Stacey Kent 3

Blogger's Notes

I'm glad that people are reading and commenting and enjoying this blog. =) I'm hoping to get it out to the masses and may everyone learn to enjoy music in a more exploratory, artistic and appreciative way. At least that's what I believe this way is. =)

I would like to thank AJ for contributing quite a bit of information. I personally feel that Bill Evans, to really understand him, needs a bit more listening than persons like Oscar Peterson and the rest. But if you can catch on to Bill Evans really well, then it's all the better.

Regarding E-Ray's comments... I would like to say that there is ideally no right or wrong in music, as long as everything is from the heart and with due diligence on the side of the player, sound engineer, producer etc. But sadly that is rarely the case, so we often have to sieve through all the muck to find the little diamonds in the rough. Like how Meryl said, a lot of things can go wrong along the way from the musician to the audience, if we can sieve out good things about the music then you'll find that little gem that's waiting to appear and you know how to appreciate it all the more despite all the bad sound engineering and production.




Analysis from 01:18 to 02:14

Part C (bass/guitar laying it down)

Now I'm going to go into the C part to the end of the song. =) As again, the bass and guitar are now going into the "4 on the floor" thing. This is actually mainly because of the fact that there are no drums in this setting (I believe people would have noticed that by now), so their overlapping thing drives the music. Okay here comes a part which is rather subtle, a bit subjective and honestly rather difficult to tell.

I had to turn the YouTube video into &fmt=18 for stereo so that I could hear it more carefully but even then it's a bit dubious due to the fidelity of the recording. But if you can notice, the bass is slightly behind the guitar during the Freddy Green comping. It is really interesting because I've experienced while playing with Summertime Big Band. In this recording the bass is already ahead of the beat (the pulse it not being fixed and shown by any particular players but all in relation to the effects of the push pull between all the instrumentalists, will talk a bit about pulse as well) but the guitarist goes even more on top of him. Just a slight bit. This gives you a sudden lift in the song not only because the 2-feel has ended but the driving of the guitar just adds to the lifting of the song. Isn't that sweet? It will be continuing through until the time they go back to A'.

Part C (saxophonist)

Notice how the saxophonist comes in at C. He's doing a slight solo UNDER the singer, and does similar lines to what a piano does as fills. Note to all horn players who try to play fills: Listen to how to fit it in, do not cut into the vocalist's register nor try to overplay, it'll just clutter the whole song. And the volume is also another important thing. Notice also that he is also in coherence with the rest of the band.

Part C (Group pedaling cum hits)

Then comes the cool part talked about by Marcus in the Stacey Kent 1. It's not only the piano but if you notice it's everyone but this time including the bassist (big long chords can fill up the sound). Pedaling and hits. Bass and piano pedal while the guitar and saxophone and piano play the chord changes on top. This creates tension, which brings you to a very nice lead in back into the A again. =) Btw the hits are on 2& and 4& in case you're wondering. =)

Check out the singer!

In the C segment I have to mention how much I like Stacey Kent's "F---ly!" which is in rhythm and completely in synch with the band. It's not something everyone would do and it's a little nugget through the multiple listenings I've had through this song. Noticed how she pulled her long notes a bit longer when everyone else is doing the pedaling cum hits, while still keeping her phrasing similar to her front part? This is like a juxtaposition. Her keeping one thing constant throughout but changing another to groove with the band just adds to the clarity of the ideas. You know it's still C, but you also know that they're leading somewhere with this tension.

Beautiful isn't it?

Part C (hits again!)

Then they end C with the oh so familiar hit on 2! =) This is the reason why Stacey Kent is so popular to anyone who is just starting to listen to jazz. Everything is so clear and so obvious for everyone to pick up, while still being so true to the nature of jazz music.

Part C' (Timing and rhythm)

Another C! This time it's a modified C called C'. =P This time if you go all the way back to the starting of the video and click back, you'd realise that the music hadn't really sped up enough to notice too obviously (live music will inevitably shift tempo a bit). Notice the difference in phrasing of Stacey Kent from the starting. All pushing and pulling are more deliberate, more emphasis of her phrasing and definitely a more concentrated less airy tone congruent with an increase in intensity of the music. Notice that while the guitar and bass continue the "4 on floor", saxophone and piano are doing short hits for the first four bars, then long hits on one and three for the second set of four bars. Hear the effect for yourself? The sudden going from offbeat to onbeat gives a strength of finality and resolution while the length adds on some more tension. It is a very interesting effect...

How come they can do it so well?

And her Mmmmm, so ponderous and leading to the "You Think"...

Brilliant isn't it? I know I keep saying that, but every time you find such nuggets you can't help but smile. To the musicians, it might have been unconscious and "felt right with the music" but as with everything, pre-meditation and practice and thought processes BEFORE playing/singing are the reasons before such wonderful things can appear out of the blue. =)

Part D (sounding together as a band)

And then the next 8 bars, which is actually D, where the piano continues a modification of the hits, turning them short while still remaining on 1 and 3. This keeps a continuity of the music while reducing the intensity such that Stacey Kent can end this A section with a nice whispering "And nothing like it here." And here comes that oh-so-familiar hit.

Part A' (Here we are in a full circle)

Here we come back to A' (ending version of an A). If you go back all the way back to the start you'll realise that the feel of the music is almost exactly the same as the previous A'. Why? 2-feel again. Then with the ending on 2 for the 3rd last bar and the 4 on the floor for the last 2 bars. Stacey Kent also really lays back the ending of the form and stretching it out, then repeats the last few words again as the piano comes in for his solo.

That marks the end of Stacey Kent 3. Hope you enjoyed it. =)