Modal jazz
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Modal jazz is jazz played using musical modes rather than chord progressions.
History
An understanding of modal jazz requires knowledge of musical modes. In bebop as well as in hard bop, musicians used chords to provide the background for their solos. A song would start out with a theme, which would introduce the chords used for the solos. These chords would be repeated throughout the whole song, while the soloists would play new, improvised themes over the repeated chord progression. By the 1950s, improvising over chords had become such a dominant part of jazz, that sidemen at recording dates were sometimes given nothing more than a list of chords to play from. Creating innovative solos became exceedingly difficult.
In the later 1950s, spurred by the experiments of composer and bandleader George Russell, musicians began using a modal approach. They chose not to write their songs using chords, but instead used modal scales. This meant that the bassist, for instance, did not have to 'walk' from one important note of a chord to that of another - as long as he stayed in the scale being used and accentuated the right notes within the scale, he could go virtually everywhere. The pianist, to give another example, would not have to play the same chords or variations of the chords, but could do anything, as long as he stayed within the scale being used. The overall result was more freedom of expression.
In fact, the way that a soloist creates a solo changed dramatically with the advent of modal jazz. Before, the goal of a soloist was to play a solo that fit into a set of chords. However, with modal jazz, a soloist must create a melody in one scale (typically), which could be potentially boring for the listener. Therefore, the goal of the musician was now to make the melody as interesting as possible. Modal jazz was, in essence, a return to melody.
Theory
It is possible for the bassist and the pianist to move to notes within the mode that are dissonant with the prime (tonic) chord of that mode. For example: within the C ionian mode, the notes of the scale are CDEFGABC, with C being the root note. Other non-diatonic notes, such as the note B♭, are dissonant within the C ionian mode, so that they are not used in a non-modal jazz song when playing the chord C. In a modal song, these other notes may be used once the overall sound of C ionian is entrenched within the listener's mind. This allows for greater harmonic flexibility and some very interesting harmonic possibilities.
Among the significant compositions of modal jazz were "So What" by Miles Davis and "Impressions" by John Coltrane. "So What" and "Impressions" follow the same AABA song form and were in D Dorian for the A sections and modulated a half step up to E-flat Dorian for the B section. The Dorian mode is the natural minor scale with a raised sixth.
In improvising within a modal context, a musician would basically start by thinking about playing the notes within that specific mode (e.g., D Dorian: D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D). It is also possible to take several notes from that mode (though not all) to create smaller scales or note choices for improvisation. For example, in D Dorian, one may play the notes of the D minor triad. This is what Miles Davis does at the beginning of his solo in "So What". The player may even choose any of the triads available in that mode: C major, D minor, E minor etc. One thing to note is that choosing an upper structure triad using the 9th, 11th and 13th of the chord will result in tension.
The player may also use the many different pentatonic scales within the scale such as C major pentatonic, F major pentatonic and G major pentatonic. Note that these scales are also relative A minor, D minor and E minor pentatonic, respectively.
Compositions
Miles Davis recorded one of the best selling jazz albums of all time in this modal framework. Kind of Blue is an exploration of the possibilities of modal jazz. Included on these sessions was tenor saxophonist John Coltrane who, throughout the 1960s, would explore the possibilities of modal improvisation more deeply than any other jazz artist. The rest of the musicians on the album were alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly (though never on the same piece), bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. (Kelly, Chambers, and Cobb would eventually form the Wynton Kelly Trio.) This record is considered a kind of test album in many conservatories focusing on jazz improvisation. The compositions "So What" and "All Blues" from Kind of Blue are considered contemporary jazz standards.
