Improvisation As Continually Juggled Priorities

Yale University Department of Music
Improvisation as Continually Juggled Priorities: Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's "Straight,

no Chaser"
Author(s): Karim Al-Zand
Source: Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Fall, 2005), pp. 209-239
Published by: Duke University Press on behalf of the Yale University Department of
Music
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IMPROVISATION AS CONTINUALLY
JUGGLED PRIORITIES: JULIAN
"CANNONBALL" ADDERLEY'S
"STRAIGHT, NO CHASER"
Karim Al-Zand
When jazz musicians improvise, they engage in at least two interre

lated thought processes. On one hand, they present their own musical
ideas, attempting to spin out phrases in interesting and compelling ways.
On the other, they interact with the supporting ensemble in a constantly
unfolding dialogue. These two important thought processes might be
called reflective and reactive.
Reflective thought processes call upon a soloist's accrued individual
skill and facility; reactive ones are dynamic in nature and respond to an
immediate performance situation. Reflective thinking engages a soloist's
ability to relate one moment of a solo to another, an activity requiring
both practiced craft and practiced insight into one's own idiosyncratic
techniques. Reactive thinking engages a soloist's ability to interact with
the other ensemble members in real time, an activity requiring both care
ful listening and quick response.
Efficient coordination between the two thought processes is crucial to
Journal of Music Theory, 49:2

DOI 10.1215/00222909-007 ? 2008 by Yale University
209
playing an effective solo; overemphasis on either one will produce a
less-than-satisfying musical statement. If the balance is tilted toward the
reflective side, the soloist may be accused of empty virtuosic display or,
more important, not listening to the ensemble. If the reactive branch is
favored excessively, the soloist might be accused of not "saying anything,"
of being uncreative, or of failing to provide sufficient initiative to propel
the music forward. In a compelling solo, the combination of reflective
and reactive thought is paramount; a solo as a whole must be an amalgam
of sensitive communication and well-honed compositional skill.
In practice, the distinction between these thought processes is not
nearly so straightforward; in fact, both reflective and reactive thought
operate simultaneously in an improvisation.1 It is not the purpose of this
article to tease apart these two notions definitively, or to create a clear-cut
boundary between them, if this were even possible. Nor is its aim to make
claims about whether any particular aspect of an improvisation repre
sents one or other type of thinking. The distinction is nonetheless useful,
both as a basic framework upon which to drape musical observations and
as a means to approach a larger, more interesting question, addressed
further below: given the many factors that influence soloists' choices at
any given time, how might they regulate and process this information in
performance? Thus, the reflective and reactive phenomena will be set
into a wider analytical context in which a soloist prioritizes musical ele
ments in a real-time context.
The late alto saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's live 1959
recording of the blues composition "Straight, No Chaser" serves as a case
study in this regard.2 A transcription of Adderley's solo is given in Exam
ple I.3 The layout of the example mirrors the formal structure of the
F-blues: each 12-bar chorus extends over two pairs of pages; the nine
solo choruses are presented in rows and aligned vertically.4 The chord
progression along the bottom represents the 12-bar blues in a very basic
form. There are, of course, many possible modifications of this pro
gression through various techniques: chord alteration, substitution, or
modal mixture?some of which are used by the rhythm section in this
recording?but we may consider the notated progression as typical, even
paradigmatic.5
Adderley's is the first solo following the twice-repeated ensemble
melody, or head. (The head of "Straight, No Chaser" is presented and
discussed below.) Adderley begins slowly in the first two improvised
choruses: phrases are short and use few notes, the pacing of events is
deliberately measured, and he uses frequent repetition. There is an almost
equal amount of rest as activity.
Example 2 transcribes the entire ensemble through the first chorus of
the solo. In this opening chorus, let us first consider the ostensibly reac
tive aspects of the performance. Most prominent among these are the
210
exchanges between Adderley and pianist Bobby Timmons. In m. 3 Tim
mons begins to echo Adderley's phrases; this call-and-response exchange
continues through m. 7. Adderley's phrase B in m. 2 is a slightly varied
version of his initial phrase, and by the end of this measure, Timmons has
presumably recognized the patent two-measure pattern of Adderley's
phrase repetitions?one measure played, one rested. Adderley's near
repetition in m. 2 prompts a reactive response from Timmons in m. 3.
More than simply responding to the phrase, Timmons is deliberately at
tempting to mimic it, including Adderley's upward pitch slide to D, which
becomes a grace note. As a rejoinder, Adderley changes the gesture
somewhat with phrase C in m. 4, and in m. 5 Timmons in turn mimics
Adderley's new notes.
Such prominent back-and-forth reactive exchanges were not uncom
mon in Adderley's quintet at the time; in fact, they seem to have been
something of a routine between Julian Adderley and his brother, cornetist
Nat Adderley, sometimes acting as a "big finish" to a rousing number. A
blues in Bb recorded live on this same date, "Spontaneous Combustion,"
has the brothers engaging in similar one-measure-long imitative exchanges.
In Example 3, Nat is the leader and Cannonball assumes the role Timmons
played in Example 2?he follows and mimics.6
In Adderley's "Straight, No Chaser" solo (Example 2), we can hear
the saxophonist clearly depart from the short, repeated measure-long
ideas in phrase E, a longer phrase. Thus, it seems as though the chain of
call-and-response figures with Timmons has been broken in m. 9. But in
m. 11 the pianist cleverly inserts a turnaround phrase that leads to the
dominant note, filling in Adderley's short rest here. The figure is similar
in many ways to Adderley's initial phrase A and even more so to the ensu
ing elaborations of that phrase: it ends on the syncopated last eighth note
of the measure, features a sliding grace note, and moves up through a
third. In fact, one might call it a "dominant answer" in reaction to phrase
A: it essentially lies a perfect fourth lower, with a passing tone filling in
Adderley's leap.
Adderley enters chorus 2 of his solo, in m. 12, by returning to the
character of the earlier repetitive phrases. His reversion to the upbeat and
syncopated features of the opening makes the preceding phrase E seem
almost parenthetical. But in m. 12 he deftly incorporates Timmons's
inserted turnaround phrase, including its tied-eighths-dotted-quarter
note rhythm, its movement through a third A-C, and its pitch slide up to
A. In these final measures of the chorus, then, Adderley adroitly turns the
tables: he now mimics Timmons.
The other members of the ensemble also behave reactively during this
opening chorus, though perhaps less obviously. Drummer Louis Hayes,
in the first measure of Example 2, prepares Adderley's solo with several
forceful snare drum strokes and a strong downbeat. Once it becomes clear
211
F7 Bk7 F7
Example 1. "Straight, No Chaser," reco
from The Cannonball Adderley Quintet
transcription of Adderley's sol
212
4 5 6
7. B^7 Bdim
Example 1 (continued)
213
7 8 9
^ JM?N?'
^fTgf/jlJ
F/C D7 Gm7
214
C7 F D7 Gm7 C7
215
PHRASE A |T|
Adderley
J J J J ,J J1J J ,J J J J ,J J J~]J ,J J J J
Example 2. Adderley's chorus 1 solo with full ensemble
216
that Adderley is beginning his solo in a subdued manner, though, Hayes
reacts by immediately lowering his dynamic level considerably in m. 1.
His snare drum, the drum most commonly used to interact with the solo
ist, is almost entirely silent in the first chorus. Furthermore, Hayes's
accompaniment is restricted to a minimal, mostly quarter-note beat on the
ride cymbal.7 The dynamic restraint of his supporting role keeps him
from "upstaging" Adderley's solo or interfering with the foregrounded
Adderley-Timmons exchanges, which in m. 3 become the focus of
activity.
Bassist Sam Jones plays a traditional walking pattern in quarter notes
in chorus 1, interrupted only by a few eighth notes and a conspicuous
syncopated anticipation in m. 4. This anticipation very nearly coincides
with Adderley's similar rhythm in m. 5. Though probably fortuitous, the
rhythmic correspondence enhances the feeling of interaction in the
ensemble. In fact, it is characteristic of Jones to insert a syncopated rhythm
such as this in the first chorus, particularly toward the beginning of a solo.
The technique is not unique to Jones, nor is his inclusion of occasional
eighth notes. But in the particular case of "Straight, No Chaser," both
phenomena certainly help to propel the music forward.8
Even more propulsive, though, is the pitch structure of Jones's bassline.
He begins with a chromatic pattern emphasizing the dominant note, C.
This complements Adderley's emphasis on the tonic F, and Jones's pattern
also reproduces Adderley's chromatic C-Ct-D. The motion around C acts
Example 3. Nat and Julian Adderley's exchanges in "Spontaneous

Combustion," recorded October 18 or 20, 1959
217
Am7 D7
Example 4. Adderley, Jones, Hayes, and Timmons (rhy

chorus 5
218
in the manner of a pedal point and creates a certain harmonic expectancy,
until the pedal is quitted in m. 5. Furthermore, Jones reacts very quickly
to several harmonic implications in the solo. First, he refrains from stating
subdominant harmony in m. 2, the paradigmatic harmony for the second
measure in this blues form, and one implied by the head, as well. Although
Jones begins descending in m. 1 as if he were going to move to IV (Bb),
he moves to C instead. The resulting harmonic stasis better interacts with
Adderley's phrases, which are melodically static. By refraining from
explicitly spelling out the subdominant chord Bb-D-F, Jones reinforces
the repetitive idea in the solo line. Similarly, in m. 8 Jones anticipates the
tonic conclusion of Timmons's imitative response, and rather than moving
to VI (D7) here, a typical harmonic change in the blues progression at this
point, he remains on tonic harmony.
The adjustments Jones makes are subtle, to be sure, and possibly more
a question of habit rather than reaction. But the point here is that Jones's
particular bassline provides an effective counterpoint to Adderley's first
chorus: it adheres to a largely diatonic version of the blues progression
and judiciously avoids chord substitutions. Jones, along with Adderley's
quintet, employs a similar approach in the opening solo choruses of sev
eral other blues compositions in this period: such is the case in the record
ing of "Spontaneous Combustion" mentioned above and in several record
ings of "Sack O' Woe," "Wine Tone," and "Barefoot Sunday Blues."9 Thus,
the interactions among members of an experienced group may at times
be equal parts reaction and anticipation.
The relative straightforwardness of Jones's pitch choices continues in
later choruses, but he occasionally responds in his bassline to Adderley's
increasingly chromatic solo. Example 4 shows Jones's part in chorus 5.
Here the bassist moves to the subdominant in m. 2 (though Adderley does
not), he implies a Bdim chord in m. 5, and he moves to VI in m. 8 (though
again he avoids Fl as in chorus 1). The head of "Straight, No Chaser" is
an important precedent for this last harmonic characteristic. More sig
nificantly, though, in m. 11 Jones's choice of notes for the turnaround
reflects a harmonic tritone substitution, which may have been a reaction
to Adderley's use of the same substitution a few measures earlier. In m.
9, Adderley clearly outlines Abm7 Db7, a progression that replaces the
diatonic Dm7 G7 progression.10
Hayes's drumming during the course of Adderley's solo also changes.
His playing becomes more assertive and less deferential, and his reactions
to the soloist more constant and engaging as he even inserts some ideas
of his own. In m. 1 of chorus 5 (Example 4), Hayes begins a regular pat
tern of off-beat snare drum accents. This pattern, depicted by the upward
pointing vertical arrows beamed under the lower staff, continues through
m. 4. Although Adderley at first seems not to respond to the off-beat
figure, Hayes's determined iteration of the pattern eventually prompts an
219
U3 U3 [f?MMQNS] U3 U3
Example 5. Phrases A to D, chorus 1 with Timmons's responses
1 SCALAR SCALAR DN DN
C-BEAT 2
Example 6. Phrase E, chorus 1
accented D\? from the saxophonist at the end of m. 4, which coincides

rhythmically with Hayes's pattern. By m. 4, Hayes's assertive rhythmic
figure has also influenced pianist Timmons, who we can hear playing an
accented chord on this same last eighth note, a chord that also marks the
change to subdominant harmony.
The description of Adderley's first solo chorus so far has centered
upon reactive thought processes: Timmons mimics Adderley's phrases,
Adderley mimics Timmons, Hayes makes quick dynamic adjustments,
Jones tailors his bassline, and so forth. The Adderley-Timmons exchanges
certainly provide an ostensible narrative in this early part of the solo, but
the reactive aspects of this first chorus reveal only part of the unfolding
story. For instance, what are we to say about Adderley's specific elabora
tions of his repeated opening phrase and of the way he breaks the chain
of responses with his longer concluding phrase?
Here it is necessary to examine Adderley's solo in more detail, to reveal
its own internal workings, as Adderley composes it in a reflective mode
of thought. We will see that the line is coherent in itself and that its various
220
idiosyncratic constructive techniques help to characterize Adderley's
improvisational modus operandi.
Example 5 shows Adderley's phrases A to D from chorus 1 along with
their essential motives: the rising third D-F is labeled above the staff by
the abbreviation "IJ3"?up a third; the characteristic rhythmic eighth
quarter-eighth-note profile is indicated below the staff; and the idiomatic
upward pitch slide is circled.1 ' The continuing brackets and circles in the
example show that these three essential motivic features are preserved in
Adderley's transformations of the initial phrase in mm. 2, 4, and 6.
Phrase B preserves these features while shifting the pitch slide onto
beat 3 and preceding it by C, which replaces the Cl of phrase A. In phrase
C, Adderley maintains both the upward pitch slide to D and the D-F
third's rhythmic placement while interposing a G. This is followed in m.
5 by a new syncopated falling seventh At-Bk Although the D-F synco
pation remains "hidden" in the opening of phrase C, as the brackets show,
the accents now fall on the traditionally strong eighth notes, as evidenced
by the note F, played as an indistinct "ghost" note.12
In these first few phrases Adderley has expanded the initial phrase A
twice?backward by one beat in phrase B and forward by two beats in
phrase C. But each phrase preserves the three essential motivic features.
Moreover, each time a new variant is introduced, its characteristics have
the potential of themselves becoming essential. For instance, phrases B,
C, and D all begin on beat 2 with the note C. So by m. 7, this "C-on
beat-2" feature is treated as essential. Phrase E, which abandons the rep
etition of the first few phrases, nonetheless preserves this new feature.
Isolating and preserving essential motivic elements are typical reflec
tive thought processes in improvised solos. They are often coupled with
an ongoing incorporation of new variants as motivic blueprints. Working
in tandem, the two techniques allow a soloist to reflectively spin out
material, as Adderley has done in this opening chorus.
Phrase E is reproduced in Example 6. As in earlier phrases, Adderley
interposes a ghost note here?in this case Bk The D-F third and the
rhythmic syncopation are gone, however, replaced by regular eighth
notes and a rising diatonic line E-F-G-A-Bk
Two sequential repetitions in phrase E suggest brief hemiolas, made
explicit above the example. Initially, Adderley repeats two diatonic scale
segments through a fifth, ascending first to Bl? and then to A. He follows
this with material that emphasizes double neighbors around the same two
notes, Bl? and A. Where one expects a quarter note in the first hemiola,
Adderley adds a ghosted F, which underlines the return to the strong beat
in m. 10. In the continuation of the phrase, Adderley's sixteenth-note trip
let seems to compress material in order to arrive at a strong downbeat in
m. 11.
The suggestion of hemiola is further reinforced by the satisfying bal
221
? (i)
fii^Tgjnj
f
Example 7. Phrase E, chorus 1; voice-leading reduction
Harmony: I IV
Example 8. The head of "Straight, No Chaser"; Adderley's version

(second time)
anee of voice leading within the phrase, shown in Example 7. Adderley

here clearly outlines a compound line in sixths by fluidly moving between
registers. The example shows that a chromatic descending third progres
sion (Bb-A-Ab-G) embellishes the middleground A-G-F descent in the
upper voice.13
Another reflective aspect of Adderley's opening solo chorus is its dis
tinct relationship to the immediately preceding head of "Straight, No
222
Chaser." The head, as the Adderleys play it, is transcribed as Example 8
along with Jones's bassline.14
"Straight, No Chaser," a Thelonious Monk composition, is character
istically economical with its material.15 Its principle motive, labeled X in
Example 8, features an upbeat dominant-tonic leap followed by a par
tially chromatic span from F to an accented A, 3 of the key. Motive X is
the source of all the melody through m. 8. The b3 (Ab) of the key is occa
sionally substituted for 3 (A), which is characteristic of the blues both
melodically (as an inflected "blue" note) and harmonically (accompany
ing the change to subdominant harmony).16 The extension of the figure to
Bb in mm. 2 and 5 serves as a neighbor note to further embellish 3 (A/Ab).
Only in m. 9 is "new" material introduced, in the form of a much longer
chromatic run?this time extending a seventh, C to Bb. Metric shifting is
another distinctive feature of the melody. The arrows below the top staff
show how the initially anacrustic C-F leap of m. 1 is heard on all four
beats in the course of the melody's twelve measures.17
The repetition of motive X also has harmonic implications in the head.
Since the notes of the tonic triad F-A/Ab-C are present melodically in
almost every measure, certain harmonies are precluded. Most significant
of these is the major submediant harmony in m. 8, since the repeated F^s
of the melody would normally contradict D7. This is confirmed by Sam
Jones's bassline shown in the lower staff of the example. Jones does
move to D in m. 8, but avoids playing Ft. Similarly, Adderley continues
to repeat the tonic note F^ in his first solo chorus, and Jones avoids imply
ing VI.
As Example 9 reveals, the head of "Straight, No Chaser" and Adder
ley's first solo chorus exhibit other significant similarities. Both feature
a noticeable economy of intervallic material in their opening few mea
sures. The head is largely limited to seconds and an upward leaping per
fect fourth; the chorus 1 solo is almost completely limited to seconds and
a minor third.18 For this reason, the two minor seventh leaps down?at
m. 9 in the head and at m. 5 in Adderley's solo?elicit the same surprise.
They are both unique intervals in their respective choruses, introduced
after several measures of intervallically repetitive material. Another rea
son the solo seems to follow the melody so naturally is because the two
share a basic structure, indicated above each staff in the example. Although
the characteristic rhythmic shifting of the head is gone in Adderley's first
solo chorus, the overall structure remains: a single idea, repeated and
modified only slightly, prevails until roughly m. 9, when new material
derived from this idea appears.
Further reflective correspondences to the head can be found, as well.
Like the head, Adderley's solo begins with phrases that aim upward from
5, though in the solo he emphasizes 1 and not 3. In the solo, he expands
and enlarges the upbeat aspect of the head, as well as its dominant-to-tonic
223
repeat
repeat w/ extension m7
iX; _^[ JbigJ J^JJ'jJ TT
Example 9. Head, chorus 1 solo; basic structure
new material
m7
tJ -J- V -J- V -#L -#L
(y j.J J*J j,i J ^ J^J J J^ iitJJ J,^JjtJJi/JF J*J * J u H?J.

A \L^J 1 .^^ p^ _ .^_,_-?. repeat?
repeat w/ extension
f jxn j |
d , repea'?
JTJj J
CHORUS 1 SOLO
(12) 1
0!-> 7Ar
i i
U3 U3 U3 D3 D3 U3 U3
1 a s ri o i no i
4b*t tJ^'rf tir^r
t t t
r h 1^144
q5 ?>3 t>3 ^5
Example 10. Adderley's chorus 2 solo, mm. 1-8
leap. The hemiola in the solo mm. 8-10 is an echo ofthat same
enon in mm. 3-4 of the head. The rising scalar patterns in Add
phrase E are also motivically related to the head. The opening of t
recalls the head's motive X: its characteristic rhythm (four eight
quarter note) is repeated; it creates a hemiola upon repetition;
phrase as a whole focuses on elaborating A/Ab through a neigh
Bk Furthermore, Adderley's outline of a rising minor seventh
mm. 8-9 of the solo mirrors the falling Bk-C gesture in m. 9 of
and reproduces the rising outline of C-Bb during that same mea
This second pass through chorus 1 reveals some of the reflectiv
ing that manifests in Adderley's solo. Repeated material is v
expansion, foreshortening, interpolation, and accent shifting. K
mic, intervallic, and gestural motives are carefully preserved s
recognizable. Sequential patterns and balanced voice leading also
fest reflective thinking. Finally, the motivic potential of the hea
oughly exploited. Though the motivic development here is clearl
in part by reactive events in the ensemble, reflective manipulati
material is significant in its own right. The examples begin to su
many levels at which Adderley simultaneously operates in a sol
In the first two phrases of chorus 2, reproduced as Example 10
ley continues to use repetition to structure his solo, though he
the chorus 1 imitative interactions with Timmons. Though the o
phrase A is in part a reactive response to Timmons's piano fill in
both phrases A and B also share important motivic features wit
chorus 1 material: the rhythmic eighth-quarter-eighth-note pro
upward pitch slide, and the movement through a third. Adderle
225
CHORUS2 \?\ D3 U3 D? D3 D3 \?\ chromatic ascent to 3 on beat 2
Example 11. Phrases C and D, chorus 2 with structural melodic progressions (SM
SMPs y/
itive pattern is now four measures long, as opposed to the two-measure
pattern of chorus 1. The reflective focus here, as arrows below the staff
in Example 10 illustrate, seems to be the alternation of the diatonic 3 and
5 with their "blue" flat versions.
Example 11 shows the next two phrases, C and D, which continue to
exploit the ascending third motive and its inversion. Here, though, where
the motivic connection is not as obvious, Adderley uses other means to
maintain a coherent flow in his improvisation. As the long horizontal
arrows show, he begins each phrase with the note on which the preceding
phrase ended; this is a simple technique he employs with considerable
frequency.
Another more subtle means of coherence is harmonic: Adderley out
lines the basic harmonies of these measures very transparently. The lower
staff of Example 11 shows that this is accomplished primarily by clearly
resolving important tendency tones in the basic progression. In both
phrases C and D, the careful treatment of these key two-note progres
sions, which might be termed structural melodic progressions (SMPs),
unambiguously reinforces the fundamental harmony and provides a reli
able source of continuity in the solo. Particularly toward the end of the
blues progression, which is governed by a quicker harmonic rhythm,
Adderley's solos manifest this technique. Double-time passages, such as
those in phrase D, also tend to feature melodic figures that essentially
elaborate SMPs.
Example 12 posits common SMPs in a paradigmatic twelve-bar blues.
Each slur in the example marks a single two-note sequence that, in coun
terpoint with the bass, clarifies the harmonic progression.19 The additional
upper staff gives several principal variants of the blues progression. Num
bers above both staffs identify the notes in each chord, according to their
harmonic role. The example highlights another important harmonic fea
ture of the blues. The first half of the progression is centered around a
single harmonic progression from I to IV This usually occurs twice: once
3 7 3 7 3 7 3 7 3
F7 Bb7 F7 7 Bdim F/C D7 Gm7 C7 F D7 Gm7 C7 F7
MEASURES
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I to IV Circle of Fifths
Example 12. SMPs in the
227
C7
I Gm7 I C7 IF D7 I Gm7
Example 13. Phrases C and D, chorus 2, with recurrent
D7
fleetingly from m. 1 to m. 2 (though in this solo, as we have seen, Adder
ley sometimes remains on tonic harmony here), and then more signifi
cantly from m. 4 to m. 5. In contrast, the harmony beginning in m. 8 is
controlled by a circle of fifths progression that eventually cycles back to
tonic harmony in m. 11.
The SMPs reflect this harmonic contrast, as well. In mm. 1-7, a typi
cal means of reinforcing the harmony is the back-and-forth sliding
between the third of tonic harmony (A) and the seventh of subdominant
harmony (A\?), the frequent blue 3 substitution encountered earlier. A
good example of this is the emphasis on ? and \?3 heard in the head of
"Straight, No Chaser." We also hear Adderley exploit such an A/At rela
tionship in phrases A and B of chorus 2. In the second half of the blues,
the SMPs focus on the half-step resolution of the respective major thirds
and minor sevenths in the circle of fifths. Phrases C and D of chorus 2 are
representative examples of this.
These same two phrases could be examined in yet another way, by
considering the recurrent phrases within them. Recurrent phrases such as
these are often called formulaic patterns, or formulas; these can be dis
tinguished from motives by their length (a formula can be quite long) and
by their relative stasis (formulas often recur with little modification).20 A
formula or formulaic segment is here defined as a phrase of more than
four notes that recurs, more or less exactly, at least once in the solo. As
others have pointed out, the problem of identifying formulaic segments
is not a trivial one.21 Example 13 shows that figures from both phrases
recur as formulas at several places in the solo.22 The two phrases appear
on the middle staff of Example 13 ; solid-line boxes surround segments
of the phrase and are connected by lines to other appearances in the solo.
Dashed-line boxes and letters identify different recurrent segments within
the network of phrases. Any particular occurrence may be truncated,
expanded, augmented, or otherwise modified in relation to any other.
There is no particular hierarchy in these relationships, nor would it be
fruitful to identify any one particular figure as "formula" and another as
"elaboration."23 Such an endeavor would be of little utility here, and as
one might expect, these are but a few of the myriad formulaic relations
among phrase segments in the solo.
Formulaic playing and the motivic development described above are
not mutually exclusive reflective modes of thought, however; one does
not preclude the other. The decision to use a formulaic pattern in a given
situation is certainly governed by criteria such as harmonic context, met
rical position, range, and the like. But these factors are not in themselves
sufficiently limiting, and it is clear by Adderley's variegated use of for
mulas, as shown in Example 13, that many elements in their implementa
tion are highly malleable. Rather, it is Adderley's constant shuffling and
transforming of motives in his solo that seem the primary and decisive
229
TRITONE SUBSTITUTION
(Dm7 G7)
Am7 D7 Atai7 Db7
arpeggiation repetition Example 14. Choruses 3 and 5, mm. 1-10
arpeggiation repetition
unison repetitions
CHORUS 5 m
"trigger" for the deployment of a particular formulaic melodic pattern, or
for the elision of one formulaic segment with another.
A few phrases from choruses 3 and 5 illustrate just this sort of motivic
triggering. In Example 14, the melodic segment bracketed over mm. 7-9
is virtually identical for both choruses. It also appears in several other
recorded Adderley solos.24 But the context in which the formulaic figure
appears is different in each case, and in both instances the phrase is motiv
ically related to previous material.
In mm. 2-3 of chorus 3, Adderley plays a series of repeated eighth
notes that outline a compound line of step wise descending sixths. The
sixths continue through mm. 3 and 4, though here Adderley further mod
ifies the descending line so that Gb-F and Eb-Db are heard consecutively
in their registers. The agogically accented Gb-F in particular is stressed
here, and Adderley returns to these notes in mm. 3-4, tied over the bar
line. These three elements?the repeated eighth notes, the ascending
sixths, and the twice accented Gb-F?are all found prominently in the
later formulaic segment, mm. 7-9.
In chorus 5, the precursor to the formulaic figure is Adderley's empha
sis on Db. In m. 5, when the harmony changes to IV, rather than playing
?3 of the harmony as he had in chorus 3, Adderley instead chooses the
striking blue b3, Db. The note is an important focus for Adderley here; he
begins, leads to, and ends phrase B with Db. It is his temporary fixation
with the note that makes the formulaic figure in mm. 7-9 a logical choice.
One of its distinctive harmonic features is its superposition of Abm7 Db7
harmony, a tritone substitution. And the short punctuated Db in m. 9
makes the connection to the earlier Db material all the more clear.
* * *
In the preceding examples, the reactive/

as a basic reference point; some phrases se
reactive processes; others originate in refle
proportioned mixture of the two. When ex
these two factors seem to participate in a
sometimes taking center stage, the other h
even occasionally moving off-stage tempora
situation, the improviser faces many comp
in a solo?the challenge for the soloist is t
context. It is the soloist's momentarily pri
the admixture of reactive and reflective p
the solo line's continuation. The improviser
ests into a moment-by-moment hierarchy
address each of the interests according to
and reflective factors operate constantly
mom
A0?
T~
^zS?^?^J
î??
iiîpii^îii?iîl
_concluding p ni ol phr tsc is upe ilcd/con?nuc
e^P=5
2 me isuiL repetition is abandoned
=y^â^^2^ômÔ?
J__J ,J J JJ ?JJLLJ_
i figure becomes oscillating ges
SÊHS
ill^pp^jgjgffJlS^] I q3 becomes i>3 (SMP)

eighlh _Hayes aban
B: becomes Bi>
Timmons plays [V*11
i5S?'@ ^ t last eighth
Example 15. Prioritization in one mom

. t.L. ?
P^^J^HEi?i^Z^ppî^?E?l^P^^jE^^*
?$omm0^^m^0^s^^_e^0^ô,
'^ ^ ?r^??. ' - ?J ?Jf^y Y -?- $ +*"'
?^-;^^^^^^
serving in turn the continually juggled priorities. Sometimes interactive
elements seem to momentarily gain the upper hand (as in the early phrases
of chorus 1); at other times, motivic ones hold sway (as in the later part of
the same chorus). In particularly effective solo passages, the improvised
phrases seem remarkably to respond to many influences simultaneously.
A final example illustrates just such a passage. Example 15 isolates a
single moment in chorus 6, indicated by the large arrow at the top of the
page. The left side of the example transcribes the ensemble from the
opening of the chorus through to the beginning of m. 4. Five boxes on the
lower left enclose a few of the many factors?some reactive, some reflec
tive?which might exert influence on Adderley as he continues his solo
from this moment.
Box 1 in Example 15 highlights several harmonic elements at play.
Adderley must anticipate the important harmonic move in m. 5 from tonic
to subdominant. He has already obscured the temporary move to IV in
m. 2 by playing a striking B^. Timmons, hearing the harmonic implica
tions of this, plays a tonic til harmony in m. 3. In the next measure,
Adderley introduces an A, the f? of the key, and the only note he plays
that is fundamental to the basic tonic harmony in these measures. Box 2
highlights the two-measure repetitive structure with which Adderley be
gins the chorus. In box 3, the prominent turn figure around D in these
measures is bracketed. In his last statement of the turn figure, Adderley
again interposes a ghosted note in a "modified" turn phrase. Box 4 isolates
instances of the note B^: first as Adderley plays it, then as it is taken up
by Timmons in his Ft 11 chord, and then again as Adderley repeats his
phrase adding two descending whole steps, A-G, to its end. Box 5 indi
cates a few rhythmic and metric events. Adderley's B^ occurs on the last
eighth note of the measure, and in his repetition of the phrase, Hayes rein
forces the syncopation with his snare drum. In these measures, Adderley
also creates a pronounced juxtaposition between stepwise, on-the-beat
quarter-note motion and melodically disjunct syncopated figures. Adder
ley's noticeable tenuto phrasing of the former also reinforces the
distinction.
Adderley's continuation is analyzed below the transcription in the num
bered boxes on the right. His unique response to the stimuli of the previ
ous measures reveals much about the notion of prioritization. In box 1,
we see that both Timmons and Adderley respond adroitly to the change
of harmony in m. 5. Timmons plays a IVtl 1 chord, continuing the har
monic implication made earlier by Adderley. Adderley replaces B^ with
Bb and, in addition, replaces ^3 with b3, an SMP that reinforces the har
monic change. Box 2 shows that Adderley essentially abandons the two
measure repetitive idea of four measures earlier. He begins with what
seems like a reiteration of the concluding fragment of the earlier two
phrases. In box 3, we observe that the prominent turn figure of mm. 1-4
233
Ab Bdim Eb7/Bb Eb7
S^
Why do 1 Why
lovedo youyou?
love me?
Ab F7 Bbm7 Eb7
^ TT
Why should we be two hap - py as we?_

Ab Ab/C Bdim Bbm7 Eb7
?E?
^
Can you see_ the why and where - fore
13 Ab Fm7 Bbm7 Eb7
3=*
1 should be_ the one you care
for?
Example 16. "Why Do I Love You?" by Oscar Hammerstein II and

Jerome Kern (A section)
is also largely absent in Adderley's continuation, replaced by a figure that

hovers around F. Nonetheless, the modified turn phrase of m. 3 is echoed
in Adderley's new phrase. Box 4 again shows the recurring focus on tl 1
harmony?and in particular, the note B^. Timmons's Bbtll and Adder
ley's move from B^ to Bb initially reinforce the subdominant harmony.
Then in m. 6, Adderley returns to B^ implying once again the tonic til
harmony. Timmons follows suit and immediately imitates Adderley's B^l
and A. Adderley also extends the B^l-A-G whole-tone segment, first pre
sented in m. 4, one step further here to F. This measure is remarkable, too,
for the coincidence of Jones's bassline with Adderley's solo line: they
play in octaves here. Jones has heard Adderley's fixation with B^ in m. 1
and the whole-tone segment the soloist extrapolates from it in m. 4, and
in m. 6 the bassist interjects his own statement. In his continuation, Adder
ley maintains the contrast between leaping syncopated figures and step
wise on-the-beat figures, shown in box 5. And finally, though Adderley
begins in m. 4 on an accented last eighth note, perhaps in response to
Hayes's snare drum, Hayes has abandoned the syncopated emphasis.
One further reflective aspect of this passage demonstrates the impres
sive number of elements at play during an improvisation. Adderley's ini
tial distinctive phrase is possibly a quote from the Oscar Hammerstein/
Jerome Kern standard "Why Do I Love You," reproduced as Example 16.25
234
The characteristic chromatic neighbor-note motion, metric position, and
overall shape of the melody are strongly suggested in Adderley's solo.
Adderley seems to borrow intervallically from the melody's third phrase
with its leap of a major sixth. The identity of the passage as a deliberate
quotation cannot be determined with certainty, though Adderley was
likely familiar with this standard. It had been recorded in a few well
known performances by Tommy Dorsey and, more significantly, alto
saxophonist Charlie Parker.26
Adderley incorporates an impressive number of elements into his con
tinuation phrase. But others have fallen by the wayside. It is clear from
the analysis that B? along with its associations (the tl 1 chord, the whole
tone segment) has become the primary focus in these measures. Adderley
prioritizes this idea in his solo, and the ensemble members realize this
almost immediately. As Example 16 suggests, it is the negotiation of many
competing influences that seems to be at the heart of the improvisatory
art. A remarkable musical coincidence between soloist and ensemble?
such as that between Adderley and Jones in m. 6?may be somewhat
fortuitous, but cannot be entirely so. It is the direct result of considered
choices made by Adderley in response to both his own melodic line and
the playing of the ensemble members, choices made both reflectively and
reactively. In jazz, moments such as m. 6, when the entire ensemble seems
to be uncannily "in sync," are appreciated as the rewards of careful listen
ing and practiced craft. As if to underline this happy concurrence, one can
hear Nat Adderley, off-mic in m. 7, comment approvingly, "oh yeah."
235
NOTES
This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the
Society for Music Theory, Atlanta, 1999. The material is drawn, in part, from my
Ph.D. dissertation, "Theoretical Observations on Jazz Improvisation: The Solos
of Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley" (Harvard University, 2000). David Lewin con
tributed to the article many insightful ideas and helpful suggestions.
1. The reflective/reactive distinction overlaps other dichotomies discussed in the jazz
literature. It is related to the dual role of the jazz musician as composer/performer.
In addition, the terms themselves suggest a solo/ensemble distinction. Brownell's
(1994) discussion of improvisation as product/process is implicated, as well. While
all these distinctions are useful, they should not be considered stark oppositions.
Nevertheless, there is much jazz scholarship that considers primarily one or other
side of the reflective/reactive fence. In the main, reflective aspects have been the
focus of music theorists, often using more or less Western classical analytical
approaches. (Larson 1998 provides a useful summary of these sources.) The reac
tive side has largely been the purview of ethnomusicologists such as Ingrid Mon
son (1996) and Paul Berliner (1994).
2. The recording is from Adderley's popular 1959 album The Cannonball Adderley
Quintet in San Francisco, Live at the Jazz Workshop (Riverside 1157, San Fran
cisco, October 18 and 20, 1959).
3. Potter 1992 analyzes another performance of this same work {Milestones, Colom
bia records CL 1193 and CS 9424, New York, February 4, 1958). His "eclectic"
analysis, as Potter describes it, focuses on many aspects of Adderley's solo line:
its relationships to the head, its internally recurrent formulas and motivic develop
ment, its linear continuity, and aspects of its metric patterning. Potter does not
address issues of group interaction in the performance.
4. As in any jazz transcription, the created musical score is only a guide to orient the
discussion. Little attempt has been made to n?tate the innumerable subtleties of
Adderley's performance. And, as in any musical examination (but perhaps most
acutely in jazz), the comments that follow often make reference to aspects of the
music that are better heard on the recording than they are seen in the "score."
5. The specific harmonic subtleties chosen by the rhythm section players are impor
tant reactive aspects of the performance?both as they affect the soloist and vice
versa. When these factors are considered, full ensemble transcriptions are used, as
in later examples.
6. Similar reactive exchanges can be heard in several other live albums of the period
and, most famously, on the 1958 studio recording of "Somethin' Else" with Miles
Davis.
7. The poor fidelity of the live recording makes the swing eighth notes difficult to
discern here (if they are present at all), though in later choruses Hayes strongly
articulates them.
8. This syncopated figure is also frequently played by bassist Ray Brown in perfor
mances. Again, typically it occurs in his accompaniment to an initial solo chorus.
Both Brown and Jones often use the descending sixth 1-3 on the first beat of the
measure. The chromatic pattern Jones plays in the first few measures is also a
figure he employs elsewhere.
236
9. "Sack O' Woe" from The Cannonball Adderley Quintet at the Lighthouse (River
side 9344, October 16, 1960), "Wine Tone" from The Cannonball Adderley Quin
tet Plus (Riverside 9388, May 11, 1961), and "Barefoot Sunday Blues" from Can
nonball Takes Charge (Riverside 1148, May 12, 1959).
10. A tritone substitution occurs when one dominant seventh chord is replaced by
another whose root is a tritone away. The substitution works because of the com
mon thirds and sevenths of the two chords.
11. The notes B and Bb on the saxophone can be fingered in at least two ways. The
so-called "bis" fingering, while considered an alternate fingering by many classi
cal players because of its unreliable intonation, is favored by most jazz players,
including Adderley. Its primary advantage is the easy sliding of the index finger
between B and Bb?not, coincidentally, the most common blue note (l?3) in the
most common blues key (concert Bb).
12. A "ghost" note, in jazz parlance, is a pitch played indistinctly, or more implied
than actually sounded.
13. Larson 1998 explores the applicability of the Schenkerian analytical method to
jazz improvisation.
14. The head is played twice; on its repetition, Adderley adds a harmonizing part that
is indicated with downward stems in Example 8. Adderley had been adding this
distinctive harmony part as early as March 1956, in a studio recording with his
brother Nat. It is not clear whether the part is of Adderley's own invention, though
he continued to use it in recordings of "Straight, No Chaser" made with the Miles
Davis Sextet of 1958-59.
15. Quite a few other Thelonious Monk compositions exhibit this same characteristic.
It forms a distinctive feature of "Mysterioso," "Well You Needn't," and "Blue
Monk," among others.
16. This substitution is ubiquitous in both blues heads and solos. It is a characteristic
part of the blues idiom.
17. Folio 1995 and Waters 1996 further discuss rhythmic displacement andpolymeter
in a jazz context.
18. In fact, the head of "Straight, No Chaser" has quite a few downward leaping sixths,
but this interval is considerably less prominent, as it occurs between repeated
phrase segments.
19. Though the SMP, as it has been defined here, does not appear in jazz theoretical
literature as such, there are several aspects of it that appear in earlier writings. In
particular, a certain improvisational strategy?that of focusing on important tones
over a given harmony and embellishing them?does have antecedents. It is an idea
encountered at a relatively early stage in technical and pedagogical books on jazz,
perhaps first articulated in Mehegan 1959: "Treat the root, third, fifth, seventh and
ninth as principle tones.... In approaching a chord, choose one of the principle
tones as a 'target' note" (vol. 1, 124). Coker 1964 advises: "Eventually you will
find that you need only play the more important notes of a chord to establish the
sound of the entire chord. These notes will usually be the third and the sev
enth ..." (31). By far the most comprehensive exploration of this improvisational
method is Berg 1990.
20. This is a somewhat simplified conception of formula, to be sure, but sufficient for
the present purposes. A formula, like a motive, can certainly be subject to varia
tion, just as a motive may be repeated exactly. The principle of formulaic impro
237
visation, whereby a large repertory of learned figures is recalled individually and
chained together to form a solo, is discussed at length in Smith 1991, Kernfeld
1983, Owens 1995, and Martin 1996.
21. Smith 1991 addresses in more detail the inherent problem of identifying formu
las.
22. There seems to be a natural coactive connection between SMPs and formulaic
progressions. Formulas typically consist of short phrases that clearly reinforce
commonly recurring progressions (e.g., ii-V progressions). Thus, that these phrases
most often feature SMPs seems logical. The two function together as a dependable
way of clearly outlining the underlying harmonic progression.
23. Both Brownell 1994 and Smith 1991 discuss this inherent problem.
24. It occurs prominently in Adderley's 1960 live recording of "Sack O' Woe" men
tioned above. Adderley also uses it occasionally in other, nonblues solos, for
instance, "I Remember You" (take 11) from Cannonball Takes Charge (1959).
25. The possible connection to this standard was astutely pointed out to me by J. Kent
Williams.
26. The Charlie Parker version was recorded March 12, 1951, and released on The
Magnificent Charlie Parker (Clef MGC 646). Adderley, in a number of published
interviews, acknowledged Parker as a major early influence on his style.
WORKS CITED
Berg, Shelton. 1990. Jazz Improvisation: The Goal-Note Method. Evergreen, CO: Lou
Fischer Music.
Berliner, Paul F. 1994. Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Brownell, John. 1994. "Analytical Models of Jazz Improvisation." Jazz Research 26:
9-29.
Coker, Jerry. 1964. Improvising Jazz. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Folio, Cynthia. 1995. "An Analysis of Polyrhythm in Selected Improvised Jazz Solos."
In Concert Music, Rock, and Jazz Since 1945: Essays and Analytical Studies, ed.
Elizabeth West Marvin and Richard Hermann. Rochester, NY: University of
Rochester Press.
Kernfeld, Barry Dean. 1983. "Two Coltranes." Annual Review of Jazz Studies 2:
7-66.
Larson, Steve. 1998. "Schenkerian Analysis of Modern Jazz: Questions about Method."
Music Theory Spectrum 20: 209-41.
Martin, Henry. 1996. Charlie Parker and Thematic Improvisation. Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press.
Mehegan, John. 1959. Jazz Improvisation. 4 vols. New York: Watson-Guptill Publica
tions.
Monson, Ingrid. 1996. Saying Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction. Chi
cago: University of Chicago Press.
Owens, Thomas. 1995. Be-Bop: The Music and Its Players. New York: Oxford Uni
versity Press.
238
Potter, Gary. 1992. "Analyzing Improvised Jazz." College Music Symposium 32:
143-60.
Smith, Gregory E. 1991. "In Quest of a New Perspective on Improvised Jazz: A View
from the Balkans." World of Music 33/3: 29-52.
Waters, Keith. 1996. "Blurring the Barline: Metric Displacement in the Piano Solos
of Herbie Hancock." Annual Review of Jazz Studies 8: 19-37.
239

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Yale University Department of Music

Improvisation as Continually Juggled Priorities: Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's "Straight,

JUGGLED PRIORITIES: JULIAN

When jazz musicians improvise, they engage in at least two interre

Journal of Music Theory, 49:2

Example 2. Adderley's chorus 1 solo with full ensemble

Example 3. Nat and Julian Adderley's exchanges in "Spontaneous

Example 4. Adderley, Jones, Hayes, and Timmons (rhy

Example 5. Phrases A to D, chorus 1 with Timmons's responses

Example 6. Phrase E, chorus 1

accented D\? from the saxophonist at the end of m. 4, which coincides

Example 8. The head of "Straight, No Chaser"; Adderley's version

anee of voice leading within the phrase, shown in Example 7. Adderley

iX; _^[ JbigJ J^JJ'jJ TT

Example 9. Head, chorus 1 solo; basic structure

(y j.J J*J j,i J ^ J^J J J^ iitJJ J,^JjtJJi/JF J*J * J u H?J.

Example 10. Adderley's chorus 2 solo, mm. 1-8

F7 Bb7 F7 7 Bdim F/C D7 Gm7 C7 F D7 Gm7 C7 F7

Example 12. SMPs in the

Example 13. Phrases C and D, chorus 2, with recurrent

Am7 D7 Atai7 Db7

arpeggiation repetition Example 14. Choruses 3 and 5, mm. 1-10

In the preceding examples, the reactive/

ill^pp^jgjgffJlS^] I q3 becomes i>3 (SMP)

Timmons plays [V*11

i5S?'@ ^ t last eighth

Example 15. Prioritization in one mom

'^ ^ ?r^??. ' - ?J ?Jf^y Y -?- $ +*"'

Why should we be two hap - py as we?_

Example 16. "Why Do I Love You?" by Oscar Hammerstein II and

is also largely absent in Adderley's continuation, replaced by a figure that

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(y j.J JJ j,i J ^ J^J J J^ iitJJ J,^JjtJJi/JF JJ * J u H?J.