[Dixielandjazz] Avant Garde Music

[Steve Barbone]

"Don Mopsick" <mophandl at landing.com> wrote (polite snip)

 
> So where does this leave the average, casual listener? I would amend
> Charlie's characterization thusly: "Although the vast majority of avant
> garde players believe in what they are creating with a rabid religious
> fervor, there are a few consciously self-indulgent frauds who laugh all the
> way to the bank. Further, MOST of their audiences, based on objective
> evidence, are not capable of hearing what the creators intended, therefore
> one must conclude that quite a few are uncomprehending phonies and poseurs."

Maybe so, but is that not true of OKOM audiences also? Does the OKOM
audience comprehend what Sudhalter talks about in "Lost Chords"? Can they
comprehend what the creators intended?

For example, this quote which is fairly typical of many in the book and
quotes Jay Arnold's analysis of Bix's 16 bar solo in "Krazy Kat": (1927)

"The third and fourth notes of measure 1 are the upper and lower neighbor of
the root of the chord, which when reached has become the fifth of the G7
chord of the second half of the measure. In measure 4, the dotted quarter
note(D natural) is an anticipation of the seventh of the E7 of measure 5.
However Bix has already left the note by the time the chord of which the D
is a part is sounded. The G natural is the Negroid (sic) lowered third, the
F sharp used twice is the ninth. The construction in measure 6 is very
ingenious. The E sharp is the lower neighbor of the thirteenth (F sharp)
which follows it. G is the seventh of the chord, followed by a passing note
leading to the root of the chord (A) which is not sounded until several
notes later, giving the figure an element of suspense. The D is the eleventh
of the A7 chord, the B is the ninth. At the end of the measure there is a
restatement of the lower neighbor of the thirteenth and the thirteenth
itself. The measures 7 and 8 are a break that is charming in its simplicity.
In measure 9, E natural is the upper neighbor of the fifth of the G7 chord.
Measurers 10, 11, and 12 show a disregard for the ornamental harmony in the
background. In measure 13, F is the upper neighbor of the chord root.
Measures 14 and 15 also are independent of the background harmonies."

Hmmmmmm:  Bix took 16 bars, 5 of which were independent of the background
harmonies and others were upper and lower neighbors of the harmonies with an
ingenious Negroid lowered 3rd thrown in along with some 11ths and a 13th.
Did he intend to create that? Does the audience "get" what Bix was doing
like Sudhalter and Arnold got it?

Damn,, now I get it. And all along I thought it was just a melodic solo. But
I'll bet that the casual audience as well as most of the knowledgeable OKOM
audience has no idea what that above quote means. And since Bix was not a
reading musician, I doubt that he would have had any idea either. Especially
since Sudhalter says earlier on the page about Bix's solo on Humpty Dumpty:

"In the first two bars he ignores Livingston's F - A7 - D7 progression,
choosing instead a figure based squarely on an F6; rather than appear to
clash, it gives him a strongly declarative opening, related to the key of
the solo. In bars 3-4, with the band sustaining a Db7 chord, he plays a
figure ostensibly built on a written F minor F minor (concert Eb) triad. In
this case, Bix's C and D natural, far from "wrong," are simply a
superimposed major 7th and lowered 9th, respectively, and occur frequently
in contemporary harmony. In the words of music editor Jay Arnold, writing in
1944, 'the effect is colorful and not the least bit unpleasant.'"

Sounds to me like he couldn't read the chord chart and played what he heard
in his head which turned out to be fine, inventing some contemporary harmony
in the process. Also sounds to me that at the time (1927) Bix was playing
avant garde.

For those who have "Lost Chords" see pages 420 and 421 for the above quotes
and the written out Bix solos. Then if you have the records, give them a
listen to really "understand" what Bix was doing.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone