This piece was originally written for a non-musician friend to help him follow along with what was happening in the music.
The tune is Philly Jazz. It was written by trumpeter John Swana who, as you would imagine, hails from Philadelphia, and it appears on his On Target Criss Cross CD [1241]. Joining with him on the album are Dutch guitarist Jesse van Ruller, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Eric Harland.
After reading a brief introduction about how the tune is structured, just follow the timings listed under each musician’s name under the video, open your ears and you’ll hear it all fall into place. You can always pause or re-set the video if you lose your place or wish to hear something again.
Philly Jazz is a typical 32-bar tune that is formed around four [4], eight [8]-bar sections.
This song structure is often referred to as “A-A-B-A.”
This first “A” = 8 bars or measures of the theme or melody [0-7 seconds of the video]
The second “A” = 8 bars or measures of the theme or melody repeated [8-14 seconds].
“B” = 8 bars or measures of an alternative melody sometimes called the release or the bridge [15-20 seconds]
The third “A” = 8 bars of the theme or melody restated [21-27 seconds].
Philly Jazz’s entire 32-bar A-A-B-A configuration is thus heard in the first 27 seconds of the video.
The melody and the related chords for the A-A-B-A song structure then become the basis upon which subsequent improvisations are developed; in this case by Swana, then by van Ruller and lastly by Harland: first in conjunction with Swana and van Ruller and then he solos alone. Patitucci does not solo on Philly Jazz.
To put it another way, the musicians repeat the 32 bar A-A-B-A sequence, each time making up and super-imposing new melodies on the tune’s chord progressions.
Every time a musician completes a 32-bar improvisation, this is referred to as a “chorus.”
On Philly Jazz, Swana takes 5 choruses [from 28 seconds to 2:39 minutes], van Ruller takes 3 choruses [from 2:40 to 3:55] and Harland takes 4 choruses, sharing the first two with Swana and van Ruller [from 3:56 – 5:38, en toto].
Following these solos, the tune’s A-A-B-A pattern is repeated at 5:39 [A], 5:45 [A], 5:51 [B] and 5:58 [A], thus closing the track.
