Analyzing the Jazz Combo
When the average person thinks of jazz music, you would get two variations: “WWII Era Big Band” or “Smoky Detective Film Jazz”. While big band swing was extremely popular in the 30s and 40s, the soundscape continued to evolve. The sizes of jazz bands gradually shrunk. The action of performing jazz became less of an objective way to present your favorite jazz standards, to more of a personal interpretation of jazz standards. With this shrinkage, you had a reoccuring formula for band members: drums, bass, piano, and the presenting instrument (usually a trumpet or a saxophone). But why was this the formula? I hope to answer that question in this essay by breaking down the elements of the tried-and-true jazz combo and analyzing the purpose of each instrument. I’ve come up with this cool physiological metaphor that I’m really proud of to help get my point across. Let’s get into it, I’m sure you’re gonna love it.
The Main Voice — (trumpet, sax, etc.)
Why are you listening to this song? It’s probably because you’re interested in the main voice of the jazz combo. The main voice is the driving force in the combo. The artist listed in the song that you’re listening to is most likely the main voice of the song. People like listening to different jazz artists because of how they interpret different jazz standards or because of their compositional traits. A good portion of the jazz main voice is comprised of two instruments, the trumpet and the sax. There are many instances of other instruments being the main voice of the combo, but when people think of jazz, these two instruments immediately come to mind. Whether its a genre or a certain playing style that you’re looking for, the main voice is responsible for selling it to you.
The Organs— (Piano)
I personally like to refer to the piano as the organs, because they’re vital to the human body. The piano is easily the most versatile instument in the jazz combo. There are instances where the piano both is the main voice and the atmosphere (most famously, the jazz trio). Pianos have the ability to play chords, which help the band members while soloing. Theory books like the famous “The Real Book” have chord changes at the top of each measure, to tell what key to play in at what time. Because chords are so important in jazz music, some combos add in or sometimes subsitute a guitar for its chordal natures. Chords are important for a jazz song, just like oxygen or blood, and a piano helps deliver said important chords like organs do blood and oxygen.
The Skeleton — (Drums)
In any form of music, the percussion is easily one of the most important aspects that you could think of. Its main purpose is to tell what speed and what the “feel” to any song is. You can tell how and when to bob your head thanks to the tireless efforts of the combo’s drummer. There are many different instruments that a drummer can utilize in their arsenal, from a triangle all the way down to a gong, to even the clapping of hands. The standard drum set (bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat, ride cymbal, and a couple of toms) is usually chosen in a jazz combo. While this seems kind of obvious to say out loud, there are different styles of playing that a drummer can do to help signify the mood of the specific song. A body needs a skeleton in order to support itself in the same way a jazz combo needs a drummer to support itself.
The Personality — (Bass)
The bass is probably one of the most overlooked, yet extremely important pieces of a jazz combo; there’s a reason why it survived the many transformations that the jazz band went through! I’ve pondered for a long time a good way to explain what a bass does to a jazz combo, and I’ve come to the conclusion is that the bass is the underlying personality of a jazz combo. Every good jazz standard has a great bass line. You can catch yourself humming along with the bass line as the main voice solos away. Sometimes the bass does a little riff during the last refrain of the song that catches your attention. It’s the little things that the bass does that make a song really stick with you. A human personality is more than what a person presents to the world. The unconscious (but in the bassist’s case, conscious) actions behind the face are what make up a personality, which is what the bass excels at.
While short, I hope that this essay helped break down the purpose of each instrument and how they work together to create great music! Thanks for reading!
