University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The Musical Language Of Joe Farrell And Its Evolution Beyond Hard Bop

O'Connor, Mark Stephen

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Description

Title
The Musical Language Of Joe Farrell And Its Evolution Beyond Hard Bop
Author(s)
O'Connor, Mark Stephen
Issue Date
2014-11
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Professor Charles “Chip” McNeill
Committee Member(s)
  • Richtmeyer, Debra
  • Lund, Erik
  • Solis, Gabriel
Department of Study
School of Music
Discipline
Music
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
A.Mus.D. (doctoral)
Keyword(s)
  • Joe Farrell
  • hard bop
  • jazz music
  • jazz
  • music
Language
en
Abstract
The musical language spoken by jazz musicians during the hard bop era (circa 1954-1965) evolved because of the influence of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman. Their albums Kind of Blue, Giant Steps, and The Shape of Jazz to Come, all landmark recordings, inspired a younger generation of jazz musicians to use the concepts on these albums as starting points for the evolution of the jazz language beyond the hard bop dialect. The purpose of this thesis is to document how the musical language of one particular member of this younger generation, Joe Farrell, evolved beyond hard bop. The study of Farrell’s evolution is invaluable to students of jazz and professional jazz musicians fluent in the hard bop style for several reasons. First, fluency with the modern vernacular gives hard bop musicians the ability to employ greater melodic and harmonic variety in their improvisations, making their solos more exciting. Second, the order in which Farrell incorporated the elements of this new vocabulary is very logical and provides a step-by-step “plan of attack” that students of jazz can use to achieve greater fluency. Without a logical approach, the assimilation of this vernacular can sound very jarring and forced. Finally, jazz musicians must be proficient with many different dialects of music to make a living and the ability to “speak” this modern idiom makes them more employable. The hard bop and bebop dialects, taught in most undergraduate university-level jazz programs, provide the student of jazz with a solid harmonic and melodic foundation. These dialects, however, are only intended to be starting points. Fluency in the modern dialect helps the improviser develop a high level of harmonic sophistication and arms him with one of the tools needed to play with any world-class jazz artist.
Type of Resource
text
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Owning Collections

Doctoral Project Theses [Option 2] - Music PRIMARY