Double Bass A master's thesis on LaFaro's soloing approach

[scrubhelmet]

Just sharing this thesis I found on the internet. While it may already be unnecessary for veterans, I, as a beginner, find it interesting. I'm gonna try to analyze some of the examples once I get back home.

 

[BassBrass]

Interesting, short read. Although one mistake which shouldn't exist in an academic paper, Ornette Coleman was an alto player who dabbled in trumpet and violin, I'm not aware of him playing tenor (although it's certainly possible, but when he had Dewy Redmond around for that...) IF Ornettte played tenor on a session he still should have been described as an alto player switching to tenor that day. Even still it's an unusual double....did Coltrane play alto for a minute? someone did, but it's rare, Eb to Bb. Tenor to Soprano- all the time. It's the kind of mistake AI makes all the time but 2019 was before students wrote with AI, no? LaFaro's girlfriend was also described twice differently as if the writer didn't remember the earlier reference, this wasn't edited by an English major .

Anyway, I've had the compilation of Waltz for Debbie (2 takes of some songs) playing in my car since the winter because of these LaFaro solos and how his playing worked with Bill Evans' pianistic language, (see arpeggios etc) it's like they were coming from a similar overview. Interesting to read that LaFaro was a horn player first. That makes all the sense in the world. He used sixteenth notes to simulate a horns sustain in making melodies...
I don't think looking at notes on a page ever given me a revelation like listening to them play these songs together over and over, but that's my preference.

I'd also add that being it's 2026 I think we are closer to being over the depth of the tragedy of his death at age 25 and be glad for the music he did record that we can experience again and again.

 

[logdrum]

did Coltrane play alto for a minute?

He certainly started on it during his military days and there is a live session in Japan where he played alto an entire album is available and he certainly played a few dates when he was there. He was also gracious to use a Yamaha YAS-61 prototype. His first sessions with some bands he also played alto, but I am too lazy to find

Many horn players and me playing it more than 50% as a non-pro play alto-tenor-baritone and soprano all the time. and most of the time bring 2 horn voices I can transpose from concert or horn charts and many if not most experience horn players do. Nothing special about it,. A semi truck driver can drive a car or SUV



Cued for you --

 

[lermgalieu]

Relatedly, this new vinyl box set came out and I am very interested. My Live at the VIllage Vanguard is almost worn out...

Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings (18OG 5-LP BO – Craft Recordings

 

[garrett2]

Ornette plays tenor

 

[logdrum]

I read it briefly and here's my take

His Biography
And transcriptions of La Faro solos which I hope he did on his own rather than just copy from some one else
He did not really expand on jazz and harmonic theory why La Faro played the way he did . I can see that he is scalar in his approach and used a lot of triplets

But any classical bass soloist is virtuosic as well and they will be bowing, but whatever La Faro can do they can equally do in terms of notes per bar and I know that's a petty comparison but virtoustic pieces are adaptations already existed before La Faro exploded in the Jazz World Yes he did it first on DB for jazz

I would like to know what the theory and conception is behind those solos. Basically what was La Faro thinking and why did he make those approaches. I think if you can find an Eddie Gomez clinic or instructional video you would learn a lot more

Also he talked about some melodic formulas which were more playing techniques

If anything else I am listening to a lot of those old Evans recordings after reading this thread.

 

[Sean Riddle]

, I'm not aware of him playing tenor (although it's certainly possible, but when he had Dewy Redmond around for that...) IF Ornettte played tenor

He did indeed play tenor, pretty much right from the get go. I believe when he was playing in R&B bands, he was mainly playing tenor, which thus would likely make it the horn that was destroyed when he was assaulted in NOLA.

Ornette Coleman - Blue Note Records

www.bluenote.com

Along with the "Ornette on Tenor" album, he also recorded a duo album with Charlie Haden called "Soapsuds, Soapsuds" where he played tenor and trumpet. Either way, Ornette sounds like Ornette on whatever he plays.