instrumental – Page 8

Ludwig von Beethoven | Für Elise

“Beethoven wrote his Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor, better known as ‘Für Elise’, in 1810, but it wasn’t published until 1867, 40 years after his death,” (ClassicFM). “It’s one of the first pieces learner pianists play on the piano; open a little music box, and there’s a good chance you’ll hear it’s charming melody. But although it seems like quite a simple piece, it turns out that ‘Für Elise’ is a actually a really sophisticated piece of music: well, it was written by Beethoven after all. When the music was being transcribed, Beethoven’s handwriting was misread. The text on the manuscript actually read ‘Für Therese’. It is widely acknowledged that Therese was Therese Malfatti, a woman to whom Beethoven proposed in 1810 – the same year he composed ‘Für Elise’.

The piece is in rondo form, where the main theme appears three times, separated by contrasting sections. The shape of the piece in Rondo form can be summarised as ABACA, where A is the main theme, and B and C are the two development sections.”

Starting in A minor, there’s a shift to F major at 1:15 and a return to A minor at 1:44.

Archie Churchill-Moss | Odi + Nancy

“Archie Churchill-Moss has been the boy to watch for some time, first drawing acclaim in the Jim Moray/Sam Carter ensemble, False Lights, as well as in his trio with Tom Moore and Jack Rutter, now slimmed down into the more experimental and hauntological duo, just he and Tom Moore’s violin (At The Barrier) … Like most box players, Moss is largely versed in dance music, especially those from the English and French repertoires. This selection of tunes are all of his own composition, written over his years as an artist. Undoubtedly doffing a cap to those traditions, this is dance music, but with a deeper undercurrent of complexity, stretching the harmonic and melodic limits that are usually attached to such styles. In his own words, to ‘explore the various tonal centres the accordion is capable of navigating.’

Moss has stated he wants this to be recognized as a danceable record, and, whilst I get that and can see that, I confess it would be a brave ceilidheer choosing to navigate some of the steps offered here, suspecting, really, that this more dance music for the mind, maybe with headphones on, or in the car. (To be fair, the latter is where I listen to most of my dance music anyway.) Certainly, the instrument has been taken to its limit and Moss thrashes out some remarkable life from it.”

Starting in F major, “Odi + Nancy” (2023) perks along with a steady beat fostered by years of playing for dancers. The melody is rangy at times and the harmonies quite modern — 7th chords are a common element — but the overall feel is something straight from the well-worn floor of an ancient village dance hall. At 1:59, there’s a surprising shift to F# minor.

For an idea of the sheer dexterity needed to coax so much sound out of such a small instrument, check out this live performance of some sprightly reels:

Jeff Beck | Diamond Dust

The legendary UK guitarist Jeff Beck died yesterday at the age of 78. “Often described as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Beck … was known as a keen innovator,” (The Guardian). He pioneered jazz-rock, experimented with fuzz and distortion effects and paved the way for heavier subgenres such as psych rock and heavy metal over the course of his career. He was an eight-time Grammy winner, recipient of the Ivor Novello for outstanding contribution to British music, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame both as a solo artist and as a member of the Yardbirds.

Musicians and longtime friends began paying tribute minutes after the news broke. On Twitter, Jimmy Page wrote, ‘The six stringed Warrior is no longer here for us to admire the spell he could weave around our mortal emotions. Jeff could channel music from the ethereal. His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless. Jeff, I will miss you along with your millions of fans.'”

“Diamond Dust,” from Beck’s 1975 album Blow by Blow, never truly settles into one tonality, shifting every two or four measures; the relatively rare minor third key change is heard more than once. The fluid melody is primary, with the chord structure dashing to keep up. The harmonies are so rich that the 5/4 time signature only registers gradually, perhaps because the “1” of each measure isn’t overly emphasized by the rhythm section. Sputnik Music mentions Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew (1970) as having initiated the genre of jazz fusion, but Beck’s Blow by Blow as “defin(ing) the genre, moving away from his former Rock and Blues based efforts, to this all-instrumental album. It reigns as his greatest and most famous achievement.”

for JB

Eileen Ivers | Pachelbel’s Frolics

“Eileen Ivers will change the way you think about the violin,” (CapeSymphony.org). “It is a rare and select grade of spectacular artists whose work is so boldly imaginative and clearly virtuosic that it alters the medium. GRAMMY-winning Celtic fiddler Eileen is a nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion and original musical star of Riverdance. The daughter of Irish immigrants, Eileen has played with the London Symphony Orchestra, Sting, and The Chieftains; performed for presidents and royalty; and is hailed as one of the great innovators and pioneers in the Celtic and World music genres. Her recording credits include over 80 contemporary and traditional albums and numerous movie scores, including Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. Billboard magazine called Eileen a ‘sensation’ and The New York Times called her ‘the Jimi Hendrix of the violin.'”

Ivers’ 2021 track “Pachelbel’s Frolics” is based on Johann Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” (written somewhere between 1680 and 1706). The Canon has since become nothing short of omnipresent, gaining fame for its composer as something of a classical music one hit wonder. But by now the Canon, a victim of its own success, is certainly near the top of many “needs a refresh” lists: “Since the 1970s, the Canon has been played at innumerable weddings, and quite a few funerals … been called upon to underscore: a tribute to baseball hero Ted Williams at Boston’s Fenway Park (2002); a tenth anniversary commemoration of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots … (2002); a renewal of vows at a Grand Forks, ND old-age home where the harpist was over 90 and the cumulative years married totaled 735 (2006); and … a yearly ceremony in which medical students at the University of Minnesota paid final respects to the cadavers they had lately finished dissecting in first-year gross anatomy class (1997).” (Prisoners of Pachelbel: An Essay in Post-Canonic Musicology, Robert Fink).

Ivers provides a refreshing renovation to the Canon by including some well-trodden ground while also welcoming sprightly new melodic ideas, tempo changes, and a wide-ranging tour of various fiddle styles into the vocabulary. An even larger departure is the modulation to the parallel minor from 2:21 – 3:10.

Karen Sweet & Karen Tweed | Sussex Carol

The Sussex Carol, a popular British tune, is performed here in a jazzy cover by accordionists Karen Sweet & Karen Tweed. It begins with a slow, rubato intro that stretches and embellishes the melody, eventually leading into the tune at 1:16. There is an unexpected downward modulation from G to Eb at 2:04.

Thanks to JB for this contribution!

Lincoln Brewster | Miraculum

“Miraculum,” an arrangement of We Three Kings, is featured on Christian pastor and musician Lincoln Brewster’s 2012 Christmas album Joy To The World. It is the only instrumental track on the record, which reached #6 on the Christian Albums Billboard chart.

The tune begins in Eb minor and glides into Ab minor during the more subdued middle section at 3:15. A sudden return to Eb minor occurs at 4:52

Thanks to MotD contributor Peter McCutcheon for this submission.

Flim + the BBs | On the Avenue

“One of the most popular fusion and light jazz groups to emerge during the 1980s, Flim & the BBs comprised bassist Jimmy “Flim” Johnson, keyboardist Billy Barber, percussionist Billy Berg, and reeds player Dick Oatts. Debuting in 1982 with the album Tricycle, Flim & the BBs’ fusion sound proved ideally suited for the onset of the compact disc boom; they were among the first artists to record utilizing digital technology, and albums like 1985’s Big Notes and 1987’s Neon quickly found a following not only among contemporary jazz fans but also among tech-heads.” (AllMusic). The group continued to release albums until 1992.

In producing 1982’s Tricycle, “because of the ‘direct-to-disc’ setup (recording directly onto a lacquer platter) the band was required to play the entire LP side without stopping and without being able to do any editing afterward. When the resulting acetate disc was deemed inferior in sound quality to the digital master tape, the LP record was pressed from that digital backup tape, making it the second-ever U.S. commercially available digital recording. Since the machine used was a one-of-a-kind prototype, built before any digital recording standards were established — and dismantled within months — there is currently no way to reissue that first album on either LP or CD.” (from Tricycle‘s liner notes).

“On the Avenue,” built around a swaggering reggae-tinged groove and what appears to be an excellent sense of humor among the band, starts in G minor. At 2:29, a section that sounds an awful lot like a second intro shifts up to Ab, despite the saxophone’s lower register making the modulation feel more like a descending one. 3:35 brings a suddenly groove-less bridge and a shift of tonality to F# mixolydian; 3:49 brings another change, this time to D minor. 4:02 returns to G minor, as well as the groove.

for JB

Cory Henry | When You Can’t Stop Changing Keys (transcribed by Timothy Gondola)

“One of the finest Hammond B-3 organ players of his generation, Cory Henry was a child prodigy, playing both piano and organ by the time he was two years old, making his debut at the legendary Apollo Theater when he was only six,” (AllMusic). “He has worked in the studio and toured with countless artists, including Yolanda Adams, Stanley Brown, Israel Houghton, P. Diddy, Kirk Franklin, Kenny Garrett (the 19-year-old Henry became a fixture in Garrett’s touring band for three years), Donnie McClurkin, Boyz II Men, Michael McDonald, Bruce Springsteen, the Roots, and many others. He has also worked as a bandleader and producer as well as an in-demand sideman.

Falling closer to the Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson side of the Hammond organ jazz genre than Jimmy Smith, with maybe a little Billy Preston tossed in, Henry at his best combines the best of both gospel and jazz in his playing … Since 2012, Henry has been a member of the acclaimed experimental jazz and funk ensemble Snarky Puppy, with whom he won a 2014 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance and a 2015 Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. In 2016, Henry released the gospel-infused solo effort The Revival.”

Although best known for his B-3 organ work, this video finds Henry employing a wonderful way to practice piano, varying his phrasing and transitioning through multiple keys as he goes; for the listener, it sounds a lot more like entertainment! The transcription which accompanies the performance was done by Timothy Gondola, who explains his process on his Patreon page: “I am a 27-year old classically-trained pianist, and for the past few years I have been using transcriptions to teach myself jazz. Jazz transcriptions are what enabled me to quickly delve into the foreign jazz world. Through my transcriptions, I am on a mission to help countless pianists and other musicians worldwide who are longing to play the music they enjoy. Transcriptions also create a portal into the mind of the improviser behind the music. They are a holistic learning tool for music players and music listeners alike.”

Jaco Pastorius + Toots Thielemans | Three Views of a Secret

” … having played many of Jaco’s compositions while the bass player was part of Weather Report, (Weather Report bandleader Joe Zawinul) held the opinion that ‘Three Views of a Secret’ was Jaco’s best composition,” (JazzInEurope). “1981 was a critical year in Jaco Pastorius’ career. Musically he was held by many as the most innovative bass player in modern jazz. Five years have passed since he joined Weather Report, replacing Alphonso Johnson while the band was recording the album Black Market. During those five years, the band released its most successful albums and became well known beyond jazz audiences, performing at major festivals and large concert halls all over the world. The band’s appeal can be attributed to Zawnul’s compositions which became more melodic and structured (‘Birdland,’ ‘A Remark You Made’), but Pastorius played a major role in driving the band towards new audiences. His live performance showmanship, the incorporation of Hendrix licks like ‘Third Stone from the Sun,’ the feet work (enhanced by talc powder spread over the floor prior to the show), the rapid signature 16th-note runs and the wild harmonics, all found the adoration of younger folks, many of them introduced to jazz because of him.

… Pastorius was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but in 1981, his behavior was simply considered eccentric and unstable. Amazingly, through that period he was able to write and produce Word of Mouth, his major achievement as a bandleader, composer, and arranger … ‘Three Views of a Secret’ is a great piece of music, moving between calm and dramatic orchestral passages and truly utilizing the full impact of a combined orchestra and jazz big band …”

The studio version is a classic, but the 1985 live version, featuring Pastorius’ obvious joy and rapt attention in his able accompaniment of Thielemans, by then a musical elder statesman, is also required listening and is our focus here; both are included below. Shifting from E major to C# major at 1:38, the bouyant jazz waltz sneaks back into E at 2:22.

Lauded as “arguably the most important and ground-breaking electric bassist in history” by New Directions in Modern Guitar, Jaco died 35 years ago this month — at the age of only 35. His influence on the contemporary jazz and electric bass worlds continues to reverberate strongly.

Gustav Mahler | Symphony #5, movement 4: “Adagietto”

“The Adagietto is undoubtedly the single best-known piece of Mahler’s music,” (MahlerFoundation.org). “Its popularity skyrocketed primarily as a result of its use as background music for Visconti’s film Death in Venice. There was some controversy, however, about what Mahler intended the adagietto to communicate. Villa Mengelberg, an intimate friend and colleague of Mahler and an early champion of his music, claimed that Alma Mahler had confided to him that Gustav sent a manuscript of the finished work to her as a love letter when they were courting. Certainly, the romantic nature of the music can support this contention … like an orchestral song without words … Mahler’s work orchestration is spare, employing only strings and harp to enhance the music’s lyricism and give it a serenade-like quality … “

The Mahler Foundation continues: “Inner harmonies are subtle and harmonic progressions are frequent for such a short movement … Mahler uses overlapping sustained tones in transition passages … The stream-like atmosphere begins with vague harmonies that lend a sense of weightlessness, and end with a long suspension of sustained chords that very slowly progressed to closure, creating a feeling of endless time.” It’s difficult to overstate the prominence of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony (1902) within the composer’s overall body of work. It’s “sometimes compared with Beethoven’s own of that number,” (The Guardian).

In addition to several transient key-of-the-moment passages, the overall key of F major shifts to C major at 7:47 before reverting at 8:13 to F for the movement’s dramatic ending.

for Marje