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Antonio García solos with the Greater Richmond High School Jazz Band at Virginia Commonwealth University, February 2020. |
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This article is copyright 2024 by Antonio J. García and originally was published in Down Beat, Vol. 92, No. 1, January 2025. 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. |
Improvising over Wayne Shorter's "Fall"
Using Modes and Key Centers
Masterclass
by Antonio J. García
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Antonio García solos with the Greater Richmond High School Jazz Band at Virginia Commonwealth University, February 2020. |
(For your own ease of study off-line,
click here to download a printable PDF collection of the chord changes in C Treble, C Bass, Bb, and Eb;
and click here to download the mp3 file of the play-along comping audio. You can, however, see all the music in concert C below on this web page.)
What divides us is often not as important as what we share in common, and that can lead to greater successes. The same can be true regarding chord progressions, especially the contemporary harmonic colors that don’t follow expected patterns. Here I’ll illustrate some practical paths towards lyrical improvisations over Wayne Shorter’s composition “Fall.”
Iconic Composition
I encourage you to review a number of superb performances of this composition, including its debut on the Miles Davis album Nefertiti (released 1968 on Columbia Records). Hearing the piece, it is striking how the initially orthodox root-movement can result in such contemporary sounds. We can see on most lead sheets of this tune a lot of chord-roots descending by fifths as in so many jazz and classical compositions, yet the colors above them are profound. And, in this tune titled “Fall,” we can observe the thirds and sevenths within those chords descending from bar to bar as in so many tunes; and yet they sound more exotic because of their surroundings.
We can attribute that exoticism in large part to the bass line (not shown), played very freely by Ron Carter. In some notated lead-sheets, it rhythmically rhymes itself in a parallel shape within the first two measures of every four bars, injecting thematic lyricism as 13ths, 11ths, and 7ths sustain over the harmonic landscape. But Carter’s performances refrain from the notated expectations, instead at times excluding even the notated chord-root in favor of lyrical lines that can imply new harmonies.
In the melody (also not shown for copyright reasons) and in many backgrounds on the recordings we hear “call-and-response”: the melody of the tune is echoed the first three of every four measures, with every third and fourth bar answering what precedes it. How many contemporary-harmony tunes are call-and-response? This tune is an impressive intersection of old-school and groundbreaking concepts.
First Glance at the Original Harmony
Our focus here is the harmony, which can pose a challenge for a soloist to navigate in a lyrical manner. Below each stave of Letter A is a capturing of Shorter’s apparent original chord progression within his copyrighted lead-sheet. You might analyze that initial line as a V7-V7-V7 series of secondary dominants (V7/V7), the last becoming a bII7 that resolves as a tritone substitution to the I, Ebma7(b5). Some of the dominant structures are suspended chords; one is a cryptic “sus add 3,” suggesting that both the third and fourth are present in the chord. Measures 5-8 are a repeat of mm. 1-4.
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(Click on the above musical example to hear the related play-along: a six-chorus accompaniment
audio track I’ve created. Each chorus that includes
a Carter-like bass-line alternates with a
chorus of a more literal bass-line so as to provide you with two harmonic underpinnings
to prompt your explorations.
You’ll likely find the recommended modes and
scales to be a bit more dissonant with the freer bass-line and more consonant
with the literal bass.)
Bar 8’s Ebma7(b5) planes down a half-step to bar 9’s Dma7, which becomes a dominant D13(b9) that acts as a V7 to the Gmi11 that follows. The Gmi11 to Bmi9 movement in mm. 11-12 might seem more adjacent if viewed as Bbma9/G bass to Bmi9. And the Bmi9 to Abma7(b5) in m. 12 might seem more navigable as Bmi9 to Cmi9/Ab (if one accepts the potential for an Eb along with the b5, D). But perhaps Shorter’s motivation was simply to find chords that resulted in the melody’s 11ths, 9ths, and 7ths at these points.
The chord progression in mm. 13-14, having been heard twice earlier, now offers a surprise-resolution to an Emi11 (i) rather than the expected E9sus. The Ami11/B in m. 15 might be viewed as a variation of a suspended-chord sound, as if a B7sus(#9b9#5) or B7sus altered. But rather than function as a V7 to an E chord, the Ami11/B instead returns to the F#7sus(add3) chord that starts the 16-bar form.
How might a soloist weave lyrical phrases through these chordal movements? And do the chord symbols really tell the story of Wayne Shorter’s harmonic intent?
Common Ground
A recurring theme in my analyses is that so often accurate chord symbols mask the very truth within them: that their sonic palettes share so much with their surroundings. Rather than approach each chord as wholly different material from a new root, see what’s possible when you view each chord as a variation from just one center—often the tonic (home) scale or note of the piece or at least of the melodic phrase.
In “Fall” I hear the first four bars cadencing on the Ebma7(b5) in the fourth bar. Therefore, is it possible to view the first four bars as all approaching that fourth measure? If so, in the example above my recommended modes and scales atop the first four bars are one possible result, repeated in the second four bars.
What does the initial chord, F#7sus(add3), mean to you: perhaps a sus-chord with a third? I instead hear chord extensions. For example: above a Gb root, tack a Dbmi7 chord for an F#9sus-sound, and above that an Ebmi triad to get extensions of the Dbmi7 chord. By doing so, you gain the wash of color evident on the Miles/Wayne recordings of the tune; and the Bb’s present aren’t functioning as the third of an F# (or Gb) chord: they’re functioning as a stacked 13th extension of the Dbmi7 chord.
With the tone Eb as my focus, my goal of letter A’s 16 bars is to view what may seem like vastly different chord symbols in as identical terms as possible. So my top-line view captures an approach using only the scalar roots Eb and its surrounding D and E. Viewed through those roots, the tune captures all seven modes, plus the whole-half and half-whole diminished scales: fairly accessible as long as the musician knows modes. And the same diminished scale applies to bars 2, 6, 10, and 14 (noting the faint arrow drawn from m. 2 down through m. 14).
Measure 9 screams Dma7 as a new tonal center so prompts my search to see how I might view the next several bars as variations of D. And it turns out all four bars can indeed be so (with bar 10’s Eb whole-half diminished being identical to a D half-whole diminished). Bars 13-14 reprise earlier sounds. Measure 15 is a new flavor of E, Dorian; and I can hear the final chord’s color as D Mixolydian (or perhaps E Aeolian).
A true benefit of this approach is that these inflections of harmonic color provide a longer span of context for the soloist than solely a one-chord-per-bar view: now there are four-bar tonal “flexings” that can prompt lyricism crafted especially from a soloist’s ability to improvise theme and variations over the longer span. Might these modes and scales, focused on tonal centers that unite four bars rather than divide them, reveal more about Wayne Shorter’s harmonic intent than the chord symbols alone do? To my ear, this approach is evident in Herbie’s and Wayne’s opening sequences and more when they solo on the tune.
I’ve detailed the selected modal scales in the staff of Letter A above. Try taking a chorus focusing on the original chord changes (below the staff), then a chorus instead with this modal approach in mind; and see how your melodic approach and results differ between the two. I’m betting you’ll come up with new ideas that show more relationships across the bar lines.
As Major Key Centers
I do always like to examine harmonies as viewing them as much as possible to be major scales. What would it tell us in this instance? Above the staves of Letter B in the example below you’ll find my results. In addition to the necessary diminished scale, there are seven major keys involved (not outrageous for a contemporary tune with 17 chord changes).
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(Again, you can click on the above musical example to hear the related play-along: a six-chorus accompaniment
audio track I’ve created. Each chorus that includes
a Carter-like bass-line alternates with a
chorus of a more literal bass-line so as to provide you with two harmonic underpinnings
to prompt your explorations.
You’ll likely find the recommended modes and
scales to be a bit more dissonant with the freer bass-line and more consonant
with the literal bass.)
While some musicians are hard-wired to think in modes most easily, others think in key-centers most easily—and some musicians might think most freely in modes when in certain keys, yet most freely in key-centers in other keys. Our goal is to be as conversant in both as possible so that our solo-lines aren’t held back by limited perspective.
If you know your major scales, try taking a chorus focusing on the original chord changes, then a chorus instead with this key-center approach in mind; and compare your results.
Another advantage of thinking either modally or key-center is that instantly your solo arrives on interesting colors and tensions that you won’t find as quickly if your reflex when seeing a chord symbol is to play the root-3rd-7th, or to play the root and ascend or descend. The approaches above these staves quickly plant you in interesting tonal territory and invite you to resolve the tensions.
As a Bebop Approach
Our final exploration is shown within the inner staves of letter B in the example above, where I’ve written the thirds and sevenths—a typical bebop approach—plus the occasional #11. You or colleagues or students can play these as backgrounds behind others’ solos, as the gravity of these tones’ movements plays another essential role in the tune and solos. Yet on a composition such as this, my knowing the thirds and sevenths yields less-satisfying lyricism versus the context of being conversant in modes or key-centers.
To review, here are all three approaches (modal and diminished, major scales and diminished, and thirds/sevenths/#11s) viewed at once:
 |
(Both analyses in sequence. Again, you can click on the above musical example to hear the related play-along: a six-chorus accompaniment
audio track I’ve created.
Each chorus that includes a Carter-like bass-line alternates with a
chorus of a more literal bass-line so as to provide you with two harmonic underpinnings
to prompt your explorations.
You’ll likely find the recommended modes and
scales to be a bit more dissonant with the freer bass-line and more consonant
with the literal bass.)
Only the Beginning
These are of course only paths to the improvisatory colors that are most consonant with these chords. There are infinite soloing possibilities to add with dissonances, chromaticisms, blues-scale elements, and more. Try them all yourself, using the downloadable six-chorus accompaniment audio track I’ve created that is housed with this article, along with these notated musical examples downloadable in keys of C Treble, C Bass, Bb, and Eb. There, each chorus that includes a Carter-like bass-line alternates with a chorus of a more literal bass-line so as to provide you with two harmonic underpinnings to prompt your explorations. You’ll likely find the recommended modes and scales to be a bit more dissonant with the freer bass-line and more consonant with the literal bass.
(As noted above: for your own ease of study off-line,
click here to download a printable PDF collection of the chord changes in C Treble, C Bass, Bb, and Eb;
and click here to download the mp3 file of the play-along comping audio. You can, however, see all the music in concert C above on this web page.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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. One of his recent commissions was performed at Carnegie Hall by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
A Conn-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.
Most of all, Tony is dedicated to assisting musicians towards finding their joy. His 35-year full-time teaching career and countless residencies in schools have touched tens of thousands of students in Canada, Europe, South Africa, Australia, The Middle East, and across the U.S. His collaborations highlighting jazz and social justice have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, providing education to students and financial support to African American, Latinx, LGBTQ+, and Veterans communities, children’s medical aid, and women in jazz. He serves as a Research Faculty Member at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His partnerships with South Africa focusing on racism and healing resulted in his performing at the Nelson Mandela National Memorial Service in D.C. in 2013. He also fundraised $5.5 million in external gift pledges for the VCU Jazz Program.
Mr. García is the Past 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.
Tony is the Secretary of the Board of The Midwest Clinic and a past Advisory Board member of the Brubeck Institute. 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, in 2021 was inducted into the Conn-Selmer Institute Hall of Fame, and is a 2023 recipient of The Midwest Clinic's Medal of Honor. Visit his web site at <www.garciamusic.com>.
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