Nardis

[sandywilliams]

I lucked out last night at Half-Price books. Found a cheap( SACD) copy of Bill Evans’ Explorations, a studio session with Scott LaFaro, and Paul Motion. I’d never had the pleasure of listening to this before. One of the tunes on this recording is Nardis.
While driving down the highway it occurred to me that perhaps this tune is filled with CMGs in action, so to speak. Does anyone concur?

[Andrew]

That recording is great, and Lafaro really shows his lyricism in that recording.

The Bill Evans trio also played Nardis at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and it's available on CD (Eddie Gomez, Bass; Jack Dejohnette, Drums). Eddie does an incredible bass solo and Dejohnette does an immortal drum solo out-of-time. This recording of Nardis is the first one I'd come across with, and they play it really upbeat, so when I had bought Explorations, I was surprised that Evans originally played it smooth and legato.

The very first recording of Nardis was in Cannonball Adderly's "Portrait of Cannonball" with a bunch of artists, I think a quintet, including Blue Mitchell on trumpet, and Bill Evans on piano. This was just while after "Kind of Blue" and Cannonball loved Evan's lyricism so much that he wanted to do a recording with him. Miles enjoyed the idea, and actually wrote Nardis for the occasion. This version is even more slower than the one on Explorations, and on it you can hear the nice contrast between Evan's lyricism and Cannonball's fiery staccato. Well worth checking out.

[Andrew]

Oh yeah, and I forgot to answer your question about the CMG's. Yes, he does use quite a few, but some of the modes are actually already in the tune itself.

[sandywilliams]

Right..that's the point..the tune itself uses them.

[sandywilliams]

Thanks for the Evans discography tips. I"ll have to check those out. I saw the trio once, in Evanston, IL , summer of 1977( the week Elvis passed).
Have you heard the tapes his son released of rehearsals and practicing, including Bill playing Bach Preludes and Fugues?

[bobappleton]

here's a 1965 version: bill evans, chuck israels, larry bunker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA7d6P7yXSo
with reference to miles composing nardis for him (at the end)
the sound is terrible, but the picture is nice

in this 1966 version the sound is better, but the picture...
bill evans, eddie gomez, alex riel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdHstJt9jNk

too bad there's no youtube of george russell's amazing 1961
version from ezz-thetics with eric dolphy

[Alan Smith]

Good to see that the 1957 Brandeis Festival collaboration between Evans, Mr. Russell and Gunther Schuller is on CD at last. I didn't realize it had been reisued 18 months back! What amazing scores ( where else can you hear Mingus, Milton Babbitt, George Russell and Jimmy Guiffre works in the same program?) and a great solo by Evans in the middle of 'All about Rosie'!!

http://www.amazon.com/Brandeis-Jazz-Fes ... 60&sr=1-2[[/url]

[Alan Smith]

The Nardis melody seems to be alternating between two scales on the one tonic. An eastern sounding scale, R,b2,3,4, 5,#5,7 and a blues or pentatonic minor on the same root.

[sandywilliams]

"The Nardis melody seems to be alternating between two scales on the one tonic. An eastern sounding scale, R,b2,3,4, 5,#5,7 and a blues or pentatonic minor on the same root."
This analysis is true in a horizontal sense but I was thinking of the CMGs as relating to certain chords and verticalized melody. I guess the big clue is the the prevalence of F lydian throughout the piece. Too bad Miles never recorded it!

[bobappleton]

I'm just re-reading this thread, and wondering if Sandy (?!) might be willing to take on the task of explaining in simple terms what modal genres are, and how the CMG relates to Nardis. I'm looking at the 1964 edition now because my 2001 edition is back in Beijing - so that's my excuse.

When I did the course with Andy Wasserman and George Russell in 2003, Andy was working on a book on the LCC directed towards Elementary School kids. I don't think it's been completed yet, but that would be another great addition to the literature on the Concept.

Bob

[sandywilliams]

One could treat the first bar(Emi) of Nardis as a VIIh CMG and the fourth bar(Cmaj7) as a Vh, the fifth bar(A minor) as IIIh and the sixth bar as a VIIh. The first chord of the bridge could be treated as a IIIh. These choices are based on fact that the melody as a whole uses F Lydian. You could also treat these chords as PMGs, in fact the fourth bar is often used with a #11, which would indicate a PMG I.

[bobappleton]

[img]http://www.robertappleton.com/public/nardis1.pdf

Here are the chords I have for Nardis (linked above and pasted below).

So starting with E-7 which is a VII of F Lydian, and A-7 which is a V of F Lydian, how do they become h (horizontal?) and CMG's (Conceptual Modal Genres, meaning either "types of modal ideas" or "ideas about modal types"

Bob


Nardis

4/4 ||: E- | Fmaj7 | B7 | Cmaj7 | A-7 | Fmaj7 | Emaj7 / E-7 |
______
1. E-7 ||
______
2. E-7 || A-7 | Fmaj7+4 | A-7 / Fmaj7+4 | Fmaj7+4 | D-7 | D-7 / G7 |
| Cmaj7 / Fmaj7+4 | Fmaj7+4 || E- | Fmaj7 | B7 | Cmaj7 | A-7 | Fmaj7 | Emaj7 / E-7 | E-7 ||

[sandywilliams]

They are ‘h’ because Em and Am( and C major) are sharp-lying in relation to F Lydian.

[bobappleton]

Thanks.

And why is E- then a CMG?

Also, how could these chords be considered PMGs (Primary Modal Genres)?

And then: How do you define CMG, PMG and SMG?

[sandywilliams]

“And why is E- then a CMG?â€