da lou il ven giu 16, 2006 3:09 pm
...ed ecco la parte del succitato articolo pi? strettamente correlata al topic in questione...
"Generally speaking, the beat is not played in exactly the same place throughout a group. By playing on different parts of the beat the feel is enhanced, providing a sense of width to the pulse. When listening to Tony Williams, there is a sense of urgency and forward momentum to the time. In relation to his rhythm section band mates in Miles’ mid-sixties quintet, I hear Tony playing a little ahead of bassist, Ron Carter who is playing a little ahead of pianist, Herbie Hancock. This is in contrast to the traditional conception of rhythm section beat placement which was probably first fully realized by Count Basie’s All American Rhythm Section in the mid-thirties. In the middle of the beat was drummer, Papa Jo Jones. On the front of the beat were bassist, Walter Page and guitarist, Freddie Greene. On the back of the beat was the Count himself. This approach is common in Jazz, later typified by the trios of Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal as well as the rhythm section of Miles Davis’ quintet/sextet of the mid-fifties.
In contrast to the traditional formula is John Coltrane’s Classic Quartet of the early/mid-sixties. A good argument can be made to suggest that drummer, Elvin Jones played on the back of the beat, bassist, Jimmy Garrison in the middle and pianist, McCoy Tyner on the front. Take Coltrane’s performances of Crescent and Bessie’s Blues from his album Crescent as examples of this. It’s a little difficult to really decisively place Tyner on the front of the beat, however considering his stylistic anticipation of almost every chord, his comping figures provide a great deal of momentum, effectively driving the band.
The next consideration is the phrasing of the front line instruments. For example, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon laid so far back that he was almost a beat behind the rhythm section most of the time. On the opposite end of the spectrum, John Coltrane’s time was driving, almost pulling the rhythm section along. Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter had a wonderful way of almost floating across the time in Miles’ mid-sixties unit. Vital to the effectiveness of the horn phrasing is that the rhythm section must not follow the time feel of the soloist. Instead, the pulse must be maintained regardless of how much the horn player pushes or pulls against it. If the rhythm section constantly moves, adjusting to the horn, the tension created by the horn’s phrasing will be lost. Additionally, if the horn player continues to play ahead or behind the rhythm section, and they continue to adjust to the horn player, a snowball effect is created gradually speeding up or slowing down the time.
The point of discussing the variations in beat placement is that there is no correct way, but rather a variety of possibilities that are a result of the unique chemistry created by combinations of different players."