Linear Harmony and Black Bottom Stomp

Scott Healy leads us through a master class in jazz theory, demonstrating linear harmony with a banjo and the folk tune “The World is Waiting for a Sunrise” using only three voices. He shows how thinking symmetrically on a banjo is different from writing on a piano. Then he switches to Jelly Roll Morton’s “Black Bottom Stomp” and gives us insights from its score.

About Scott Healy

Composer Scott Healy leads the The Ellington Study Group in Los Angeles, a hands-on study of scores and recordings of large ensemble jazz music as well as music theory and orchestration techniques. The material is advanced, and is geared toward professional classical and jazz composers, film composers, arrangers, and instrumentalists who want to increase their understanding and appreciation of large ensemble jazz writing. The discussion ranges from the minutia of voicing and harmony, to broader topics like form, pacing, transparent orchestration, compositional intent, and improvisation. Previous classes have included works by Duke Ellington from the 1930’s, Ellington/Strayhorn from the 1950’s, and works by jazz composers, arrangers, and band leaders Gil Evans and Miles Davis, Bennie Moten, Fletcher Henderson, Sammy Nestico, Thad Jones, and Sun Ra. Visit Scott’s website: bluedogmusic.com