Question

Address the following questions based on John Coldtrane's 'My Favorite Things': Provide counter numbers for the beginnings and ends of the solos by McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane. (The order of solos in this piece is: Coltrane (melody), Tyner, Coltrane.) Tyner plays the A section and then "vamps" with the pedal point in the bass before he begins to solo. A vamp is when one or two chords are repeated, usually with a pedal point. Coltrane also states the A section in his solo. Describe their solo styles. Listen to Tyner and Coltrane phrase or create musical lines over the chord changes. Do Tyner and Coltrane solo on the chord changes of the melody? Do you recognize the modal characteristics of these solo sections? Try to include some detail. Describe the rhythmic feel of drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Steve Davis during Coltrane's solo. Would you describe the style of these soloists as bop, hard bop, modal, elements of all or something else? Explain in detail using what you've learned from the Lessons about these particular styles. Submission Instructions

Answer 1

Answer:

Free & Modal Jazz with a touch of Indian Ragas

Explanation:

Although I´m a jazz music fan I find it hard to listen to this interpretation of My Favourite things from The sound of music. The main reason is that John Coltrane takes this sweet melody to its limits, improvising and using his famous layers of sounds.

So to start with Coltrane: his solo can be best described as the ultimate free jazz solo in which he applies the Indian Raga idea of exploring the melody thoroughly. With one difference: where in Indian music this exploration is generally the slow introduction and rhythm free-improvisation called Alap, in this case his solo is a fast and technical showcase that reminds me of the heydays of bebop (the fast playing of arpeggiated chords)

However, McCoy Tyner speaks a different tone: he establishes a modal vamp by repeating the chords of the melody with his pedal point in the bassover over and over, and uses this to solo in a much more relaxed way.

In short, he sticks more to the melody while playing modal jazz, in a similar way as Miles Davis did on the Kind of Blue record.

My recording from 1963 doesn´t mention Steve Davis as the bass player,  but Jimmy Garrison. He entered the scene well after the first recording of My favourite things. Garrison, with McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, were called the classical quartet of John Coltrane.

Elvin Jones, an excentrical jazz drummer, is playing jazz on this recording but at the same time he exhibits some fills and accents that sounds more like a Indian Tabla player.

So when Coltrane plays it sounds like bebob and free jazz, too free if you ask me. When McCoy Tyner plays it sounds more like modal jazz, i.e. the use of non-progressive armonic chords that allows for more melodic freedom. That´s more of my liking.