Quoting in your solos

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

As I set up to record my Joy Spring clip, I found myself thinking about all the heads that would fit in the structure and changes. I almost did a string of them, but I remembered that the "rules" suggest not structuring a clip for the virtual jam. This is when I caught and stopped myself after a single phrase from How High The Moon, and just let my mind wander through the rest.

But quoting both popular and classical music in jazz improvisation is truly cool, in my opinion. There was a prior thread on this about 5 years ago. That thread has some great examples from recordings, but there are none from forum members and participants. So if I may quote Bird:

If this one doesn't get you quoting in your improv, you have no soul! He doesn't get past 25 seconds before throwing in Ornithology as his first quote of the session. For fun and to start anyone not yet into this down the road to affectionate plagarism, see how many other quotes you can identify. So this thread is for others to express themselves on the subject (both musically, with a clip or three, and philosophically). Here are two of the ones I considered for Joy, dropped over my comp backing for the virtual jam Joy:

Scrapple from the Apple over Joy Spring


Lullaby of Birdland over Joy Spring


This page of links to clips of Bird's quotations is great fun and a fine start for those who haven't yet put this into their bags of tricks! Think about all the tunes that share progressions for a recognizable phrase or line. Just for a simple phrase over 2-5-1, consider Fools Rush In, Never Let Me Go, Satin Doll, I've Got You Under My Skin, and As Time Goes By. Or try quoting a little Clair de Lune over Who Can I Turn To. Once you try a few, you may develop an addiction. OK - now it's your turn........

[dogletnoir]

i do it all the time.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

i do it all the time.

...and as softly as in a morning sunrise, too

Thanks!!

[rictroll]

I am not a fan of players quoting during their solos. It ruins the integrity of the moment for me.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I am not a fan of players quoting during their solos. It ruins the integrity of the moment for me.

Interesting! I know others who feel the same way. To me, it's a pretty high art to know on the fly that a specific phrase from a tune you played (or even only heard) long ago will fit well into changes over which you're soloing. Paul Desmond was a great musical quoter. Bird threw some Stravinsky into his lines. Dizzy, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman and many others loved to fit snippets of other music into their solos.

I can see how it might get boring or seem too cute if done too often, flippantly, or awkwardly. It drives me nuts when I hear people throw the Flintstones theme into every other tune they play. But hearing 4 bars of Clair de Lune or Afternoon of a Faun fitted perfectly into a bluesy solo makes me smile.

Thanks for your input!

[Jazzism]

But quoting both popular and classical music in jazz improvisation is truly cool, in my opinion.

Yeah, this got me thinking. interesting topic. I feel a little ambivalent, in that like any “device” the better you handle it, the better the overall flow will be, rather than being like poked in the eye, look, I’m going to force this quote in by any means necessary. OTOH, it could afford a listener a point of reference hearing something familiar, amongst all the other stream of consciousness evocations LOL. Like the broader topic of motivic development, they could be used to help structure a larger statement and perhaps more cohesion within a solo overall, but then you have the tunes original melody to investigate also for that.
Thought provoking. Thx!

[ccroft]

Best quote I ever heard is on Stevie Wonder Frontline, where the guitar player does a rocking 'Taps'. Solid. In every way. Far beyond the cutsie stuff us jazzers do.