Spontaneous Backgrounds

This is a preview of the educational program A Jazz Improvisation Almanac which is under development for the Outside Shore Music Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, check out the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.

It is not necessary to have a prepared arrangement in order to create interesting accompaniment. Rhythm section players do this all time, so it should not scare horn players, either. For some reason, this practice fell into disuse in mainstream jazz during the bebop era. But while there may not be many obvious role models for horn players in this regard, there are plenty of examples to refer to, including the New Orlenas groups of the early part of the century, the early Kansas City swing bands such as those of Bennie Moten, as well as modern groups such as those of Ornette Coleman, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, and David Murray.

One approach to improvising a background part is to come up with a riff. This is a simple melodic and rhythmic figure that can be repeated to form a pattern over which the soloist improvises. Riff-based accompaniments are particularly popular in performances of blues tunes:

[EXAMPLE]

Often, the riff must be altered slightly between repetitions to fit the chord progression of more complex tunes:

[EXAMPLE]

One advantage of this approach is that it is relatively easy to coordinate riff playing among several horn accompanists. When one player begins playing the riff, the others should be able to follow along and perhaps even harmonize by playing the same rhythmic idea a third above or below:

[EXAMPLE]

This allows a medium sized band such as an octet achieve some of the power of a big band, even without carefully prepared arrangements.

Another style of improvised accompaniment is called obbligato. This usually consists of long notes, rather than the rhythmic hooks characteristic of a riff, and in classical music, is often high in pitch, although this is by no means universal:

[EXAMPLE]

An obbligato part normally emphasizes the basic chord tones - the root, third, fifth, and seventh, although extensions and alterations are often used to create smoother voice leading:

[EXAMPLE]

Obbligatos, like riffs, are typically harmonized in thirds:

[EXAMPLE]

This technique was commonly used in the cool jazz style, by groups such as the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which used horn accompaniment instead of a chordal instrument to outline the harmony:

[EXAMPLE]

A third method of improvising an accompaniment is to simply listen to the soloist and respond to his ideas with short phrases of your own:

[EXAMPLE]

You can go so far as to engage in a dialog with the soloist:

[EXAMPLE]

The important thing to keep in mind is that, when accompanying, your role is different from when you are soloing. You are supporting another soloist. The point of the accompaniment is to provide the soloist with impetus for improvisation, as well as to create additional interest for the listener. Neither purpose is well served if you are constantly disrupting the performance with your own idea of the music should be taking. Allow the soloist to set the direction, but feel free to contribute to that vision.

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Spontaneous Backgrounds