Vamp (jazz)

The term vamp (pronunciation: [væmp ], from English , original meaning "patchwork") describes an accompanying figure in jazz that usually consists of a short, constantly repeating melodic or harmonic sequence. Musically it is an ostinato .

The term probably comes from music theater , where vamps are used to describe sections of the score played "in a loop", which the orchestra holds on to until the singing starts again on the stage.

Jazz pieces can be based entirely on such short, often two- or four-bar ostinati, such as the extensive collective improvisations on Miles Davis' record In a Silent Way (1969/70) .

In jazz it has always been customary to improvise on simple chord progressions , for example in swing of the late 1930s ( Count Basie or Charlie Christian ). Also the Bebop and Hard Bop rely on this technique, but where it remains limited to individual sections (about A Night in Tunisia by Dizzy Gillespie ). In the composition Moanin ' by Bobby Timmons , known from Art Blakey's “Jazz Messengers” , the solo passages contain a two-bar vamp over four chords. Since the 1960s, the technique of improvising through recurring accompanying phrases has experienced a new bloom, which can be traced back to the influence of John Coltrane .

The term is also used in related musical styles, especially in blues , R&B and soul . Pieces by John Lee Hooker , Ray Charles or James Brown are often based on vamps. One of the most popular vamp structures comes from Percy Mayfield's song Hit the Road Jack , which became famous in the version by Ray Charles; Here is a characteristic chord progression, more precisely, an Andalusian cadence , in connection with the shuffle rhythm.

The figures typical of a vamp are either given in musical notation or only in chord symbols in order to give the musicians greater creative freedom.

literature

• Peter Wicke, Kai-Erik and Wieland Ziegenrücker: Lexicon of Popular Music. Schott, Mainz / Directmedia, Berlin 2004, p. 567, ISBN 3-89853-011-6