Author: Aaron Jennings

 

March 9, 2018

Commercial Production

 

11 Aspects of the Record: Blues for the Knight by Written by Chris Creswell

 

Blues for the Knight is one of the many jazz orchestra charts written by Chris Creswell. The Jacksonville University Jazz Orchestra first performed this chart last fall on the Jazz concert featuring tenor saxophonist, Ken Hitchcock. As producer on this project, I was in search of a finding a chart of his that simple and straightforward from an audience perspective but still showcased his amazing writing abilities. We both immediately thought of Blues for the Knight because of those qualities and the band was familiar with the chart.

 

• Concept: Having spoken to Professor Chris Creswell in our production meeting, he states that there is no true conception behind Blues for the Knight. He says that it really a combination of all of his influences on his time spent in NYC at the Manhattan School of Music.

 

• Melody: The melody in Blues for the Knight is played by all sections of the jazz ensemble at some point in various ways with other counter melodies intertwining those main melodic This is clearly heard in the beginning with the trumpets having the melody and the trombones and saxophones playing intricate harmonies around that. The melody I feel is something that sticks with the listener because of its simplistic nature and I believe it’s impactful to the ears that it reaches.
• Harmony: The harmonies within the chart are intricate and intertwined like many jazz ensemble charts. They complement the melody by providing a sense of complexity but yet bringing the listener back to home base within the melody.
• Rhythm: What also makes Blues for the Knight such a unique and fun chart to listen to has to deal with the rhythm and feel changes. There are two main feel and style changes within Blues for the Knight and they are straight ahead Swing and a Hip Hop/Funk feel. These style changes are crucial to really the overall contour of the chart itself.
• Lyrics: There are no Lyrics to Blues for the Knight.
• Density: The density of this chart is equally balanced. The arrangement is not overcrowded. The orchestration is already lush in enough in harmony and rhythm,
• Song Structure:

INTRO

MELODY

SOLO SECTION

BRIDGE W/ SAX SOLI

 -BACKGROUND FIGURES

-FULL BAND BUILDS

-DRUM SOLO FILLS

-BUILD TO CLIMAX

            MELODY RESTATEMENT AND RETURN TO MAIN MOTIFS

            BUILD TO END OF CHART.

 

• Instrumentation

Saxophones

-(2) Alto Saxophones

             -(2) Tenor Saxophones

            -(1) Baritone Saxophone

Trombones

             -(2) Trombones

             -(1) Bass Trombones

             Trumpets

             -1^st Trumpet

            –  2^nd Trumpet

           –  3^rd Trumpet

           –  4^th Trumpet

            Rhythm Section

-Piano

             -Bass

             -Drums

             -Guitar

 

• Performance

The tendency for any band when playing this chart is to overplay and over compensate for energy. The chart already has enough energy just from rhythmic pulse and feel that is established from the beginning, so for young musicians and even this band they will over play it. In the preproduction meeting with band I made it very clear that it was not necessary to overblow or overplay and discussed the importance of letting and the chart breathe. I also talked with them about being aware of their sound and being able to control it because they are playing in a studio now not live.

• Equipment

Channel/Mic

1. Drum Kit (tube mic)
2. Piano (tube mic)
3. Bass (km 184)
4. Alto Saxophones (AT 3031)
5. Tenor Saxophone/Baritone ( AT 3031)
6. Trombones (Neumann TLM 49)
7. Trumpets (AKG 1000s)
8. Solo Mic (Omni)

• Mix

The mix of the project will have to be compressed quite a bit due to the size of the ensemble of dealing with overall contour of the group. As producer on this project I desire a real warm mix with a round bottom mix of bass and drums and allowing the higher voices of the ensemble to breathe.