[Dixielandjazz] Horizontal music

[Larry Walton Entertainment]

Bill Gunter wrote:
> Hi Listmates,
>
> Larry Walton wrote (regarding Kenny G's music):
>
> "Kenny's music in addition to the elements (ie syncopation etc.) . . . 
> is also melodic, and the Jazz is horizontal vs. some of the newer 
> forms and does not challenge the listener."
>
> Whoa!  That raises a bunch of questions:
>
> 1. What is "horizontal" jazz?
Melodic line improvisation that has a beginning moves through a set of 
chords and resolves but mostly has a melody that is not the original, it 
goes somewhere and is composed on the fly.  This of course is subjective 
to a certain point but tends to be the basis for the entire "smooth 
jazz" category.  Both tend to overlap and there isn't a distinct 
difference at times.  The player is composing as he plays.  It is a 
stand alone "tune" in sync with the original chordal structure but also 
distinctly different.  Since it is more melodic or linear people tend to 
"understand" it better.  Mozart wrote horizontal melodies that 
intertwined which is the basis for counterpoint as well as, I believe, 
Dixieland with it's multi melodic lines.
>
> 2. What is "vertical" jazz for that matter (if there is "horizontal" 
> jazz there ought to be vertical, and perhaps even "slanted" and/or 
> "diagonal" jazz)?
So far as I know there is no such thing as the latter types.  Vertical 
is a lick based jazz where there is a chord structure but not always. 
(example 32 bars of the same chord???).  The player looks at a chord and 
plays some sort of arpeggio or lick or whatever based on that chord then 
he moves to the next.  The result is a disjointed solo.  This can and is 
being taught all across the country.  This form of jazz isn't IMHO 
particularly melodic and when the soloist finishes you tend to say boy 
he was fast - what the hell did he do.  Which brings up another thing, 
these guys tend to want to put more notes in than anyone else and 
definitely are not minimalist's.

I think an example of horizontal (linear) jazz would be Paul Desmond 
with the Dave Brubeck quartet. 

I think that piano players tend to think more chorally than horn players 
who think in lines.

Comparing the two forms to art is useful.  First we have the great 
masters who tended to paint more like photographs.  Later, artists 
became more avant guard and less rooted to tradition such as Picasso in 
his later paintings.

Like Picasso, a few musicians bring it off but everyone else is just a 
copy and not very good at that.

There is a good example  that changes within a tune from basically 
horizontal to vertical jazz.  The Jamey Ambersold series of CD's where 
the melody is absent.  The tunes start out with basic chord structure as 
the tune was written, much like playing a fake sheet.  As the tune 
progresses and repeats (6-8 times) the chord structure becomes more and 
more advanced forcing the player from a horizontal jazz into a vertical 
mode as the chords get more and more far out.  It becomes almost 
impossible to play the melody straight against it.  That happens in a 
lot of his recordings.

Imagine that you have a file box with lets say 20 licks on separate 
cards for each chord.  Now you reach into the box and randomly pull out 
a lick for the first chord.  If the chord lasts 4 bars then pull out 4 
licks at random. then go to the next chord and so on.  What do you get? 
well it will be disjointed, will not be melodic but every note will be 
right and they will be jazz licks. Then throw in some complex chords 
where even mistakes sound OK.  This is the way jazz is being taught and 
played.  Just look at the chords, play a bunch of licks based on that 
chord, do it very quickly and everyone says wow.  It's like a computer 
would compose jazz and just about as enjoyable.  This kind of jazz can 
be taught but the ability to compose on the fly can't.  Teachers like to 
teach things that can be taught not things that can't.  A teacher can 
teach you how to mix colors and buy a canvas but they can't make you an 
artist.  Only a creative person can do that.

Have you ever heard a player start a jazz solo and somewhere along the 
line they just sort of lose it maybe even the key.  They just ran out of 
licks to play.  Their mental card library just wasn't big enough.
>
> 3. When someone says to me the music is "melodic" what am I to make of 
> this?
The human can hear melody in almost anything from a train to a bird but 
I guess the simplest is one that is easily remembered and enjoyed.  
Although I think this may be inadequate of an explanation since each 
person will hear something else and my idea may not be the same as yours.

When I was in the AF someone decided that we should become accustomed to 
mid East culture and they started piping in the latest Saudi and Baghdad 
hits.  Now I know why they are all crazy I almost went up the wall and 
this only lasted a couple of days.  The point is there are millions more 
people who listen to that crap than listen to jazz.  They find melody in 
it where I can't.
>
> 4. Is being "challenged" the preferable state for musical enjoyment?  
> What does this mean?
Most people just want to have music sort of in the background and feel 
free to talk, look around and don't really listen.  I call that not 
being challenged.  We as musicians listen to music very intensely and 
jazz is a form that must be listened to to enjoy no matter what it's 
form or style.  I think maybe that's the reason there are so few jazz 
oriented listeners.  Jazz demands concentration and in this world of 
ADHD and TV clickers no wonder Rap has caught on and jazz slides further 
to the rear. Fortunately there are those that will always enjoy the 
challenge of jazz.

It's possible that we like OKOM because it isn't difficult for us to 
listen to it and like music of the great masters we hear something 
different each time we listen
>
> 5. If I don't appreciate certain forms of music am I stupid?
I dislike certain forms and I assure you I'm not stupid and neither are 
you.  There are those that would imply that you had little intelligence 
(not cool) if you dislike Picasso (later art -cubism.  I like his 
earlier works.  does that make me half cool?).  I refuse to fall victim 
to the intellectual snobs that imply that if you don't like BeBop or 
Beethoven for example you just aren't as smart as they are.  Musicians 
would say not as "Cool" as they are.

I went to a performance of the full operatic version of Porgy and Bess 
at our Muny.  The diction sucked and some of the singers sang out of 
tune but mostly you couldn't understand a word they said.  I'm sorry but 
it was a poor performance and the full operatic version is nowhere as 
enjoyable, IMHO, as the movie or lite opera versions.  Yet as we were 
leaving, there were people in the crowd purring how much they enjoyed it 
and how wonderful the performance was.  Obviously we must have seen 
different shows or there was a gap there.  Stupid came to mind but they 
may have seen and heard something entirely different than I did because 
of my perspective as a musician.
>
> You'll have to pardon me on this . . . but I'm rapidly approaching old 
> age and it seems to me that much of contemporary musical presentation 
> and commentary is pretentious.
Me too and it is.
>
>
> I didn't feel this way when I was younger - I just sort of felt that 
> one day it would all become clear to me as I matured.  But somehow it 
> never has - much of modern composition seems even more unlikeable, it 
> simply strikes me as boring or, even worse, absolutely irrelevant.
We are rapidly reaching the point where jazz and rock to a lesser extent 
are imploding into chaos.  Music no longer has to have a melody line at 
all (rap) and the musical exploration inherent in jazz has become not 
very fun.  This explains the rise of Kenny G.  Melodic and not very 
challenging.  I see him as a reaction of listeners against the musical 
nonsense that is out there.  The same could be said for the popularity 
of smooth jazz, C&W and maybe even Rap.
>
> So when I'm told that someone's music is "horizontal" I don't know 
> whether to:
>
> 1. giggle,
> 2. nod sagely in agreement
> 3. look up the word "horizontal"
> 4. wonder just what the hell people are taliking about
> 5. all of the above
I would pick 5 because they are all appropriate at some point but you 
left out 6. become a C&W fan.
>
> Respectfully submitted,
>
> Bill "straight ahead" Gunter
> jazzboard at hotmail.com
>
>
>
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