Italian jazz pianist Enrico Pieranunzi, who has played with the likes of Chet Baker, Paul Motian, and Charlie Haden, released the trio album Play Morricone (2002) with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron. The album’s focus is the broad discography of composer Ennio Morricone, who has written over 400 scores for film and TV.
“Jona Che Visse Nella Balena” (Jonah Who Lived In The Whale), a solo track, modulates at 1:18, 2:36, and 4:10.
Although the original 1977 version by Todd Rundgren‘s Utopia wasn’t a charting single, a cover by England Dan and John Ford Coley attained a #10 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978, as well as a #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Rundgren’s original featured cascading hybrid chords in a few spots; Dan & Coley’s version was slightly simplified harmonically. Here, R&B/Jazz crossover artist, tenor saxophonist Kirk Whalum, leads a big band in a 2015 version that is even further smoothed out harmonically, but features a gorgeous modulation that the other versions lack!
Many thanks for a great 2019, and to MotD follower, musician, and Rundgren fan Ari Shagal for this submission. All the best for 2020, Modulation Nation!
Here’s Ana Gasteyer‘s “Sugar and Booze” from her album of the same name released earlier this year. Key change at 2:30.
Guitarist Mike Stern is described by AllMusic as “one of the finest electric guitarists of his generation, well-versed in the jazz tradition fusion, hard rock, and blues. His style combines phrasing normally attributed to saxophonists, innovative chord voicings pioneered by Jim Hall, and the sonic approach of a rock musician and the soulful, emotive expression of a bluesman.”
On 2001’s “Slow Change,” the A section (0:48) is in E minor; the B section jumps to G minor (1:41); we’re back to the A section at 2:16. The two sections continue to alternate throughout.
First recorded in 1956 by vocalist Johnny Mathis and bandleader Roy Conniff, “When Sunny Gets Blue” quickly became a jazz standard. This version was performed by piano legend McCoy Tyner and his trio in 1962, after his stint as sideman for John Coltrane. Tyner, a 4-time Grammy winner, was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2002; after 80 albums, he still continues to record.
The 32-bar form modulates at the start of the middle 8 (heard for the first time at 1:04), modulates halfway through the middle 8 at 1:20, then back to the original key at 1:36. The form starts again at 2:07, as we hear a solo from Tyner.
Another mod from frequent contributor JB: “On Broadway” was first a hit for The Drifters in 1963. In 1978, guitarist/vocalist George Benson covered the tune, which is part of his smash hit album Weekend in LA. Benson’s version became a sustained adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio mainstay and won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance.
The several modulations couldn’t be clearer (there’s a mini-“intro” after each one before the lyrics of the next verse start!), so we won’t timeslate them.
“(I’d Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China” is a Frank Loesser tune, originally published in 1948. It has been covered by pop artists ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Miss Piggy. Today we feature Barry Manilow and Bette Midler in a 2005 performance on The Today Show. The easy rapport resulting from Barry and Bette’s longterm status as accompanist/music director and vocalist/touring artist (respectively) is clearly on display here. The first of two key changes is at 1:40, and it’s even announced!
AllMusic‘s review of Billy Childs‘s album, Twilight Is Upon Us (1989), asserts that the pianist/composer’s “second CD as a leader puts as much emphasis on his composing and arranging talents as his skills as a pianist…It was clear even at this fairly early stage that Billy Childs was on his way to developing an original voice.” Having cut his teeth playing with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard‘s band for half a decade and keeping his varied list of role models in mind, from Herbie Hancock to Maurice Ravel to Keith Emerson, it seems that Childs was on the road to that original voice very early on.
The title track is nothing short of a sonic journey — it clocks in at 8.5 minutes, but is definitely worth the time.
The gentle intro yields to an unsettled, multi-meter, multi-key accompaniment under a plaintive saxophone melody line at 0:59. We’re thrown headlong into a bass-heavy, groove-driven solo section for the sax at 2:32, clearly in 6/4 time. The clearest pivot in tonality arrives at 3:46; from there, the piano solo and rhythm section rebuild gradually. We eventually return to the maelstrom, with Bob Sheppard‘s sax lines navigating skillfully over the turbulent, angular accompaniment.
Jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans was the winner of seven Grammy awards and an inductee into the Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Discogs.com calls Evans “one of the most famous and influential American jazz pianists of the 20th century. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, ‘singing’ melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists.” Evans was an integral part of the ensembles of Miles Davis and Paul Motian, among others, before moving into his sustained work as a jazz trio leader.
“Here’s That Rainy Day” (music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke, 1952) was first heard as part of the Broadway musical Carnival in Flanders. Our Twitter follower @cedgray submitted this solo piano tune: “…the best modulation is at 1:59. There’s an augmented modulation: starting in B, it moves through G, Eb, and then back to B.” There’s another big harmonic shift at 3:53, among others.
From Dave Mandl, who follows us via Twitter: “Palm Grease,” from Herbie Hancock‘s Thrust (1974).
After the tonality wanders around a bit in the first few minutes of the tune, a stronger key change happens at 3:00, where Dave explains that “the piece moves from a bridge in F minor back to the tonic, A minor. I’ve always loved the way the bassist (Paul Jackson) slinks back to A minor. That main bass riff is a classic — the drum beat, even moreso. The piece is in 4/4, but drummer Mike Clark kind of splits it up as 9/8 + 7/8. It’s got to be one of the greatest funk grooves of all time — and that key change is one of my favorites.”
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