> Kevin Johnsrude wrote:
>
> > The Scandinavians and French have done some interesting things with
> > jazz- folk fusion. Why not American musicians?
>
> There have been. Western Swing, for one. David Grissman's jazzgrass.
> Paul Glasse (mandolinist). At least, this is what I perceive that
> they are doing.
Other artists (from the folk side of the fence) include: Eileen
Ivers, Hillbillies from Mars and the American Cafe Orchestra.
My main point in my previous email to the list is that jazz players
recognize the problem of just running scales or arpeggios or licks
against changes is a common one in jazz.
The solution to this problem can be found in other musical genres
which rely much more heavily on melody and less heavily on harmony to
provide the structure of the song. In these genres, where harmonies
are sparse, melodic improvisation is a necessity.
John Miller, a jazz composer from Seattle, pointed out to me that
when you improvise on a T. Monk tune, you _must_ improvise with the
melody. If you improvise just on the changes, it's not going to
sound like a Monk tune.
Cheers,
Kevin
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Kevin "Rudi" Johnsrude, Software Design Developer
Rogue Wave Software, 850 SW 35th St., Corvallis, OR 97333
Email: kevinj@roguewave.com
Voice: (541) 754-3010 Fax: (541) 754-3185
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