Jazz 101: Herbie Hancock on "inside, outside"

Elvis Costello is hosting a new interview program on the Sundance Channel called "Spectacle" - this week's guest is Herbie Hancock, who reminisces about his days with Miles, hearing Mongo Santamaria's version of "Watermelon Man" while walking down the street, and "Rockit."

"Rockit" is probably not on anyone's list of Hancock's best compositions, but on the show he describes his composition of it in a way that explains a lot of jazz: "inside, outside." 

Think of the first four notes of the tune: two close together, followed by two making a bigger jump. The first two notes are steps -- an A to a B; the second pair, however, is an augmented fifth -- an E to a C natural. When musicians are playing the notes normally found in the scale of the key a tune is in, they're playing "inside," but picking notes not found in the scale is playing "outside."

Those notes -- and it's often the fifth note of the scale raised (augmented) or lowered (flatted) that gives jazz it's sweet sound. 

Hancock said he liked the way the two groups of notes sounded together, so he combined them with a "resolution" - a series of notes that ties them together and brings the tune back to the beginning. 

Pee Wee Russell Stomp on March 1

The New Jersey Jazz Society maintains the memory of clarinetist Pee Wee Russell (here's a clip of him playing in 1958: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22Pee+Wee+Russell%22&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#) with scholarships for student musicians at Rutgers, funded by the group's annual Pee Wee Russell Stomp.
This year's event will be held from noon to 5 p.m. March 1 at the Birchwood Manor, 111 North Jefferson Road, Whippany -- a bit of a hike, but one worth the trip: the day's entertainment includes Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, Danny Tobias Quintet, Dan Levinson and His Swing Wing, and the Warren Vaché Trio.
You can get more informaton about the Stomp -- and about the New Jersey Jazz Society -- at http://www.njjs.org/ (There's a great shot of Vince Giordano wailing on a bari sax on the page!)

Jazz night at Rhythms of the Night

Manville's Rhythms of the Night nightclub, on South Main Street in Manville, features the Somerset Jazz Consortium, led by keyboardist Jim Jasion, every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. There's no cover charge, discounts on dinner if you're hungry and good music.
The group lineup changes -- sometimes they open up for jams -- and they pick tunes from the "Real Book" series of fake books from Sher Publishing. Always entertaining and fun.

Winter storm watch

A lovely snow is falling outside ... covering tree limbs and lawns. I love watching snow fall while enjoying some of my favorite recordings -- Blue Note sides from the 50s and early 60s offer the best soundtrack for a day like today ... maybe some Horace Silver, or almost any recording of "Round Midnight."
Another wonderful track for any day is Quincy Jones' "Little Karen," on "Qunintessense." Recorded in 1961, the orchestra included Clark Terry, Thad Jones and Freddie Hubbard, and Phil Woods and Oliver Nelson on sax -- beautiful! Check out the sax solo -- I don't know if it was Woods or Nelson, but it's a terrific solo, opening with a great blues run.

Speaking of gypsy jazz ...

Last week, WBGO-FM morning host Gary Walker played the opening theme from a 2003 French animated movie, "The Triplets of Belleville." It's a delightful tune, looks like a delightful movie (an homage to the 1930s Parisian nightclub scene).
"Belleville Rendezvous," by Benoit Charest and Sylvain Chomet, received the Oscar for best original song, and is a fun update of Django, swing and ... well, check out the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8nYAoZkdSI&feature=related