Piano for Avant-Garde

   I had a personal experience with avant-garde for the piano. I absolutely hated this piece and first, but upon the arrival of my performance, I began to enjoy the piece very much. I find this piece to be a huge mix of so many styles. The sound is very abstract with melodic moments, but very obscure and mysterious on so many levels.

     I played 'Rain-Tree Sketch II" by Toru Takemitsu. Knowing that this piece is written by a Japanese composer, I can understand traditional Japanese influences from my experiences of living in Japan. From his biography, he is also a very forward thinker. He draws from a diverse range of styles from avant-garde, jazz, popular music, traditional Japanese music, and impressionism. He was among the first Oriental composers to gain recognition from the Western World. From critics, he was known for bridging cultures from east and west, and traditions from past and present. His compositions were ahead of his time.

    I find traditional Japanese music to be melodic, and yet so sad and mysterious in nature. It is beautifully obscure. At the same time, it opposes the 'zen' philosophy because the piece is inherently complex in nature. However, the core of the 'zen' philosophy I find in this piece, as an artist, is having the idea of letting go of control and worrying about the outcome of your sound.

     There reason why I was so frustrated with this piece is because it was difficult for me to have control over this piece so easily. Rhythms change abruptly and the sounds are so strange to me. I had no idea about the direction of this piece. It was unpredictable and I felt so blind and helpless. I gradually began to have compassion for this piece because I was able to 'let go' and not worry about living for the opinions/acceptance of people.

    The avant-garde principles I find in his compositions are the paths of discovery that most artists are unwilling to follow. It is counter cultural and frowned upon the norm because of misunderstanding. Like myself, I think you begin to appreciate something so strange when you think from a different perspective than your own. By looking at avant-garde through a different dimension, I feel I have the capacity to enjoy this realm that most people cannot appreciate.

Spill

    Avante garde jazz is probably the least of my favorites, but I think it is worth exploring and understand why certain types of people may be engaged in this type of music. At first, it is absolutely comical to observe avante garde musicians to be absolutely passionate when expressing (from my point of view) detached, partially developed ideas in such a wholesome way. 

    Unlike traditional jazz, or music in general, humans tend to like things that are organized and structured. I think part of the reasons why humans like things to be structured and orderly is because humans like to have a sense of control and the power to manipulate whenever and however they please. In avante garde, it seems like a very 'zen' approach that you are able to let go and just "flow with it"...

    In this example, there is a heavy influence with syncopation and heavy repetitive bass notes. There is a huge emphasis on chords that sound bitter which makes the music to have a furious appearance. I feel completely lost in this example. I noticed the title "spill" and I tried so hard to make connection with the meaning of the music and the name of the piece. I do not know if this composer just had a terrible experience when he/she spilt something and terrible sequences followed after this travesty. 

    The artist is, for sure, experimenting with various techniques that are abnormal. Personally, there are benefits to be inspired from techniques that are offered from avant garde artists. I do respect how these artists have a laissez-faire attitude and do not care about popular opinions. Because they do not have fear from trying something new, I am able to be inspired to be influenced from ideas that I could never conceive such ideas. Rather that harshly criticizing them in the beginning, I learned that I could gain something precious by analyzing things from the artists perspective and not my own. 

Piano jazz

    Piano is my main instrument, and the closest thing I can relate to jazz from my experience is impressionistic music. I very much enjoy Debussy and Ravel because of so much color and beauty they portrait throughout their pieces. I appreciate how obscure their pieces are, but the fine details cause you to appreciate how much time these composer carefully crafted their ideas.

    One of the coolest pieces that is very unique is ‘fireworks’ by Debussy. The pieces does indeed sound like fireworks from the ‘spark’-like tune, but the one idea that truly impressed me was the subtle melody of the French national anthem that is broken throughout the piece.

    During the impressionist period, which cultivate from the city of Paris, not only music was expressed in abstract form, but so did paintings.

‘Fireworks’ did vividly help me imagine the image through Debussy’s perspective and this one particular piano jazz piece did create this vivid imagery of autumn.

    ‘Autumn Leaves’ by Joseph Kosma does not fit many of the prominent jazz categories, traditionally speaking. This feels like a jazz ballad mainly because of the 16 bar phrasing idea. Furthermore, the structure sounds like an AABC format, with the B section being the transition section. Usually, B sections sounds more dramatic and turbulent than the pleasant A section. The C section sounds like there is a promising resolution from the turbulent section.

    Autumn happens to be one of my favorite seasons because of the vivid colors of nature. I enjoy how the colors are not the same everyday because they constantly change gradually. The ambiance is also quite soothing because I feel nature is expressing its last grandeur before the death of winter takes over. I feel the resemblance of this piece because of the way it relaxes you. I also enjoy how the piece opens up with a minor scale, which I find to be more exciting than major scales due to dissonance and the possibility of exotic sounds.

    I find these sensations similar to how I feel when I play Debussy and Ravel. I instantly try to conjure up an image and try to tell myself a story when there is a change in emotion or color throughout the piece. 

Artie Shaw

     As a clarinetist, the repertoire that I am familiar with is predominantly classical music.

I wanted to explore Artie Shaw not only because he was the titan of jazz clarinet, but I wanted to analyze how techniques and expressions differ from the typical classically trained clarinetist.

     For this example, this was ‘concerto for clarinet’ which was swing jazz along with an orchestral background. I took swing lessons myself, and it would be a bit annoying as a dancer because there were several retardandos and changes in rhythm that would offset the footwork. It seemed there was no repeat of a particular section. The beginning section started with a happy lethargic introduction with the clarinet and the violins. Suddenly, the piano and percussion forms the framework of the entire piece by getting the beat structure formulated. Artie Shaw does not really play until the middle of the piece. 

     There is no better way to the end the piece with a super high note that was perfectly sustained without falter in pitch after his improvisational cadenza.

    The vibratos are incredible to hear. He makes them sound completely easy and it baffles me that he smiles through the entire process. Furthermore, the way he stretches the note so thin to another note was a technique that I barely got away with. At first, hearing this technique was such an annoying sensation to the ear. After experiencing and seeing a person master this obstacle was definitely worth commending an individual.

     Artie Shaw was hailed as one of the finest jazz clarinetists. He did not came from a prominent affluence background. In fact, he was from the ghettos. He is also a composer and he tried blending classical and jazz in his works. His first instrument was not clarinet. In fact, he started out with saxophone at the age of 13. Three years later, he switched over the clarinet. 

     The reason why I believe Shaw achieved so much success is because he valued innovation and discovering new realms of music. He aspired to be above the popular norm in society. His mentality did pay him off. His hits sold more than 100 million records. 

   He may be a role model among clarinetists and musicians (in general), but I believe his journey to become the best made his personal life suffer so much. This is probably one the most important questions I ask myself. "Whatever I do now, will it matter 10 years from now?" I noticed many prominent musicians had a weak family life and relationships suffered either from physical, emotional, or verbal abuse. To me, although a successful musician, he is not the man I aspire to be because he seemed to care about his own journey to reach the top, and he had no regard for having the best interest for other people. 

Korean jazz

     There are two videos I wanted to show. This particular instrument that is common among Korean instruments is called the gayageum. It is an oriental version of the harp. Instead of the musician sitting upright with the arms embracing the instrument, the gayageum rests on the woman’s lap.

     The ensemble does consist of modern western instruments such as the drum set, the piano, electric guitar, and the bass. The gayageum seems to give a unique support to guitar and the bass since the sounds are similar in nature. However, the unique sound of this instrument tends to be twangy at first, and suddenly reverberates gently into silence. In some ways, it seems to be like a “tenor-bass.”

     For this example, the ensemble is playing an example of fusion jazz since they are mixing rock music and R&B rhythms with long improvisations as an ensemble. There is also an amplification of electronic effects from the electric keyboard.

     This genre of modern jazz grew popular in the 70’s since electronic instruments started to make their mainstream debut.

Personally, I really hate the electronic keyboard because the sounds they emit are completely insensitive in expression and sound compared to the traditional keyboard. I do agree that the electronic keyboard offers an infinite possibility of solutions to create exciting sounds, but I prefer to utilize those types of sounds for trance, club, house music (techno/electronic music). I admire music for its authenticity that is derived from something natural, and I believe the electronic movement, in some or many ways, stripped away the wholesomeness or the voice of the instruments.

     The other video (not quite related to jazz) is something that was so fascinating because they only use the gayageum to play an excerpt of 'canon.' The modern twist is the percussion sound effects from the human mouth and the d.j. making the ensemble sound “cool.” This gave me a realization that reviving traditional instruments is a wonderful way not only to keep the culture alive, but also explore the new approaches to create new sounds to excite the ears of the audience.

Roma folk music

     Just to satisfy my personal curiosity, I wanted to devote some attention to traditional Roma music. I wanted to connect dots with Django’s background and how he fused his traditional background with the jazz elements during his time period.

     One of the gypsy folk music that I listen was called ‘freylekh trio.’ The music was very amiable and happy. The melody does sound partially improvised, but the violin and flute were carrying the melody. The reason I say partially improvised is because the melody sounds somewhat predictable and there not was a sense of complete independence with respect to each musician.

           

     The reason I am inferring to this explanation is because I know that Roma (gypsy) is a nomadic culture and the emphasis of a group is strong emphasized in their lifestyle. Surely, this mentality will greatly influence in the way they express musically. Also, I would not be surprised if a powerful story is being told through their music. If this is so, I am very certain that everyone is interdependently involved to express this story. Interestingly enough, some of their words seemed very similar to French, but not quite French. The bass carried to pulse of the music by its rich, heavy pizzicato. The pulse played similarly resembled a crude, rudimentary version of our modern style of swing. The beat progression is very similar to the beats of the popular music we hear today. The connections between traditional folk music and modern music was a joy to discover because I am able to understand why and how an artist is able contribute his/her ideas along with an other idea. 

Quintette du Hot Club de France

     Finding information about jazz in the streets of Paris was quite limited because the prominent people of influence was Django Reinhart and Stephane Grappelli.

     

     Quintette Du Hot Club took its name from a famous Parisian club/café. According to historians, this prominent mini institution was hailed as the greatest European jazz band. The Quintette consisted of the well known Django Reinhart (guitarist), his brothers Joseph (guitarist) and Roger Chaput (guitarist), Sephane Grappelli (violinist), and Louis Vola (double bass).

     Some people tend to forget that Django is not of French descent. He is from a gypsy background, and this was quite a remarkable achievement for him to receive so much praise from the French. His gypsy background influenced his style of playing as he fused elements of swing and American jazz.

Django’s career changed after a fire accident which caused his hand to be badly injured. In spite of his limited ability, he was able to overcome his handicap by developing a new technique for his guitar playing.

     Grappelli however was from a French descent and he is a native Parisian. He pursued heavily on becoming a violinist. Once he discover jazz, he did not regret digressing into this wonderful new area of music, jazz.

     In my opinion, having natives and a non-natives working together is tremendously beneficial. Back then, when equality was not much of an importance as it is today, it was an advantage that a native was in the band because this created a natural bridge to flow across the French audience. Having a non-native, although may be difficult to advance in the French society (particularly Roma), Django’s unique background contributed to the group that was something new and exotic that was against the grain of society.

     For example, one of the prominent excerpts ‘j’attendrai’ (I will wait) was an experimentation that lead to swing. His acoustical influence from the Roma culture has been fused with the swing music, which became popular. I am not a gypsy myself, but I would not be surprised if some of his native folk music happened to be sown in his pieces.

     The swing characteristic was due to the emphasis on the weaker pulse and has a unique musical momentum that sways from side to side, hence the name swing.  The main melody (guitar and violin) sounds like an improvisation over the chord progressions that supersedes over the rest of the musicians. However, ‘j’attendrai’ had a special acoustical entrance because they ensemble progressed into ‘swing’ mode. The transition was not immediate, but rather smooth and discreet.