Re: Jazz Song #1 - A Night In Tunisia

I joined to ask a question or start a discussion about famous signature songs for trumpet. I've been playing "A Night In Tunisia"(NIT) over the years, I always come back to that song as sort of graded etude of sorts. I've recently working on Hugh Masekela's "Grazing In the Grass"(GIG). I think GIG is a bit more difficult than NIT, but GIG is another one that I feel by playing daily really opens up my playing, especially fast tonguing. Are there other tunes out there that are worth chewing on and digesting in a dedicated way. I think the idea is that these masters played them often and it kept them relevant if I play them then I will be exercising the same chops. Does Miles Davis have a signature tune? It seems that Davis tunes aren't technical in and of themselves, the solos are more important, I played Armstrong's tunes often in the beginning. I think there are some out there Maynard Ferguson, I'll probably save for later. I am working on Herb Alpert, I think he actually had a couple of signature tunes, "A Taste Of Honey"(TOH). TOH is nice for working on large intervals, octaves.

I play lots of other tunes mostly hard bob, or latin jazz, but some are harder to play and just don't sound as good on trumpet. I am looking for the ones that sound really good on trumpet.

Its a long shot, but does anyone have transcriptions or recordings of Chic Chocolate, especially Contessa or Tickle Me Not.

Perez Prado's Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White is confusing. I guess Prado wasn't the trumpet player on that solo, and I can't find much on Billy Regis, the trumpeter. Like was that his signature sound?

Freaks by Timmy Trumpet probably qualifies by technicality.

True millennial style master the classical trumpet just to get a pop hit playing pedal tones on a cheesy dance track.

Here is some of my lip syncing and playing.

@barliman2001

Here is an extended edit with more trumpets:

I've been doing some recording, it just sounds like a highly processed trumpet to me. Like they used the same processing techniques on modern pop vocals(those people are robots). EG autotune recording and aligning multiple takes adjusting the timings. Dynamic equalization. Pretty much fed it straight into melodyne. Added massive verb on a sidechain gate.

Who is the trumpet player on Pepas.

That's a sick track.

I have got back into home studio recording. Are there any good tricks for recording trumpet. I've done a little googling, mostly tips for big band type recording, no ribbon mic here maybe later.

I am interested in different processing techniques especially VSTs. I have started using auto tune, a nice effect, maybe a gate to keep down breath noises.

So far one of my favorite effects is taking advantage of the proximity effect on with a harmon mute and getting right down on a dynamic mic.

I want to do some stereo recording, I think that is an advantage of trumpet that it is a nice portable and directional instrument. I have a pair of pencil condenser mics. Haven't had a lot of luck getting a good tone this way though, too bright and kinda harsh, though a bucket mute helps here. Any ideas?

@smoothoperator

It appears to be the neapolitan scale which is related to the double harmonic minor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neapolitan_scale

@richard-iii

If you are used to a strict three note chords, jazz is a little to get used. I have one of these jazz chord books, I tried stacking 7s,2s,9s,11s etc. They sound good alternating major third minor third, however I notice they also don't stand out very much the more notes that are added. That is the thing with Jazz sometimes it isn't very distinct, sort of like background music. I think that is one thing I like about A Night In Tunisia, is that it has a distinctive sound that stands out, despite the Jazz harmonies.

@georgeb said in Night In Tunisia, Double Harmonic Minor:

@smoothoperator
I respect you and your knowledge of music theory, but honestly, I play a song because I like it for a variety of reasons, but I never feel the need to dissect it. For me it would ruin the fun of playing.

Its more of an aggregating process than a dissecting process. Looking for other licks to roll into and expand upon Night In Tunisia.

Re: Jazz Song #1 - A Night In Tunisia

I like to learn songs that have similar harmonic themes, eg rhythm changes, diatonic circle of fifths, minor line cliche, etc.

One song I like to play often is Night In Tunisia, I had a bit of an epiphany. If you look up the conventional theory that its a tritone substitution on a A7 Dm change that gives you a Eb7 Dm half tone tonic motion. I was looking at other songs that kind of reminded me of that when I realized that another song Misirlou also features a prominent half step chord motion F E(Misirlou is also on the radar as a nice trumpet tune, not only did Dick Dale play trumpet on that track, even before Dick Dale played it Harry James had somewhat of a hit with it). Anyway interestingly enough Misirlou is in a Byzantine scale.

If you juxtapose the Dm and Eb7 chords on top of each other, the F is the only note that would need to move to be in a byzantine scale.
C# D Eb F G A Bb

Maybe it is just a superficial resemblance to the music of Egypt and North Africa since there are only so many ways to resolve a half tone chord motion.

Did anyone mention Ray Anthony. He had some hits, I'm not sure which would be a signature tune though.

Its a playoff between sounding like something and sounding good. I've recently gotten a piano for my daughter, so I had an opportunity to play some jazz chords and I've found that for the most part they sound good 7's, 2's, 11's 13's you can keep stacking the thirds alternating major minor intervals maybe through in some upper structure triads, maybe revoice them a little and they sound great no doubt about it, but they also sound sort of nebulous and vague.

I prefer to draw on melodic quotes from similar songs or parts of songs, maybe riffs or licks, maybe some rhythmic ideas. The theory sort of helps here, a little recognizing, where a diminished section of a song can be juxtaposed into another situation, with a little transposition.

I feel like starting from scratch with the chords is too difficult to do(well) on the fly, often times coming across as an etude, here it comes Coltrane is going to play this scale then that scale then the other scale. You might as well write a new song.

I'm also not a fan of the Julliard(Miles Davis) approach, those guys are kind of like culture vultures, and aren't really crafting anything new.