Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Discuss the people that make the music here.
Post Reply
mgladdish
Posts: 22
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2021 4:08 am
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by mgladdish »

Hi folks,

I'm starting to get in to microtones and trying to adapt them into my solo lines. My theory is it should open up a bunch more possibilities for moving between chord tones, also meaning there's more room for manoeuvre before running out of range.

Does anyone know who else is doing this? It would be great to check out other trombonists who already have this down.

I'm particularly interested in players who are using microtones over "regular" changes, rather than going full-out microtonal. For instance https://www.rarenoiserecords.com/releases/mikrojazz/ is really fab, but is too full-on for what I'm currently looking for. But using 3 steps instead of 2 to get between whole tones in a melody would be right up my (current) street.
AndrewMeronek
Posts: 972
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 6:09 pm
Location: Detroit area
Contact:

Re: Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by AndrewMeronek »

A lot of trombonists get microtones trained out of them by modern pedagogy and the dominance of equal temperament, unfortunately. The most obvious players who use them would be older - Sam Nanton (of Duke Ellington's Orchestra) comes immediately to mind. Players who use actual blue notes.
“All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians.”

- Thelonious Monk
User avatar
Burgerbob
Posts: 4526
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:10 pm
Location: LA
Contact:

Re: Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by Burgerbob »

A friend of mine, Zekkereya, has some stuff you may be interested in.

https://www.facebook.com/zacimag/videos_by
Aidan Ritchie, LA area player and teacher
mgladdish
Posts: 22
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2021 4:08 am
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by mgladdish »

Burgerbob wrote: Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:27 am A friend of mine, Zekkereya, has some stuff you may be interested in.

https://www.facebook.com/zacimag/videos_by
Thanks, checking him out now.

Is there one vid you’d point to in particular?
User avatar
Burgerbob
Posts: 4526
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:10 pm
Location: LA
Contact:

Re: Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by Burgerbob »

mgladdish wrote: Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:47 am
Burgerbob wrote: Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:27 am A friend of mine, Zekkereya, has some stuff you may be interested in.

https://www.facebook.com/zacimag/videos_by
Thanks, checking him out now.

Is there one vid you’d point to in particular?
Lots of good stuff in there, but here's one:

Aidan Ritchie, LA area player and teacher
mbarbier
Posts: 267
Joined: Thu May 17, 2018 9:58 pm

Re: Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by mbarbier »

Zekkeraya is awesome and is integrating some awesome stuff (though I'm their former teacher so not particularly impartial 😂).

Steve Lehman's octet is killer (he's a sax player). He studied with a pretty famous spectral composer and there's a lot of that in his vocabulary. His album Mise en Abime is amazing and the brass playing is great. I wish there was more microtonality in the actual solos, but it's an amazing space for it (and just a killer band).
trombone faculty at CalArts and LA City College
1/2 of RAGE Thormbones
they/them
https://mattiebarbier.bandcamp.com/
http://www.mattiebarbier.com/
mbarbier
Posts: 267
Joined: Thu May 17, 2018 9:58 pm

Re: Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by mbarbier »

I can't remember the name of the group, but I know the sackbut player Adam Woolf is part of a kinda early music and jazz cross over group. If memory serves they're playing in meantone.

It wasn't my jam, but probably really well done from a pitch side.
trombone faculty at CalArts and LA City College
1/2 of RAGE Thormbones
they/them
https://mattiebarbier.bandcamp.com/
http://www.mattiebarbier.com/
Fidbone
Posts: 259
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 1:14 am
Location: UK

Re: Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by Fidbone »

Nils Wogram.
mgladdish
Posts: 22
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2021 4:08 am
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by mgladdish »

Burgerbob wrote: Sun Oct 10, 2021 9:24 am
mgladdish wrote: Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:47 am

Thanks, checking him out now.

Is there one vid you’d point to in particular?
Lots of good stuff in there, but here's one:

Ah, that's not coming up for me. He must have set it to Friends-only or something like that.
User avatar
LeTromboniste
Posts: 1019
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 7:22 am
Location: Sion, CH

Re: Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by LeTromboniste »

mbarbier wrote: Sun Oct 10, 2021 10:23 pm I can't remember the name of the group, but I know the sackbut player Adam Woolf is part of a kinda early music and jazz cross over group. If memory serves they're playing in meantone.

It wasn't my jam, but probably really well done from a pitch side.
I think that was the Let the Music Speak project. Not sure it's still going, but it was a pretty cool concept.
Maximilien Brisson
www.maximilienbrisson.com
Lecturer for baroque trombone,
Hfk Bremen/University of the Arts Bremen
User avatar
jacobgarchik
Posts: 192
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2018 6:07 pm

Re: Jazz trombonists using microtones in their solos?

Post by jacobgarchik »

Used to hang out a lot with Joe Maneri, although I was not one of his students. Performed some of his composed music at places like Tonic including a duo for trombone and voice in 72 note equal temperament.
I use microtones in my own improvising in a less formal way. Like, say, around 4:20 or so

Post Reply

Return to “Musicians”