Freedom Jazz Dance

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Freedom Jazz Dance is a funk jazz composition that Eddie Harris wrote in 1965. The piece, "a symbol of the progressive black music of the late sixties, between free jazz and soul radio ", quickly developed into a jazz standard . Both Eddie Jefferson (1974) and Jay Leonhart (1988) and Ben Sidran (2000) later wrote lyrics for the song.

The composition

In the original version, the theme consists of two two-measure and one four-measure phrases (followed by a drum break ) and is almost entirely written in eighth notes, which are in fifth and fourth intervals . Although the theme is in B minor overall , “these brittle, rapid leaps in intervals” appear “rather angular-abstract” in combination with the non-changing harmony . This theme in its unusual 10-bar form is followed by an eight-bar, bluesy improvisation. Accordingly, Leonard Feather pointed out that it was a "future-oriented" piece that was influenced by the "latest developments in jazz" and was reminiscent of Ornette Coleman .

Recordings by Harris

The Freedom Jazz Dance was recorded on August 30, 1965 (with Cedar Walton , Ron Carter , Billy Higgins and trumpeter Ray Codrington ) and first published on the Harris album The In Sound (Atlantic LP 1448, 1965); there it functions as a final number. An edited version was released on a single (Atlantic 5057).

Harris often played the piece later in his live programs and developed it into fusion jazz dance . In 1994 he made a remake on the studio album Freedom Jazz Dance . On March 14, 1996 Harris recorded his last version of the piece with the WDR Big Band Cologne .

Other versions

Freedom Jazz Dance was interpreted by Miles Davis the following year on his album Miles Smiles . The trumpeter interpreted the standing harmony as a modal specification , avoided any funk feeling and stretched the theme to 16 bars with pauses and stretches. In this form, the theme became the “standard of the fusion era ”, for example on Miroslav Vitouš's first album (1969) or Brian Auger's (1973). Vocalist Eddie Jefferson also followed this version, which he refined with his own ideas. Don Ellis added the piece to his big band's repertoire ( Live In 3 and 2/3/4 Time ), but chose a 7/4 time signature . Passport released the piece on the album Doldinger Jubilee Concert .

In 1999 the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble interpreted the piece together with Fareed Haque on his album of the same name Freedom Jazz Dance. Nils Landgren recorded another version in 2003 with his Funk Unit on the album Fonk da World .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b H.-J. Schaal Jazz-Standards , p. 158ff.
  2. ↑ cit. n. H.-J. Schaal Jazz-Standards , p. 159
  3. ^ Atlantic discography 1965
  4. ↑ Meeting at Allmusic
  5. ↑ E. Harris The Last Concert  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file; 215 kB)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.actmusic.com  
  6. ↑ See Davis' transcribed solo ( Memento from February 8, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ Meeting at Allmusic
  8. ↑ Prophet of odd meters in: Jazzzeitung 2/2001
  9. ↑ Meeting (Allmusic)
  10. ^ The Nils Landgren Funk Unit - Freedom Jazz Dance. Retrieved August 30, 2014 .