Paul Bley - 1964
‘Batterie’ is from Paul Bley’s 1964 recording “Closer”. The album features seven Carla Bley compositions including this one.
“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” The whole idea of “Destinational Tonality” (Link) does seem a world away here. So let’s go back to some basic questions:
Type of Polyphony? Incidental – there are some support notes but the linear, melodic content is dominant. This is supported by Bley’s improv, which is almost entirely linear. (2) Form? Collective (Link), 11 bars. Repetition? Three note snippets. Points of Release or Rest? Yes – bars 3, 6 and 11.
We should also point out that “Batterie” is French for drum set, which I take as a hint.
Those three note snippets does seem to be the main form of “Aural Logic”, so let’s take a closer look:
Example 1 shows us the two “sentences” and the structure: One – Two – bridge – One. The first sentence goes up, down, up, down and surround.
It’s helpful to think of these snippets as “cluster shapes” (Example 2). Preparing an improvisation might involve practicing these cluster shapes stepwise and by leaps of a minor third like the song does. Add more clusters and play them as chords and arpeggios.
The technique used in Example 2 can be applied to a number of “Collective” heads. See Mal Waldron’s ‘Down at the Gills’ (Link).