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Zwee Dot!
Zwee Dot!
Date Posted: March 03 2009
Written By: Kelly Sill
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Zwee Dot!
How Chicago musician and educator Kelly Sill hears jazz music
Bassist Kelly Sill recently gave an explanation of what he calls the "god-essence" moments in jazz—those moments that transcend the music itself and form a spiritual connection between the artist and the listener. As a particular example of this, Sill notes that on a live recording of "Stella By Starlight" an audience member squeals with joy when Miles Davis plays two simple notes—zwee dot!—on his trumpet. Zwee dot!, then, seems to be an appropriate name for this column, as Sill will be using classic jazz cuts to share his "listening" with us. For this column, Sill listens to the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis big band’s version of "Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby." Time markers are placed next to the text to allow readers to follow along.
Wise One on the Cresent Recording
John Coltrane – Saxophone
McCoy Tyner – Piano
Elvin Jones – Drums
Jimmy Garrison – Bass
00:05: McCoy with a beautiful intro.
00:12: Very sparse.
00:22: Now Trane is in.
00:30: Arpeggiated melody.
00:35: Elvin playing just cymbals.
00:48: Whoa, what a key change!
01:00: Suspended moment.
01:10: Back to the original key.
01:27: Now Jimmy Garrison is in time.
01:52: He's the only one.
02:06: Now they're all out of time.
02:29: Beautiful.
02:47: And they end the second in-head.
03:02: The time settles and now.
03:12: Now McCoy is playing the form.
03:18: The blowing form, that is.
03:25: Not a lot of drums, just cymbals.
03:31: McCoy is playing block chords, with no real melodic development.
04:15: There is a little motion there.
04:22: They’re playing a six bar cycle in cut-time.
04:45: And now Trane is in.
05:02: Trane is taking his time.
05:22: A very careful development by Trane.
05:39: He began to move a little bit there…
05:51: …and there also.
06:31: This is a double-time theme development.
06:40: This feels very hypnotic; they’re not changing very much.
06:50: Trane’s developing with a hemiola.
07:13: Now they set it down into a vamp.
07:38: Out of time here––back to the head.
07:48: Rubato, but faster than on the in-heads.
07:56: Elvin again, playing mostly cymbals.
08:08: A cushion of sound.
09:00: And they’re done.
This album, as the title proclaims, is considered by many to be spiritual. I feel that it is the way that the musicians are playing that gives it that quality.
They are playing without ego, and with great time and great pitch––they play only what is necessary to realize the music. The music is treated with great love and respect, as though it is sacred, and therefore nothing else has to be added to the music, other than the sheer existence of the music itself.
Selflessness creates great music, and thus realizes the spirituality within the music.
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