ii

Copyright 2009 by Samuel S. Trapchak ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

iii






ABSTRACT


The purpose of this study is to examine various bass players accompanying
approach in the context of jazz that uses uneven meters combined with moving harmony
as in jazz standards. The study explores the foundation of this approach using qualitative
data obtained from interviews with groundbreaking bassists Scott Colley, Larry
Grenadier, and Johannes Weidenmueller, along with analyses of musical transcriptions
done by the author. Findings reveal that bassists use a clave pattern to divide an uneven
meter bar into two, uneven parts; they are then able to feel a half-time pulse, enabling
them to think in larger phrases. They also employ syncopation, over the bar line
phrasing, and pragmatic interaction, to make music played in uneven meters swing with
more fluidity.

















iv






ACKOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank first and foremost Scott Colley, Larry Grenadier, and
Johannes Weidenmueller for taking the time to grant me interviews that added to my data
and encouraged my research efforts. I would also like to thank my thesis advisor Dr.
Timothy Newman for all his great suggestions and support, as well as Dr. Carol Frierson-
Campbell for her formatting help. Thanks to Dr. David Demsey and to my wonderful
teacher and friend Steve Laspina for being on my committee and making my thesis
stronger. Finally, thanks to Andrea Ferrara for all her support and meticulous proof
reading.



















v






TABLE OF CONTENTS



ABSTRACT iii

ACKOWLEDGEMENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES viii

CHAPTERS
I THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
Introduction 1
Background 3
The Desire For a New Rhythmic Vocabulary 6
Uneven Meters and the Bass 8
Purpose 8
Methodology 9

II RELATED LITERATURE
Review of Literature 11
III ANALYSIS
Uneven Meters in Jazz Before the 1990s: Take Five,
Hat and Beard, and Nommo 19

continued
vi
A Method Emerges 24
The Clave and Half-time 26
Walking Bass Lines 29
Syncopation 31
Phrasing Over the Bar Line and Against the Clave 33
Pragmatism 36

IV CONCLUSION
Summary of Findings 40
Need For Further Research 41

REFERENCES 44
APPENDIXES
A INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT 46
B CONSENT FORM 62
C MUSICAL TRANSCRIPTIONS 63














vii







LIST OF TABLES



1 Showing the tempos of various standards performed in 7/4 28

































viii






LIST OF FIGURES



1 Eugene Wrights bass line on Take Five Played on all
A sections and solos 20

2 Eugene Wrights Bass line on the bridge to Take Five 20
3 Richard Daviss first bass line on Hat and Beard 22
4 Richard Daviss second bass line on Hat and Beard 22
5 Richard Daviss third bass line on Hat and Beard 23
6 Jymie Merrits opening bass line from Nommo 23
7 Exmple of a lead sheet for I Didnt Know What Time It Was 24
8 Brad Mehldau playing the melody to I Didnt Know What Time It Was
in 5/4 and Mario Rossys bass line 25

9 5/4 clave over two bars showing the three-two division of the bar 26
10 7/4 clave over two bars showing the four-three division of the bar 27
11 Larry Grenadiers bass line on All The Things You Are showing
a walking line (mm. 109-116) 29
12 Scott Colleys bass line from Airegin showing a walking line (mm. 83-84) 30
13 Johannes Weidenmuellers bass line from Nardis showing a walking line
(m. 108) 30
14 Scott Colleys bass line on the melody to Airegin 32
continued
ix

15 Johannes Weidenmuellers bass line from Nardis showing syncopation
and how it lines up with the 7/4 clave (mm. 89-90) 32
16 Scott Colley phrasing over the bar line on Airegin (mm. 21-24) 33
17 Larry Grenadier phrasing over the bar line on
All The Things You Are (mm. 57-58) 34

18 Johannes Weidenmueller phrasing over the bar line on Nardis
(mm. 17-24) 34
19 Larry Grenadiers bass line to the melody of All The Things You Are 35
20 Larry Grenadier reacting rhythmically to drummer Jorge Rossy on
All The Things You Are (mm. 69-70) 37
21 Scott Colley reacting to drummer Bill Stewart (mm. 10-13) 38
22 Johannes Weidenmueller reacting to a rhythm played by
Kenny Werner on Nardis (mm. 85-88) 38

23 The two half-notes of the 7/4 clave reduced to quarters and the
two dotted quarter-notes reduced to one dotted quarter 39



1





CHAPTER I
THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

Introduction
Perhaps no instrument has come as far within the history of jazz as the double
bass in terms of expectations of the performer. When used in early jazz, the bass was
little more than a percussive instrument thumping out the time. Its role has since
developed into one of the most important instruments within the jazz ensemble because
the bass is responsible for maintaining the harmonic rhythm of the tune (Taylor, 2002).
By designating which beat of the bar a new chord will begin on and establishing a sense
of forward propulsion rhythmically, the bass allows the rest of the ensemble to play
freely over a solid foundation (p. 2). The fundamental approach of designating harmonic
rhythm has varied little in jazz, since the vast majority of the repertoire throughout the
first hundred years of its history has been in 4/4 and later 3/4.
Since the bass is so closely tied to harmonic rhythm, bands that change the meters
of jazz standards to uneven meters, such as 5/4 or 7/4, pose a new challenge for the
modern bassist. This practice started becoming popular in the 1990s. Until then,
harmonic rhythm was almost always divided evenly with chords landing either on beat
one or beat three of a four-beat bar, and lasting either two or four beats of the bar in a 4/4
measure and three beats in a 3/4 measure. With the practice of applying uneven meters to
2
standards, chord changes can be divided unevenly within the bar. Because this upsets the
bassists balance, a new approach had to be developed.
For a bass player it is essential to develop an understanding of how to approach
this type of uneven harmonic rhythm. Bassists Larry Grenadier, Scott Colley, and
Johannes Weidenmueller are three of the principle architects of this model of bass
accompaniment. With limited models to draw from, these bassists all arrived at a similar
foundational approach to playing standards in uneven meters, mastered it, and then
invented their own unique approaches. Their scale of influence is indicated by how in
demand all three are as sidemen in jazz, and the number of recordings they appear on
with major artists. All three of these bassists are best known for mastering uneven meters
in the world of jazz bassists, but the specifics of their contributions are not yet well
documented. Method books designed to facilitate a students ability to play in uneven
meters make no mention of these bassists or any of the recordings they appear on, some
of which are among best existing examples of musicians playing uneven meters.
Understanding the bass in this context is so important to the entire concept of standards in
uneven meters that any musician who wants to pursue this type of jazz must understand
its role.
Although uneven meters are more commonly referred to as odd meters, the
author has decided against using this term except for certain instances. This is because
some synonyms of the word odd such as strange, unusual, or weird no longer
apply to uneven meters. Since odd meters are now fairly common, they have shed these
other characteristics. Uneven is a more accurate term.

3
Background
Standards are tunes that are considered necessary repertoire for any jazz musician.
Most standards are from Broadway shows but some tunes written by jazz musicians that
are played or recorded often enough can also become standards. The vast majority of
standards are composed in 4/4, or common time. Common time is the time signature most
identified with jazz and with the concept of swing. The terms four on the floor and
walking bass line are heavily associated with having four beats in each measure
(Taylor, 2000, p. 24). Common time is a base that jazz has grown up around. At one time,
3/4 or waltz feel was considered odd to most jazz musicians (Joahnnes Weidenmueller
and Larry Grenadier in separate interviews with the author). Many tunes such as a
Lover by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart were originally composed as waltzes, but
jazz musicians would change the meter to 4/4 (Aebersold, 2000, p. ii). By changing the
tune to common time, jazz musicians were able to apply their existing vocabulary without
altering their phrasing. In 1942 Thomas Fats Waller composed the first jazz waltz
entitled Jitterbug Waltz, but it was still some time before 3/4 became a typical part of
the jazz language (p. ii). Sonny Rollins composed the tune Valse Hot, a waltz based on
the chord changes to Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen. One of the early
efforts to make the waltz feel a permanent element of jazz was Max Roachs 1957
release, Jazz in 3/4 Time. Bill Evans recorded versions of waltzes such as Alice In
Wonderland and Someday My Prince Will Come. Miles Davis also recorded
Someday my Prince Will Come and composed the tune All Blues, a blues in 3/4 on
the legendary album Kind of Blue.
4
Despite the fact that they are sometimes called odd, uneven meters can actually
be very accessible to the average listener. In 1959, when the jazz waltz was still coming
into its own, Dave Brubeck and his quartet achieved immense popularity with an album
entitled Time Out, made up exclusively of tunes written in uneven or odd meters. Based
on the success of this album, the quartet became the most successful of all organized,
touring, recording jazz groups in the 1960s (Hall, 1996, p. 83). Paul Desmond, the
groups saxophonist, composed the most famous track on Time Out entitled Take Five.
Take Five is the only tune written in 5/4, or any uneven meter, that is widely
recognized as a jazz standard. Despite high record sales, the reviews of Time Out were
unflattering, and many serious jazz musicians were skeptical of this album that
sometimes drew more heavily from classical music than jazz. Also, in the famous version
of the tune, there was no improvisation over moving harmonies.
In the 1960s trumpeter and bandleader Don Ellis emerged as a leading figure in
uneven meters and modern big band music. In addition to uneven meters his orchestra
became known for its experimental instrumentation, use of electronics, and quarter-tone
harmonies. Ellis wrote a book on the subject of uneven meters entitled The New Rhythm
Book (1972). In his dissertation, The Exotic Rhythms Of Don Ellis (2002), Sean Fenlon
devotes an entire chapter to Attitudes Toward Unconventional Meters in Jazz. The
quotes in this chapter include a collection of scathing reviews and writings that dismiss
the use of uneven meters in jazz as a gimmick. A quote in Ellis book from jazz educator
John Mehegan reads, anything that was not in 4/4 could not possibly be considered
jazz (quoted in Fenlon, 2002, p. 68). Mehegans own definition of jazz reflects this
notion: Jazz is an improvised indigenous American folk music employing eighth, half,
5
and quarter-note rhythmic units moving through a diatonic system of harmony in 4/4
time (Mehegan quoted in Fenlon, 2002, p. 69). Of course this is inadequate, since one
would have to exclude any jazz that contained triplets or non-diatonic harmony. Fenlon
maintains that the detractors of uneven meters were simply wary of them because they
made otherwise rhythmically advanced players feel insecure. As Fenlon puts it, For
many, it was easier to condemn the approach as meaningless or absurd rather than
commit the necessary effort to master it (69).
The most important contribution of Brubeck and Ellis, regarding uneven meters,
is that they exposed people to them. Many people probably never heard an uneven meter
in jazz before hearing the album Time Out. Ellis was also influential in his film scoring.
He composed and performed the music to the 1971 film, The French Connection. Many
of Ellis charts have also been performed in high schools, exposing a younger generation
of musicians to uneven meters.
Although uneven meters did not disappear from jazz in the following years, they
were siphoned further away from swing and traditionalist jazz. Instead, uneven meters
became a mainstay of the fusion movement throughout the 1970s and 80s. Fusion music
is sometimes identified more with rock and roll but won the interest, at least temporarily,
of such jazz giants as Miles Davis, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock
among others. John McLaughlins group, Mahavishnu Orchestra, which featured Jan
Hammer, Rick Laird, Billy Cobham and later violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, was one of the
powerhouses of the fusion movement (Yanow, 2005). They frequently employed uneven
meters as well as what could be called mixed or changing meters. Chick Coreas band
Return To Forever was another group known for its unusual meters, note groupings and
6
clear melodic lines. Herbie Hancocks legendary group Headhunters became the epitome
of a funk-fusion band and had many compositions in uneven meters.

The Desire For a New Rhythmic Vocabulary
It is impossible to determine who was the first musician to perform a standard in
an uneven meter. This event is certainly undocumented and could well have happened
mid-twentieth century or even earlier. However, recording dates and interviews with
musicians suggest that this practice started gaining momentum in New York City in the
early 1990s (See interview with Weidenmueller, Appendix A). In the opposite way that
musicians of bebop and earlier eras changed waltz feel tunes to common time to fit their
needs, musicians during this period adapted standards into uneven meters, forcing them
to change their vocabulary. Weidenmueller names several key figures whom he met early
on in New York and associates with this movement. They include, Brad Mehldau, Jorge
Rossy, Chris Cheek, Mark Turner, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Marc Miralta, and
John Stetch.
Harmonically and melodically speaking, jazz music has exhausted its resources
because so much has been done with pitch. According to Weidenmueller, because of the
lack of harmonic development in the last 20 years in the language of jazz because so
much has been said alreadythe rhythmic and metric language in the last 20 years has
really developed a lot with playing in odd and uneven meters. This is not to say that
new, original melodies are unavailable. However, with the advent of arbitrary scales and
free jazz, as well as drawing sources like classical, folk, rock, and even hip hop, the
pallets for pitch have all been used. This left groups of musicians in the early 1990s who
7
wanted to take an original approach to jazz music, turning to rhythmic ideas in jazz that
either had not been explored or were comparatively undeveloped. As mentioned, this
departs functionally from what bebop musicians did with tunes in 3/4, but is in step with
their desire to innovate. Beboppers changed the chords and melodies of standards,
making them more complex. Uneven meters are, therefore, another medium to apply to
standards -- another vocabulary to master.
Pianist Brad Mehldau is almost certainly the central figure in applying uneven
meters to standards. The Brad Mehldau trio has performed definitive versions of many
standards in uneven meters in such an impressive way that they can be regarded as the
first to set a standard of this practice while reaching a large audience. Their method,
which is simple and consistent, has been imitated in nearly every recording the author
could find of an uneven meter applied to a standard and will be discussed at greater
length in Chapter III. In light of his influence, Mehldau can be considered the codifier of
this aspect of the modern jazz language.
Ways of playing with the rhythm of a standard, other than changing the time
signature, were taking place almost simultaneously with the development of uneven
meters. Wynton Marsalis 1986 album, Standard Time reflects the same desire for
rhythmic advancement. This recording contains many examples of unusual note
groupings and metric modulations. These devices were also seen in the mid-twentieth
century, used by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Lennie Tristano but were not fully
incorporated into the language and developed further until much later.


8
Uneven Meters and The Bass
In this movement of developing uneven meters, bass players have maintained
their relevancy and perhaps become even more important to the rest of the band. As
primary keepers of the harmonic rhythm, bass players must adapt their bass lines, so
central to the feeling of common time, into a uneven meter. Scott Colley, Larry Grenadier
and Johannes Weidenmueller have done this in such a way that simply by listening to
their bass lines, even a novice musician can understand how the harmonic rhythm of
standards is divided in uneven meters and keep track of the harmonic form.
The bass function in uneven meters is to outline a type of half-time that a
musician can count easily and use to keep track of the harmonic rhythm without getting
lost. If musicians do not understand the function of the bass, they will have a more
difficult time playing uneven meters in a relaxed manner. There is a need to document the
techniques these three musicians use the bass to establish the harmonic rhythm in a way
that facilitates conceptualization and phrase structure.

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the foundational approach of bass
accompaniment in the context of uneven meters when there is moving harmony as within
standards. First explored is how the bass functioned in early examples of uneven meters
in jazz. These early bass lines that were only applied to vamps and stagnant harmony
evolved when moving harmony became a factor in uneven meter performances. This
study shows how bassists outline the harmonic rhythm clearly by using an ostinato
pattern that has replaced the two-feel bass line and facilitates a conception of half-time.
9
This is followed by an analysis of the individual approaches of Scott Colley, Larry
Grenadier and Johannes Weidenmueller. They make tunes in uneven meters swing and
feel fluid by 1) applying syncopation to their lines, 2) applying over-the bar line phrasing
to make the music more free, and 3) interacting in a pragmatic way with other members
of the group during a performance. The study gives historical context to uneven meters
and shows that they are not just a whim of a small group of musicians, but an evolving
aspect of jazz. According to Scott Colley, changing the meter of a tune is just a different
way of approaching a standard: Theyre great songs these different standards that
weve kind of inherited, but at some point you got to figure out how it really relates to
modern music.

Methodology
The methodology for this study is qualitative and consists primarily of data
obtained from interviews with bassists Scott Colley, Larry Grenadier and Johannes
Weidenmueller combined with analyses of musical transcriptions of their work done by
the author. The bassists were all contacted via email and agreed to an interview on the
subject. The interviews took place between March 6
th
and March 27
th
of 2009 and lasted
approximately thirty minutes each. Johannes Weidenmueller was interviewed in person
whereas Scott Colley and Larry Grenadier were both interviewed over the phone. All
interviews began with the same question: How is it that you learned to play standards in
uneven meters? Further into the interview the bassists were asked how they think about
uneven meters in the context of standards and what specific techniques they used to
practice them. Transcripts of all three interviews can be found in Appendix A.
10
Scott Colley gained recognition for his work with Chris Potter, John Scofield, Jim
Hall, and Herbie Hancock. He also has six albums as a leader to date. Colley frequently
uses uneven meters in his own compositions and when playing tunes written by his
colleagues. The recording transcribed for this thesis is from his album This Place (1997).
The track is a performance of the standard Airegin by Sonny Rollins adapted to 5/4.
Larry Grenadier is most known for his work with the Brad Mehldau Trio but has
also worked with Joe Henderson, Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman, and many others.
Performing standards in uneven meters is something the Mehldau trio has become known
for. They could be credited with the dissemination of this practice perhaps more than any
other group, and Grenadier has been a member since the early 1990s. The piece
transcribed for this thesis is his accompaniment on the standard All The Things You
Are by Jerome Kern played in 7/4 from Art of the Trio Volume 4 (1999) by the Brad
Mehldau Trio.
Johannes Weidenmueller has been a member of the Hank Jones Trio, the Joe
Lovano Trio, the Carl Allen/Vincent Herring Quintet, and the John Abercrombie Quartet,
in addition to being a committed educator at the New School in New York City. Some of
his most exciting work comes from the Kenny Werner Trio, which is known for
employing a wide range of unique rhythms, metric modulations, and uneven meters.
Transcribed for this thesis is his bass line on the standard Nardis by Miles Davis played
in 7/4 by the Kenny Werner Trio from the album Form and Fantasy (2001).
Earlier examples of uneven meter playing from the work of bassists Eugene
Wright, Richard Davis, and Jymie Merrit show how far expectations for accompanying
have come in terms of syncopation, over-the-bar line phrasing, and group interaction.
11



CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW

Review of Literature
Very little literature exists on the subject of the bass and uneven meters. That
which does exist tends to fall short of the expectations for a modern jazz bassist. One
likely reason for this is the lack of musicians who have mastered uneven meter playing
and are involved in publishing or education. An upcoming exception is a book written by
Johannes Weidenmueller in collaboration with drummer Ari Hoenig. In their book,
which will be released in May of 2009, they discuss the modern rhythmic vocabulary of
jazz.
Odd Meter Bass: Complex Time Signatures Made Simple is a method book for
bass by bassist and educator Timothy Emmons (2008). According to Emmons, the
purpose of his book is to help bassists decipher the mysterious language of odd (uneven)
meter rhythm (p. 4). This is followed by a What, Where, When, Who, Why
and How section that traces the roots of uneven meters back to the indigenous music of
the Balkans, Greece, and Asia Minor. Emmons acknowledges the use of uneven meters in
classical music by Tchiakovsky, Stravinsky, and Bartok. Emmons rationale for why
uneven meters are used is simply for the emotional effect (p. 5). He reinforces this
statement by citing Holsts 5/4 theme for Mars, the god of war in the piece The Planets
12
and in Bernsteins depiction of the spastic energy of the New York City in West Side
Story. He also notes that modern rock bands sometimes use uneven meters.
Emmons has confidence in this book. His method of subdividing time signatures
into smaller groupings that can be counted more easily always works (p.5). The first
chapters of the book are devoted to making the student comfortable with the concept of
subdividing and do not contain uneven meters. Odd Meter Bass comes with a play-along
and example CD that illustrates his method clearly. Emmons makes use of simple chord
changes, usually based on the blues, showing how to make a bass line function as the
harmony moves. Also included are sample bass lines applicable to uneven meters and
suggested methods of variation. The examples become increasingly complex as they
move into 9/8, 11/8, and finally into changing meters. Emmons focus is on how to play
over these meters confidently in a reading scenario. He states in the introduction that he
encounters uneven meters frequently when reading in a recording studio or for film or
theater music (2008, p. 5).
Odd Meter Bass: Complex Time Signatures Made Simple is a good resource for
introducing a bassist to uneven meters. For a rock or a session bassist, it might be the
only necessary literature. However, Emmons does not discuss the role of the bass in
modern jazz music with uneven meters. The recommended listening section in the back
of the book is void of any of the bass players who are the focus of this study. Applying
uneven meters to jazz standards in the context of swing goes unmentioned.
Emmons approach is based on sub-dividing the measure into smaller beats. This
increases accuracy in a reading scenario and perhaps for a written line, but when it comes
to freeing up the music this approach can be counter-productive. As Hal Galper states in
13
Forward Motion (2005), for the music to swing, and for the performers to be relaxed,
fewer beats need to be counted, not more. Subdividing in this way for any other purpose
than accuracy in reading has a danger of making the music sound jerky and un-relaxed.
The half-time feel is what the performer needs to become acquainted with. This grants
rhythmic freedom within the phrase and helps the rest of the band loosen up. Sub-
dividing is still taking place but the focus should be on a mental state that conceives of
the music in half-time.
Odd Meter Workout (2000), from the Jamey Aebersold jazz play-along series, is a
book and CD package designed to help a student of jazz play in uneven meters. The
Abersold series is among the most successful and popular jazz education tools available.
The CD is in the typical Aebersold format of a rhythm section playing time. The student
is supposed to play along with the recording to get used to the unusual nature of uneven
meters and practice soloing or accompanying. It contains 10 tracks: 1) First Step,
which is a sequence of ii-V progressions, 2) Blue Minor, a minor blues with a Latin 5/4
feel, 3) On Green Dolphin Street with alternating choruses in 4/4 and 3/4, 4) Guido
Rides Again, a 4/4 Latin tune with a 3/4 bridge, 5) Major Scales in 5/4, a series of ii-
V-Is intended for the student to practice playing scales in 5/4, 6) Take Five, the famous
Paul Desmond composition from the Dave Brubeck Quartet, 7) The Girl From Ipanema
in a Latin 7/4 feel, 8) Backdoor Shuffle, a Jamie Aebersold Blues in 5/4, 9) Seven for
Twelve is a groove-based blues in 7/4, and 10) My Favorite Things the Rogers and
Hammerstein classic, in 11/4 with alternating between bars of 6 and 5.
The introduction is by Phil Bailey, who gives a brief history of uneven meters in
jazz music. He notes that Jitterbug Waltz by Fats Waller was the first Jazz composition
14
to be written in 3/4, and until that time other tunes written in 3/4 would actually be
adapted to 4/4 (p. ii). He mentions the work of Dave Brubeck, Stan Kenton, and the Don
Ellis Band and how they composed music in uneven meters and also Bossa Nova
compositions in uneven meters such as Misturada by Manfredo Fest.
Odd Meter Workout (2000) is a good introduction to the subject of uneven meters
but is inadequate when compared to the modern rhythmic demands of bassists in jazz.
Aebersold states in the discography that none of the tunes contained in this book have
ever been recorded in the meters that they are presented in and lists no other tunes in
uneven meters besides Take Five (p. iii). By 2000 there were already numerous
recordings of standards adapted to uneven meters, none of which are found in the
discography. The introduction does not mention any of the artists that are the focus of this
study. Aebersolds How to Solo section is taken directly from his other books and is
not tailored to the unique requirements of playing in an uneven meter.
Aebersold should address more fundamental questions pertaining to uneven
meters such as: What are some recordings of standards in a uneven meter? How does one
convert a tune from common time or a waltz feel into uneven meter? What are the more
common uneven meters that jazz musicians are using? How is the harmonic rhythm
divided and how does it relate phrasing?
Bassists who play jazz in uneven meters almost invariably outline the time with a
type of half-time that will be discussed in Chapter 4 of this paper. Discussion of this
approach is absent from Odd Meter Workout. Although played by the bassist on some of
the tracks, it is not given the specific attention that a student needs to get a firm grasp on
the concept of half-time which is the essential for improving phrasing. All musicians
15
interested in uneven meters, especially those just becoming familiar with them, should
rely heavily on this bass figure for keeping their place in the music. A solid foundation in
the bass is what allows the rest of the band to loosen up.
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (ed. Kernfield, 2001) contains short biographic
information on Larry Grenadier and Scott Colley. It notes the groups that they are best
known for working with: The Brad Mehldau Trio and Chris Potter respectively. The New
Grove Dictionary of Jazz does not mention uneven meters at all in reference to Colley,
Grenadier. It is the belief of the author that if the trend of performing standards in uneven
meters gains more recognition in the future, these bassists will be remembered
specifically for their contributions to it. Uneven meters are not mentioned under Brad
Mehldau either, whose trio with Larry Grenadier made performing standards in uneven
meters one of its signature aspects.
Forward Motion (2005) is the work of pianist, composer, and educator Hal
Galper. In this book he redefines the first beat of the bar and shows that in music it tends
to be used not as the beginning but as the end of a phrase (p. 52). Galper includes many
exercises in the book, both instrumental and mental, to help the student develop an ear for
what Galper calls target notes (chap. 1). In Chapter 2, which is devoted entirely to
rhythm, Galper states that learning to play in half-time is an adult rhythmic behavior (p.
53). Jazz musicians, in order to obtain a more relaxed feel while soloing, should be
counting half-notes rather than quarter-notes and be thinking of eighth-notes as
sixteenths.
Uneven meters fall outside the scope of Forward Motion, yet what Galper says
about half-time playing is pertinent. Galper asserts that half-time is the key to freeing up
16
a players time feel (chap. 2). For example, when playing a tune that is 300 beats per
minute, it helps musicians to phrase and conceptualize the music if they think of the
tempo as 150 beats per minute and think of sixteenth notes instead of eighth-notes (p.
53). Playing in uneven meters is inherently un-relaxed because of the structure of the
bars. The problem with applying half-time to uneven meters is that if musicians counted
half-notes as they would in 4/4, they would end up on the other side of the beat from
where they started in the previous measure. When Galper discusses improvising in 3/4 his
approach is sound because each chord typically lasts three beats. But in 5/4 or 7/4
alternating chord durations are employed, making the harmonic rhythm uneven. Galpers
superimposition method works for soloing, but the way the bass functions as an
accompanying instrument is different. A bassist must land clearly on beat one of every
bar unless intentionally obscuring the bar line. This clarity is what allows for the
superimposition of melodic and rhythmic phrases Galper discusses in his book (chap. 9).
In the article, A Personal Approach to Contemporary Jazz: Works for Saxophone
and Computer Controlled Electronic (1996), Neil Leonard states that bassist Jymie
Merrit, following his most well known work in the 1960s with Art Blakeys Jazz
Messengers, then put his effort towards the use of uneven meters. Leonard cites a
composition by Merrit entitled Nommo from the album Live at the Lighthouse by
trumpeter Lee Morgan. Nommo happens to be in 7/4 and is a swinging blues-
influenced tune. Leonard talks about working with Merrit in a group and how the
compositions, whatever meter they were in, swung just as hard as anything in common
time (p. 17).
17
In his dissertation, James Blanton, Raymond Brown, and Charles Mingus: A
Study of the Development of the Double Bass in Modern Jazz (2002), Michael Taylor
outlines a broad history of the bass in jazz and its role. According to Taylor early jazz
bass duties were within the parameters of harmonic and rhythmic elements (p. 2). He
evaluates the contributions of three bass players: Jimmy Blanton, who expanded melodic
bass playing within the prescribed rhythmic and harmonic parameters, Ray Brown, who
made melodic advancements pertinent to bebop, and Charles Mingus, who expanded the
harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic role of the bass (p. 19). Taylor provides a model for
examining three bass players and their respective contributions to jazz. This work
contains regional history, cultural history, and transcribed musical examples that support
Taylors claims well. The work also contains transcriptions and analyses of bassists
Walter Page, Pops Foster, Israel Crosby, and Leroy Slam Stuart.
Taylor provides a model of how to display findings on different bass players. It
contains relevant information about stylistic development in bass playing. Taylor
describes clearly how the bass functions within the rhythm section and how bassists
James Blanton, Raymond Brown, and Charles Mingus raised the expectations of the
modern bassist.
Pops Foster: The Autobiography of a New Orleans Jazzman (1971) is a work by
drawn from interviews with New Orleans bassist Pops Foster edited by Tom Stoddard.
Although this book is mostly historical and contains many anecdotes about being a jazz
musician in the early to mid-twentieth century, Foster also discusses the role of the bass.
He was a key figure in making the transition from a two beat per bar bass line a four beat
per bar bass line and witnessed its development across the country (Foster & Stoddard p.
18
xviii). This book shows that the bass has always been evolving within its fundamental
role. What Foster says relates to the lightness that is desired by modern jazz music. He
mentions how the drummer changed the time-keeping drum from the snare to the ride
cymbal and the bass from two beat to four beat (p. xviii). This can be related to what
modern bassists have done with uneven meters. By using syncopation and other rhythmic
devices they are seeking the lightness that has always been favored by jazz musicians and
leaving behind the practice of adhering strictly to an unvarying, heavy ostinato.
The dissertation, The Exotic Rhythms of Don Ellis (2002), by Sean Fenlon offers
an in depth look at the life and music of Don Ellis. One of the most intriguing sections is
Attitudes Towards Unconventional Meters In Jazz (p. 68). Uneven meters have always
had detractors within jazz. Fenlon offers their opinions as well as critics and writers such
as Gunther Schuller and Leonard Feather who looked favorably upon this development in
jazz.










19



CHAPTER III
ANALYSIS:

Uneven Meters in Jazz Before the 1990s: Take Five, Hat and Beard, and Nommo
The three factors in a bass line that work together to define the beginning of a bar
in a uneven meter are duration, tessitura, and pitch. When using duration, a longer note
will usually indicate the top of a bar. When using tessitura, a very low note in the bass
can be used to indicate the top. Usually the bass plays the root of the chord on beat one of
the bar, so pitch is also an indicator. Any one, or all three of these factors could be used
to cue the beginning of a bar for the rest of the band. This chapter shows how these
factors were used in various combinations to define the bar in early examples of uneven
meters in jazz. Also shown is how the use of these factors evolved in the 1990s and how,
at times, modern bassists purposely avoid clearly defining the beginning of the bar in
order to create a more elastic and free sounding performance.
Paul Desmonds composition Take Five is perhaps the only tune widely
recognized as a standard that was originally composed in a uneven meter. When the
album Time Out was released, the Dave Brubeck Quartet was catapulted into the
spotlight. The album is one of the few in jazz to ever go platinum, and Take Five was
its biggest individual hit. The melody of the tune is in A- B-A form. Each A section is a
20
harmonic vamp in Eb minor. Figure 1 shows the bass line played by Eugene Wright on
each A section and throughout the solos.

Figure 1: Eugene Wrights bass line on Take Five played on all A sections and solos.



Figure 1 shows the three-two division of the bar with a dotted half-note followed
by two quarter-notes. Wright is using the factors pitch and duration to indicate the top of
the bar. He plays the root of the chord on beat one and this note lasts the longest. The B
section, or bridge of the tune, offers a more active harmonic rhythm in the relative major
key of Gb. Figure 2 shows Wrights bass line from the bridge of the same recording:


Figure 2: Eugene Wrights Bass line on the bridge to Take Five

Wright does what a good bassist should: he outlines the harmonic rhythm of the
tune and plays a clear bass line. He plays what sounds like a written line or a scale pattern
in the relative major key going downwards diatonically from the fourth scale degree, Cb.
Although the bridge of the tune contains moving harmony functioning in a way similar to
jazz standards, it is not used for the solo sections. Saxophonist Paul Desmond and
21
Drummer Joe Morello improvise only on the A sections of the tune and no form is
adhered to. Take Five essentially becomes a vamp until the melody is reintroduced at
the end.
Uneven meters were a staple of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. The album Time Out
boasted a time signature unusual to jazz on each tune but these meters, and sometimes
even the form, were not applied to solos. For example Blue Rondo A La Turk, a
classically influenced piece in 9/8 contains no improvisation in 9/8. Instead the 9/8
sections are through composed and the solos are over a blues in 4/4, interspersed with
fragments from the melody.
Brubeck and his quartet failed to gain the same respect from the most serious jazz
musicians that they did from the listening public. Johannes Weidenmueller says this was
probably because musicians did not develop uneven meters and make them as
comfortable as music in 4/4. Because Brubeck and his band did not employ moving
harmony while playing in uneven meters, their work became further removed from what
most musicians considered jazz. Therefore Take Five remained a novelty to jazz
musicians rather than a challenge to be met. The sudden success of Time Out surely had
the opposite effect on many musicians who did not believe Brubecks recognition was
completely deserved.
The 1960s brought new trends, notably modal and free jazz. These new styles
facilitated developments in uneven meters because, for the most part, they left chord
changes behind. Tunes could therefore center around a groove or a one-key vamp in the
same way the solo section of Take Five does. One example is Hat and Beard from
22
Eric Dolphys 1964 album Out to Lunch. It begins with a bass line played by Richard
Davis (Figure 3).


Figure 3: Richard Daviss first bass line on Hat and Beard

This bass line serves as the foundation for the beginning of the piece. Early in the
composition, all other parts are based on this bass line. First, Dolphy doubles it on the
bass clarinet, and then Bobby Hutcheson doubles it on the vibraphone. Then the bass line
changes to accommodate a new section of the melody (Figure 4).


Figure 4: Richard Daviss second bass line on Hat and Beard

The octave displacements in Figure 4 line create an angular sound. The dotted
quarter at the beginning of the 5/4 measure is important. With this, the longest and lowest
note, tessitura and duration come into play, marking the form of the two bar phrase for
the listener and the band. This bass line is what Eric Dolphy improvises over on his solo.
At first the line does not vary, but toward the end of the solo Davis plays more freely
while still maintaining the form. He then plays a different bass line that acts as a cue to
the next soloist, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (Figure 5).
23

Figure 5: Richard Daviss third bass line on Hat and Beard


Davis clearly defines the bar through duration and pitch. A dotted rhythm cues the top of
the 5/4 bar and the 4/4 bar is a half-step down in pitch making it easy for the listener to
hear.
The similarity between the bass lines on Take Five and Hat and Beard is the
use of longer durations of notes to indicate the top of the bar. On Take Five Wright
uses the dotted half-note. On Hat and Beard Davis uses the dotted quarter. Also notice
that the quarter-notes at the end of the bar in Wrights bass line are found in Davis. This
leads the listener hear the third beat of Davis bass line as a pickup to the last two quarter-
notes. Both of these bass lines contain similar rhythmic functions that outline minimal
harmony.
An early example of a tune in 7/4 can be found on the 1970 recording by
trumpeter Lee Morgan entitled Live at The Lighthouse. As in the previous examples, the
tune Nommo, composed by bassist Jymie Merrit, begins with an ostinato figure in the
bass (Figure 6).


Figure 6: Jymie Merrits opening bass line from Nommo



24
Here again is a modal tune with an uneven time signature. Merrit varies this bass line
considerably throughout the tune, creating exciting rhythms, but is restricted by the static
harmony. In 1970, rhythmic freedom within uneven meters was beginning to show, but
was still not found in the context of moving harmony. Also absent from the bass and the
rest of the rhythm section was a loose, over-the-bar line type of phrasing which by this
time was becoming common in 3/4 and 4/4.

A Method Emerges
Pianist Brad Mehldau and his trio with drummer Jorge Rossy and bassist
Larry Grenadier have become very much identified with adapting standards into
uneven meters like 5/4 and 7/4. According to Weidenmueller, Brad was one of
the guys who really took it to another level. As of this writing the earliest
recording of a standard adapted to an uneven meter found by the author was one
with pianist Brad Mehldau, drummer Jorge Rossy, and bassist Mario Rossy, on
the album When I Fall In Love, recorded in 1993. Here the jazz standard, I
Didnt Know What Time It Was is changed from the typical 4/4 to 5/4. Figure 7
shows a notation in 4/4 of the first four bars of the tune.


Figure 7: Common lead sheet notation of I Didnt Know What Time It Was



25
Notice the harmonic rhythm of the tune. Each chord lasts two beats. To change the meter
into 5/4 Mehldau adds a beat to the first chord in each measure (Figure 8). Note the
clever syncopation of the melody.


Figure 8: Brad Mehldau playing the melody to I Didnt Know What Time It Was in 5/4
and Mario Rossys bass line



Rossys bass line further illuminates the harmonic rhythm. It shows the influence
of Take Five, but it moves harmonically. The bar is still divided into three beats
followed by two beats, but, like Davis second bass line from Hat and Beard, Rossy
breaks up the three beats into two dotted quarters. This generates syncopation, helping to
propel the piece better than a dotted half-note would. When asked about the harmonic
rhythm Larry Grenadier referred to the tendency of the bar to be divided into a long
section followed by short one. While playing in 5/4 the three plus two division of the bar
is the most common way of playing a standard, and in 7/4 the division is typically four
plus three. This is evident in all examples of standards adapted to uneven meters
contained in this thesis. Weidenmueller maintains that musicians were dividing the
harmonic rhythm in different ways, and ultimately to do it in any way is the goal, but
perhaps that the step in the process of deliberately changing the division was never
recorded. In any case, Mehldau can be considered the codifier of this division, which has
emerged as the most widely used.
26

The Clave and Half-time
Playing a standard in an uneven meter can seem a daunting challenge. When
asked about specific difficulties Grenadier said, your balance harmonically is off
and rhythmically. The first step is to determine how the harmonic rhythm is divided in
this new time signature. On every recording of standards played in a swing style and
uneven meter found, the harmonic rhythm was always divided into a long bar followed
by a short bar. Weidenmueller and Grenadier both refer to this rhythmic ostinato as a
clave (klah-vay) (Figures 9 and 10).


Figure 9: 5/4 clave over two bars showing the three-two division




Figure 10: 7/4 clave over two bars



27
The term clave comes from Latin-American music. In his book The Latin Bass
Book: A Practical Guide (2001), Bassist Oscar Stagnaro defines the clave as a two
measure rhythmic pattern which forms the basis for the parts played by all rhythmic and
harmonic instruments. He continues, The importance of understanding the clave and its
variations as the root of rhythm for Afro-Cuban music cannot be overstated (p. 72).
Keeping the clave in mind helps the bassist keep track of the form. That
Grenadier and Weidenmueller employ the term clave to describe the ostinato that they
base their conception of uneven meter playing on is telling of its importance. The
interviews with Colley, Grenadier, and Weidenmueller support this premise. Larry
Grenadier, for instance, explained that the clave functions as his root and helps him to
free up the time. By feeling the clave pattern, the bassist can avoid having to count to five
or seven in every bar. Why is this important? In a 4/4 rendition of a tune that is not a
ballad or slow medium tempo, the bassist feels the bar in half-time. At very fast tempos,
he or she may count only the downbeat of this bar. The great trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie
said, The faster you play, the slower you count (Galper, 2005, p. 51). Galper maintains
that counting quarter-notes is a hold over from childhood musical experience (p. 52).
According to Galper, a characteristic of rhythmic maturity is counting in half-time,
enabling the musician to play in a more relaxed manner (p. 53). The obvious problem
with playing in half-time while playing in a uneven meter is that after one bar a player
would end up on the other side of the beat. The clave helps the bassist maintain a half-
time feel during the piece without ending up on the other side of the beat. Notice there are
four note values total in Figure 9 and Figure 10 but that the pattern takes up the entire
28
bar. This means that when the next bar begins, the same pattern will be played without
having to land on a different beat.
Larry Grenadier suggested that the clave also keeps him from playing too many
notes in an up-tempo piece. This is another characteristic of most standards adapted to
uneven meters. They tend to be performed at fast tempos, particularly 7/4. Table 1 shows
tempo markings from standards played in 7/4. Based on the quote from Dizzy Gillespi, a
half-time approach would be very useful when playing at these tempos. In fact, when
asked if a half-time approach helps him in a uneven meter, Grenadier said it did because
it helps in 4/4 and all the rules are the same.

Song Title Group Album/(year) Bassist Tempo
It Might As
Well Be
Spring
Brad Mehldau
Trio
Introducing
(1995)
Larry Grenadier 280 bpm
Summertime Joshua Redman Timeless Tales
For Changing
Times (1998)
Larry Grenadier 298 bpm
All The Things
You Are
Brad Mehldau
Trio
Art Of The Trio
Volume 4
(1999)
Larry Grenadier 272 bpm
Nardis Kenny Werner
Trio
Form and
Fanstasy
(2001)
Johannes
Weidenmueller
250 bpm
Alone
Together
Brad Mehldau
Trio
Art Of The Trio
Volume 5
(2001)
Larry Grenadier 322 bpm
East of the
Sun
Joshua Redman Back East
(2006)
Larry Grenadier 280 bpm
Table 1: The tempos of various standards performed in 7/4



29
Walking Bass Lines
Playing along with the clave is very useful for place keeping and outlining the
harmonic rhythm in a clear way. Eventually, though, as energy builds within the piece,
the bassist may find that a walking line is more appropriate. Walking bass is heavily
associated with common time by nature of being a steady pulse on every beat. Walking a
bass line in an uneven meter takes practice so that one does not fall back into 4/4. Figure
11 shows Larry Grenadier walking a bass line on Jerome Kerns All The Things You
Are.


Figure 11: Larry Grenadiers bass line on All The Things You Are showing a walking
line (mm. 109-116)



The third bar of Figure 11 is the top of Mehldaus sixth solo chorus. At this point the
piece has gathered some momentum and Grenadier has decided to switch to a walking
feel. Notably, there is a lack of linearity here usually associated with a walking bass line.
The bass is functioning almost as a percussive instrument. Bars three and four are made
up entirely of roots and fifths of the chords and are arranged in a way that clearly outlines
the time signature by dividing the bar into a two-plus-two-plus-three pattern using only
quarter-notes. This occurs in many places throughout the piece and is not unique to Larry
30
Grenadier. Figure 12 shows an excerpt of Scott Colleys walking bass line on Sonny
Rollins Airegin in 5/4.



Figure 12: Scott Colleys bass line from Airegin showing a walking line (mm. 83-84)

Like Grenadier, Colley uses only roots and fifths in this example, with the exception of
the G natural on the Eb7 chord. He places more importance on outlining the harmonic
rhythm and the three-two division of the bar than on creating a bass line that moves in a
smooth step-wise fashion. Weidenmueller too uses this concept. Figure 13 shows a bar
from the piano solo on Nardis:


Figure 13: Johannes Weidenmuellers bass line from Nardis showing a walking line
(m. 108)



The notes and rhythmic structure are the same: roots and fifths grouped in phrases that do
not create a smooth step-wise line but clearly outline the harmonic rhythm.


31
Syncopation
As useful as the clave is, Weidenmueller cautions against relying too heavily on it
because it can become a rhythmic crutch. When asked about using the clave to divide the
bars he said his approach was about being as loose as possible within that frame of the
seven, which meant getting away from that basic harmonic subdivision. His goal in
playing uneven meters is to feel and play them as fluently as one would in 4/4 time where
there is no need for ostinatos or clave patterns to keep track of the form. One way of
making the time feel looser or lighter is through syncopation. As Galper (2005) notes,
this goes back to the teachings of Dizzy Gillespie who said, The more upbeats you have
in the music the more it swings (p. 14). Using syncopation this way can be seen by
comparing Eugene Wrights bass line from Take Five (Figure 1) to Mario Rossys bass
line from I Didnt Know What Time It Was (Figure 8). Scott Colleys bass line on
Airegin gives an example of a third, more contemporary treatment of 5/4. Figure 14
shows the bass line that Colley plays during the statement of the melody.
Whereas Wrights bass line contained no syncopation at all, and Rossys
introduced a dotted quarter-note to the first beat followed later by more syncopation,
Colleys is bubbling with syncopated accents, freeing the music from the heaviness
imposed by an ostinato pattern. Notice the emphasis on up-beats throughout the example
but particularly in bars nine through eleven in Figure 14. Colley still outlines the clave
pattern anchoring the piece but does not play the actual clave pattern until bar 17 when
the melody has almost ended.
32

Figure 14: Scott Colleys bass line on the melody to Airegin



Figure 15 shows Weidenmueller doing something similar to syncopate Miles Davis
Nardis in 7/4.


Figure 15: Johannes Weidenmuellers bass line from Nardis showing syncopation and
how it lines up with the 7/4 clave (mm. 89-90)



33
The clave pattern is maintained but broken into smaller note values. The two half-notes
are broken into a dotted quarter and an eighth and three quarters into eighths. Still, the bar
is clearly divided rhythmically into four-three.


Phrasing Over the Bar Line and Against the Clave
When asked how he felt he had matured in relation to uneven meters, Colley
stated, really what I strive to get In the same way that most people feel comfortable
playing over the bar lines in 4/4 or 3/4, I want to be in that kind of freedom with my ideas
in any meter that I play. It could be said of music in general that when a musician is able
to phrase over the bar line, it represents a high degree of freedom within the music.
Figure 16 shows Colley phrasing over the bar line.

Figure 16: Scott Colley phrasing over the bar line on Airegin (mm. 31-32)



Figure 16 shows Colleys bass line, during the first chorus of Chris Potters saxophone
solo, delaying the resolution of the C7 chord until the second beat of measure 32.
Phrasing over the bar line also came up during the interview with Larry Grenadier
who said, [the long followed by short clave pattern] is the typical thing but you but it
could go any way. You could divide it up even more than that or make it much longer
a slower beat that goes over phrases. Figure 17 displays Grenadiers approach to two
kinds of over-the-bar line phrasing.

34

Figure 17: Larry Grenadier phrasing over the bar line on All The Things You Are
(mm. 57-58)



The first type of phrasing is harmonic. Grenadier delays resolution in both bars by
staying on a chord tone from the previous bar, thereby resolving each bar on beat two.
The C# in the first bar is the root of the previous chord, and the F# in the second bar is
the fifth of the B minor chord that comes immediately before it.
The second type of phrasing is both harmonic and rhythmic but occurs against the
bar clave. It is on beat four of the second measure of Figure 17 rather than over the literal
bar line. The phrasing is against the claves four-three division of the bar. The chord
change that has four beats (E7) stretches into the one of three beats (Amaj7) again,
delaying the resolution.
Weidenmueller also stated that in his early days of practicing uneven meters he
would try to play over the bar line.


Figure 18: Johannes Weidenmueller phrasing over the bar line on Nardis (mm. 17-24)


35

Figure 18 displays Weidenmuellers over the bar line approach. These eight bars
show Weidenmueller phrasing over the actual and implied bar line in almost every
measure then landing clearly on the clave pattern. When comparing the third bar of
Figure 18 to the second bar of Figure 17 it is evident that Weidenmueller and Grenadier
tie the last quarter-note of the implied four-beat measure to the dotted quarter in the
implied three-beat measure. This obfuscation of beat one is, according to Larry
Grenadier, the simplest way to loosen up the time feel and bring the music closer to the
same fluency that musicians exhibit when playing in 4/4. Figure 19 shows Grenadiers
bass line on the melody of All The Things You Are after an extended piano intro by
Brad Mehldau.


Figure 19: Larry Grenadiers bass line on the melody to All The Things You Are (mm.
1-18)


36

Based on his comments in the interview with the author, it can be concluded that
what Grenadier intends is a very loose feel, and he wastes no time establishing this. He
leaves out beat one of the very first bar. Only in bars seven and sixteen does he literally
play the clave pattern, however, its essence is evident in every bar.



Pragmatism
When asked about developing his approach Grenadier stressed the importance of
pragmatism. He explained:
Overall my approach to all this and pretty much to music in general is very
pragmatic in the sense that I just kind of do what comes out My method of
learning it and playing it has really just been to do it and to be in the moment
and just go for it.
This means playing what the music needs and reacting to the other members of the band,
requiring a high level of communication between band members. Figure 20 displays an
excerpt of Grenadiers bass line near the end of Brad Mehldaus third chorus on All The
Things You Are, where he exhibits this kind of communication.

37

Figure 20: Larry Grenadier reacting rhythmically to drummer Jorge Rossy on All The
Things You Are (mm. 69-70)



Jorge Rossy begins a rhythmic line based on dotted quarter-notes. Grenadier picks
up on this and syncs up with the phrasing. After this obfuscation of the time, Grenadier
lands strongly on beat one and plays the clave pattern, re-establishing the harmonic form.
Weidenmueller called this laying down the seven or marking the form. Colley also
commented on this aspect of bass playing, stressing the importance of playing more basic
ideas until all members of the group were comfortable with the piece. He stated, I won't
start trying to make abstractions of the forms or stretch them over the bar line a lot. I'll be
a little more conscious. He then added that when he is playing with musicians of similar
ability, marking the form is still useful: while we're, maybe, experimenting with
poly-rhythms on top of poly-rhythms and stuff, we can still give each other a clue as to
where we are, and I think that's kind of a great thing to be able to work on. Figure 21
shows Colley reacting to a half-note pattern played by drummer Bill Stewart then
marking the form by implying the clave with a dotted quarter-note.

38

Figure 21: Scott Colley reacting to drummer Bill Stewart on Airegin (mm. 10-13)

The bottom staff of Figure 21 shows where Bill Stewart is placing accents using the snare
drum and how the rhythms of Colleys bass line interact with them.
Stewarts pattern consists of quarter-notes with the accent on every other quarter-
note (shown by the X notes in the third space of the staff). This implies a half-note
pattern against the 5/4 meter. The third bar of Figure 21 and to some extent the second,
show Colley breaking away from the clave pattern in favor of something that
complements what Stewart is doing. Then, just as Larry Grenadier did in the third bar of
Figure 21, Colley implies the Clave pattern by placing a dotted quarter-note squarely on
beat one of the fourth bar of Figure 21.
Johannes Weidenmueller also reacts rhythmically to the members in his group.
Figure 22 shows Weidenmueller reacting to Kenny Werners rhythmic idea on Nardis.

Figure 22: Johannes Weidenmueller reacting to a rhythm played by Kenny Werner on
Nardis (mm. 85-88)



39
Werner starts to play two quarter-notes followed by a dotted quarter-note in bar 85.
Weidenmueller then picks up on this rhythm and plays it along with Werner. The rhythm
is the clave pattern played twice as fast (Figure 23).


Figure 23: The two half-notes of the 7/4 clave reduced to quarters and the two dotted
quarter-notes reduced to one dotted quarter
















40



CHAPTER IV:
CONCLUSION

Summary of Findings
This study shows how concepts that have applied to jazz for decades are in the
process of being incorporated into uneven meters. Historically syncopation has served
the purpose of making jazz lively and danceable. Phrasing over the bar line was
developed by the bebop musicians as a way of improvising more fluently, unrestrained by
bar lines. Finally, pragmatism has always been one of the central aspects of jazz and bass
playing specifically. Bass playing is a balancing act of being interesting and clear but not
obstructive. These aspects of jazz are exemplified in uneven meters by the work of
bassists Scott Colley, Larry Grenadier, and Johannes Weidenmueller.
Interviews with Colley, Grenadier, and Weidenmueller confirm that the long-
short harmonic rhythm that follows the clave pattern is more than a coincidence. This is a
natural and easy way to feel the harmonic rhythm of a tune in uneven meter. All three
bassists acknowledge that while playing a standard in 5/4 or 7/4, they use the clave
pattern to feel the bars. This is also shown through musical transcriptions of these artists
performing uneven meter standards in a band setting. When the rhythmic ideas between
the members of become less certain, the bassist usually goes back to the original clave
pattern to eliminate any doubt about the form. This is not to say that the rest of the band
41
is lost. On the transcribed recordings the clave operates as a musical checkpoint, but
Weidenmueller said that if it seems as though someone is struggling because of too much
rhythmic ambiguity, he returns to the clave pattern because it is easy to hear.
It appears that adapting standards into uneven meters came as a response to a
plateau in harmonic options. Rhythms, and uneven meters specifically, had not been
developed in a significant way for many years. Colleys statement, theyre great songs
these different standards that weve kind of inherited, but at some point you got to figure
out how it really relates to modern music gives merit to the idea that changing the meter
of a tune is similar to changing the chords or melody as beboppers did.
By applying them to standards uneven meters are brought into the tradition of
common repertoire that allows musicians to play together without musical notation,
rehearsals, or even previously meeting. This is more central to the tradition of jazz. Now
that recordings of mixed meters exist with musicians playing as comfortably as they
would in common time, it raises the bar for a new generation of musicians who have
access to these recordings.

Need For Further Research
Applying uneven meters to standards is only one of many possibilities. There are
many recordings in uneven meters featureing the bassists focused on in this study that are
not standards. In terms of harmonic rhythm, some of these pieces function in a
completely different way than the standards discussed within this thesis. If a researcher
opens the door to exploring uneven meters in general, then there are many bassists to
study such as Christian McBride, Miroslav Vitous, Avishai Cohen, Vicente Archer, Ben
42
Street, and others. Dave Holland in particular has a massive body of work in uneven
meters where the harmonic rhythm functions in many different ways.
The bass player is not the only band member who accompanies the soloist. An
analysis of piano or guitar accompaniment in uneven meters could be conducted. The
accompanying styles of Brad Mehldau, Lionel Loueke, Robert Glasper, and others would
lend themselves well to analysis. Drum comping patterns would be relevant as well.
Drummers Jorge Rossy, Bill Stewart, and Ari Hoenig are featured on the recordings that
this study analyzed, but there are many others who play with incredible fluency in uneven
meters such as Brian Blade, Chris Dave, Mark Guiliana, Nate Smith, and Jeff Ballard.
Not addressed in this thesis at all is the topic of soloing. How are phrases
constructed in uneven meters? What are the various approaches between different
bassists/pianists/saxophonists/etc.? A researcher could examine many works by any one
musician or compare several.
Uneven meters, unusual rhythmic groupings, and metric modulations are
becoming a larger part of the creative output of an entire generation of musicians. Young
musicians have access to a wealth of recordings featuring players who have mastered
uneven meters and are applying them freely to standards and to original compositions
with moving harmony. This has never happened before, and sets new standards for a
generation of musicians who have the opportunity to be exposed to it. A study could be
conducted on the abilities of students at a young age to grasp the concept of uneven
meters. These results could be contrasted with the students ability to gain fluidity in 4/4
and in 3/4. It is possible that this would allow some conclusions to be made regarding the
cultural affinity in the United States for music in 4/4 and 3/4. From there, the rhythmic
43
aptitude of children, or even adults, from other cultures that have uneven meters
embedded in the music of their ancestors could be tested. As Scott Colley said,
a lot of younger musicians are now more fluent in odd meters than they were
If we grew up in a different society where five and seven was part of our musical
upbringing then it would have been a lot easier But now because of the
internet and colleges and universities musicians are playing at a really high
level, I think, at an earlier age, relative to these kinds of rhythms.
It is the belief of the author that as uneven meters become more commonplace, fewer and
fewer people will regard them as novelty. If what has happened since 1990 is any
indication, uneven meters are well on their way to becoming a standard device of the
modern jazz musician.












44



REFERENCES


Aebersold, J. (2000). Odd Times: Workout in Odd Time Signatures. New Albany: IN.
Jamey Aebersold Publishing.
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Hall.
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45
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Press.


46


APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS



Johannes Weidenmueller

Conducted on March 6
th
at 2pm

T= Trapchak, W= Weidenmueller



T: How is it that you learned to play standards in uneven meters?

W: I think it was when I first came to New York in 91 there was a group of people that
played sessions at peoples houses and one of the places was a house on 2
nd
street. Jorge
Rossy lived there Kurt Rosenwinkle lived there, Chris Cheek lived there. And the other
apartment was an apartment with John Stege, Marc Miralta, Seamus Blake and Mark
Turner and Josh Redman Came over and Brad Mehldau came over a lot. That circle of
people, we played a lot together and for some reason we always called standards in odd
meters, we always wanted to broaden out horizons so thats something we did every
session is play at least one tune.

T: So it wasnt a teacher, it was more like your peers.

W: Yea Im trying to think whether there were a lot of people playing tunes in odd
meters, if there were a lot of recordings but I actually dont think so. I think playing in
odd meters and the whole metric modulation concept and all that kind of stuff was just a
language that was just developing, I actually think it was developing in the context
mostly of those people. Brad was one of the guys who introduced playing tunes in odd
meters, in seven, in five, and really took it to another level and he was somewhat part of
that group so I think the seeds of that actually at least partially came out of that group of
people.

T: What was the first recording you know of, of a standard in a uneven meter?

W: When you say uneven meter you mean odd meter so you dont mean 3/4?

T: no I dont mean 3/4 (I mean) five or seven..

W: Ok Because I remember either talking to Dave Holland or reading an interview with
him I think I was just talking to him where he said there was a certain period in
47
jazz where people wouldnt even play in 3/4 it was considered an odd meter, a weird
thing and it took a while for that to get introduced. I talked to Dave about that.
Im trying to thinkif theres a particular recordingI remember the Wynton recordings,
Standard Time. Does he play something in an odd meter on that or is it just metric
modulation?

T: Not overall. There are groupings of 7 but its always over 4.

W: Right yea. I know that that was an influential record for me in terms of opening my
ears to the language of that metric stuff, but as far as a tune in an odd meter, other than
Take 5 or one of those I cant really think of it right now.

T: I want to come back to Take 5 in a little bit. You mentioned Brad Mehldau and
taking that to the next level. What do you mean by that?

W: What I mean by that is playing it as if it was in 4/4, or playing it not as if but playing
it with a comfort or an ease as if he were playing or if you or I were playing in 4/4. So
developing the language [to the point that] you dont realize that youre in seven or in
five anymore.

T: Why is it that you think, because you kind of laughed when you mentioned Take 5
but why is that song, and the work of Dave Brubeck, kind of a novelty? Why doesnt that
carry the same weight? Why isnt that the next level?

W: Well I think at a certain point that was the next level but I think that it didnt develop
any further. It was treated as a novelty and the language to make that as comfortable as
4/4 never really developed. So it was something that had the novelty effect but never
absorbed into the mainstream and never really developed any further. It was always the
odd tune in 5/4, it had this 5/4 effect, which was like wow but nobody developed that
into absorbed that into the language, it didnt happen until the 90s.

T: The way the harmonic rhythm is divided is usually the same on recordings. If its
seven its a bar of four and a bar of three and if its five its a bar of three and a bar of
two. Did you guys always divide it like that?

W: No we certainly were not. I think at first it was more about feeling comfortable in that
basic harmonic division so at first it was always about just picking a standard and
adapting the melody and figuring out how the changes fall and that, but then as we
progressed [we said], well what else can we do with it and not be stagnant? So then we
would turn it around and say bar of three and bar of four, and then try to play over the bar
line and as I just mentioned again. [It] was about being as loose as possible within that
frame of the seven which meant getting away from that basic harmonic subdivision.

T: The heaviness

W: Right.
48

T: Thats created by that ostinato

W: Like I said, we wanted to, and its still my objective, play the tune with the same flow
as we would in 4/4 and you wouldnt play that ostinato in 4/4 so why play it in 5/4?

T: Its interesting that you guys did that a lot because Im not aware of any recordings
that arent that kind of format.

W: Well, if I listen to Brads recordings, if I dont concentrate I get lost. Neither Larry
nor Jorge nor Brad lays it down. Its all flowing. What youre trying to say is maybe
thatfinding a recording where its purposely turned around and you hear three-four as
opposed to four-three, I think there are some but not that many. So that intermediate step
was maybe never recorded but the result of that being is completely loose and certainly
recorded at least in Brads stuff.

T: So when you were working on this stuff in the early 90s Obviously you just played
it and played it with those guys but what did you do on your own to practice?

W: Yea, I mean I think the first step was just trying to play the tunes and sing the
melodies and adapt them over the changes, which in itself is a really good exercise, trying
to figure out how to compress or expand the melody to fit these different meters. Then I
did go through the steps to write out all the possibilities first within that clave, you know
turning it around and moving it around and then all the possibilities over the bar line, or a
lot of possibilities. In order to develop that looseness I wanted to explore all those
possibilities.

T: Was there a moment when it finally sounded different to you, when it didnt sound
strange, like an uneven meter, was there sort of an epiphany?

W: Well I dont if sound would be the right but felt

T: Yea felt.

W: Yea I mean certainly there were moments when I felt like I was as fluid in the seven
as I would have been in four. I think the only reason why uneven meters are seemingly
more difficult to play than 4/4 is because we dont do this, there should be no other
reason. And that is because our vocabulary of phrases is not as developed, its obviously
much more developed in 4/4. So its all about just developing a vocabulary of phrases in
the uneven meters and I think the more you have the more that fluid thing develops and I
dont know that I can pin point an epiphany or a certain point where I said Wow this is
it but certainly gigs where [that happened]. Its also in the context of playing together
where no one was really marking the seven any more and were all just playing around
with it and we were still Top of the form? Yea! and we were all together.

49
T: Yea. So you keep going back to a vocabulary in seven. As a bass player how do you
develop something like that?

W: Well obviously as a bass player are you asking about comping or about soloing?

T: Well lets start with comping.

W: Comping Comping for is always walking a fine line between wanting to be loose
but also sensing what I need to do in order to hold down the form especially for the
soloist or sensing where the soloist might be uncomfortable. Where do I need to lay down
the 7? Where is it ok to float a little bit more? It also has to do with who else in the band.
If the drummers laying down the seven a lot, maybe I dont have to do it. If hes
completely floating and the piano player is completely floating and I sense the horn
player is having a little trouble or something, I got to lay down the 7. So it depends
for me its walking that fine line between being loose and being responsible in the band
situation. But again the same exercises in terms of the clave. First being solid with the
one clave and then playing the tune and turn the clave around. Playing two-three as
opposed to three-two in five and then playing maybe two fast fives (sings) and then being
able to play with the bar line and evenetally being able to hear the clave in your head and
being able to play anything against it. So being completely free from having to lay
anything down because youre hearing the form, youre hearing the clave and you can
play anything.

T: Could you show us what you mean by the clave?

W: (claps and says rhythms) So basically you have two dotted quarters and two quarters
in the bar and you shuffle them any way you want. Right? And then you extend that over
two bar patterns- (demonstrates)- three bar pattern, you could do quarter-note triplets-
(demonstrates) Dotted sixteenths-all those kind of patterns which go over the bar line
which you can start in different places. Those kind of exercises.

T: Cool. Could you talk about the difference between playing in 7 and 5?

W: Um.

T: Do you think certain tunes lend themselves better to one or the other?

W: I dont actually think so the difference is the harmonic rhythm. It depends on how
you do it, in seven you might think of it as cutting a quarter-note out of two bars right
(demonstrates). Im cutting a quarter-note where five is sort of like adding one. It
depends on how you do it. seven lends itself better to faster tunes maybe and five to
slower tunes.

T: Well five is kind of like a waltz, sometimes its felt more like a waltz wouldnt you
say?

50
W: Yep

T: And 7 is like a walking, swing tune.

W: True

T: Can I ask you to play a bit?

W: Sure

T: Lets just say you were at a session and you either know or dont these people and they
say lets play Days of Wine and roses in 7 and you set it up with the last eight bars. So as
far as your experience- how would you play if thats all the information they gave you.

W: (Plays) thats Days of Wine and roses in 7

T: And in a parallel universe they asked you to do the same thing in 5? How would you
do that?

W: (Plays)

T: So is there anything that you just want to say about the topic that maybe I neglected to
ask?

W: Well in general I think its great that youve done that for the uh thesis. I think
maybe because of a lack of harmonic development in the last twenty years in the
language of jazz and maybe because of the lack of possibility of harmonic development
because so much has been said already. I think because the rhythmic and metric language
in the last twenty years has really developed a lot with playing in odd and uneven meters
and playing using metric modulation and superimposition having found their way into the
language of jazz and now being part of the language that everybody plays or should
know. So I think its important to be able to do that, practice that, know that because its
so much a part of tool kit of a jazz musicians today.

T: Its sort of similar to just the self challenging nature of jazz has always been
different chords different melodies always been, usually more difficult. Faster tempos
like in Bebop. Playing tunes faster, put more changes to it, make these crazy heads.

W: Right and then the period of simplifying again, and then the period, thats usually
the contraction and expansion in the history. Its not that the odd meters were a novelty
in the 90s or whenever we think that whole approach started, I think the novelty was
applying it to changes, to forms. There were certainly odd meters and metric stuff was
present in the jazz world of the 70s and 80s but mostly over ostinatos or vamps.

T: Right, even Take 5, the solos, they dont solo over the bridge.

51
W: So not over a harmonic rhythm. I think the new thing with Wynton and with Brad was
applying that to the fluidity of the language of a tune. I think that was sort of their
approach.

T: Thats interesting that you brought up the expansion and contraction thing. Do you
think we are in an expansion phase in music? I mean its hard to tell if youre right in the
middle of it

W: Im not sure, I mean theres a lot of people doing interesting stuff. I dont know how
much the contraction/expansion is related to the popularity of the music the social
relevance, to the business side of it you know sometimes its done in little private secret
cells and then it finds its way into the mainstream a little more after a while. I really dont
know where jazz is at in terms of social significance or relevance or popularity and how
thats going to develop in the next ten years. It seems like its a bit on the fringes these
days.

T: Do you think uneven meters specifically have found a more legitimate, not that they
werent legitimate before, but more acceptance since theyve been applied to forms and
changes?

W: I think so. I mean when I play standards, which I dont play much anymore, most of
the time people will call a tune in odd meter, its rare that they dont. All the original
music I play is always [uneven] meter stuff

T: Your compositions?

W: Mine too but I play a lot of other peoples original music and its very rare that a tune
is in 4/4 or even in 5/4. if its in 5/4 its combined meters. A bar of three, a bar of seven a
bar of you know that kind of stuff which is actually an expansion of playing a tune in 5/4
or 7/4 where youre so comfortable in any kind of meter. For me the point is not to make
it sound like its in 5/4 or 7/4. Make it sound like music and ok by the way its in five or
seven but I dont really notice it. Its like you play in 4/4 you dont get the down-beat of
every bar rammed down your throat. It flows and ok its in 4/4 it happens to be in 4/4, the
same case should be with anything. And for me, sometimes the most intriguing music
that I listen to is music where it flows and I cant really figure out, it takes me a little
while to figure out what it is. What kind of meter is that in? Thats strange but its really
intriguing as opposed to something so obvious. Whether its in 4/4 or 7/4 or whatever or
harmonically

T: Thanks so much for having me, Johannes.

W: No problem.




52
Larry Grenadier
Conducted on March 18
th
at 11am
T= Trapchak, G= Grenadier


T: How is it that you learned to play standards in uneven meter?

G: Truthfully, I dont remember the first time I did it. In recent history for me it was with
Brad and Jorge. Im sure I did it before that at some point but not as much as we ended
up doing it later. What I could remember is doing it with Brad and Jorge when we first
started playing together in the early 90s.

T: Do you know of any, because Im not aware of, earlier recordings of anybody else
doing this.

G: Oh well Im sure there are lets seeI never really thought about it but I would
think so doing standards specifically?

T: Yea

G: Wow. You know you got me but I would think there has to be. But we werent
listening to it I guess (Laughs). But Im sure [there are] cause you know a lot of people
were playing in five and seven. Youd have to ask other people but I guess you havent
found anything so far and this is what youre studying right now so thats interesting.
But anyway for me it was with Jorge and Brad. They had done some playing before I
even started playing with them so they were already playing a few tunes. And Jorge was
so relaxed with it and strong that I could kind of mess up and it was ok. Brad and Jorge
had it together so for me it was really just kind of falling into it and getting used to it after
a while.

T: So what was that like falling in with those guys?

G: Well it was very natural in general. Specifically playing in odd time signatures I had
played in odd time signatures before that but I think just the way we got to opening it up
was unique to what we were doing. So it took a second but it was pretty quick. And I
think for me it was just finding my own way through it so I could play looser and still
maintain a strong foundation in the band. It was trying to find that balance.
I think that might have taken a bit longer than anything.

T: So what do you mean by looser?

G: Well not being so obvious about the statement of the time. Its the same thing in 4/4.
Not necessarily playing all four beats. Or at least even less specific but more conceptual
53
how you can open up the time in 4/4 is well the simplest way is not to play beat one.
And that same thing will work with playing in odd time signatures as well because you
stop playing one and all of the sudden it opens it up. Something as simple as that is the
same thing in 4/4 or in 7/4 or 5/4 or whatever.

T: What about the bass specifically. What do you think is the biggest thing that changes
when you take a standard that youve played a million times in 4/4 and now all of the
sudden and now all of the sudden its in seven?

G: Well your balance is off. Your balance harmonically is off and rhythmically so
thats the only difference. So just getting used to that. Its a different dance. Its a
different motion but everything else is the same.

T: What about the harmonic rhythm? How is that usually divided?

G: Well you could do it however you want but it tends to typically go for 7/4, four and
three and for 5/4, three and two. Ive done other ways too and sometimes you can do,
well you can always do them over each other to open it up too so

T: Sure like in solos

G: Yea or like in the bass line. Thats the typical thing but it could go any way you could
divide it up even more than that so or make it much longer you know a slower beat that
goes over phrases.

T: Over the bar line?

G: Yea.

T: So how do you feel something like that? How are you mentally wrapping your mind
around going over the bar line and what is the nature of a half-time since now its
uneven?

G: Well its going to vary. I got to say overall though that my approach to all this and
pretty much to music in general is very pragmatic in the sense that I just kind of do what
comes out. Its not too thought out. Especially with the odd time signature stuff, I havent
really broken it down like some people have. My method of learning it and playing it has
really just been to do it and to be in the moment of it and just go for it. Well hey, I guess I
have to clarify a little bit because there was an early time [when] I would write out stuff
to see how it looked on paper so that if I wanted to play through it it would help me to
actually write it out. Occasionally that would come up but, in general I feel like because
of the way I learned how to do it was just by playing making music of it right away, it
didnt start as an exercise leading into a performance thing. For me it was performance
oriented to start so I think I just did what I had to do so that I didnt fall on my face
(Laughs). And so thats the way I learned to play jazz in general really. So when it came
to this it was the same thing. Just using your ears like you do in every other form of
54
making music and responding to whats going on around you and just reacting to it on a
musical level. So I guess getting back to your question I would break it down to
have[ing] creative responses to whats happening around me. So if I hear the drums doing
something I might play something that really is similar to that or I might play something
that varies from it in a way in a way that it balances if. If the drums are stating the time
really clearly then I might state it a lot less clearly or visa versa. Those type of musical
decisions that come up thats kind of more what Im dealing with rather than whats
another way I can break up seven into 49 beats (laughs. I never went raga (laughs).

T: So what about half-time though? And the reason I ask is because a lot of music
educators suggest that its easier and more natural to feel tempos in half-time and if you
can playto feel eighths notes as sixteenths and stuff like that. Do you think of it like
that and if so how do you do that in uneven meter?

G: Well you know I guess I do

T: So is it the clave? Or is it half-notes over the bar line or does it all just depend?

G: It yea Id have to say it all depends because you know I do think about a clave and
then that helps me free it up because if I have a clave in seven and Im going (sings clave
pattern) You know two [and two] and three then thats like my root. Then I have that
internalized so I dont have to play all of it. Sometimes that lets me hear it in a larger
phrase so it is like half-time its over two bars or four bars. I guess I am kind of thinking
of it in half-time.

T: Because to think of seven in quarter-notes can really fast.

G: Well it depends on the tempo though. I mean the reason why a lot of the time I break
it up maybe is just because its so fast and I dont want to play too much? Its just too
busy of a line. I mean even with this clave (sings clave) youre already breaking it down
into half-time in a way because the first four beats are just two beats now. Its like I said I
never really break it down like that theoretically. If it happens it happens naturally as a
response to whats happening around me.

T: So in 7/4 its the four, three division and in five its the three, two what do you think
it is about that thats really caught. Versions of tunes I hear by other groups besides you
guys, they all seem to do it the same way. There seems to be this consensus that this is
kind of how were going to break it up. Even my experience in playing with bands at
school or somewhere else. When someone says well do it in seven everyone knows
exactly what that means and how theyre going to divide it.

G: Well thats a good point because I guess people play like that in all different situations
you know even with 3/4 its like how is that going to sound or like when somebody
plays a tune and everyone thinks about one version of it and they all play similarly. It
could go anywhere. I have heard people do some interesting things that you know
55
definitely different. Just travel around. People I think like to play that way because it gets
you off balance. And it makes you play stuff very differently than you normally would.

T: Well lets talk about that. I mean why do you think people started playing standards in
uneven meters in the first place?

G: Well [uneven] meter back 40 years ago or 50 years ago was 3/4. And people started
playing some tunes in 3/4 that were in 4/4. I think its the same thing. Its just to do
something different just put you off balance a bit.

T: To challenge yourself?

G: Yea, and I think a listener kind of gets off on it too because it makes you feel the
music a different way even if youre not sure whats going on. And also the way the
musicians get to phrase over it to a more nave ear [it can] sound more free. So they can
dig that and its not so hitting you over the head with what the time is.

T: The half-time thing helps with that too.

G: I think so because it helps with 4/4. I think all the rules are the same with the cause
and effect of what happens when you do something in either meter. Its the same in four
as it would be in any other meter. I think its going to feel different [but] its the same
reaction.

T: So do you think certain tunes lend themselves better to changing to an uneven meter?
It seems like five is felt like a waltz

G: Yep

T: and then seven is like you said, a four and a three.

G: Right

T: So it seems like if you were going to put something into five, its almost like first
youd have to change it to a waltz and then cut out a beat from the second measure.

G: Yea in a way if you think of it like then you start to think of it like a truncated three.
But you know if you think of it like four plus one, then puts you in a whole different
thing.

T: Sure like if each chord was five beats.

G: Yea, exactly like if you had two chords per bar or one chord per bar. So thats the only
thing you have to start thinking of when youre picking tunes is how many changes are in
the bar and then how you are going to divide it up. If you just have one change per bar
56
and you want to play it in 7 then all the sudden you have to play it probably twice as fast
because you dont want to spend that much time on each chord.

T: Right. So with the trio have you picked any of those tunes to change to uneven meter?
Just out of curiosity.

G: Huh. I dont think so. You know, and most of the ones that weve done we kind of,
well I shouldnt say that, not most of them, but like It Might As Well Be Spring, is
something we still play. Some of them have kind of stuck around for a long time.

T: So Ive been doing some transcribing also for my thesis, and you do some really
interesting stuff. It seems like one way that you break up the 7 and, I think it really does
something, is you play a lot of Vs of the chords on the down beats. Is that something
that you have

G: Something Ive thought through?

T: Yea.

G: Id say to the extent that I can do it. I think thats one way for me to open it up and
have it sound different than just you know 7.

T: Well it has this really nice way of opening up the harmony a little bit and still, its
always clear.

G: My method for that is really to use the clave as when the music needs some sort of
foundation just like I would lay down a strong 4/4 walking line if I felt the music needed
that. And then when you delay or anticipate one youre on kind of another kind of plane
or angle from what the normal rhythmic phrasing is. That kind of, that off start or jump
start or whatever it is, to the beat kind of influences what is going to happen to me. I
think more like that: delay or anticipate a beat. Just like I would in 4/4 in a way playing
on the and of one or the and of two and the and of seven. Thats a big one for me and that
starts a whole other phrasing. But the V thing is kind of a similar thing. Its displacing
and elongating the phrase.

T: Well I just want to thank you again Larry. Its been great talking with you.

G: My pleasure man, good luck with this.

T: Thanks






57
Scott Colley

Conducted on March 27
th
at 12pm

T= Trapchak, C= Colley



T: How is it that you learned to play standards in uneven meters?

C: Probably, it'll sound like a pretty obvious answer to the question, just by taking
standards, and putting them in whatever meter seems interesting to me. Sometimes I'll
alternate bars where I have, for instance, the first bar of the song would be 4/4 the second
bar would be 3/4, and that way I would connect the whole thing and kind of teach myself
how to play in seven. Or I might take a bar that is normally in 4/4, I would divide it into,
if it's seven for example, two-two and three, and then alternate that experimenting with
three-two-two, which is als a challenge to play in. A lot of people aren't really used to
playing that way, so it kind of challenges you in a different way. You can take songs you
think you know really well and make them a little more challenging by alternating the
meter that way. It's also interesting for me to do that in combination with putting a
standard in a different key, and then all of a sudden a song you think you know new
challenges. You discover new things about the song that way, too.

T: So this is something you started doing to challenge yourself?

C: Yeah, I mean, because I had been writing music in odd meters since I started writing
in college, and all my friends seemed to be interested in writing that way. It's important to
really spend time practicing that. So that it just doesn't surprise you when you go to play
it with other people. It's something that has to be part of your daily practice for a long
time, and even when you get comfortable in seven and five and then somebody gives you
a new combination of meters. It's like going back to the beginning again, and I'll set up
something with a sequencer, or kind of an elaborate metronome to remind me when I
screw something up. And that way I can make it part of my practice. I always try to
combine that with other things that I'm trying to learn. If it's a new form that I've written
or something someone else has written for me to play or a standard that I haven't played,
so I'll combine the different things always to try to make it interesting for me.

T: Do you remember the first recoding you hear where, or maybe it wasn't a recording,
but the first time you heard a standard put into a uneven meter.

C: Not really, no. I remember when I was first playing and being aware of things that
Dave Brubeck was doing and a few other people. But I don't really remember the first
time. I started playing when I was eleven, and I definitely wasn't playing much uneven
meter stuff then, (laughs). But I did get much more interested, especially in college. Then
I was playing a lot of modern chamber music and also all my friends in college were
writing odd meter stuff so that was when I really started to explore and try and get better
58
at interpreting them.

T: And what years were you in college?


C: I was at CAL Arts from 1984 to 1988.

T: And then when you came to New York, obviously a lot of people were doing that.

C: Yeah, well a lot of the people that I still play with today I met very early on in the first
month that I lived in New York: Chris Potter, Dave Binney, Adam Rogers, a lot of other
friends that I still play with a lot now who are around my age that I started playing with
in New York when I first moved here in 1988. So we would get together and play odd
meter stuff over standards, but then also we were all kind of writing and just bringing
scraps of ideas, almost like a workshop, and we'd just play together, sometimes two or
three times a week. And that's really the only way I know to really get good at it and be
able to interpret it. And again, there's always going to be something you work on, like a
certain grouping, and you get familiar with a certain combination of meters or certain
thing, and then somebody brings you something else and it's a brand new challenge. So
it's always something that I'll be working on as long as I'm playing music.

T: How has your approach to that matured? How does your conception of how you think
of and odd meter or uneven meter differ from when you started working on it?

C: I think, over time, I become more fluent and for whatever better word, I feel more
comfortable playing over the bar lines with odd meters. And to me, that's really what I
kind of strive to get to. In the same way that most people feel comfortable playing over
the bar lines in 4/4 or 3/4, I want to be in that kind of freedom with my ideas in any meter
that I play. That's when I kind of know that I'm getting more comfortable with it.
Obviously in the beginning when someone gives you something brand new you have to
count. You have to think about the ideas and where your phrasing groups of 4, groups of
3, you know, depending on whether even or odd parts of the phrase are. But then
eventually you start experimenting with playing over the bar line and then it becomes,
you know, you can play longer phrases through groups of 5 or 7 or alternating 5 or 4 or
any kind of combination. you become more familiar with it, and then you hear them
rather than having to -- you internalize those ideas rather than having to think, "I'm
playing 5 now, I'm playing 4, I'm in 7." You just hear the overall flow of the song, and
that, to me, is when it becomes a lot more interesting, a lot more -- the ideas become
more natural. So yeah, there's a lot of songs that I've written, actually, that have come out
of that process where I'll find something that's difficult for me to do and I've used this
example in a lot of clinics that I've done. Is the first song on my last record Architect of
the Silent Moment, the first song, Usual Illusion, came out of this p I felt very process. I
felt very comfortable playing in four obviously, and I felt comfortable playing in seven,
but alternating four and seven back and forth and back and forth I would find I'd either go
into four or go into seven or I'd go into eight and go into seven. So I made that song just
first by setting up something of a metronome that would kind of remind me when I'd
59
mess it up -- so it's basically a long fifteen, but I wanted to divide it in four-four-four-
three, so you can think of it as eight quarter-notes and then seven quarter-notes, so it's a
long fifteen. And so I made the metronome so that it would remind me when I stayed in
eight over the seven or stayed in seven over the eight, and you know, I just wanted to get
more familiar with it. Then eventually I made a bass line in a tonality that was a little but
challenging and required a lot of movement on the bass and then over the top of that I
kind of thought it would be nice to play -- to be able to phrase solo-wise, in 5/8 over the
long fifteen. And so that's where the piano part comes from. And then I sequenced that
piano part and it just kind of came out, but then played over the top of it as my practice
each day. For a half-hour I would just play over that until I was comfortable playing --
phrasing over the 15/4 and then it just seemed natural. Then all I needed to do was just
add a melody and I wrote a bridge, and then I rehearsed with the band and went on the
road, playing it every night for a month and recorded it and that to me is a lot ore
interesting way of practicing. It also brought a song out of it, and after I play it a month
and record it, I'm already fluent in it. So, in a way a lot of things, and it's not just with odd
meters, with a lot of things I like to try to create the things I'm going to practice out of
things that I can't do, or things that I'm interesting in learning how to do. And then it kind
of integrates the whole musical process, rather than just reading a book, reading out of an
Etudes book or a rhythmic book that somebody else has already created and in your mind
you get bored really fast, and it's not that interesting. It's because it's not integrated in the
whole musical process of composition and practice, performance, recording. It can all be
part of one big process. It makes it a lot more interesting to practice.

T: In your words, what's your role as a bass player behind a band when there are changes
going by and maybe you all played a million times because it's a standard or something,
but now all of a sudden it's in five or seven?

C: My role will change, depending on everyone's ability to play that meter well, my
ability to play it well, or fluently, and each member of whatever size group that I'm
playing with. If I hear someone struggling with the meter on some level, then I'm not
going to play with all kind of other poly-rhythms going over the bar lines and all this
stuff. In other words, if I'm playing this in the melody, and I'm playing a bass function
and I'm accompanying a soloist, for example, and I may be very fluent in it, but they
might not be -- and, in other words, you kind of adapt and know that your responsibility
is to the whole group. This is the way I think about it: if I feel that everyone is really able
to have a conversation over this form on this high level then I can -- my role is loosened
up. I may decide that the best thing to do, or the most musical thing for me to do is to
play just the bass line over and over. And if I decide that's what I should do -- what
would be most musical -- then that's what I'll do. In other moments in the music, I'll see
that we can really try and stretch things. A good example would be when... We just
recorded a live CD with Antonio Sanchez's quartette with Miguel Zenon and David
Sanchez, and when we bring in the first few days, I think we had just a rehearsal and a
sound check and we ran through some songs, and some of the songs are brand new to
everybody. And so we're all playing pretty literal interpretations of what is the written
material until we become, all become, comfortable with it together. Some of the songs I'd
played a lot, but other people in the band hadn't. So, in that sense, I want to be really
60
conscious just to help somebody to become, you know, to internalize this material. So I
won't start with some kind of -- I won't start trying to make abstractions of the forms or
stretch them over the bar line a lot, and stuff. I'll be a little more conscious. So I guess the
answer would be -- it always depends on the specific musical moment. Sometimes we'll
be playing a very specific bass line and it's a complicated meter and you begin to stretch
and the other band members will begin to experiment, and then all of a sudden you
realize that you're losing the foundation of the meter. And in those moments you have to
do something that kind of cues the other people. It's a lot easier to do that with musicians
that you're really familiar with. I mentioned Antonio playing drums, or Brian Blade, or
somebody like that that I've played with a lot. It's very easy for us to give each other very
subtle cues about where we think one is. So then while we're, maybe, then experimenting
with poly-rhythms on top of poly-rhythms and stuff, we can still kind of give each other a
clue as to where we are, and I think that's kind of a great thing to be able to work on. That
whatever level the people you play with a lot, it can be very helpful to work on those kind
of relationships. It helps everybody kind of learn more about these kinds of rhythms and
ways of communicating.

T: So, for my paper, I've done some transcribing, and I transcribed your bass line on
Airegin from your This Place album. Is that your arrangement?

C: I think that was Chris' (Potter) idea, actually. I'm not sure, that was a long time ago.
But I think that was something -- that was Chris' arrangement.

T: What made you put that on the album?

C: I don't remember exactly, I guess that's -- we were playing a lot as a trio and touring a
fair amount, especially in Europe, with that group, so that was one of the things that I
know we had played a lot, I think, at that time. And it just felt good. I wanted to have a
few standards besides what I was writing myself. But whenever I do a standard, as much
as possible, anything like that, I'm trying to figure out a little something different that I
can do with it that makes it interesting and I think that was Chris' arrangement, and we
just decided to put it on the record.

T: Since the 90s or so, this has become kin of a really popular thing. Why do you think
that is?

C: Well, I mean, they're great songs, you know, all these different standards from the
American Songbook that we've kind of inherited, but at some point you gotta figure out
how it really relates to modern music and try to figure, out as musicians, new ways of
interpreting these old songs. It's just and interesting way to go about it.

T: It seems like, since uneven meters have been applied to standards, and they use this
moving harmony, it seems like that's kind of opened up a lot of doors for a lot of
composers in Jazz. Do you think that's true?


61
C: Oh, definitely, yeah. And I think musicians, now, relative to when I was in college, I
think a lot of younger musicians are now more fluent in odd meters than they were, just
because the process has made it so that a lot of younger musicians are doing it more than
I was, growing up. When I was in high school especially, if somebody bought in
something in 5, it was this you shock, you know it created some level of panic, and you
had to try. But if we grew up in a different society where 5 and 7 was part of our musical
upbringing, then it would have been a lot easier, but I grew up in the United States, and
there wasn't a lot in popular music or folk music that you heard that exposed you to that.
But I think now, certainly because of the internet and a lot of other things, and a lot of
learning institutions, colleges and universities, that musicians are playing at a really high
level, I think, at an earlier age, relative to these kinds of rhythms.

T: Yeah, and it's really part of the language now.

C: Yup.

T: I want to thank you again for your time.

C: My pleasure.














62


APPENDIX B: CONSENT FORM
Rcquircd Hcadin lor S|udcn| Rcscarch: Rcquircd Hcadin lor S|udcn| Rcscarch: Rcquircd Hcadin lor S|udcn| Rcscarch: Rcquircd Hcadin lor S|udcn| Rcscarch:

Villiam Pa|crson Inivcrsi|v
Procc| Ti|lc: Thc Lvolu|ion ol Jazz Bass Accompanimcn| as i| Rcla|cs |o
Pcrlormin Jazz S|andards
Adap|cd |o Incvcn Mc|crs
Principal Invcs|ia|or: Sam Trapchak
O|hcr Invcs|ia|ors: Nonc
Iacul|v Sponsor: Dr. Timo|hv Ncwman
Con|ac| Phonc Numbcr: 248-252-7876
Dcpar|mcn|: Music
Coursc Namc and Numbcr: Gradua|c Thcsis MIS 560
Da|c: 2-1-09


'''''''''''''''''''''''''''
I havc bccn askcd |o par|icipa|c in a rcscarch s|udv on Jazz Bass Accompanimcn| Rcla|in |o
Pcrlormin Jazz S|andards Adap|cd |o Incvcn Mc|crs. Thc purposc ol |his s|udv will bc |o ain
insih| on how |hc modcrn bassis| has adap|cd |hc mc|hods ol |radi|ional accompanimcn| |o lullill
|hc nccds ol pcrlormin s|andards adap|cd |o uncvcn mc|crs. I undcrs|and |ha| I will bc askcd |o
discuss mv ar| and pcrhaps dcmons|ra|c on mv ins|rumcn| or wri|c ou| music (no|a|ci |cchniqucs
and s|ra|cics I u|ilizc whilc prac|icin or pcrlormin s|andards adap|cd |o uncvcn mc|crs. Thcrc
arc no risks associa|cd wi|h |his s|udv.

I undcrs|and |ha| mv par|icipa|ion is cn|irclv volun|arv and I mav cnd mv par|icipa|ion in |his
rcscarch a| anv |imc. I ivc mv pcrmission |o |hc in|crvicwcr (Sam Trapchaki |o usc mv namc alon
wi|h |hc s|a|cmcn|s I makc and onlv |hosc s|a|cmcn|s |ha| I pcrmi| him |o usc in lor his |hcsis.
Iur|hcr pcrmission mus| bc ob|aincd il |hc inlorma|ion is |o bc uscd in anv wav o|hcr |han lor |hc
purposcs ol Sam Trapchak`s |hcsis.

I mav call |hc sponsor ol |his |hcsis lis|cd in |hc hcadin ol |his |hcsis il I havc anv qucs|ions or
conccrns abou| |his rcscarch and mv par|icipa|ion. I mav call |hc Associa|c Vicc Prcsidcn| and
Dcan lor Gradua|c S|udics and Rcscarch (97`-720-`09`i lor inlorma|ion rcardin mv rih|s as a
rcscarch subcc|.

Bv sinin |his conscn| lorm, I am arccin |o par|icipa|c in |his rcscarch s|udv.

Namc ol Subcc| Sina|urc ol Subcc|
Da|c:

Namc ol Invcs|ia|or Sina|urc ol Invcs|ia|or
Da|c:

63

APPENDIX C: MUSICAL TRANSCRIPTIONS

Scott Colleys Bass Line on Airegin

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67

Larry Grenadiers Bass Line on All The Things You Are





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70



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74
Johannes Weidenmuellers Bass Line on Nardis





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