Graduate Pre-Recital Paper

Geoffrey Dean

Graduate Jazz Studies

Mark Boling, Donald Brown, Dr. Jaqueline Avila
March 27, 2014

Geoffrey Dean
Graduate Recital Program
Thursday, March 27,2014
Haslam Recital Hall

Graduate Jazz Recital Repertoire

I Didnt Know What Time It Was

Richard Rodgers (1902-1977)

Lorenz Hart (1895-1943)

Giant Steps

John Coltrane

F.T.B. (Gonna Be Alright)

Robert Glasper

N.Q.E. (Naguib Qormah Effendi)

Austin Peralta

But Not For Me

(1926-1967)

(b.1978)

(1990-2012)

George Gershwin (1898-1937)

Ira Gershwin (1896-1983)

Looking Up

Michel Petrucciani (1962-1999)

Beethovens Piano Sonata No.8, Pathetique

Orleans Inspiration

Geoffrey Dean, Piano

Will Yager, Bass
Hunter Deacon, Drums
Joe Jordan, Trumpet
Will Doran, Piano, Synth

Hiromi Uehara

(b.1979)

Henry Butler

(b.1949)

Introduction:
Over the last two years of graduate school I have contemplated the repertoire that I would
perform on my graduate recital. I decided to do an unofficial recital in Spring 2013 to try out
some repertoire I was interested in while saving those I favored most for the official graduate
recital. The two biggest factors in choosing the final repertoire were the contributions of Donald
Brown to my harmonic and repertoire knowledge, as well as my love and continued study of solo
piano. I was primarily working playing solo piano in Washington D.C. before beginning my
graduate studies and it has always been a challenge for me to develop particularly in a funk or
blues setting which I naturally gravitate towards. The solo pieces (I Didnt Know What Time It
Was, Orleans Inspiration) were chosen with this in mind. In what I consider an extension of
solo piano, the other unique piece is a two piano interpretation of George Gershwins But Not
For Me. The walking bass style I have been working on for years can be applied in a two piano
setting and I feel that two piano jazz is something most people do not often have an opportunity
to see. In addition the first mentor to bring me into jazz was the late great player and educator Dr.
Billy Taylor. Dr. Taylor was the first live jazz artist I ever took interest in and amongst his many
accomplishments was a television series where he would bring on guest pianists to play two
piano duets. The choice to perform this song in this context is in dedication to Dr. Taylor.
The remaining songs involve a full rhythm section and contain a balance of melodies and
rhythmic styles that have appealed to me. In addition there are some chosen as vehicles to
implement the many harmonic options that Donald Brown has bestowed upon me since
beginning my studies at the University of Tennessee. Giant Steps is a modern standard that
helped propel the harmonic standards of jazz into a new direction after its 1960 release. F.T.B. is
an example of the R&B influence popular in Robert Glaspers jazz and uses electric piano to

create a different sonic texture. N.Q.E. is a tribute to the piano prodigy Austin Peralta whose
untimely death in late 2012 was brought to my attention by Donald Brown. I have since done a
number of studies on Peralta and his modern, McCoy Tyner influenced playing. I have been
working with Donald on playing modal in the style of Tyner. This tune offers a modal harmonic
foundation with a funk beat for a modern touch. Looking Up by Michel Petruccianni is the
only Latin composition on the recital. Petrucciani has always been an inspiration to me because
despite his physical disabilities he created some of the most melodic, accessible compositions
Ive heard from a modern jazz pianist, exemplified by this composition. Hiromi Ueharas Piano
Sonata No.8, Pathetique is the only ballad on the repertoire. I first heard this composition when I
saw Hiromi live in 2012 shortly after its release. It resonated with me because it begins with a
classical interpretation before evolving into a soulful ballad which changes time feels
throughout. Having been raised a classical pianist this is a perfect synthesis of my roots and the
current styles of music I now improvise on. In this paper I will detail But Not For Me, Giant
Steps, and I Didnt Know What Time It Was and the context in which they will be presented.
But Not For Me is a popular standard written for the 1930 musical Girl Crazy. The
music was composed by George Gershwin and the lyrics by Ira Gershwin.
George Gershwin (1898-1937) was a prodigious talent at the piano as a player and a composer.
After beginning his piano studies at age twelve he had dropped out of school and began working
professionally as a musician at age fifteen. Initially he worked as a song plugger, someone who
would sight read music in stores for customers interested in purchasing the music. Over the next
ten years his talent at the piano and skills as a composer would lead him to being one of the most
significant composers in America.

Gershwin would go on to write many compositions that would become part of the
American songbook and standard jazz repertoire. George Gershwin is also credited with writing
one of the few acclaimed American operas Porgy and Bess(1935). However he may be known
best for his composition Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin combined features of jazz he heard in his
native New York within his large scale orchestral work to give it its signature sound. Upon its
1924 release it was instantly well received and has become one of the most well-known
American songs in history. Gershwin worked with his brother Ira in the creation of many popular
musicals starting in the early 1920s. By the time But Not For Me was created George
Gershwin had already established mainstream success in both the popular and classical genres.
The composition style is fitting to that of the Tin Pan alley style musical of the period. It fit the
popular style of the time and was regarded as a success after being introduced in the original
production by Ginger Rogers. Gershwin would continue to compose until his untimely death in
1937 of a brain tumor.
The lyrics to the composition were written by Ira Gershwin, Georges older brother. Ira
was the first born child into the Gershwin family and Georges collaborator from the beginning
of the 1920s. They collaborated on their first musical Lady Be Good in 1924 and would go on to
create over a dozen musicals together. Three of Gershwins songs were nominated for Academy
Awards although none were awarded. His last major work was Judy Garlands A Star Is Born
(1954). The melancholy lyrics for But Not For Me were written by Ira Gershwin as:

Old Man Sunshine, listen, you,

Ever tell me she will care,

Never tell me dreams come true,

I'm certain, It's the final curtain.

Just try it, and I'll start a riot,

Don't want to hear from and cheerful

Beatrice Fairfax don't you dare,

Pollyannas,

Who tell me love will find a way, it's all

Hi ho! Alas! And also Lack a day!

bananas.

Although I can't dismiss,

They're writing songs of love, but not for

The memory of her kiss,

me,

I guess she's not for me.

A lucky star's above, but not for me,

It all began so well, but what an end,

With love to lead the way,

This is the time a fella needs a friend,

I found more clouds of grey,

When every happy plot,

Than any Russian play could guarantee.

Ends in a marriage knot,

I was a fool to fall, and get that way,

And there's no knot for me.

It has since been covered by some of the most famous names in pop, jazz, and theatre
including a film performance by Judy Garland. Other performers include, Frank Sinatra, Sam
Cooke, Miles Davis, Elton John, Sammy Davis Jr and Ella Fitzgerald just to name a few. It was
first brought to my attention as the title track for the Ahmad Jamal album At The Pershing: But
Not For Me (1958) which remains one of jazzs most popular albums. In addition John
Coltranes interpretation of the standard finds him reharmonizing the chord changes in the
fashion of his composition Giant Steps which I am also playing in this recital.
I will be stylistically approaching this song with an instrumental bebop approach for two
pianos. This is a complicated approach in that it requires pianistic consideration that is unique to
this format alone. Both pianists will improvise so their roles will shift throughout the duration of
the song. I plan to have both pianists alternate on the melody while one plays a bass part and the
other fills in the harmony with chords. It is important to designate and be aware of each pianists
role since doubling of any register of the piano would create an oversaturation in range,
particularly in the bass. Each pianist is required to improvise walking bass while accompanying

with chords in the right hand while the other solos over the form. I would like to write and
perform a shout chorus in unison with the secondary pianist at the end of the solos to create
maximum energy and volume at the climax of the performance. The composition in an ABAC 32
bar form in the key of E-flat. The B and C sections are almost identical with the B ending on the
V chord and the C resolving back to the tonic chord of Eb. We will discard the rubato intro
associated with the music theatre production which is not included in the 32 bar form.
Harmonically this is the least complicated song on the recital. I chose this because I wanted to
show on a very basic form how two pianists are able to play very differently. Will has assimilated
more modern harmonic approaches in some respects than myself who performs in a bluesier
tradition. This opposed to a more modern composition allows a more obvious diversity in
playing styles. The tempo will be performed Medium-Up, somewhere around 170-190 beats per
minute. The performance will contain a swing eighth feel throughout its entirety. I chose to do
this because of all the songs on the recital only Giant Steps Volume is an important element in
this performance because the general volume of the tune which should ebb and flow is not the
only issue. In the two piano context the different hands take on different roles and if the bass
walking from one player is too loud then the other players soloing may be eaten up by the
volume of the other. The result is that both pianists must not only be adjusting their volume
personally for effect, but also in reaction to the other pianists volume in a highly sensitive way.
I Didnt Know What Time It Was is a popular standard composed by Richard Rodgers
with Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It premiered in the 1939 musical Too Many Girls originally
performed by Richard Kollmar and Marcy Westcott. It has since been performed by many
popular artists and has been adopted as a feature in the American Songbook and as a jazz
standard. Some popular interpreters include Count Basie, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, The

Supremes, Billie Holiday, Brad Mehldau, Chick Corea, and Donald Brown. Donald Browns
arrangement will be the foundation for this performance.
Richard Rogers was a New York City native from a German Jewish family who became
one of the most important American composers of the 20th century before his death in 1979.
Rodgers is often associated with lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein for producing
some of the most memorable songs in the 20th century repertoire. Rodgers and Hart are
responsible for such compositions as My Romance, My Funny Valentine, Falling in Love
with Love, and Blue Moon which would have a recurring popularity on doo-wop charts
decades after its composition. Rodgers and Hammerstein are credited with such compositions as
Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin, My Favorite Things, The Sound of Music and the musicals
South Pacific, The Sound of Music, and The King and I.
Lorenz Hart was born in Harlem to Jewish parents in 1895. He is responsible for writing
lyrics to some of the most popular songs in the American songbook. He is often associated with
Richard Rodgers who he met at Columbia University. Together they wrote 26 musicals together.
Hart suffered from depression and this disposition is reflected in his some of his lyrics such as
My Funny Valentine for example.. He suffered from alcoholism and died of pneumonia in
1943 months after breaking partnership with Rodgers. Harts lyrics for I Didnt Know What
Time It Was are as follows:
Once I was young -Yesterday, perhaps --

I thought I had a trick or two

Up my imaginary sleeve.

Danced with Jim and Paul

And kissed some other chaps.

And now I know I was naive.

Once I was young,

I didn't know what time it was

But never was naive.

Then I met you.

Oh, what a lovely time it was,

How sublime it was too!

I'm wise,
And I know what time it is now.

I didn't know what day it was

You held my hand.

Grand to be alive, to be young,

Warm like the month of May it was,

To be mad, to be yours alone!

And I'll say it was grand.

Grand to see your face, feel your

touch,

Grand to be alive, to be young,

Hear your voice say I'm all your own.

To be mad, to be yours alone!

Grand to see your face, feel your

I didn't know what year it was

touch,

Life was no prize.

Hear your voice say I'm all your own.

I wanted love and here it was

shining out of your eyes.

I didn't know what year it was

Life was no prize.

I'm wise,

I wanted love and here it was

and I know what time it is now

shining out of your eyes.

The arrangement of I Didnt Know What Time It Was that I will model my
performance after comes from Donald Browns interpretation on his album Piano Short Stories.
Released in 1996, Piano Short Stories is an album of solo piano performances. I chose this song
because it is one of the funkiest solo piano arrangements I have ever heard. It is the first song I
ever heard from Donald Brown. My teacher at the Berklee College Of Music Jetro Da Silva
brought me into a room one day and told me he wanted me to listen to his favorite pianist. I had

never heard the name Donald Brown before but after the first 15 seconds of that song I wasnt
going to forget it. A few months later I was applying for Masters programs in jazz and when I
found out Donald Brown was also a highly regarded teacher at the University Tennessee I found
myself considering few other options.
I will be playing through the form of Donalds arrangement in my performance. The
arrangement consists of an introduction in the middle register of the piano rotating through an E
minor and B minor voicing before bringing in a left hand bass line to accompany it. After eight
bars of introduction the form of the tune begins with a chord melody in the right hand and a funk
bassline continuing in the left. The bridge changes feels from funk to walking bass before
switching back to funk for the C section. The riff from the introduction is played once more
before soloing once through the form of the song. The introduction is played and concludes the
song without playing the head through again.
The standard form of the tune is AABA with a four measure extension on the final A. It
shifts between E minor and its relative G major. The tune is often performed as a ballad or
medium tempo swing however performing it in this solo style presents certain challenges. Right
hand soloing over the form becomes more difficult with dealing with a complicated funk bass
line. On the recording Donald strips away the bass line and instead insinuates it while plugging
in chords to spell out the harmony. I have to practice this style of what I have dubbed funk
stride in order to solo naturally over the groove I set up. This tune should set up the energy for
the concert.
Giant Steps:
Giant Steps is the title track from the 1960 release by John Coltrane. It is one of
Coltranes most famous compositions and incorporates one of his signature harmonic devices
known as the Coltrane Matrix. Coltrane was constantly searching for new harmonic options and
Giant Steps is an example of that. It is a standard amongst advanced players that is generally

played uptempo. I chose to include it because it is expected for more advanced players to be able
to play on the tune but I have had very little exposure to it. I also wanted to make sure and have a
straight ahead jazz tune featuring the rhythm section. Swing is the foundation of all jazz and
while it is still one of my favorite styles to play over it is underrepresented in the concert for the
sake of diversity.
John William Coltrane was Born in Hamlet, NC on September 23, 1926 and was raised in
High Point, NC. He is reflected on as one of the most influential saxophonists and composers to
saxophone and non saxophone players alike. Coltranes early work began in the late 1940s with
the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra. After gaining experience with Gillespie, In the 1950s Coltrane
received an invitation to play with Miles Davis in place of Sonny Rollins.
Coltranes time with Davis would help propel him into popularity. During this time
(1955-1959) Davis band would shift its repertoire from the standard bop harmonies of the
previous decade into more modal compositions. Coltrane was prominently featured through the
recordings of this period before being fired by Davis due to Coltranes struggle with drug
addiction. For a short period Coltrane then went to play with pianist Thelonious Monk,
performing and recording with eachother briefly. Coltrane would briefly reunite with Davis to
record in 1959.
Around this period Coltrane fell into a deep regiment of practice that would develop what
is known as the Coltrane Matrix. The Coltrane Matrix opened up new ways to move around a
composition in contrast to the ii-V-I harmony that dominated music before it. Although in small
portions of earlier compositions such as Have You Met Miss Jones it was exploited to its full
potential and integrated by Coltrane during this period. As previously mentioned he even was
able to integrate and reharmonize the matrix into standards such as But Not For Me. Coltrane
would begin to shed his drug addiction in a spiritual search that would keep him focused on
musical exploration. He would go on to work with pianist McCoy Tyner, Bassist Jimmy Garrison

and Drummer Elvin Jones to record albums such as Impressions, Ballads, and A Love Supreme.
Coltrane was known as one of the hardest
The recordings of Giant Steps which I will be basing my performance off are the
original recording from the Giant Steps album featuring Tommy Flanagan (piano), Paul
Chambers (bass), and Art Taylor (drums). However as a pianist I wanted to consider another
source since it is well known that Tommy Flanagan was caught off guard upon the recording
session for this composition and his soloing is not demonstrative of his talents. For this reason I
am also basing the performance off the Wallace Roney recording from the album The Standard
Bearer. This album features Wallace Roney (trumpet), Gary Thomas (Tenor
Saxophone), Mulgrew Miller (piano), Cindy Blackman (drums), and Charnett Moffett
(bass). I chose this version because it is being led by a trumpet, which I will have Joe Jordan playing on
my recital. I feel that this tune is more often associated with Saxophone players so this would be a good
change of pace. Mulgrew Millers piano playing on the tune is top-notch and I will transcribe some of his
material. The problem Ive always had regarding practicing Giant Steps is the proper approach. When I
was originally introduced to the song I was told to go through the changes using digital patterns in
combination. I was told this was how Coltrane practiced in preparation for the recording date. Since that
time I have found more and more teachers who have told me to do just the opposite. Ive been told not to
be confined by patterns and to simply play melodic. Through Donalds instruction I have been given a
number of applicable devices such as running an E-flat augmented scale or moving in whole steps
through the changes. I hope to apply these devices while developing some of my own. I am carefully
keeping track of these devices for future teaching since students always seem to have questions about this
tune.
The other issue is tempo. In the past year I have had a number of hand problems as a result of
hypertension and tendonitis. The hardest thing for me right now is playing uptempo as it creates tension. I
plan to play this song as fast as I can comftorably without excess tension. I will do this by practicing very

slow, then improvise at a high a speed I can to get used to playing fast for a period of time before slowing
down again to remain confortable.
The composition has three key centers, B major, G major, and Ebmajor and is played as uptempo
swing around 230bpm. The standard opening bars read as :
||Bmaj7 D7| |Gmaj7 Bb7|| Ebmaj7||
Donalds descending whole step example on the first three bars would be as follow:

||Bmaj7 A-7|| Gmaj7 F-7|| Ebmaj 7||

ThinkingMusic.ca, author Michael Leibson writes:

Giant Steps partitions the octave into three major thirds, so that
it moves through the keys of B major, G major and Eb major. The
tonics of these keys form a descending cycle of major thirds, that,
when completed, form an equally-subdivided octave: B-G-Eb-B.
Coltrane draws this cycle out, over two phrases: the songs first
phrase progresses through B, G and Eb; the second phrase returns
to G, and then cycles down through Eb to B. 1

Bibliography

Kendall, Allen. George Gershwin, a Biography. New York: Universe Books. 1987.

Starr, Larry. George Gershwin. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011.

Ewen, David. George Gershwin, His Journey to Greatness. New York: Ungar
Publishing Co. 1986.

Gershwin, Ira (1959). Lyrics on Several Occasions (First ed.). New York: Knopf.
1 Michael Leibson, Giant Steps, Central Park West, and Modulatory Cycles,
Thinking in Music, May 2009, http://www.thinkingmusic.ca/analyses/coltrane.