This article is copyright 2022 by Antonio J. García and others and originally was published in the International Trombone Association Journal, Vol. 51, No. 2, April 2023. It is used by permission of the author and, as needed, the publication. Some text variations may occur between the print version and that below. All international rights remain reserved; it is not for further reproduction without written consent.

Alex Iles’ solo on “Sweet Georgia Brown”

transcription by Jordan Wainwright

analysis by Antonio J. García

ITAJ Associate Jazz Editor

Alex Iles’ solo on “Sweet Georgia Brown” comes not from a commercial release but from a live performance at the Western States Jazz Festival held at Upland High School in Upland, California. Published on YouTube in 2012 (<https://youtu.be/Y2Qfaxdar1k>), it serves as a wonderful example of cadenza- and swing-playing as well as multiphonics in service to the music. Jordan Wainwright's excellent transcription appears here with permission of both Wainwright and Iles.

Form

By the middle of line b of the opening cadenza, Iles quotes the last four bars of the melody of the tune. Line c brings Bb minor arpeggios with passing major and minor sevenths, followed by a diminished arpeggio and line d’s blues colors. A multiphonic (singing one tone while playing the other) G7-Ab7 gliss at the end of line d sets up the tempo at measure 1 and four bars of the typical intro-riff associated with this classic tune.

Letters A and B form a 32-bar chorus of the melody, C and D the first chorus of soloing, and E the first half of the second chorus of soloing. As an arranger, he employs a “send-off” of eight bars at C (as might have otherwise been delivered by an ensemble), answered by eight measures of improv. D again opens with a send-off figure; but now the call-and-response is two bars’ send-off, two improv, two send-off, and two improv, followed by the eight measures of uninterrupted improv before E.

E returns us to an eight-bar “ensemble” send-off, answered by eight measures of improv before returning to cadenza-style at F. From letter A up to F, Alex has followed the tune’s usual chord-progressions and form clearly.

Line e opens with the three notes of the top of the second-half melody, morphing into an Arban-style variation on the F7 chord typically found at the 17th bar of the tune’s form. The F7 takes on a blues flavor at line f, concluding with F-glisses covering three octaves. A gliss from a pedal A into a Bb signals the arrival of the Bb7 chord—and Bbs spanning four octaves. By the middle of line g Iles has signalled another variation, using a five-note F major scale as a prompt for E and Eb major segues that spin into low Bbs in the middle of line h.

A multiphonic pickup to letter G delivers the call-and-response of the melody that resides in the final eight bars of the original tune’s form; but Iles follows at letter H with a series of “tags” (reprises) of the preceding four measures. After a brief pause, he tags once more and then completes the performance with a trio of multiphonic kicks.

Pace & Colors

            Anyone who has performed a fairly uptempo, unaccompanied solo-brass work knows the challenge of maintaining tone, range, and flexibility while the instrument remains anchored on your face. Adding the elements of improvisation and of structuring call-and-response passages to be remembered or created “on the fly” brings a further degree of mental intensity and non-stop physicality that Iles draws from humorously in some of his grand pauses (best observed via the video).

            Perhaps one of the most effective tools Alex implements is his dynamic range, keeping the music fresh. His opening cadenza shows the benefits of his dynamic flexibility; and once in tempo, his subtle raising and lowering of volume often delineates the call-and-response functions.

Harmony

            No doubt Iles possesses command of a variety of multiphonic intervals; but in this performance he chooses mostly to use the span of a tenth, generating primarily dominant chords representative of the original chord changes. A particularly interesting area occurs at mm. 50-52, where he modulates up a half-step to the key of A before returning to the key of Ab (via its VI chord, F7) at letter D. Whether intentional or accidental, the brief key-shift serves to lift the listener’s attention near the halfway point of his first solo chorus. A parallel area in mm. 82-84 stays in Ab.

In Total

            Wrap this package up in Iles’ deep swing, lovely tone, and background in bop, blues, and classical; and you have a solo exhibiting high craft yet (perhaps excepting some of the extreme octaves) playable by much of the trombone community reading this—if you’re willing to practice as he has.

(Also see the related article "Alex Iles: In the Moment," which includes an extensive discography.)


Trombonist, vocalist, composer, and educator Antonio García is the former director of jazz studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and recently relocated to his native New Orleans. He is Secretary of The Midwest Clinic and Associate Jazz Editor of the International Trombone Association Journal. His newest book, Jazz Improvisation: Practical Approaches to Grading (Meredith Music), explores improv-course objectives and grading. His book with play-along CD, Cutting the Changes: Jazz Improvisation via Key Centers (Kjos Music) offers musicians of all ages standard-tune improv opportunities using only their major scales. E-mail him at <ajgarcia@vcu.edu>; visit his website at <www.garciamusic.com>.

Jordan Wainwright is a musician, arranger, and educator based in Southern California. They have a Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance from the University of Southern California and a Masters in Trombone Performance from California State University, Fullerton. Jordan demonstrates great versatility in their musicianship, writing for and performing with ensembles ranging from orchestras and chamber groups to salsa bands, jazz ensembles, and pop groups. Their career spans tours, international competitions, performances at venues like Disney Hall, and recording at Capitol Records, plus consulting for professional theater companies and appearing in film and television.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Antonio J. García is a Professor Emeritus and former Director of Jazz Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he directed the Jazz Orchestra I; instructed Applied Jazz Trombone, Small Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Pedagogy, Music Industry, and various jazz courses; founded a B.A. Music Business Emphasis (for which he initially served as Coordinator); and directed the Greater Richmond High School Jazz Band. An alumnus of the Eastman School of Music and of Loyola University of the South, he has received commissions for jazz, symphonic, chamber, film, and solo works—instrumental and vocal—including grants from Meet The Composer, The Commission Project, The Thelonious Monk Institute, and regional arts councils. His music has aired internationally and has been performed by such artists as Sheila Jordan, Arturo Sandoval, Jim Pugh, Denis DiBlasio, James Moody, and Nick Brignola. Composition/arrangement honors include IAJE (jazz band), ASCAP (orchestral), and Billboard Magazine (pop songwriting). His works have been published by Kjos Music, Hal Leonard, Kendor Music, Doug Beach Music, ejazzlines, Walrus, UNC Jazz Press, Three-Two Music Publications, Potenza Music, and his own garciamusic.com, with five recorded on CDs by Rob Parton’s JazzTech Big Band (Sea Breeze and ROPA JAZZ). His scores for independent films have screened across the U.S. and in Italy, Macedonia, Uganda, Australia, Colombia, India, Germany, Brazil, Hong Kong, Mexico, Israel, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. He has fundraised $5.5 million in external gift pledges for the VCU Jazz Program, with hundreds of thousands of dollars already in hand.

A Bach/Selmer trombone clinician, Mr. García serves as the jazz clinician for The Conn-Selmer Institute. He has freelanced as trombonist, bass trombonist, or pianist with over 70 nationally renowned artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, George Shearing, Mel Tormé, Doc Severinsen, Louie Bellson, Dave Brubeck, and Phil Collins—and has performed at the Montreux, Nice, North Sea, Pori (Finland), New Orleans, and Chicago Jazz Festivals. He has produced recordings or broadcasts of such artists as Wynton Marsalis, Jim Pugh, Dave Taylor, Susannah McCorkle, Sir Roland Hanna, and the JazzTech Big Band and is the bass trombonist on Phil Collins’ CD “A Hot Night in Paris” (Atlantic) and DVD “Phil Collins: Finally...The First Farewell Tour” (Warner Music). An avid scat-singer, he has performed vocally with jazz bands, jazz choirs, and computer-generated sounds. He is also a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS). A New Orleans native, he also performed there with such local artists as Pete Fountain, Ronnie Kole, Irma Thomas, and Al Hirt.

Mr. García is a Research Faculty member at The University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, South Africa) and the Associate Jazz Editor of the International Trombone Association Journal. He has served as a Network Expert (for Improvisation Materials), President’s Advisory Council member, and Editorial Advisory Board member for the Jazz Education Network . His newest book, Jazz Improvisation: Practical Approaches to Grading (Meredith Music), explores avenues for creating structures that correspond to course objectives. His book Cutting the Changes: Jazz Improvisation via Key Centers (Kjos Music) offers musicians of all ages the opportunity to improvise over standard tunes using just their major scales. He is Co-Editor and Contributing Author of Teaching Jazz: A Course of Study (published by NAfME), authored a chapter within Rehearsing The Jazz Band and The Jazzer’s Cookbook (published by Meredith Music), and contributed to Peter Erskine and Dave Black’s The Musician's Lifeline (Alfred). Within the International Association for Jazz Education he served as Editor of the Jazz Education Journal, President of IAJE-IL, International Co-Chair for Curriculum and for Vocal/Instrumental Integration, and Chicago Host Coordinator for the 1997 Conference. He served on the Illinois Coalition for Music Education coordinating committee, worked with the Illinois and Chicago Public Schools to develop standards for multi-cultural music education, and received a curricular grant from the Council for Basic Education. He has also served as Director of IMEA’s All-State Jazz Choir and Combo and of similar ensembles outside of Illinois. He is the only individual to have directed all three genres of Illinois All-State jazz ensembles—combo, vocal jazz choir, and big band—and is the recipient of the Illinois Music Educators Association’s 2001 Distinguished Service Award.

Regarding Jazz Improvisation: Practical Approaches to Grading, Darius Brubeck says, "How one grades turns out to be a contentious philosophical problem with a surprisingly wide spectrum of responses. García has produced a lucidly written, probing, analytical, and ultimately practical resource for professional jazz educators, replete with valuable ideas, advice, and copious references." Jamey Aebersold offers, "This book should be mandatory reading for all graduating music ed students." Janis Stockhouse states, "Groundbreaking. The comprehensive amount of material García has gathered from leaders in jazz education is impressive in itself. Plus, the veteran educator then presents his own synthesis of the material into a method of teaching and evaluating jazz improvisation that is fresh, practical, and inspiring!" And Dr. Ron McCurdy suggests, "This method will aid in the quality of teaching and learning of jazz improvisation worldwide."

About Cutting the Changes, saxophonist David Liebman states, “This book is perfect for the beginning to intermediate improviser who may be daunted by the multitude of chord changes found in most standard material. Here is a path through the technical chord-change jungle.” Says vocalist Sunny Wilkinson, “The concept is simple, the explanation detailed, the rewards immediate. It’s very singer-friendly.” Adds jazz-education legend Jamey Aebersold, “Tony’s wealth of jazz knowledge allows you to understand and apply his concepts without having to know a lot of theory and harmony. Cutting the Changes allows music educators to present jazz improvisation to many students who would normally be scared of trying.”

Of his jazz curricular work, Standard of Excellence states: “Antonio García has developed a series of Scope and Sequence of Instruction charts to provide a structure that will ensure academic integrity in jazz education.” Wynton Marsalis emphasizes: “Eight key categories meet the challenge of teaching what is historically an oral and aural tradition. All are important ingredients in the recipe.” The Chicago Tribune has highlighted García’s “splendid solos...virtuosity and musicianship...ingenious scoring...shrewd arrangements...exotic orchestral colors, witty riffs, and gloriously uninhibited splashes of dissonance...translucent textures and elegant voicing” and cited him as “a nationally noted jazz artist/educator...one of the most prominent young music educators in the country.” Down Beat has recognized his “knowing solo work on trombone” and “first-class writing of special interest.” The Jazz Report has written about the “talented trombonist,” and Cadence noted his “hauntingly lovely” composing as well as CD production “recommended without any qualifications whatsoever.” Phil Collins has said simply, “He can be in my band whenever he wants.” García is also the subject of an extensive interview within Bonanza: Insights and Wisdom from Professional Jazz Trombonists (Advance Music), profiled along with such artists as Bill Watrous, Mike Davis, Bill Reichenbach, Wayne Andre, John Fedchock, Conrad Herwig, Steve Turre, Jim Pugh, and Ed Neumeister.

The Secretary of the Board of The Midwest Clinic and a past Advisory Board member of the Brubeck Institute, Mr. García has adjudicated festivals and presented clinics in Canada, Europe, Australia, The Middle East, and South Africa, including creativity workshops for Motorola, Inc.’s international management executives. The partnership he created between VCU Jazz and the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music at the University of KwaZulu-Natal merited the 2013 VCU Community Engagement Award for Research. He has served as adjudicator for the International Trombone Association’s Frank Rosolino, Carl Fontana, and Rath Jazz Trombone Scholarship competitions and the Kai Winding Jazz Trombone Ensemble competition and has been asked to serve on Arts Midwest’s “Midwest Jazz Masters” panel and the Virginia Commission for the Arts “Artist Fellowship in Music Composition” panel. He was published within the inaugural edition of Jazz Education in Research and Practice and has been repeatedly published in Down Beat; JAZZed; Jazz Improv; Music, Inc.; The International Musician; The Instrumentalist; and the journals of NAfME, IAJE, ITA, American Orff-Schulwerk Association, Percussive Arts Society, Arts Midwest, Illinois Music Educators Association, and Illinois Association of School Boards. Previous to VCU, he served as Associate Professor and Coordinator of Combos at Northwestern University, where he taught jazz and integrated arts, was Jazz Coordinator for the National High School Music Institute, and for four years directed the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Formerly the Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University, he was selected by students and faculty there as the recipient of a 1992 “Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching” award and nominated as its candidate for 1992 CASE “U.S. Professor of the Year” (one of 434 nationwide). He is recipient of the VCU School of the Arts’ 2015 Faculty Award of Excellence for his teaching, research, and service and in 2021 was inducted into the Conn-Selmer Institute Hall of Fame. Visit his web site at <www.garciamusic.com>.

| Top |

If you entered this page via a search engine and would like to visit more of this site, please click | Home |.

For further information on the International Trombone Association Journal, see Selected Links.