Electronic Keyboards in Jazz, A Recorded History, Part 2 of 2
- Thom Holmes
- Feb 24, 2024
- 5 min read
My Podcast: The Holmes Archive of Electronic Music
My blog for the Bob Moog Foundation.
This podcast is the second of a two-part series in which we’re listening to examples of electronic keyboards in jazz. The first part covered the early history of electronic keyboards in jazz before the Fender Rhodes electric piano was launched in the late sixties. In this episode, we’ll begin around the time of the Fender Rhodes and explore various keyboards up until 1979 which is capped by the use of a wide variety of analog synthesizers.
What makes a keyboard suited to jazz? I would suggest that none of these instruments, with the exception of the Fender Rhodes, made their initial impact in the field of jazz. Most were created with rock and popular music in mind and were adopted by jazz musicians as they sought to electrify and amplify their music. In fact, I did a podcast about this way back in episode 14, Electronic Jazz, Part 2: Gadgets and Modifiers, where we explored how amplification, stomp boxes and signal modifiers normally associated with rock had been adapted by jazz artists for use with their horns, flutes, and other instruments. And before that, in Episode 13, in part 1 of that series on electronic jazz, we listened to examples from a parallel period during the 1960s when jazz artists experimented with electronic music on tape to broaden the textures of their sound.
Now, I turn to the role of electronic keyboards in jazz and how they provided the musician with a new dimension to their expressiveness.
One way to distinguish jazz from other genres of music is that every musician can be called upon to solo, especially in small ensembles. Something Miles Davis once said is worth quoting here. He said, “The thing to judge in any jazz artist is, does the man project and does he have ideas.” The creative expression allotted to each jazz musician, is, then the sacred territory that jazz music inhabits.
For many years, the acoustic piano was the sole keyboard used in most jazz. It was both a rhythm instrument and a solo instrument. It established the harmonic context for a piece and elaborated on it with its own voice. The dynamics of playing the piano are well known—differing pressures can be applied by the fingers to play loudly and softly; one can play long sustained notes using the pedals or sharply percussive notes with a fast touch; crescendos require the dexterity to begin playing softly and gradually increasing pressure and loudness to reach the peak. I would also add that the purposeful use of pauses and silence add to the exposition of piano playing. An improviser may use all of these techniques while forming their ideas around a given musical idea.
The electric organ, especially the Hammond B3, became the second most popular keyboard in jazz during the 1950s and introduced dynamics that were related to playing an electronic instrument. We listened to several players in part 1 of this series. The keys are on/off switches and to sustain a sound you press the keys continuously. The organ pedal has a different function than pedals on the piano. It is used to change the rotation speed of the loudspeaker, often a Leslie speaker system. To create a pitchbend effect, grace notes, rolls, and slurs can be played by quickly flicking the key one semitone to the left before hitting the intended note. The glissando, while playable on the piano as well, uses a different technique on the organ. One runs their hand up and down the keys using the side of the fingers or the back of the hand, being careful to merge it seamlessly with the playing that follows.
The Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, RMI Rock-Si-Chord, and Farfisa combo organ, all heard in this episode, could all be played using the traditional techniques of the piano and organ, so in that way these instruments already met the basic needs of the jazz player. It was easy for a jazz player just to plug them in and start playing. But each had additional controls over the timbre, voicings, and modification of the sounds that the jazz player could relate to in their playing. Each of these electronic instruments had a unique sound. Take for instance the chime-like, resonant tones of the Fender Rhodes and compare it to the sharp, fuzzy sound of the Wurlitzer electric piano or the short, guitar-like sound the Rock-Si-Chord and the softer, plucked sound of the Hohner Clavinet. Electronic keyboards definitely offered a new assortment of sounds to the jazz musician. And we will also hear what happened when these gifted musicians got ahold of the analog synthesizer.
In this episode we’re going to listen to examples of all of these. The thirty tracks that follow are arranged in chronological order, except for the very first track, an informative demo of the Fender Rhodes by Herbie Hancock which was released as a promotional flexidisc from Fender Rhodes and included in a 1973 issue of Down Beat magazine. We’ll hear both sides of that. After setting the scene with that demo, we will hear eleven tracks featuring the Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Rock-Si-Chord, Farfisa, clavinet, and electric harpsichord from artists including Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Bill Evans, Sun Ra, Roger Kellaway, Alvin Ayers, Steve Allen, Don Ellis, and others. Then, we will enter the transition from piano and organ to synthesizer. First will be three Sun Ra tracks, all captured live, to showcase not only his early Minimoog experiments but also a trance-like performance on the Rock-Si-Chord. Following that will be three tracks from the synthesizer era of Herbie Hancock, all remarkable for his mastery of multiple keyboards but also showcasing his supporting players who were also part of his transformative sound. The third Hancock track is from Japan and is a solo exploration of various synthesizers. The final twelve tracks feature recordings of a variety of analog synthesizers from three continents. All to illustrate how the synthesizer contributed to a worldwide renewal of the jazz tradition. Among the recordings will be examples from Larry Young, already a noted Hammond B3 player, Jan Hammer, flutist Bobbi Humphrey and her ensemble featuring ARP and Minimoog synthesizers, Ramsey Lewis, noted as a piano player, the nice blending of Rhodes and Minimoog sounds from Argentinian player Fernando Gelbard, Clark Ferguson and “Jazz Flute” using the RMI Harmonic Synthesizer and Keyboard Computer, then Wolfgang Dauner, who brought his piano experience to the EMS Synthi 100, one of the largest off the shelf modular synths from the latter days of analog synthesis.
The start times for the tracks are provided below so that you can skip through the tracks more easily. My is always to assemble a blend of tunes that has meaning through the ways the individual tracks compare and contrast to the ones around them. But being able to isolate and find individual tracks is something I also appreciate.
I created a visual guide to most of the non-synthesizer makes and models of instruments included in this podcast, paying special attention to the expressive features that could be easily adopted by jazz musicians. You can download this illustrated chart, free of charge, by visiting the previous blog.
Episode 118
Electronic Keyboards in Jazz, A Recorded History, Part 2 of 2
Playlist
Opening background music: 1) Sun Ra And His Astro-Intergalactic-Infinity-Arkestra,’ “The Light Thereof” from Live In Egypt Vol. I (Nature's God) (Dark Myth Equation Visitation) (1972 Thoth Intergalactic) (5:14). Farfisa organ playing from Sun Ra. 2) Oliver Nelson and Steve Allen, “Green Tambourine” from Soulful Brass (1968 Impulse) (2:28). Steve Allen plays the Rock-Si-Chord. 3) Oliver Nelson and Steve Allen, “Torino” from Soulful Brass (1968 Impulse) (2:02). Steve Allen plays the Rock-Si-Chord.
Opening and closing sequences voiced by Anne Benkovitz.
Additional opening, closing, and other incidental music by Thom Holmes.
See my companion blog that I write for the Bob Moog Foundation.
