round midnight revisited

7/21/2019 Round Midnight Revisited

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keyboardmag.com

Midnight Revisited

BY Andy LaVerne

It is thought that the legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Monk

composed the song “’Round Midnight” as early as 1936 at the age

of 19 . Since then, it has become a jazz anthem, played andrecorded by a multitude of prominent jazz musicians including Dizzy

Gillespie , Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Richie Beirach, and

young phenom Joey Alexander, not to mention Amy Winehouse.

The song was even the star of the film ’Round Midnight that

featured Herbie Hancock’s Academy Award-winning score. This

year, after NEA Jazz Master Jamey Aebersold chose the song for

his Summer Jazz Workshop piano faculty to play at evening

concerts, I set out t o reimagine it. For the purposes of

demonstration and explanation, I offer this solo piano template and

adaptation in the style of “Round Midnight.” This is the first in a

series of two installments, presenting each section on its own.

Intro and First ‘A’ Sections

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My first challenge in reimagining “’Round Midnight” was to break

away from the standard intro of descending minor ii-V chords.

Coincidently, I had recently transcribed McCoy Tyner’s solo piano

intro to the saxophonist Wayne Shorter’s song “Lost.” It was

McCoy’s intro and the circuitous route he followed to the altered

dominant seventh target that propelled me in a new direction for my

arrangement. McCoy’s “Lost” intro was setting up G minor, so I

merely transposed it down a third to lead into Eb minor.

After hitting the root of the Bb7alt chord, there are a series of

descending quartal structures (a McCoy signature), which end with

a chordal enclosure of the Bb7alt chord. This technique is referred

to as “constant structure/variable function.” It’s a nonfunctional

harmonization of a melodic line. I arbitrarily assigned chord symbols

to the ten quartal structures. The Bb7alt is less ambiguous in sound


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and function.

Rather than diving directly into the theme, I came up with a motif in

measure 4 to set up the melody and use as a recurring idea

throughout the arrangement. Notice the changing tempo markings,another freedom of solo piano. The rhythmic augmentation (eighths

instead of sixteenths) of the first four notes of the melody imparts

drama in measure 5. The brief hold before the G major7# 5 chord

accentuates the surprise of that uncharacteristic harmonic color,

and the addition of the 2/4 measure lets the color saturate. The

warmer Ab7sus4 in measure 7 leads nicely into the Bb7b9 inmeasure 8. Diminished structures reflect the “constant

structure/variable function” of the intro. Mea sure 9 resolves to Eb

minor with the addition of the colors of a major 7 and a b5 . (Another

way to look at it would be D-/Eb- ). The rhythmically augmented

melody is now harmonized in tenths.

Measure 10 mimics the harmonic color change in measure 5, this

time diminished instead of maj7#5 . Measures 11 and 12 borrow the

quartal theme of the intro. The D7sus4 is a half-step-above

approach chord to the Db7sus4 in measure 13, followed by the

rhythmically augmented melody harmonized in tenths. Measure 14

accentuates the tritones inherent in dominant 7#11 chords. We go

back to the maj7#5 color with inner voice movements in tenths for

measures 15 and 16. The first ending is a disguised ii-V-i in Eb

minor, with a restatement of my Eb minor motif. These motifs serve

as landmarks for symmetry and unity.

Stay-tuned for Part Two!


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Practice Tip

“Creating a solo piano arrangement

poses many challenges and opens

unlimited options. As a solo pianist,you’re in the driver’s seat, so you can

switch gears and change directions at

any time,” says pianist, composer, and

longtime Keyboard contributor Andy

LaVerne, who has performed with

artists such as Frank Sinatra, StanGetz, and Chick Corea. His latest

projects include the book Chords in

Motion , the DVD Chords & Lines in Motion, and the CD I Want to

Hold Your Hand. LaVerne is Professor of Jazz Piano at SUNY

Purchase in New York and the Hartt School of Music in

Connecticut, and he’s on the faculty of the Aebersold Summer Jazz

Workshops. Find out more at andylaverne.com.

Watch Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter play "'Round Midnight"

live.


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keyboardmag.com

’Round Midnight Revisited

BY Andy LaVerne

Last month we examined the A section through the first ending

of my solo piano arrangement of Thelonious Monk’s song

“’Round Midnight.” This month I present Part Two of my articleon reimagining jazz standards.

Second Ending Onward

This month, we pick things up at the second ending of my piano

arrangement. It follows the lead of the first ending, but resolves with

a somewhat Gershwin-esque flavor (sus4 to major to minor). The

tempo change at the start of the B section sets up the bridge for an

up-tempo excursion. A small melodic cell echoes the original

melody of the bridge of “’Round Midnight.”

Beat 4 of measure 32 (played the second time only) begins a whole

step ascension to the Bb7b9b13 chord in measure 37, a technique

known as Constant Structure/Variable Function. Measure 40

requires some fleet fingers, but it looks harder than it actually is,

especially after slow and deliberate practice. You might also

recognize the trademark Monk whole-tone scale.

Measures 42-44

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use octave and

fifth/triad

structures often

associated with

the pianist ChickCorea, who has

a strong affinity

for Monk, having

recorded and

performed many

of hiscompositions.

This progression

mirrors Monk’s

own for a pivotal

part of the tune. Measure 45 has some diminished structures

(derived from the diminished scale) that can also be heard on some

of Corea’s work, but they veer off slightly in different directions.

Measure 46 has another tempo change and helps shift gears with

our trusty melodic motif established in the intro from Part One of

this series. After measure 46, go back to the A section (measure 5

of this arrangement), and take the second ending. A restatement of

the McCoy Tyner-flavored intro in measures 59 and 60 bookends

the arrangement—almost. It’s followed by the recurring motif and

another melody reference before one more resounding melodic

motivic conclusion.

You might be

wondering

where the


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original intro

and coda are. I

chose to use

McCoy Tyner’s

“lost” introinstead of the

commonly

played “Round

Midnight” intro.

The Latin-

flavored codausually

associated with

“Round

Midnight” was

not included

due to space constraints. (A note of historical interest regarding the

original intro and coda: Both were composed by trumpeter Dizzy

Gillespie. They were so compelling and fit so well that many

musicians, including Monk himself, used them to frame the song.) I

hope my arrangement sparks some ideas and insights for your own

solo piano excursions! You might find further inspiration in this

video of Bobby McFerrin and Herbie Hancock performing "Round

Midnight."

Practice Tip

“Thelonious Monk composed the A section of ‘Round Midnight’ at

the age of 19 and called it “Grand Finale.” A few years later,

trumpeter Cootie Williams composed the B section for a big band


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arrangement. The two sections were joined and became what we

now know as ‘Round Midnight,’” says pianist and composer Andy

LaVerne, who has performed with artists such as Frank Sinatra,

Stan Getz and Chick Corea. His latest projects include the book

Chords in Motion , the DVD Chords & Lines in Motion and the CD I

Want to Hold Your Hand. Andy is Professor of Jazz Piano at SUNY

Purchase in New York and the Hartt School of Music in

Connecticut, and on the faculty of the Aebersold Summer Jazz

Workshops. Find out more at andylaverne.com


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