I am a Montreal based jazz pianist of the swinging variety. I’ve been gigging for about 30 years, with my bandmates, Dave Laing and Paul Johnston for the past ten years. We work as the “Geoff Lapp Trio” in and around Montreal. My jazz attitude can be summed up like this:
It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing!
This blog was started because there are so few out there. Seriously speaking, it’s a place to hang out and test drive some ideas.
I love to cook. I am a fly fisherman and an avid poker player. I have 2 dogs and a cat. They try to run the house.
Excerpted from http://www.jazzstandards.com
Note: Musical analysis of “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)”
Original Key F minor ending in Ab major, with temporary shifts to Db major and Eb major during the bridge.
Form A – A – B – A
Tonality Primarily minor – major tonality at the end and during the bridge. Use of the flatted 5th “blue note.”
Movement Arpeggiated up, stepping down; many repeated notes.
Comments
This is a favorite among jazz players, with its minor descending progression similar to “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” and the folk song “Sixteen Tons.” A few changes have taken place with this piece since it was written. They are not an improvement on the original. The last four measures of “A” contain the (in)famous “du-wah-du-wah-du-wah” passage. Modern players begin this on beat two, but if one listens carefully to Ellington’s original 1932 recording, one finds that it actually starts on the second half of the first beat! The chord progression of this has also changed. Today, it is common to play IV-iv(ii7/I)-I ( Bb7 – Bbm – Ab). Originally, an ascending progression going to a diminished-seventh, leading tone chord was used (Bb7 – B˚7 – Ab – Cb˚7 – Ab) with a V7(+5) returning to the second “A.” In both cases, the original is preferable.
K. J. McElrath – Musicologist for JazzStandards.com
Check out K. J. McElrath’s book of Jazz Standards Guide Tone Lines at his web site (www.bardicle.com).
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