GRGR(5) - Cherokee and bebop

[Andrew Dinn]

Michael Arnowitt writes:

> I doubt that bebop jazz improvisers used serial transformations (inversion,
> retrograde, and retrograde inversion) as classical composers do ... but now
> that you mention it, the notes of the tune "Cherokee" itself start out as a
> little palindrome:

Well, that's not quite what I meant. I was talking about the selection
of the tone row, which is done by perming the original monotonically
increasing sequence of semitones. Somtimes the original perm was built
so that the front and back halves were retrogrades/inversions (after
transposition, naturally) but this was not a requirement merely a
pleasing congruence (ok, it's quite possible that Webern never used a
row which did not have some such symmetry but that's Webern).

But to respond to your doubt I have actually heard improvised
inversions and retrogrades, from a (Edinburgh born but no longer
Edinburgh resident) sax player called John Burgess.

Also, I think some of Miles Davis' recordings use either inverted or
retrogade lines or maybe both - can't recall the details but the
likely culprit is probably an early 1980s album - forgotten the name
of the album too - anyway, an album whose track titles are all colours
and which marked both a return to form for Davis and a resumption of
collaboration with some old time mates including John McLaughlin.
Davis' efforts are probably not improvised, though.

As for your observations re the A(rch) shape of the opening to
Cherokee. Awesome! Truly Awesome! (bet you would never see anything of
that quality on a news group!).


Andrew Dinn
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