"Let's Rap"
JAZZ
By Tito Guidotti
[ A reprint of an article in the Winter 1978 issue of Accordion
Arts Magazine - Published by James Nightingale ]
I'm not going to get into the specifics of the complex
art of jazz playing in this article. Rather I intend to generalize
on some of the basics that concern the aspiring student of jazz.
I use the word generalize because I wish it understood
that jazz is very complex indeed, and that it is necessary that the student
do much serious study on many different points. In future articles
I shall pursue these points in detail. But for now, some basics.
Fine jazz playing is simply spontaneous composition -
only not that simple. No, I'm not trying to be facetious. Composition
is never a simple matter, and to do an intelligent job of it spontaneously
is compounding a complex process, not a simple one. Adequate development
of the technique of jazz requires the acquisition of the following skills:
complete knowledge of scales of all types;
complete knowledge and understanding of all chord structures,
their alterations, substitutions and progressions. Since the art
of jazz improvisation will always be based on scales and chords, it is
imperative the student develop an automatic, locked-in knowledge of both
of these first two points;
"good chops," meaning the facility to execute as your mind
dictates;
- when the above skills are developed and under control
- imagination and inventiveness (these, of course, are the essential
tools of the composer no matter what his idiom or style).
All great jazz men are armed with these four basic skills
- the techniques of jazz artistry.
As he nails down these skills, the student must concentrate
on developing some good habits, such as:
Listen, listen, listen! To jazz artists on all instruments
- keyboard, sax, trumpet, guitar, even harmonica (have you heard Stevie
Wonder play jazz harmonica? . . . Fantastic!). It's not the instrument
that counts, it's the ideas that old brain computer upstairs unravels.
Listen to the pace and taste in a fine improvisation. Listen to the
artist's phrasing and rhythmic articulation.
Avoid cliched licks and contrived phrases. These
are a tip-off that the player is hung for fresh ideas and probably lacking
imagination. This cliched and unimaginative sound is the make-up
of what I call the
psuedo jazz player.
Avoid, as well, being over-awed by the fast finger artist.
By this I mean the player who rapes your ears with a barrage of fast, loud
notes and chords. Remember its not the quantity but the quality of
the notes that is the mark of a fine player.
When he begins to feel that he has things together, the student
should seek out jazz clubs where he can sit in and do some jaming.
He could, as well, try to organize his own jam session with musician-friends
who are also inretested in developing jazz skills. Jaming is an important
feature in the development of the good jazz artist. The neophyte
needs a place to play out his ideas; a place where he can open up an daring:
The jam session is the idea-development training ground of the jazz artist.
What kind of a man is the jazz musician? What makes
him tick? Here's the way I see it:
A jazz artist is a highly complex and very intelligent
machine (if I may use the term, machine). He is sensitive, imaginative,
curious, analytical, experimental, inventive, and daring. Pretty
big order, isn't it? Well, the art of jazz is involved and demanding,
and its needs require such characteristics from those who would practice
it.
And what does it feel like to be a quality jazz artist
and reel off a finely improvised chorus? It's difficult to put into
words, of course, but I'll give it a try. It's an experience of complete
satisfaction ... of fulfillment and achievement. After giving birth
to the spontaneous ideas formed by and emanating from your own mind - the
greatest of computers, one wishes to shout, "Wow, I didn't think I had
it in me!."
Listening and seeing a fine artist perform jazz is always
an experience for me because what looks to the layman like someone blowing
notes and having a ball is merely the "tip of the iceberg." The part
they don't see is the thinking and inner soul of the player as he weaves
and develops twelve notes into a work of beauty spontaneously - right
now! Nothing prefabricated or rehearsed!. This, my friend,
is the true art of finejazz playing.
A great jazz artist is comparable to a great painter.
Instead of a brush, palette, and paint, the jazz musician uses his brain
and fine technique, his instrument, and just twelve notes to put on a "canvas
of sound" his feelings, thoughts and emotions. This is what is below
the tip of the iceberg called jazz.
See you soon for the next rap-session.