Stern/Jaco - "Mood Swings": Blues?

[WJGreer]

"Mood Swings" is one of my favorite recordings, both of Mike Stern and of Jaco. It's on the Stern album "Upside Downside", which I think was his first.

I love to play it loud - it makes me feel the way I do when I'm lucky enough to catch a set at a small, loud jazz club where the guys are just tearing it up. The combination of a straight-ahead type arrangement and modern instrumentation is right in my personal sweet spot.

I have wondered about the form of that tune for years, though. It is clearly a 12-bar form. What I have not been able to determine is whether or not it is essentially a blues, with some of the more creative substitutions I've run across, or just a 12-bar form.

I can say for sure that there is not a clear move to the IV chord in the 5th bar of the form - even that would have to be some kind of alteration if the form were a blues.

But, when I listen only to the soloists, it sounds to me like they are soloing essentially over a blues form. Especially with regard to the turnaround.

Any opinions? Has anyone transcribed this tune or seen it done?

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by WJGreer

I can say for sure that there is not a clear move to the IV chord in the 5th bar of the form - even that would have to be some kind of alteration if the form were a blues.

You may be thinking of the harmonic fabric of The Blues a bit too literally..or at least too rigorously. When I was studying music in grad school I had a professor who explained blues form as "some of this, then some of that, back to some of this, finally a bit of something else, before returning to more of this."

Most of us thought that was being a bit too loose with the "rules".

But after spending some time pondering that seemingly overgeneralized observation and applying it to the analysis of some modern jazz harmonizations of the blues, we all agreed that it really is the most accurate definition of the harmonic rhythm, provided you define "this" as the tonic, "that" as being moderately far away from the tonic, and "something else" as being as far away as possible from the tonic (in terms of pitch class content). You could play a blues that never uses I, IV, or V and it would convey the essence of the blues quite effectively.

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And on a tangental note: Does anyone else think that Steve Jordan's drums on "Mood Swings" sound completely disconnected from the rest of the band? Both the playing and the timbre of the drumkit sound totally disparate to me, as if he were not only recorded in another room but on a different day. I've always suspected I would enjoy that tune much more if there were a different drummer and/or a different recording.

[WJGreer]

Originally Posted by Hoover

...we all agreed that it really is the most accurate definition of the harmonic rhythm, provided you define "this" as the tonic, "that" as being moderately far away from the tonic, and "something else" as being as far away as possible from the tonic (in terms of pitch class content). You could play a blues that never uses I, IV, or V and it would convey the essence of the blues quite effectively.

My thoughts exactly about this tune, and thanks for the response. If you were to do what you describe, though, would it be portable and usable by players who have not learned the particulars of the tune you are playing? In other words, is it possible to solo over a typical blues progression and have it work over something so modified as "Mood Swings"? That tune seems evidential that it is possible.

As for the drums - I see your point. It was a 1986 recording though. I wonder if the reverbs and mixdown approaches in vogue then just sound wrong to us right now.

At least I think it was a 1986 recording. It sounds different from every other track on that album and the personnel is totally different. Maybe they dug it up from a previous tape.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by WJGreer

If you were to do what you describe, though, would it be portable and usable by players who have not learned the particulars of the tune you are playing? In other words, is it possible to solo over a typical blues progression and have it work over something so modified as "Mood Swings"?

It probably depends on how big your ears are and how tolerant you are of pushing the envelope of what George Russell calls "horizontal tonal gravity" ...iow, if you're thinking and playing as if it's a traditional blues in Bb, but the harmony is taking a very liberal, forward thinking approach to "some of this, then some of that, finally something else" you very well may end up with complete mayhem. If you're lucky it will (perhaps coincidentally, or perhaps due to the universality of the blues) result in what sounds like super-hip modern jazz superposition, but I wouldn't bet on that.

On the other hand, if you're also blowing with an equally liberal, forward thinking approach to "some of this, then some of that, finally something else" ...and actually using your ears to shape lines that move through the harmony with the same sort of dramatic arc that informs the best blues soloing, then hell yeah it'll work.

You can't ignore what the changes really are...but you can apply a reductionist style of generalization that still conveys the essence of the harmonic structure.