The primary objective of the SMT Jazz Interest Group (SMT-Jazz) is to promote scholarship in the discipline of jazz theory.
Garrett Michaelsen started the topic Milton Stewart in the discussion
Society for Music Theory – Jazz Interest Group on Humanities Commons 6 days, 11 hours agoDear collected wisdom of SMT Jazz,
Does anyone have any details on the life and work of Milton Lee Stewart? His 1973 dissertation “Structural Development in the Jazz Improvisational Technique of Clifford Brown” from University of Michigan might be the first detailed application of Schenkerian analysis to jazz improvisation (besides Forte’s 1958…[Read more]
Stefan Caris Love deposited Ladders of Thirds and Tonal Jazz Melody in the group
Society for Music Theory – Jazz Interest Group on Humanities Commons 2 months agoPrevious theories emphasize tonal jazz’s undeniable continuity with European tonality. Here, I argue that some of its features are better understood as developments of the African-American musical tradition. As a simple example, consider the gesture ^3–1 to end a phrase. Schenkerian theory would explain this as an elided ^3–2–1, a gesture commo…[Read more]
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Garrett Michaelsen deposited Chord-Scale Networks in the Music and Improvisations of Wayne Shorter in the group
Society for Music Theory – Jazz Interest Group on Humanities Commons 3 months, 3 weeks agoIn this article, I examine the nonfunctional harmony of three tunes from the mid-1960s by Wayne Shorter from the perspective of transformational theory. While some transformational approaches to jazz have taken the seventh or ninth chord as the basic unit, I use the more inclusive and abstract concept of a “chord scale” to encompass more of the…[Read more]
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Garrett Michaelsen deposited Rhythm Changes, Improvisation, and Chromaticism: Who Could Ask for Anything More? in the group
Society for Music Theory – Jazz Interest Group on Humanities Commons 3 months, 3 weeks agoThis article discuss the ways rhythm changes can be used in music theory instruction.
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Garrett Michaelsen deposited Groove Topics in Improvised Jazz in the group
Society for Music Theory – Jazz Interest Group on Humanities Commons 3 months, 3 weeks agoThis chapter proposes an application of topic theory to jazz improvisation. It introduces the concept of a “groove topic” and defines the expressive correlations of a variety of common jazz grooves. The chapter then traces the unfolding groove topics in Miles Davis’s celebrated 1964 solo on “My Funny Valentine.”
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