Modal jazz standards

[Providence]

I'm planning to build modal jazz standards repertoire with tunes like impressions, so what, maiden voyage, cantaloop and others.

please advice me some similar tunes that don't require mandatory improvisation over changes but give you freedom for improvisation.

thanks.

[AmundLauritzen]

"Little Sunflower" by Freddie Hubbard has long stretches of static harmony. Not too many chords. I'm not sure it's classified as "modal", but you can use a lot of the concepts you'd use on modal tunes.

[FatJeff]

Milestones is an obvious choice
Flamenco Sketches is quite an interesting study in 5 separate modes
Jeannine has a long A section that can act as a modal section

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Phase Dance

[raylinds]

Isn't just about everything on Kind of Blue modal, or is my ignorance showing?

[Providence]

please keep posting ideas, I will listen to all of them and choose what I like. may be some wayne shorter tunes, some more coltrane and miles davis tunes.

[augusjazz]

McCoy Tyner, Passion Dance

Miles Davis; So What

[JonnyPac]

Originally Posted by raylinds

Isn't just about everything on Kind of Blue modal, or is my ignorance showing?

Some of the tunes are modal. Blue in green is "circular" and pretty functional. All Blues is a "modal blues", as is Freddie Freeloader (though WK's playing is far less "modal" than Bill's). So What and Flamenco are the main ones.

Milestones, Summertime (with Gil Evans), Teo, Mood, Agitation, Footprints, Masqualero, Freedom Jazz Dance are Miles classic modal tunes (with other composers, etc) that come to mind. There are many more.

Lot's of Trane in the 60's. Check out Spiritual, India, A Love Supreme, some versions of My Favorite Things, Miles's Mode, and the like. Dolphy played on some of them before he passed away- totally awesome "deep" stuff; I love the bass clarinet. McCoy was at some of his best there too.

Herbie's Maiden Voyage is a classic. His work on the album Contours by Sam Rivers is amazing too for "free" meets tradition and modal jazz. Highly recommended.

Andrew Hill wrote many great modal tunes in the late 60's too. He's way overlooked. Listen to One for One, Diddy Wah, Passing Ships, Grass Roots, and the stuff with the string quartet. It's wonderful. Grooveshark has it all.

...anyway I hope that helps.

[raylinds]

Originally Posted by JonnyPac

Some of the tunes are modal. Blue in green is "circular" and pretty functional. All Blues is a "modal blues", as is Freddie Freeloader (though WK's playing is far less "modal" than Bill's). So What and Flamenco are the main ones.

Milestones, Summertime (with Gil Evans), Teo, Mood, Agitation, Footprints, Masqualero, Freedom Jazz Dance are Miles classic modal tunes (with other composers, etc) that come to mind. There are many more.

Lot's of Trane in the 60's. Check out Spiritual, India, A Love Supreme, some versions of My Favorite Things, Miles's Mode, and the like. Dolphy played on some of them before he passed away- totally awesome "deep" stuff; I love the bass clarinet. McCoy was at some of his best there too.

Herbie's Maiden Voyage is a classic. His work on the album Contours by Sam Rivers is amazing too for "free" meets tradition and modal jazz. Highly recommended.

Andrew Hill wrote many great modal tunes in the late 60's too. He's way overlooked. Listen to One for One, Diddy Wah, Passing Ships, Grass Roots, and the stuff with the string quartet. It's wonderful. Grooveshark has it all.

...anyway I hope that helps.

Thanks for the interesting and enlightening response.

[Providence]

thanks so much!

[JonnyPac]

Sure thing! I totally love "modal jazz" and hybrid modal/functional frameworks. It's my #1 reason for digging jazz actually.

Tunes like Dolphin Dance, Time Remembered, Jade Visions, Nefertiti, Juju, Naima, are a few that are beautiful hybrids. They use harmonies developed (or at least commonly used) in modal jazz without the slow harmonic rhythms usually associated with "modal jazz".

From Kieth Waters Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet Oxford University Press 2011:

MODAL JAZZ

1. Modal scales for improvisation (or as a source of accompaniment)
2. Slow harmonic rhythm (single chord for 4, 8, 16 or more bars)
3. Pedal point harmonies (focal bass pitch or shifting harmonies over a primary bass pitch)
4. Absence or limited use of functional harmonic progressions (such as V-I or ii-V-I) in accompaniment or improvisation
5. Harmonies characteristic of jazz after 1959 (Suspended fourth- "sus" - chords, slash chords, harmonies named for modes; i.e., phrygian, aeolian harmonies)
6. Prominent use melodic and/or harmonic perfect fourths

[JonnyPac]

Listening links to hybrid tunes above:

Bill Evans Trio - Jade Visions (Take1) - YouTube Bill Evans Jade Visions

time remembered bill evans quintet - YouTube Bill Evans Time Remembered with Jim Hall and more

Herbie Hancock - "Dolphin Dance"(Maiden Voyage,1965) - YouTube Herbie Dolphin Dance

Miles Davis- Nefertiti - YouTube Shorter with Miles Nefertiti

Wayne Shorter - Juju - YouTube Shorter Juju

John Coltrane - Naima - YouTube Trane Naima

All of Shorter's Blue Note 60's sessions are 100% amazing and the "sidemen" are top quality.

[JonnyPac]

Oh yeah... these are two killer modal tunes by Shorter:

Wayne Shorter - Barracudas (General Assembly) - YouTube

Wayne Shorter - Indian Song - YouTube

[JonnyPac]

And some modal Andrew Hill:

ANDREW HILL, Passing Ships - YouTube

Andrew Hill - Illusion - YouTube (I was mistaken above- this is called Illusion) w string quartet

andrew hill - dusk (2001) - YouTube

Lots more:
Grooveshark - Listen to Free Music Online - Internet Radio - Free MP3 Streaming

[Providence]

thank you so much for such nice tunes!

[JonnyPac]

Enjoy!