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Howdy, SOTW! Who's ready for some quarantine-driven polyphonic contrafact duo madness?
I've been writing a lot of two-part contrafacts lately - that is, compositions that take the chord changes of a classic song (in this case, "All Of You" by Cole Porter) and create a new melody over those changes. I wrote this one as a duo for me and my buddy Steve Kortyka, one of the finest saxophonists on the modern scene. You may have seen him on TV playing tenor with the likes of Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, but he busted out the ol' alto for this number and he sounds absolutely crushing on it.
Contrafacts have been a big part of jazz for a very long time thanks to the brilliant innovations of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and other geniuses of Black American music in the mid-20th Century. They influenced other artists of their time like Sonny Rollins, Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh, and Lee Konitz, who in turn influenced some of my favorite modern jazz musicians like Mark Turner and Joshua Redman.
After the initial statement of the melody, Steve and I take turns improvising over the form to "All Of You" in different keys before coming back home for the head out. Since, ya know, it's a pandemic, and we need challenges to keep ourselves busy.
Check out Steve's website for more info, media, and lesson information.
And, as always, if you have questions about my gear, improvisations, compositions, or lessons, cruise over to my own site and drop me a line. Or just leave a comment here!
I've been writing a lot of two-part contrafacts lately - that is, compositions that take the chord changes of a classic song (in this case, "All Of You" by Cole Porter) and create a new melody over those changes. I wrote this one as a duo for me and my buddy Steve Kortyka, one of the finest saxophonists on the modern scene. You may have seen him on TV playing tenor with the likes of Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, but he busted out the ol' alto for this number and he sounds absolutely crushing on it.
Contrafacts have been a big part of jazz for a very long time thanks to the brilliant innovations of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and other geniuses of Black American music in the mid-20th Century. They influenced other artists of their time like Sonny Rollins, Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh, and Lee Konitz, who in turn influenced some of my favorite modern jazz musicians like Mark Turner and Joshua Redman.
After the initial statement of the melody, Steve and I take turns improvising over the form to "All Of You" in different keys before coming back home for the head out. Since, ya know, it's a pandemic, and we need challenges to keep ourselves busy.
Check out Steve's website for more info, media, and lesson information.
And, as always, if you have questions about my gear, improvisations, compositions, or lessons, cruise over to my own site and drop me a line. Or just leave a comment here!
