I'm really busy today so I can't do too much more on this post but...
<<snip>>
>Maybe I misunderstood. Here you can help me a bit. You have criticised
>the approach of playing phrases based on the specific chord changes in
>favor of a more straightforward approach of large key centers, an
>approach I think is a very accurate description of how the great players
>played. With that in mind, I labeled every note in the solo with
>reference to the key of Db Major. Yet your analysis procedes to talk
>about essentially arpeggios. Do you think Chet was thinking "Okay,
>that's a Bbm7 chord, better play a Bbm triad?" or was he just thinking
>"Just play in Db."
>
No.
He's just improvising in Db major.
In some places he plays arpreggios, i.e. outlines the chord
either directly or through some upper structure chord.
Thus for Bbm7 maybe [Bb Db F Ab] or [Db F A C Eb].
He's still playing in Db.
It's good to know about outlining chords because you may
want to do that sometimes, or at least experiment.
He's not playing that many arpeggios but he does sometimes
so you have to see that he's doing that where he is doing it.
<<snip>>
>My only question here is perhaps too elementary. But since there are
>only 11 different notes in the chromatic scale, and 7 of them are
>diatonic in a particular key, it stands to reason that any "chromatic"
>note is by definition a passing tone or approach tone since it is a
>half-step from a diatonic note.
>
>Is the point you're making that the chromaticism is primarily or
>exclusively the use of "neighbor" tones and not a chromaticism of larger
>intervals, say a jump from a b9 to a 4th, or forcing a complete
>chromatic phrase against the harmony? I'm not trying to
>"intellectualize" here, since I know so little. I'm trying to clarify
>whether you are basically saying most great soloists used chromaticism
>mainly as a vehicle for approaching diatonic tones?
>
>Thanks for your analysis. It remains a question for me why the
>chromaticism that is "just an approach note" sounds great when Chet
>Baker does it, but sorry when others do it. Put another way, why
>throughout this solo are the e natural and a natural used so often, but
>the b natural only once? Apparently either consciously or unconciously
>there is a suitability of these two notes for this solo. What it comes
>down to is choice, and there I think looking at the chords and some kind
>of fit between the specific chord and the phrase, whether you want to
>think of chord/scale or just arpeggios.
>
The point is to understand the meaning of each note.
Notes not in they key have to be explained.
They are in general:
1) chromatic approach notes. These notes just reinforce the key and
add variety.
2) Dominant tensions. You can almost always try b9, #9, etc. on
a dominant 7 chord. One again, there is no chord scale here, just
dominant tensions.
3) Notes of the chord which directly conflict with they prevailing
key center. For example in Db, if you have a Gm7b5 chord and you
want to play a G note it has to be a G natural and not Gb.
The way to understand how to make this sound good in practice is
to transcribe and analyze.
Ear players like Chet just deal with the key and make all the secondary
adjustments, as in 2,3 by ear.
Why don't you just try that with this tune? Just play in Db
(or whatever key you want to play the piece in), and don't
play so many notes that you can't listen to the accompaniment.
Then try and make any other necessary adjustments by ear.
reed
Reed Kotler
reed@justjazz.com
http://www.justjazz.com