Bud Powell: “Cleopatra’s Dream”
I’ve always liked the sound of jazz but have never been as interested in it as rock or classical. Recently my interest has flared up a bit, and I’ve been trying to make up for lost time by listening to...
View ArticleCardiacs: “Odd Even”
Six months ago I made some general comments about the musical vocabulary of Tim Smith (of Cardiacs). Here are some notes on “Odd Even”, a song that illustrates a lot of his standard tricks. The song is...
View ArticleWayne Shorter: “Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum”
Another step in my continuing quest to learn more about jazz by transcribing recordings. I like Wayne Shorter’s 1960s albums a lot, and “Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum” (YouTube video) is my favorite tune from the most...
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Henry Threadgill, “To Undertake My Corners Open”, part 1
Henry Threadgill’s Zooid group has made some really interesting recent music in an original musical language, but I’ve seen very little discussion of what the language is, and Threadgill himself...
View ArticleHenry Threadgill, “To Undertake My Corners Open”, part 2
Over a year ago I started transcribing Henry Threadgill’s “To Undertake My Corners Open”. I got to the 90% point a long time ago, but as with many projects, it’s the last 10% that takes the most...
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Henry Threadgill, “To Undertake My Corners Open”, part 3
I’ve had a little more time now to study the structure of this piece. First, I’ll lay out the form as I see it: 0:00–0:13 (mm. 1–5): Intro figure 0:13–0:28 (mm. 6–9): Guitar & bass cycle 1...
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