Way OT: Jazz Lingo

[Cygnus64]

I have to write a bunch of jazz-oriented charts coming up. I pretty much suck at that, so what I need is some jazz lingo so I can talk cool. Daddy-O? Cats? Hepcats? Boppin? Help me jazzers, help me talk like a hepcat so nobody notices how classical my charts are.

[Bridog6996]

When in doubt, just start scatting.

[kanker.]

When in doubt, just start scatting.

Don't worry how good you are at it either - both of the good scatters are dead anyway, so no one will expect much....

[marino]

Hi Cygnus, not knowing your level of expertise, here are some generic pills. I'll probably go to hell for this, but - anything to help a fellow composer.

 

 

HARMONY:

 

- Use quadriadic harmony (as opposed to triadic) as a starting point. Remember that in this type of harmony you don't have to always stack thirds to delineate chords. Thus

- Use quartals and their inversions. Use "neighbor bass" chords, like C/D or F/Bb, or even altered ones like C/Db (best if you play the C triad in second inversion). Use clusters and mode fragments. Open your voicings frequently if you're writing for large ensemble.

 

MELODY:

 

- Use pentatonics and altered pentatonics. According to the style of jazz you're trying to imitate, you can use (or not) a lot of chromatic approaches to chord tones.

- Give your melodies and counter-melodies a rhythmic quality. Be sure to integrate them with the rhythm section.

- A good effect is to write a melody in which the internal accents of the phrase go against the perceived beat, like accenting every three eight-notes, etc.

- Your melody can pivot on extension notes, or even on altered extensions. Just be sure to treat your harmony parts accordingly.

 

RHYTHM:

 

- The main jazz rhythmic thing that classical music doesn't have is anticipation. That's a phrase which instead of ending on the downbeat, ends on the previous eight-note. This can be a single occurrence, or launch a whole series of syncopated notes, all played on the 'and' of the various beats - and maybe preparing for the next phrase in this way.

It can happen in the melody alone, in the rhythm section, or both.

- In culminating moments, a phrase could end with one or more syncopations played by the whole ensemble. A powerful effect, but don't abuse it.

- Occasionally, the rhythm section could go against the main beat, accenting asymmetrically (see above for melody). Again, don't abuse it.

_ You can use swing eights or not, according to style. Contrary to what Dave Horne used to say, there's plenty of jazz which uses straight eights.

 

FEELING:

 

Think blues. Think sensual. Think rhythm. Think sex.

 

ETHIC:

 

- Please realize that if you aren't a jazz expert, your jazz arrangements will sound a bit strange to jazz ears anyway. Make a point to go deeper into jazz composition when you have the time.

 

MONETARY:

 

- Please PM me for details on where to send my $10.

 

 

 

 

 

[mate stubb]

doo be doo be doo

be doo be doo be

 

dey doo doo doo dey dah dah dah.

[retrokeys]

One "lingo" tip. If you tell a jazzer he is a motherf...er he will know you are telling him that his playing and improvisation are of the highest order. Don't try this with anyone else. : )

[burningbusch]

One "lingo" tip. If you tell a jazzer he is a motherf...er he will know you are telling him that his playing and improvisation are of the higheset order. Don't try this with anyone else. : )

 

If you've ever read Miles' autobiography he put other musicians in one of two camps, you were either a bad-ass motherf...er or a sorry-ass motherf...er. You should be able to figure out which is which.

 

Busch.

[Cygnus64]

Good tips Marino, and good lingo everybody else.

 

What I have to do is mainly transcription, then adding orchestral elements aka strings/winds. I should probably invest in my very first Fake Book. Any ideas of which to get? It's a lot of big band, actually it's pretty diverse. At Last- Etta James, Mambo Italiano, I've got Rhythm, S'wonderful etc. Then there's modern stuff thats pop like Bette Midler and Striesand. I'll fare much better with the modern charts.

[kanker.]

[video:youtube]

[Cygnus64]

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=1404

[Bobadohshe]

Good tips Marino, and good lingo everybody else.

 

What I have to do is mainly transcription, then adding orchestral elements aka strings/winds. I should probably invest in my very first Fake Book. Any ideas of which to get? It's a lot of big band, actually it's pretty diverse. At Last- Etta James, Mambo Italiano, I've got Rhythm, S'wonderful etc. Then there's modern stuff thats pop like Bette Midler and Striesand. I'll fare much better with the modern charts.

 

The Sher Real Books! Better/More Accurate / Less Simplified Chords.

[marino]

The Sher Real Books! Better/More Accurate / Less Simplified Chords.

 

+1

especially the Standard Real Book

 

 

[Cygnus64]

Good tips Marino, and good lingo everybody else.

 

What I have to do is mainly transcription, then adding orchestral elements aka strings/winds. I should probably invest in my very first Fake Book. Any ideas of which to get? It's a lot of big band, actually it's pretty diverse. At Last- Etta James, Mambo Italiano, I've got Rhythm, S'wonderful etc. Then there's modern stuff thats pop like Bette Midler and Striesand. I'll fare much better with the modern charts.

 

The Sher Real Books! Better/More Accurate / Less Simplified Chords.

 

That looks good, thanks. Bonus: you can buy digital copies of individual songs for 2 bucks.

[JpScoey]

I have some lingo for Jazz.....

 

Trad Jazz - "Tolerable in small doses".

 

Modern Jazz - " F***ing tuneless, sh*te noise 'played' by self-indulgent a**holes"

[Morizzle]

I have some lingo for Jazz.....

 

Trad Jazz - "Tolerable in small doses".

 

Modern Jazz - " F***ing tuneless, sh*te noise 'played' by self-indulgent a**holes"

 

Thanks for your deep insight

[JpScoey]

I have some lingo for Jazz.....

 

Trad Jazz - "Tolerable in small doses".

 

Modern Jazz - " F***ing tuneless, sh*te noise 'played' by self-indulgent a**holes"

 

Thanks for your deep insight

 

Not just my deep insight - check this out.....

 

 

[video:youtube]

[Morizzle]

Oh, and also, Cygnus: make sure to use the Jazz Inkpen or Reprise notefont in Sibelius.

 

A famous standard with very hip lingo is "Satin Doll":

 

Cigarette holder which wigs me

Over her shoulder, she digs me.

Out cattin' that satin doll.

 

Baby, shall we go out skippin?

Careful, amigo, you're flippin',

Speaks Latin that satin doll.

 

She's nobody's fool so I'm playing it cool as can be.

I'll give it a whirl but I ain't for no girl catching me,

Switch-a-rooney!

 

Telephone numbers well you know,

Doin' my rhumbas with uno

And that 'in my Satin Doll.

[Cygnus64]

Oh, and also, Cygnus: make sure to use the Jazz Inkpen or Reprise notefont in Sibelius.

 

A famous standard with very hip lingo is "Satin Doll":

 

Cigarette holder which wigs me

Over her shoulder, she digs me.

Out cattin' that satin doll.

 

Baby, shall we go out skippin?

Careful, amigo, you're flippin',

Speaks Latin that satin doll.

 

She's nobody's fool so I'm playing it cool as can be.

I'll give it a whirl but I ain't for no girl catching me,

Switch-a-rooney!

 

Telephone numbers well you know,

Doin' my rhumbas with uno

And that 'in my Satin Doll.

 

Pure gold.

[iLaw]

How about a quick jazz hipness lesson from Mel Tormé?

 

[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJec_izuH5s

 

Larry.

[Adan]

It's amazing how much mileage you can get just by calling jazz musicians "cats." Practice saying it drenched in ennui, like you've been saying it all your life. The listener should be given to understand that to you there are only two kinds of people in the world: cats, and everybody else.

[Brad Kaenel]

Classical

---------

Musician/"ist"

Play

Music/Arrangement

Performance/Engagement

(Harmonic)Progression

Instrument

Excellent

Friend

Difficult/unusual

 

 

Jazz

----

Cat/Dude

Blow

Chart

Gig

Changes

Axe

Bad(ass)

"Man"

Outside

 

 

"My friend, I was playing an engagement the other night with a truly excellent cellist. The arrangements were a little unusual, but he was quite a skilled player, and his instrument was really beautiful, too."

 

"Man, did this gig the other night; badass dude on sax. Charts were outside, but the cat could really blow. Made all the changes, no sweat; and had a sweet axe, too."

 

 

[Theo Verelst]

Miles turns around, blows some good notes, and is still remembered and imitated decades later on big festivals by his fellow cats...

[Cygnus64]

OK, I think I've got it. Let me try one:

 

 

Good sir, have you any Grey Poupon?

 

Nope. Still needs work.

[retrokeys]

My man, lay some mustard on me.

[Theo Verelst]

You don't understand: I mean, if you'r good enough you *may* join the jazz ranks. That's how it was, that's how it should be. Other discussions are off by a battle mile.

 

So in the case of the above language I figured it was about all kind of other competitions than what I perceived as normal in jazz, which is fine. But not the way the main language is. Really not. And I'd be interested to no longer feed the general public with all kinds of rather opportunistic ideas I think the classical/jazz poster was at least refering to hence my discussion contribution. I mean: what are forums for, eh.

 

 

[Phred]

You don't understand: I mean, if you'r good enough you *may* join the jazz ranks. That's how it was, that's how it should be. Other discussions are off by a battle mile.

 

So in the case of the above language I figured it was about all kind of other competitions than what I perceived as normal in jazz, which is fine. But not the way the main language is. Really not. And I'd be interested to no longer feed the general public with all kinds of rather opportunistic ideas I think the classical/jazz poster was at least refering to hence my discussion contribution. I mean: what are forums for, eh.

 

 

Man, that cat can blow... A little outside though...

 

 

[SK]

OK, I think I've got it. Let me try one:

 

 

Good sir, have you any Grey Poupon?

Close! But try this: go in with sunglasses (personality change) and tell the musicians:

 

"Cats! What's happenin'? Here are some charts. Check it out, the roadmap should be clear. All you badasses take note: the blowing sections are marked, so blow over that, not over the section parts. You own your solos, I don't care what you play as long as it's burnin'. And play it right, or I can have an all LA band by tomorrow night. And hey drummer, think Tony, not Elvin. Alright, let's hit it, from the top, one, two"

[ProfD]

Most of the lingo in this thread will sound corny to Jazz musicians under 70 years old.

[kanker.]

Most of the lingo in this thread will sound corny to Jazz musicians under 70 years old.

Nah, I think this jive's twenty-three skidoo. It's the bee's knees cat daddy.

[Dave Ferris]

One "lingo" tip. If you tell a jazzer he is a motherf...er he will know you are telling him that his playing and improvisation are of the highest order. Don't try this with anyone else. : )

 

Another is..that's some badass shit man. Say that to a pianist in a Beaux Arts type "Piano Trio".

 

More---"that's some serious chow". "You guys are some groovin' suckers"

 

My FAVORITE quote of all time came from Elvin Jones in "Chasin' the Trane".

Referring to when Coltrane hired Rashied Ali. Elvin commented, " ain't playing shit".

 

I use that quote a lot these days.