How do you learn the right way to start and end tunes in the jazz tradition?
I had a lesson today helping a student think specifically about intros and endings to jazz tunes in live performance. I helped her define and list some of the most common ending types including:
- I-vi-ii-V turnaround vamp
- III7-VI7-ii-V7-I extension (like the end of Sarah Vaughan’s Misty)
- A-Train Ending
- Basie Ending
- bIIma7 – Ima7
- bVIma7 – bVIIma7 – Ima7
- I – bII vamp (Girl From Ipanema)
and maybe a couple of others.
There are three things we need to know about intros and endings.
- They are an opportunity to break away and have a little more freedom, compared to the body of the piece.
- There is a pretty short list of endings we all know and rely on in live performance.
- Live performances rely on these endings more than studio recordings because of the minimal rehearsal nature of many jazz gigs.
- Studio recordings often aren’t a good reference for learning these endings, because we have the time to expand, create, and rehearse novel ideas in the studio.
That’s why I encouraged my student to seek out one specific album set to expand her knowledge. 12 Nights in Hollywood, the recently released Ella Fitzgerald box set documenting a residency from 1961, is a great way to hear how she performed nearly 80 jazz standards live in the peak of her career. (Ella in Berlin, from 1959, is also great.)
There are lots of other amazing live albums that document how the greats performed jazz standards, and how they approached intros and endings. If you can’t regularly hear live jazz, it’s essential to absorb these recordings.