Master of Music (Performance) / Eddie Gomez was the bassist in the Bill Evans Trio for eleven years. His contribution to the group’s sound was considerable, but while there has been some recognition of his virtuoso solos in the trio there has been little academic interest in his bass lines. This essay examines bass lines from the album Since We Met, recorded in 1974 by Evans, Gomez and drummer Marty Morell. Analysis of the bass accompaniments to the piano solos on “Since We Met” and “Time Remembered” reveals that they form a fragmented two-feel. A traditional two-feel employs two notes to emphasise the first and third beats in bar of 4/4 time. In Gomez’s bass lines these two notes are frequently replaced with short rhythmic motifs. These motifs occur in a variety of forms and at different metric displacements that alternately propel and retard the forward motion of the music. Additionally, Gomez uses a wide range of register and varied articulations to create a richly diverse bass line. The resulting effect has often been interpreted as interactive or conversational with the soloist. However there is very little interaction between the bass line and Evans’ solo. The bass line is a parallel stream to the solo that energises and colours the music.

Master of Music (Performance) / Eddie Gomez was the bassist in the Bill Evans Trio for eleven years. His contribution to the group’s sound was considerable, but while there has been some recognition of his virtuoso solos in the trio there has been little academic interest in his bass lines. This essay examines bass lines from the album Since We Met, recorded in 1974 by Evans, Gomez and drummer Marty Morell. Analysis of the bass accompaniments to the piano solos on “Since We Met” and “Time Remembered” reveals that they form a fragmented two-feel. A traditional two-feel employs two notes to emphasise the first and third beats in bar of 4/4 time. In Gomez’s bass lines these two notes are frequently replaced with short rhythmic motifs. These motifs occur in a variety of forms and at different metric displacements that alternately propel and retard the forward motion of the music. Additionally, Gomez uses a wide range of register and varied articulations to create a richly diverse bass line. The resulting effect has often been interpreted as interactive or conversational with the soloist. However there is very little interaction between the bass line and Evans’ solo. The bass line is a parallel stream to the solo that energises and colours the music.

Thesis (M. Mus. (Perf.))--University of Sydney, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed October 27, 2009) Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music (Performance) to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney. Includes bibliographical references.

För att utveckla mitt pianospel och förädla mitt uttryck kommer jag att låtas inspireras av tre pianister vars spel och komponerande tilltalar mig konstnärligt, teoretiskt och tekniskt. Transkribering och analysering skall leda mig vidare till komposition och improvisation vilka i sin tur får sina likheter jämförda med valda inspirationskällor.

Improvisation är konsten att komponera, uttala, arrangera eller framställa någonting ej förberett. Hur gör man då för att lära sig musikalisk improvisation? Vanligen sker detta med hjälp av en musikteoretisk ingång. Detta arbete syftar därför till att ta reda på vad ett inlärningssätt på en gehörsbaserad grund kan ha för effekter. Metoden har varit att planka olika pianisters solon på samma låt och göra en egen inspelning, även den på samma låt både före och efter plankningen för att kunna jämföra dessa båda inspelningar och observera vilka resultat arbetet givit. Det har även gjorts en inspelning på en annan liknande låt både före och efter plankningen för att undersöka om utveckling som skett i den första låten även är överförbart till andra låtar. Resultatet tyder på att ett plankningsarbete leder till utveckling inom parametrarna timing och frasering, men att andra tillvägagångssätt är nödvändiga för att stärka sådant som rytm och tonmaterial.

This study examines the evolution of the improvisational vocabulary utilized by bassist Marc Johnson over the course of his career. Through interviews and musical analysis the study contextualizes Johnson’s musical influences, considers how they shaped his development, and examines his role in the legacy of the stylistic lineage established by Scott LaFaro with the Bill Evans Trio. A survey of literature concerning Johnson, Scott LaFaro and Eddie Gomez is included, as well as a discussion of the impact of apprenticeship on Johnson’s career. The study illuminates aspects of Johnson’s current vocabulary and how he has synthesized influences to create a distinctive vocabulary, not derivative of Scott LaFaro or Eddie Gomez, but incorporating elements of their style in the composition of his own voice.

La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (http://www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU). / Le présent travail explique et approfondit la démarche artistique d’un compositeur travaillant à partir de la musique traditionnelle québécoise et cherchant à donner un élan à son travail en s’inspirant des musiques savantes. Il est divisé en trois chapitres dans lesquels on retrouve des analyses détaillées de pièces issues du répertoire traditionnel québécois et des répertoires classique et jazz. Le premier chapitre traite d’œuvres de Joseph Allard, Louis « Pitou » Boudreault, Jos Bouchard et Aimé Gagnon en cherchant à préciser les éléments stylistiques qui caractérisent le style d’ici. Le deuxième chapitre analyse les pièces Stolen Moments d’Oliver Nelson et Waltz for Debby de Bill Evans et explore un jazz en équilibre entre conservatisme et innovation. Le troisième chapitre explore deux approches originales à la modalité dans des musiques riches en variations par l’analyse de Pagodes de Claude Debussy et de Ostinato de Béla Bartók. Le quatrième chapitre expose ma démarche. / This work explains and elaborates the artistic approach of a composer that works primarily with traditional Quebec music and wishes to give momentum to his work by inspiring himself with the jazz and classical idiom. It is divided in three chapters in which pieces of the traditional repertoire and of the classical and jazz repertoires are analyzed in detail. The first chapter describes works of Joseph Allard, Louis « Pitou » Boudreault, Jos Bouchard, and Aimé Gagnon and aims at defining some stylistic elements specific to Quebec's traditional style. The second chapter addresses the pieces Stolen Moments by Oliver Nelson and Waltz for Debby by Bill Evans and explores a jazz in balance between conservatism and innovation. The third chapter deals with original approaches to modality through the analysis of two musical pieces rich in variations: Pagodes by Claude Debussy and Ostinato by Béla Bartók. The fourth chapter presents my own creative process.