px560 Harlem Nocturne - Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers

[Tsquare]

A classic from 1939.  I did my best on this one, but I really don't understand triplet notation like this........

I don't have the jazz expertise of Hugh Mility or Jokeyman123, Ha. 

(3) midi tracks consisting of:

1. Grand Concert Piano
2. Breathy Tsax
3. Stereo strings  

Harlem Nocturne.mp3

[m10538]

Cool, 👍! Makes me want to pull up the collar of my trench coat, put out my cigarette, dip my fedora and walk out onto the rainy city streets! 🕵️

[Tsquare]

You're funny m10538.  I guess that's why it was chosen as the intro for the old TV detective show Mike Hammer who fits your description above perfectly.

[Jokeyman123]

Very well done. Tsquare. You seemed to understand the notation well enough to play it quite nicely. A quick theory explanation based on you note excerpt in the post-please excuse me if i am being too smarty-pants......

 

The 1st 2 notes-are called "straight eighth" notes-based upon dividing one beat into 4 subdivisions of 16th notes-characterized by counting "1 e and a",  "2 e and a"-think the old straight 16th hi-hat beats in disco and other dance music. Your first 2 beats fall on beats 1 and the "and" subdivision- think straight rock hi-hat beats 1 and 2 and 3 and etc. The triplet beats are based on an odd number-3 subdivisions-typically think one-trip-let two-trip-let etc. like the word sounds. (Most) classic jazz-there are exceptions-free form and latin jazz uses combinations-think Montuno and Salsa and others-is based on the triplet subdivisions-as are so-called "shuffle" beats-blues same thing only slower-much slower triplet subdivisions.

 

This arrangement is combining in this measure-both triplet and 16th note subdivisions. The triplet notation you see here is simply illustrating the downbeat-beat 2 in this example-leaving out the "trip" part if you say or sing the word 1 trip let, and you play the downbeat and the "let" part of the word 1 trip let 2 trip let etc. so it actually should sound like a part of a "shuffle" beat.  Sorry if you understood this already intutively sounds like you did. I always told my students-notation is only a guide-a shortcut to memorizing and sometimes understanding-but your ears are always the best way to learn, IMO. As Louis Armstrong said, if you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know! And as Thad Jones once said-ironically since he rarely missed a note in class or elsewhere-you're always only one note away from what you're supposed to play! And repeating myself-many of the finest performers never knew how to read notation at all. Armstrong I believe was one of those...a humbling reality to those of us who think we know something (not moi!)

[Tsquare]

Thanks for the compliment and the detailed explanation Jokeyman123!  I still don't fully understand the length of this type of triplet........the 1/4 note = 3/16 beats and the 1/8 note  = 1/16" beat?  Whatever, good to know you agree that I "pulled it off", Ha.  

[Jokeyman123]

The quarter note equal 4 16th notes- "1 e and a". The 1/8 note equals 2 16th notes- say one and two and etc. One quarter note equal 3 triplet eighth notes -a so-called "unnatural" division of the beat as some would describe it. As long as it sounds good to you-and doesn't chase others out of the room-I've been in bands where that happened-and people were always making faces at us a t weddings because we were too loud-but we got paid anyway! and james Brown the godfather of soul-used to dock sidemen's pay for every bad note they played-and he knew what they were. I believe it.

[Dan Kaufeld]

Very nice rendition, Tsquare..  I don't think I'm hearing the Breathy Tsax, but I am picking up the strings and what sounds like a very appropriate percussion track in the background.  Is that a separate midi track, or is it one of the provided rhythm accompaniments?  If it is I'm not recognizing which one...  The realism of the px560 piano sound always amazes me, in a recording like this, it sure sounds like an actual acoustic piano.

[Tsquare]

7 hours ago, Dan Kaufeld said:

Very nice rendition, Tsquare..  I don't think I'm hearing the Breathy Tsax, but I am picking up the strings and what sounds like a very appropriate percussion track in the background.  Is that a separate midi track, or is it one of the provided rhythm accompaniments?  If it is I'm not recognizing which one...  The realism of the px560 piano sound always amazes me, in a recording like this, it sure sounds like an actual acoustic piano.

Thanks for the nice compliment Dan.  The rhythm track is the stock PX560 rhythm "Slow Swing" recorded on the system track with variations/fills added (which are also stock).