1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 // 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 // 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 ...

[Rooster_Ties]

Was out listening to a favorite local band tonight, and they played a tune with this very common rhythmic pattern (on a fast tune)...

1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 // 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 // (rinse, repeat)

And getting in the car right after, I had a random Strata East disc in my car stereo, and what came on - but another tune based on that same rhythmic pattern (something off one of John Gordon's Strata East dates - the one with Tolliver and Cowell on it).

I'm sure there are nearly 100 jazz tunes with this basic pattern (maybe more). And most often only the "1's" are stressed (one fast tunes, in particular). I hear this all the time in various hardbop contexts, particularly in the 70's and after. But I'm pretty sure I've heard it in the mid-60's too, maybe even early 60's and/or late 50's?? (Maybe some Jazz Messengers, circa 1960??) I'm sure I've also heard it a bunch on dates with Woody Shaw in the 70's.

Where'd this rhythmic pattern come from??

How early was it first used in jazz?? When did it become semi-ubiquitousin jazz??

(edited to add the "jazz" focus of my last two questions)

Edited December 2, 2005 by Rooster_Ties

[mikeweil]

This rhythm pattern is common to all Afro-Carribean music - the Cubans call it tresillo, meaning triplet. It is the subdivision that comes closest to a triplet while keeping the 8th note pulsation in a 4/4 meter. It is found in Spanish music as well, actually throughout the world.

Its origins are impossible to determine, but it certainly is older than jazz itself and the superimposition of two metric patterns as described in my previous sentence is typical for African rhythmic structures. It probably came into New Orleans via the Carribean islands and was as common to early jazz as the marching two-beat, or even played more often. In fact, most Scott Joplin tunes work perfectly with a tresillo bass pattern - try clapping this to The Entertainer - and I read a hypothesis that most tunes were played with that bass line, but since this requires more technical skill at the piano, i.e. independence of both hands, publishers of sheet music insisted it was printed with a walking bas, which was easier to play for amateur musicians. The same applies to early recordings - a tresillo bass requires more intricate dance steps than those the white audience was familiar with.

The same phenomenon, BTW, applies to modern recordings of African or Oriental pop music, where the disco beat is added to make it sellable worldwide - stating the beat in a way that obvious was unknown in African music prior to global media industry.

Still today, most jazz fans can relate to a straight 4/4 beat much easier than the tresillo, although the younger generation hailing from New Orleans tries hard to re-introduce it - the New Orleans marching band patterns used by most drummers from down there are a great example.

It is one of the basic ryhthm cells - as the Cuban musicologist Fernando Ortiz calls them - of Cuban music - most bass patterns - the tumbaos imply it.

Edited December 2, 2005 by mikeweil

[Rooster_Ties]

Thanks Mike. LOTS there in your explaination that I didn't know the specifics of. Although more generally speaking, I was pretty sure the origin of this pattern predated it's use in jazz.

That said, I probably should have been more specific in my first post, and said...

How early was it first used in jazz?? When did it become semi-ubiquitousin jazz??

Thanks!!

Edited December 2, 2005 by Rooster_Ties

[Dr. Rat]

This rhythm pattern is common to all Afro-Carribean music - the Cubans call it tresillo, meaning triplet. It is the subdivision that comes closest to a triplet while keeping the 8th note pulsation in a 4/4 meter. It is found in Spanish music as well, actually throughout the world.

Its origins are impossible to determine, but it certainly is older than jazz itself and the superimposition of two metric patterns as described in my previous sentence is typical for African rhythmic structures. It probably came into New Orleans via the Carribean islands and was as common to early jazz as the marching two-beat, or even played more often. In fact, most Scott Joplin tunes work perfectly with a tresillo bass pattern - try clapping this to The Entertainer - and I read a hypothesis that most tunes were played with that bass line, but since this requires more technical skill at the piano, i.e. independence of both hands, publishers of sheet music insisted it was printed with a walking bas, which was easier to play for amateur musicians. The same applies to early recordings - a tresillo bass requires more intricate dance steps than those the white audience was familiar with.

The same phenomenon, BTW, applies to modern recordings of African or Oriental pop music, where the disco beat is added to make it sellable worldwide - stating the beat in a way that obvious was unknown in African music prior to global media industry.

Still today, most jazz fans can relate to a straight 4/4 beat much easier than the tresillo, although the younger generation hailing from New Orleans tries hard to re-introduce it - the New Orleans marching band patterns used by most drummers from down there are a great example.

It is one of the basic ryhthm cells - as the Cuban musicologist Fernando Ortiz calls them - of Cuban music - most bass patterns - the tumbaos imply it.

Thank you, Dr. Funkenstein! Where can we find out more about rhythm cells?

--eric

[AllenLowe]

I would add that the triplet implied in this pattern is likley the basis of swing in all forms of jazz and most of American vernacular music - it's the rhythm that Elvis first used on some of his earliest records - more implied than stated - and we hear it even on some early delta-type blues - and of course all over New Orleans R&B -

[DukeCity]

I'm sure there are earlier examples, but a quick search found an example from this Jelly Roll Morton site.

Click on the title of Bucktown Blues from 1924 and in the second section of the tune, at about 0:37, you'll hear that rhythm played in JRM's left hand.

I hope others can find earlier examples!

[mikeweil]

How early was it first used in jazz?? When did it become semi-ubiquitousin jazz??

As I said you will find a lot of Ragtime tunes fitting the pattern, but some actually use it: Scott Joplin's Mexican Solace is the first to come to my mind. Listen to the left hand.

That Jelly Roll tune Duke City mentioned is another great example.

I think it was there allatime, but 4/4 straightahead playing dominates most of the time (regrettably).

BTW: Calypso tunes most always use it - check out those great anthologies on Rounder Records.

Edited December 2, 2005 by mikeweil

[mikeweil]

Where can we find out more about rhythm cells?

Fernando Ortiz described them in his book La Africanía de la Música Folklórica de Cuba, first published in La Habana in 1950. There were several reprints, but I doubt it was ever translated.

There is a short description of Ortiz' remarks on the Clave, which he considered another of the basic celulas rítmicas on this web page, but that's all I could find about it on the web.

When I retire I will write a book about that stuff .....