Uganda: Ryan Cohan Quartet Rewrites Jazz Appreciation Rules

Uganda: Ryan Cohan Quartet Rewrites Jazz Appreciation Rules

The Monitor (Kampala)

OPINION
29 March 2008
Posted to the web 28 March 2008

Moses Serugo

Is smooth jazz authentic jazz music or just instrumental R&B? That was one of the contentious musical issues that arose when the US-based Ryan Cohan Jazz Quartet came visiting last month.

The musical foursome was in town for two concerts held at the US Ambassador's residence and Club Obliggato. All the four were impressive in their grasp of the music form.

Front man Ryan Cohan was on the piano while Geof Bradfield gladly blew the air from his lungs into a shiny saxophone creating breezy tunes.

Lorin Cohen carefully balanced an upright double bass, plucking its thick strings to create deep sounds while Kobie Watkins was in his element, striking cymbals and manipulating the snare as the ever-jolly drummer. They capped their tour with two marathon workshops at the National Theatre for musicians and music students from Makerere University.

Jazz purists, those with a disdain for modern day adulterations that include smooth jazz basked in the quartet's repertoire that included works from luminaries like Duke Wellington, Victor Feldman, Kenny Barron and front man Ryan Cohan's own compositions.

There was much to be gained from the two music workshops over and above the free The Rhythm Road - American Music Abroad CDs. For the jazz enthusiast wishing to be weaned from smooth jazz "Cerelac" and begin biting on some solid food, the Jazz 101 pamphlets (available at www.jalc.org/theroad) the quartet handed out are a good way to find one's way around appreciating jazz better.

The seven fundamentals start with the "melody" which is the part of the song that you hum along to. Melody is the succession of notes that form a complete musical statement. "Harmony" is the foundation of the melody.

The harmonies of a song consist of several notes called chords played simultaneously and it is these that provide musicians with a road map for improvisation. It is the harmonies of a piece of music that help create the mood.

When you describe a song as dark and mysterious or bright and happy, you are often responding to the harmonies. In a typical jazz band, the harmonies are played by the piano or guitar, and bass.

"Rhythm" is the pulse or heartbeat of the music. It is that part of the music that makes you want to tap your feet and snap your fingers. In jazz, the pulse is usually maintained by the bass and drums who "keep time" for the rest of the band.

"Improvisation" is another aspect of jazz appreciation and this is the spontaneous creation of music. When a musician improvises, he or she invents music at the moment of performance, building on the existing theme and structure of the song, something the quartet demonstrated over and over again for the overly inquisitive Makerere University music students. "Blues" in jazz appreciation is a feeling, whether happy or, sad or somewhere in between whose intention is to make you feel better, not worse; to cheer you up, not bring you down.

One other thing to look out for while appreciating jazz is "swing" which is the basic rhythmic attitude of jazz. It is so important to the music that if a band cannot swing, then it cannot simply play jazz well.

Swing depends on strong coordination between the musicians and the style and energy with which they play. Lastly, there is "syncopation" which is the rhythmic equivalent of surprise. It is the shifting of emphasis from what we hear as strong beats to weak, i.e., accenting unexpected beats. It is essential to a strong swing feeling.

With these guides, working one's way around appreciating seemingly complex classical jazz works should be easy.