Originally Posted by TheTruth1983:
“I wish I was more knowledgeable about jazz so that I could engage in the technical discussions on the topic.
As it is, I can only comment on the level to which the music speaks to me and I'm not even very good at putting that into words.
I just know what sounds good to these ears and what speaks to this humble soul.”
To put it into a simplified humorous form, jazz is taking a basic tune and "messing about with it."
"Never use one chord when you can bang a few more in."
For each tune there are accompanying chords, these can be one chord per bar as in many pop songs, but many well loved songs will have up to four chords per par.
Jazz musicians will take a popular tune and substitute some of the chords, to make it more interesting.
For example if I were going to play "Fly me to the moon" on my piano.
The correct chords as written would be for the first four bars.
Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars..........................
Cm7..............................Fm7................................Bb7................................Eb...Eb7
But you could play to "jazz it up."
Cm7..........Gb13(#11)...Fm7.......B13(b9).........Bb7 ......E13(#11#9)....EbM7..A7(b9b5)
The chords with the suitable inversions would sound right with the notes of the tune.
Often these substitute chords are used when musicians are "improvising."
Improvisation, can be actually, "playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order." As long as the notes played are part of the chord in that bar at that particular moment, then they will sound "right."
Of course there are no real rules, as long as it sounds right.
Miles Davis complicated matters once, by saying "I can work any chord into any tune."
I'm over simplifying things but you can get an idea.
"The best tunes" are usually those where the composer writes the melody first and then fits the chords round it.
With a lot of pop tunes they start with a chord progression then write the tune round it which limits the possibilities and why some pop tunes sound very similar.
As I said earlier I prefer "old fashioned" ballad style modern jazz, where they play the tune through straight in the first chorus and middle eight, then the soloists improvise for a couple of choruses and then the band return to the main tune in the last chorus, which can be by a small group or a big band, much like the way the Sant Andreu Band play.
I like "So What." By Miles Davis.
