Take the A Train (1941) by Billy Strayhorn (62-65)

What degrees did Fletcher Henderson earn?

Degrees in chemistry and mathematics

Where did FLetcher Henderson receive his education?

Atlanta

Where did Fletcher Henderson move to pursue music?

NY

What does ther swing style make use of?

The swing rhythm

Who was Fletcher Henderson’s arranger?

Don Redman

What 4 innovations are Fletcher Henderson and his arranger Don Redman credited with pioneering for swing ensembles?

Increasing the band size, sectional writing, call and repsonse patterns, and their use of the riff

Early commentators called Henderson’s big band designation what?

“Orchestral jazz”

What was block voicing/sectiopnalw writing?

Instruments in same family or section all played similar music

Call and response often was between what?

Different sections in sectional writing

In call and response the response can be what or what?

An echoing of the motif or a contrasting answer

What was a riff in jazz?

Their equivalent of the ostinato

Are all 4 of Henderson's pioneered features in “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

Yes

How many sections are the instruments scored in “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

3 sectiuons

What are the 3 instrument sections in “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

5 saxes, 3 trumpets, and 3 trombones

The 3 main instrument sections in “Take the ‘A’ Train” are supprted by what?

A rhythm section

What was the rhythm section composed of?/

Piano, guitar, string bass, and a drum set

Who played piano in “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

Duke ellington

What is the form of “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

32 bar form

What is audible in the first chorus of “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

Each sections stays out of each others way

What do the saxes play in the first section of “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

a disjunct melody with long sustained notes

What do the 2 sections of brass instruments play in the first section of “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

They interject short riffs

Each brass section has its own unique what?

Unique rhythm to their riff which is performed in rhythmic unison throughout their section

The rhythms of the 2 riffs do what with each other? What does this allow?

Interlock with each other, allowing for each sections pattern to be heard clearly

Are the riffs in “Take the ‘A’ Train” simple?

No

What is Mark Tucker’s career?

He is a historian

What does Mark Tucker say about “Take the ‘A’ Train’s”
Riffs?

That “For a challenging exercise, try tapping along with he brass;’ off-beat patterns!”

What chorus has very clear call and response exchanges?

Chorus #3

What did Strayhorn add to his “Take the ‘A’ Train” which kept it from being a henderson clone?

He adds a series of changes, brief modern pitches, chromatic movements, and a hemiola

The changes Strayhorn added to “Take the ‘A’ Train” were from what earlier jazz tune?

“Exactly like you”

When was “Just Like You” composed?

1930n

Who composed “Just Like You?”

Jimmy McHugh

The brief modern pitches Strayhorn included were made up of what intervals?

Minor and Major seconds

When were the brief modern pitches added?

Before the final a section of the 3rd chorus

What occurs during the saxophones opening melody?

The first 3 sustained pitches from the opening melody rise chromatically from G to Ab to A

What occurs during the 4 measure modulation from C to Eb major?

A strong accent occurs every 3 beats which makes the meter sound as if its in ¾

Why is the piano introduction in “Take the ‘A’ Train” noteworthy?

The right hand plays a 5 note riff 4x which is made up of a whole tone scale

What is a whole tone scale?

A scale made up of pitches whole steps apart rather than a mix of whole and half steps

What is the time signature of “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

4/4 but features a hemiola which implies ¾

When is the hemiola in “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

Between the second and third chorus

Who played the trumpet solo in “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

Ray Nance

Who was expected to tplay the solo trumpet improv in the second chorus?

Rex Stewart

What did Duke Ellington say about Rex Stewarts lack of playing the trumpet solo improv?

“Rex got temperamental or something, he was originally supposed to play the solo”

What did Duke Ellington say regarding Ray Nance playing the trumpet solo in “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

then it was given to Ray Nance when he blew this chorus which was one of the great choruses of all time, one of the great trumpet solos of all time”

What have scholars labeled Ray Nance’s trumpet solo in “Take the ‘A’ Train” as?

A classic

Jazz customarily values what about improv?

Spontaneity

Regardless of the value of spontaneity of improvisation in jazz what can be said about replicating versions of a performance?

It is allowed to be replicated very closely in later performances and this is also true for others replicating the solo

At the time that “Take the ‘A’ Train” released what was at risk for Ellington?

His bands livelihood

How does “Take the ‘A’ Train” begin?

Duke ellington plays descending whole tone cascades in right hand

Each chorus is made up of what phrases?

Aaba

How many choruses are in “Take the ‘A’ Train?”

3

How does “Take the ‘A’ Train” end?

With a tag featuring pp dynamic

What do the saxes play in the first chorus?

a disjunct melody which slowly ascends chromatically

What do the brass sections play in the first 2 a phrases of the first chorus?

Backround riffs

What is the tone color of the trumpets for most of the woprk?

Muted trumpet

What occurs in the b phrase of the first chorus?

Trombones add longer countermelodies

The dccountemelodies of eth trombone in the b phrase of

What are the notes the accompanying brass play at the end of the first chorus?

8th notes

Muted trumpet improv by Ray Nance

What occurs between the second and 3rd chorus?

Key Modulation from C to Eb major and a hemiola effect sh

What occurs at the start of the 3rd chorus ?

Call and response between saxes and the unmuted trumpet

When is the trumpet first unmuted?

At the start of the 3rd chorus where it remains unmuted

The saxes play what in the call and response in the 3rd chorus?

Ascending secondary melody

What occurs in the b phrase of the 3rd chorus?

The trumpet takes the lead and “shakes” his pitch several times

What occurs at the end of the b phrase in the 3rd chorus?

The Cluster pile up of pitches

What dynamic is the cluster pile up of pitches in the 3rd chorus?

Ff

What is the dynamic level at the end of the 3rd chorus?

Mezzoforte

What is the dynamic level at the start of the coda?

Mezzopiano

What is the dyanmic level at the end of the coda?

Piano

What occurs at the end of the coda?

A quiet repetition of the pianos first measure of the right hand from the intro

What is the dyanmic level of the tag?

pp