CURRICULUM VITAE

David Baker Modern Concepts In Jazz Improvisation ideasBack in the 1980's David Baker wrote a book called Modern concepts in Jazz Improvisation which is a brilliant summary of some of the ideas encountered in the music of people like Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, and even some ideas that Ornette Coleman uses (even if Ornette isn't exactly forthcoming about how he gets there). (the other famous jazz book is Jerry Cokers Improvising Jazz). I thought I might post some of the things I'm going over to see if anyone else has some thoughts or advice on how they've incorporated things like this into their own music.

Mission 1: The new harmonic movements

Harmonies in older jazz are reliably ii-V-I, but in modern jazz it is just as important to form progressions that use a) pure chromatic scales b) whole tone scales (e.g., C-D-E-Gb-Ab-Bb) c) diminished scales (e.g., C-Db-Eb-E-Gb-G-A-Bb-C) or diminished chords d) augmented chords (e.g., C-E-G#, which you'll recognize as the center of the Coltrane changes) e) stacked fourths f) bitonalities--e.g, playing a C maj over an E maj, and then developing scales that mix notes from both.

All of this is pretty much straight from Debussy with a bit of Bartok and Stravinsky thrown in for good measure.

There's also a lot of tritone substitutions used, with the substituted dominant usually being an altered chord. For example--Dm7-Db7(alt)-Cmaj7. The altered Db7 can take on some very interesting bitonalities. Try holding down a Db7 bass and playing Db, Eb, and G triads in various inversions. Very hip.

Mission 2: Pentatonic scales

Every guitar player knows his or her pentatonic scales from the start, and they're the root of most blues. So it's a little odd to start from learning pentatonic patterns as a direction to something new. What is new in modern jazz is the treatment of pentatonic scales. Rather than outlining chords, it is more common to use pentatonic runs, and they aren't necessarily from the key of the tune. Many of the exercises involve taking simple pentatonic runs and then repeating them in several keys over a pedal point. This really is the essence of modern modal playing. Moving the scale roots according to the six scale types described in 1 is immediately recognizable as the sound of contemporary jazz.

Mission 3: Harmonizing in fourths

Another technique that is used frequently in modern jazz is playing harmonies in fourths as a means of minimizing the feel of functional harmony. We all know this already, but I've found it's still worthwhile going through standards and figuring out fourths that can go over a chord. As an example, using a three note chord in fourths (e.g., C-F-Bb or G-C-F, etc.), which is a very standard modern jazz voicing, you could play stacked fourths over a C major7 (or D dorian, or A aeolian, etc.) with roots on on D, E, A, or B and be completely in the key, and sound very inside. But using stacked fourths on the tritone really gives a great contemporary vibe, and moving the stacked fourths in patterns. This is a big part of the reason I tune my guitar in all fourths--dead simple to achieve this sound.