Jazz Call And Response
Sanna Pospicil
In music, call and response is a compositional technique, often a succession of two distinct phrases that works like a conversation in music. One musician offers a phrase, and a second player answers with a direct commentary or response. The phrases can be vocal, instrumental, or both.[1] Additionally, they can take form as commentary to a statement, an answer to a question or repetition of a phrase following or slightly overlapping the initial speaker(s).[2] It corresponds to the call and response pattern in human communication and is found as a basic element of musical form, such as the verse-chorus form, in many traditions.
Call and response is extensively used in Cuban music, where it is known as coro-pregn. It derives from African musical elements, both in the secular rumba[5] and in African religious ceremonies (Santera).[6]
When enslaved African populations were brought to work in coastal agricultural areas of Peru during colonial times, they brought along their musical traditions. In Peru, those traditions mixed with Spanish popular music of the nineteenth century, as well as the indigenous music of Peru, eventually growing into what is commonly known as Afro-Peruvian music. Known as huachihualo, and characterized by competitive call-and-response verses, it is the defining trademark of various musical styles in Afro-Peruvian musical culture such as marinera, festejo, land, tondero, zamacueca, and contrapunto de zapateo[7]
In Colombia, the dance and musical form of cumbia originated with the enslaved African population of the coastal region of the country in the late 17th century. The style developed in Colombia from the intermingling of three cultures. From Africa, the drum percussion, foot movements and call-and-response. Its melodies and use of the gaita or caa de millo (cane flute) represents the Native Colombian influence, and the dress represents the Spanish influence.[8][9]
In Western classical music, call and response is known as antiphony. The New Grove Dictionary defines antiphony as "music in which an ensemble is divided into distinct groups, used in opposition, often spatial, and using contrasts of volume, pitch, timbre, etc."[13] Early examples can be found in the music of Giovanni Gabrieli, one of the renowned practitioners of the Venetian polychoral style:
Heinrich Schtz was one of the first composers to realise the expressive potential of the polychoral style in his "Little Sacred Concertos". The best known of these works is "Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich?", a vivid setting of the narrative of the Conversion of Paul as told in Acts 9 verses 3-4: "And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"
"The syncopated repetitions of the name Saul are strategically planted so that, when the whole ensemble takes them up, they can be augmented into hockets resounding back and forth between the choirs, adding to the impression of an enveloping space And achieving in sound something like the effect of the surrounding light described by the Apostle."[15]
Even terser are the exchanges between wind and strings in the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Here, the development culminates in a "singularly dramatic passage"[17] consisting of a "strange sequence of block harmonies":[18]
Call and response is common in modern Western popular music. Cross-over rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll and rock music exhibit call-and-response characteristics, as well. The Who's song "My Generation" is an example:[21]
A single leader makes a musical statement, and then the chorus responds together. American bluesman Muddy Waters utilizes call and response in one of his signature songs, "Mannish Boy" which is almost entirely leader/chorus call and response.
This technique is utilized in Jepsen's song several times. While mostly in the chorus, it can also be heard in the breakdown (approximately 2:25) between the vocals ("It's hard to look right") and distorted guitar.
Part of the band poses a musical "question", or a phrase that feels unfinished, and another part of the band "answers" (finishes) it. In the blues, the B section often has a question-and-answer pattern (dominant-to-tonic).
Jazz performances are a multidimensional form of storytelling that engages the senses of sight, sound, and movement. Similar to a captivating narrative, a jazz performance can transport the audience to experiences and emotions that may be outside of their immediate understanding. Through the lens of the musician, the music can take on a personal and subjective quality, offering a unique perspective on human experience.
Storytelling lies at the heart of every jazz performance, and is deeply ingrained in its aesthetic. Jazz musicians utilize their instruments to weave their narratives, tapping into their personal experiences, emotions, and cultural heritage to craft intricate and evocative musical tales. By immersing the listener in the storytelling, jazz music creates a rich and complex experience that invites deeper understanding and appreciation of the art form.
Call and response is a fundamental technique used in many African and African-derived musical traditions, including jazz. In jazz, call and response refers to the exchange of musical ideas between different instruments or between a musician and the audience.
It is a way for musicians to communicate and interact with each other, and it also adds an element of improvisation and spontaneity to the music. Like a casual conversation, what happens during a jazz performance is not always planned out.
During a performance, musicians will engage in a dialogue-like interaction with each other and with the audience as well. Call and response provides the musical means for establishing a feeling of community and shared experience among musicians and between musicians and listeners that is an integral part of jazz performance.
Improvisation is the act of creating or performing something spontaneously without prior preparation or planning. In theater, improvisation involves creating scenes, characters, and dialogue on the spot without a script. Improvisation is used in a variety of creative expression such as dance, visual art, writing*(see notes below), or comedy, anywhere the creator or performer generates ideas in the moment without following a predetermined structure or plan. And, of course, in music, improvisation involves spontaneously creating melodies, harmonies, and rhythms in real-time.
Overall, the narrative quality of jazz is a key part of its aesthetic, and one that sets it apart from other forms of music. Whether through improvisation, mimicking the sounds of the natural world, or drawing on literary and poetic traditions, jazz musicians use their instruments to tell stories and create deeply moving and evocative musical narratives.
Curiously, I discovered that the guitarist was Tommy Tedesco, though he goes uncredited for his work. However, the musician shown playing in the film, according to Denny Tedesco, is not Tommy Tedesco. Tedesco never played using only his fingers; he only played using a pick.
Jazz is a kind of music in which improvisation is typically an important part. In most jazz performances, players play solos which they make up on the spot, which requires considerable skill. There is tremendous variety in jazz, but most jazz is very rhythmic, has a forward momentum called "swing," and uses "bent" or "blue" notes. You can often hear "call--and--response" patterns in jazz, in which one instrument, voice, or part of the band answers another. (You can hear Ella Fitzgerald and Roy Eldridge do "call and response" in Ella's Singing Class.) Jazz can express many different emotions, from pain to sheer joy. In jazz, you may hear the sounds of freedom-for the music has been a powerful voice for people suffering unfair treatment because of the color of the skin, or because they lived in a country run by a cruel dictator.
Jazz musicians place a high value on finding their own sound and style, and that means, for example, that trumpeter Miles Davis sounds very different than trumpeter Louis Armstrong (whose sound you can hear in Louis's Music Class.) Jazz musicians like to play their songs in their own distinct styles, and so you might listen to a dozen different jazz recordings of the same song, but each will sound different. The musicians' playing styles make each version different, and so do the improvised solos. Jazz is about making something familiar--a familiar song--into something fresh. And about making something shared--a tune that everyone knows--into somethingpersonal. Those are just some of the reasons that jazz is a great art form, and why some people consider it "America's classical music."
Jazz developed in the United States in the very early part of the 20th century. New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, played a key role in this development. The city's population was more diverse than anywhere else in the South, and people of African, French, Caribbean, Italian, German, Mexican, and American Indian, as well as English, descent interacted with one another. African-American musical traditions mixed with others and gradually jazz emerged from a blend of ragtime, marches, blues, and other kinds of music. At first jazz was mostly for dancing. (In later years, people would sit and listen to it.) After the first recordings of jazz were made in 1917, the music spread widely and developed rapidly. The evolution of jazz was led by a series of brilliant musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington (listen to Ellington in Duke's Music Class), Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis. Jazz developed a series of different styles including traditional jazz, swing (listen, for example, to Benny Carter, who got his start in swing music, in Benny's Music Class) bebop, cool jazz, and jazz?rock, among others. At the same time, jazz spread from the United States to many parts of the world, and today jazz musicians--and jazz festivals--can be found in dozens of nations. Jazz is one of the United States's greatest exports to the world.
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