

@HRASIC4

This e-pression is !ery commonly used as a %eneral way to

descrie how rhythms are played( #ut in my opinion it is too %eneral a

word( If you ask someone what comprises a %ood rhythmic feel and

they say 0phrasin%1+ they ha!en.t really said anythin%( It.s like askin%

what do you eat for dinner and the reply is food88 #ut we can di!ide

phrasin% into its speci,cs(

B;ARTIor e-ample+ one aspect of


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9;GYCAMI


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e-press sadness or happiness inDectin% the same words y tone and

nuance( This is speech rou%ht to music+ pure and simple( Some

common de!ices+ a%ain dependent upon the instrument are !irato+

smears+ portamento+ %race notes+ ent tones+ !ocali*ations+ etc( 5!ery

%reat indi!idualist has his own set of nuances which are completely

personal and ecome a sort of trademark( If you think of for e-ample

)ust the way pianists like Herie Hancock+ eith Jarrett and


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the eat when necessary to relie!e the tension and unify the

musicians+ at least momentarily( @layin% this way is not for the

ine-perienced+ ecause one must ha!e a certain amount of con,dence

as well as consummate skill( This is an area where the e-pression

0walk efore you run1 is appropriate(

A world class musician should ha!e the aility to shift his eat

placement at will dependin% upon mood+ material+ tempo and

accompanists+ ut naturally a true artist will ha!e a procli!ity one way

or the other and e-emplify that most of the time( So we mi%ht say that

the tenor sa-ophonist Ge-ter 4ordon was a 0ehind the eat player1+

ut there are e-amples of him playin%+ usually at a faster tempo+ when

he is /uite on 0top of the eat1( The same could e said of drummer

5l!in Jones+ with whom I had the pri!ile%e to play with for se!eral years

in the early BFL:s( Thou%h he was so well known for his laid ack time

feel+ at /uicker tempos it sometimes felt that he was way on top of the

eat( Miles Ga!is on the other hand had almost metronomic time ut

there are numerous e-amples throu%hout his incredily !ast career

when he would play more on top $the mid BF:s& or ehind the eat

$the mid BFK:s&( Sonny Rollins is one of the %reat e-amples of

someone who is constantly !aryin% his eat placement $0Sonny Moon

for Two1 from A Ci%ht at the Nilla%e Nan%uard&(

And of course in the rhythm section+ the prolem is multiplied

ecause of the numer of musicians all playin% time as accompanists(Some of the %reatest rhythm sections as far as in!enti!eness and

e-citement were concerned did not always a%ree as to e-actly where

the eat should e all the time ut were skilled and open enou%h as far

as attitude to ad)ust and create a positi!e tension which formed an

open palette for the soloist( The %reat Miles Ga!is rhythm sections at

!arious times demonstrate di'erent aspects of this ut in particularly

in the mid BF:s with Tony Williams playin% on top of the eat+ Ron


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AGNAC


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AR55G3M

@racticin% rhythmical concepts in a disciplined orderly fashion is

di2cult compared to harmony+ instrumental techni/ue+ arran%in%+ etc(Surely one can read rhythmical e-ercises and sin%7play them+ or

initiate drummer type work which is eatin% rhythms and cycles with

one hand a%ainst another and so on( #ut the reality is that for non;

drummers+ practicin% the concepts I ha!e descried is /uite

ami%uous+ so a certain amount of creati!ity and ima%ination is called

for(

IST5CIC4

#ecause of its inherent ami%uity+ after the asics of

coordinatin% rhythmical mo!ement in pulse+ further de!elopment is

more of a conceptual challen%e rather than only technical( If a

musician can learn to hear a certain way+ noticin% what I ha!e

descried and more+ there is an increased likelihood that these

concepts will ha!e a chance to re%ister in the mind+ ody and ear( With

repeated listenin% and repetition+ coupled with a positi!e 0I can1

attitude+ real musical chan%e can occur( Therefore the ,rst thin% to do

is to learn to listen not only to the main soloist or prominent acti!ity

%oin% on+ ut concentrate upon the entire rhythmic Dow occurrin% in

the and( What are the relationships etween the drummer.s ride eat

pattern and the assist.s /uarter notes $assumin% steady walkin%

time&P etween the drummer.s left hand accents and o' eats with the

main chord player.s compin% patterns and rhythmical 0hits1P how are

the musicians dealin% with eat placementQis it constantly chan%in%Q

is it the sameQis it on top or ottom of the eat+ etc" Coticin%

somethin% y listenin% and oser!in% can %o a lon% way towards

impro!in% one.s actual playin%(

M5TR3C3M5

It %oes without sayin% that at some sta%e of de!elopment+ $the

earlier the etter&+ e!eryone must practice scales+ arpe%%ios+ lines+

patterns and so on with the metronome e-ecutin% the material


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accurately in time( >or )a**+ it is est to immediately %et used to the

metronome markin% o' the second and fourth eat of a 676 ar( After

doin% that reasonaly well at tempos ran%in% from slow to !ery fast+ I

ur%e the student to use the metronome more creati!ely in di'erent

parts of the ar+ for e-ample only the fourth eat+ or only the upeat of

three+ or the upeat of one+ etc( The idea is that a musician can %et

!ery loose and con,dent in relations to feelin% all four eats without

ein% tied down to one+ two+ three+ four( 4reat drummers are not

always %oin% to e that o!ious when they are playin% at the hei%ht of

their creati!e %ame( You wouldn.t want to ask Jack GeJonette to please

make sure that he %i!es you the one of the ar e!ery ei%ht measures88

I rememer the wonderful drummer @ete a Rocca+ who was my !ery

,rst mentor ack in BFF sayin% that for him e!ery eat was a one( In

other words there was no four7four(Q(it was )ust one+ one+ one+ one+

meanin% accents could appear anywhere in the ar( In any case e!erymusician should %et friendly with the metronome( 3nce this is

accomplished it can e put away fore!er at least in this re%imented

and ri%id aspect( 5?AM@5 F

#5AT @A


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harmonies $the


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su%%estions are the aforementioned Indian classical music+ Afro

dave liebman on jazz rhythm

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