Music Theory

I went through the usual explanation about white keys on the piano, starting on each of the seven different degrees of the scale, and playing an octave, and about how this creates a new scale because there is a new series of whole steps and half steps. But it seemed to never quite sink in. Several students took turns trying to explain to him using their unique approaches, but it didn’t really seem to help. I tried to relate it to scales that he already knew: the major and minor scales. I explained how the Dorian scale is the minor scale with a raised sixth, about how Phrygian is the minor scale with a flat two, Lydian is major scale with a raised four, but I could tell that it was not really making sense to him.

I recommended that we get away from words and visuals and introduce the scale to his ear, less about the brain and more about the heart. I asked him to bring his trumpet and come with me to the piano. The first thing I did was to ask him to play the major scales to get warmed up. I asked him to play all of them. I suggested that he should play these scales moving up a fourth to the new one because that is the way that music naturally moves. So he began by playing major scales starting with C, then F, then B-flat, continuing until he completed the circle back to C Major.

The next thing that I asked him to do was to play all of his minor scales. Upon completion of the circle, I asked him to play a C minor stopping on each note to really listen to the sound. Then I asked him to play it again slowly, but this time when he got to A-flat I told him to play A-natural.  Now there is a whole step between the fifth and sixth scale degree.

Next I played a B-flat minor 7 chord followed by a E-flat dominant 9 chord in a bossa nova style, inspired by Santana.

I played a measure of the B-flat minor 7 chord, followed by a measure of the E-flat dominant 9 chord. I asked him to play the new scale and not to worry about trying to impress anyone, just to get a sense and a feel about how each note felt against the chord progression.  After a little difficulty I told him to stop thinking about the half steps or the whole steps, and start listening.

Very soon he started to play Dorian correctly and soon his sound improved. The next step was to take the scale through the cycle of fourths .This chord progression following the circle of fourths works out great because the dominant ninth chord turns into the minor 7 chord of the next progression.

The more we played the more he got a feel for his new scale. After a while he began to play the scales in random order and moved them around in a more musical way. A couple of times I told him to play that 6^th, that 13^th to really get a feel for the personality of the note. The more he played, the more he smiled.

He was really excited, and said that this is what he needed. He said that he needed somebody who would train his ear instead of treating it like a science class. So, even though my schedule is completely packed, I’m drawn to a student who has desire and enthusiasm and we’ll find time somehow.

Juanita and Jesse

Victor Atkins was on piano, Alonso Bowens on saxophone and Herlin Riley on drums. We didn’t know it when she asked us to play, but it was going to be a very special show because Juanita came with a theme in mind. She had a message to deliver to her people. She came with a message of love. She said several times that there was not enough love in the world, that people needed to love each other more, and that this night was going to be dedicated to love and love songs.

Most of the tunes were not jazz, but were old love pop and R&B songs. She had assembled a collection of tender love ballads. The thing that made it even more interesting was that she really wouldn’t even let us play a solo. The only stretching out we did was on a couple of songs we played before she joined us on stage.  Once there, she wanted us play very quietly.  She wasn’t going to let it turn into a gig where the focus was improvisation. The focus of this gig was love. I remember that at one point Herlin commented that he was feeling a little frustrated because we were not playing like we were use to. But Juanita had something important to say.
One of my bass students came with his girlfriend to the gig that night. He had been to Snug often and he’d always enjoyed it but he told me that this was his favorite gig ever. He said that the thing he liked so much was that he didn’t feel like he was in school. He didn’t feel like he needed to take notes. He just sat there and opened his heart and enjoyed what Juanita brought, which was this message about love. She had magically reached out and transformed this young student into a young man there with his date. It was no longer about analysis, no longer of the brain, but it was about love. It was about his heart.

Other gigs I remember with Juanita were with Steve Blailock. Even though it was only the three of us, there was nothing missing. Honestly, Juanita could have just stand in the middle of a room and sing by herself, and there would have been nothing missing. There was so much more to her music than thinking about technique or delivery, or breath, or diction, or any such musical elements. It was magic. Juanita was magic. She was one of those rare performers who could reach out and touch the heart and soul of everyone listening.

When I learned of her passing, I had to admit that first thing I did was to cry. She was such a character, very real, always making you laugh, cracking jokes.  And again there was the magic of her singing. The way she made us all so much better when she came on stage. Juanita would take the stage and the assembly of musicians would become a band.

She left us so unexpectedly, so suddenly. But even in such great loss Juanita has a positive affect on my life. It sounds a little bit cliché, but this has made me think about living life to its fullest, living each day as if it was the last. An example of this right now is: a friend, Steve Blailock, who I mentioned before, is in town for a couple of days. We played with Gerald French last night and it felt so wonderful that we talked about how we should make a recording with another friend of ours, Thaddeus Richard. Rather than try to plan something for his next visit and figuring out which songs we are going to do, I made a phone call today to see if Thad was available and I called Tim Stambaugh to see if there was any studio time available before Steve goes back to Houston. There is simply no time to waste. You never know.

At first I couldn’t believe it. When something like this, so unexpected happens, it just doesn’t quite sink in. But I have to admit that when I talked to Detroit, I felt his sadness, I felt his love and I know it’s true. Juanita leaving us is a tragic loss for the entire world because Juanita cared and feeling that she cared made others care.

There are certain gigs around town that I always played with her and I can’t imagine what these gigs are going to feel like without her. I still can’t really believe she’s gone. I will always think of that last gig. “There’s not enough love in the world.”

I love you and miss you very much.

Bill Huntington

I guess the objective here is to get house, satisfying the ego. This kind of playing is what I call acrobatics and is most often devoid of real music. I challenge you to listen to Miles. He plays more music in one note, just one single, beautiful note than the sum total of some “artists’” output. This gymnastic approach to music includes players of all kinds of instruments.

As my jazz bass instructor Bill Huntington put it, there are certain things expected from the bass player. In graduate school Bill had the idea of an independent class for me with Ellis Marsalis. It was great. The class was one-on-one. The name of the course was “The Role of the Bass in The Rhythm Section.” It’s very funny that one time I remembered Bill telling me to play more BASS. I was playing a multitude of notes in every measure, as high and as fast as possible. I asked myself, “How can I possibly play anymore bass?”

Around the same time I remember talking to Ellis and he told me that normally the bass is not a young man’s instrument. I think this is because maybe it takes a while to settle down, and to realize what it means to play the bass. Bill wasn’t talking about flurries of notes, he wasn’t talking about superimposing harmonic structures, or even using altered scales. He basically was talking about playing some low notes, playing the root of the chord, using voice leading in a way that it leads the players and the listeners to the next chord, and helping to propel the band rhythmically.

As a matter of fact, the older I get, although I don’t know if my students like it because I might not be as flashy as they want to see their teacher, the more I realize the importance of a well executed simple bass line. Of course, it has been pointed out to me, that what seems simple to one person may not necessarily be simple to others. I think it really helps that I am a composer and I can think about playing the bass from the viewpoint of what it sounds like as a whole. Listen to the music and it will tell you what to do. Quite often, all you have to do is get out of the way.

I remember when I first started to get an idea about what it meant to play bass, I would imagine that I had headphones on and that I was listening to the music rather than performing it. This brings up a very important part of successively playing in a group: listening.

So, I guess what I really feel about this, is that the role of the bass in the rhythm section for me, has at least three different gears that I can use.  One is a basic supportive role. The bass player must believe how important and how beautiful this can be. This role must not be belittled in any way. To be able to properly execute a whole note at a slow tempo with good feel, tone and intonation, can be more of a challenge than trying to play Cherokee at some blistering tempo. (But don’t get me wrong, that’s a blast!!!) If you are a bass player, accept the invitation to be part of the group. Ask yourself what you can bring to the gig as a bass player. Being able to assume this role undoubtedly contributed to why I played 45 gigs in the month of August.

Second gear is much more interactive. Sometime this style is called floating or may simply be considered contrapuntal. The goal of this style is the Village Vanguard recordings by Bill Evans and Scott La Faro. Occasionally I get to play this way, and I love to do this as well. This style can be compared to a conversation among the players. It is a wonderful feeling to play with this sort of freedom, but it is definitely not for every gig.

Third gear is taking a solo. This is when it is time for the others in the group to support me. Just as the role of being the bass player includes half notes for the “two” feel and quarter notes for “walking,” the solo tends to speak in eighth note. This is the time to sing, to become the focal point of the music. It is time for the bass to take over as the main narrator of the story.

Whatever the role, whatever gear you may need, being a bass player is a beautiful thing. It is the most wonderful instrument in the world. Be sure you touch your instrument everyday.

Jesse Boyd featured on www.wwoz.org

Read the whole article:

Jesse Boyd

The Louisiana Weekly

“Sidewalk Saints, angels for Charity and guardians of jazz”

By: Geraldine Wyckoff, Contributing Writer

True Stories, by Jesse Boyd

True Stories is the Real Deal

Those who hang around traditional jazz spots like the Palm Court know Jesse Boyd as an upright bass player with a feel for New Orleans classic jazz. Audiences who catch him playing at modern jazz venues consider him to have the chops and ears to lay down the bottom as leader as well as supporting artists like vocalist Leah Chase. Boyd, a professor at Loyola University who began his musical journey in the gospel world, even utilizes the acoustic bass when hitting on R&B with the likes of Charmaine Neville.

On his latest album, True Stories, Boyd fully displays his progressive approach heading an impressive jazz trio with strong regulars on the scene, pianist Michael Pellera and drummer Troy Davis. The group celebrates the disc’s release at Snug Harbor on Tuesday, August 24, 2009.

Like the weather on a summer’s day, the music on True Stories continually changes. It somehow suggests, and seems especially suited for, a rainy afternoon as it moves from  the relative calm of the opening number, “The Torn Meadow,” to the rapid-fire bursts of  “Big Pine.” All of the material comes from Boyd’s obviously sophisticated pen. The excellent sound quality produced on the album, particularly that of the big, woody, rounded bass, absolutely contributes to the album’s success.

Fans of modern jazz will appreciate the quality of musicianship and the players’ total compatibility. For those who don’t regularly dig into the modern style or know these gifted artists, the CD holds allure in the variety it offers as well as its pure musicality. While the music could be considered complex, it welcomes listeners with a touches of familiarity. For example, Pellera cleverly and tastefully references the chestnut “Summertime” on the funk-tinged “August.” Here, as well as on other tunes,  Boyd’s bass steps out of its role as rhythm maker to state the tune’s melody.

The musical breezes that blow from south of the border on “Red” offer Davis the opportunity to display his wide-range of drum techniques. On the meditative “Alice” the drummer’s use of brushes suggests a certain breathy ambiance. The sun peeks out as the trio starts swinging on the closing “Every Other.”

True Stories boasts genuine jazz played by authentically dedicated  musicians with a real sense of its worth.

Photo by Greg Miles

JESSE BOYD
Jesse Boyd could easily have been inducted into the All-Stars as either a modern or traditional player. On upright bass, he plays both with equal finesse and even utilizes the acoustic on rhythm and blues. As the son of a preacher and pianist, Boyd began playing in church – first on piano and then moving to bass at age 8. His father, whom he describes as an excellent pianist, wanted his son to read music so he made sure he took private lessons. Boyd was 12 when he made his first gospel recording. It was when he was a high school student in South Carolina that he realized the relationship between the music he’d been playing and jazz – both, he discovered, had elements of swing and improvisation. Until he landed in New Orleans to attend Loyola University, Boyd and his family moved around a lot. He attended college in “a bunch of places,” always giving it up to perform. He settled in to receive his Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola University and his Masters in Jazz Performance at the University of New Orleans. He studied with the great New Orleans bassist Bill Huntington (All-Star 1990) to whom he gives huge amounts of credit. It was a reference from Huntington that landed Boyd a teaching job at Loyola, where he heads classes in bass, theory and combo. He also teaches similar classes at Delgado University. One of Boyd’s first gigs in New Orleans was playing in a modern jazz group that included saxophonist Clarence Johnson (All-Star 2003), pianist Peter Cho and drummer Stanton Moore (All-Star 2006). Boyd never performed traditional jazz until he moved here though he did give rock ‘n’ roll a try when he lived in Los Angeles – “that didn’t really work.” He found that he knew many of numbers in the traditional jazz repertoire from his youth, particularly hymns like “I’ll Fly Away.” The much called upon bassist can play it all though his new album, True Stories, is all about modern jazz.
Quotable: “What makes it so special to be a New Orleans musician are the people who you play with. It doesn’t matter what you play, it’s the people.”

INSTRUMENT: Bass BIRTHPLACE: Greenville, North Carolina AGE: 50 PRESENT WORK: Jesse Boyd Trio, Topsy Chapman (All-Star 2006), Leah Chase (All-Star 2009), Charmaine Neville, Ingrid Lucia PAST WORK: Ellis Marsalis (All-Star 1990), Detroit Brooks (All-Star 2006), John Rankin (All-Star 2007), Bob French (All-Star 1990) RECORDINGS: As Leader, Michael Pellera (All-Star 1994), Clarence Johnson (All-Star 2003), Burke Ingraffia WHERE TO SEE: Snug Harbor, Palm Court, Windsor Court, Jazz Fest, French Quarter Fes