"J.David Sapp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >i recall joni explaining that her early work was more influenced by english >and german harmonic structure, while her later work incorporated a more >jazzy harmonic structure which is essentially african-american and perhaps >not as familar to the caucasian ear, but actually contains more melody >and more complex harmonies. >peace, david
Well, this wouldn't be the first time Joni's said something that doesn't make sense. It may be true that her early songs are less jazz inflected than later work, but (and this "but" is huge) many of the melodic and harmonic components of jazz are gleaned from European music in the first place; indeed, jazz is a fusion of European and African (among others) musical elements. Even more importantly (and in further contradiction to what Joni said), the greatest jazz composers (Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, just to name a very few) wrote very cohesive, songful melodies, accompanied by harmony significantly derived from European sources, and their melodic/harmonic material is exceedingly inspired, memorable, and inventive. Much of Joni's later work sounds flat and uninteresting in comparison to their compositions. It's got nothing to do with cultural differences, but rather with differences of compositional excellence. The idea that her later songs contain "more melody and more complex harmonies" is just not supported by the evidence, which can be investigated if one makes the effort to analyze them theoretically. Incidentally, something I find instructive is that several recent jazz interpreters of Joni's songs (Fred Hersch, Joshua Redman, Dave Douglas, David Lahm, Larry Goldings) have mainly concentrated on her earlier work. -Fred
