(Reprinted from the September 2024 issue of Downbeat magazine. Photo: Yelena Eckemoff)
You don't have to be a composer to play jazz. But what is a composition if not an improvisation in slow motion? Maybe it’d also be appropriate to describe jazz as “composition in real time.” If so, doesn’t this suggest that all jazz musicians are composers?
In our usual understanding of Western classical music, a composition, unlike an improvisation, is a written piece, typically replayed in exactly the same way. But in fact some classical composers performed their compositions differently each time they played them and made use of improvisation as a compositional technique: They would transcribe their extemporaneous playing and then structure their ideas in written compositions. Once committed to paper, these compositions became canonical, and we don’t look to change them from their written form.
A traditional jazz composition comprises mainly the head (tune) and a number of choruses (improvisations), with the jazz composer given as the one who comes up with the tune. But with the proliferation in musical styles and advances in technology over the past century, some jazz composers have adopted the practices of classical music, and many classical music composers have welcomed jazz idioms into their composing methods.
For a jazz composer, there are advantages to borrowing from the classical music perspective, which allows for the introduction of various musical forms, along with editing, clarifying, and refining the composition after putting forth the initial concept. At the same time, a jazz composer understands that this process is only completed when the music comes to life in performance, infused with the spontaneity of improvisation. And since improvisations change with each performance, the composition will also change.
However, if to be considered a composition a piece needs to be “fixed” in some way—either written down or captured in a studio session—the jazz composer’s role also includes directing the development of the piece beyond its documentation, whether written or recorded.
This is the approach to jazz composition that I have followed throughout my music career, resulting in the 20 jazz releases since 2010 that I have written, recorded, and produced through my L&H Production label. Drummer Billy Hart who played on three of my records, affirmed this process (when we recorded my 2014 trio album, Lions) with an interesting insight. “Classical music has become more interpretive,” he said in our album EPK. “And I think we’re at the point in American music where more through-composed pieces will be considered jazz. That’s what I mean by ‘prophetic,’ [in describing Yelena’s approach.]”
For me, composing was always a way of navigating life, of processing what was happening around (and inside) me—and all of these thoughts and feelings make their way into my compositions. (I still have the notebook that my mother, a professional pianist, kept of my early pieces, with titles like “Fishes In The Pond” and “Birds In The Woods.”) Even as a young piano student I was penciling down my own works. To this day, I keep a growing stack of notated tunes and written-out pieces, stored in folders. This is my melodic library, from which I supplement the new material I compose specifically for a current project. And even though each release has its own sound and character—I like to vary the musicians, instrumentation, and even stylistic angle from project to project—they are all related through my work as a composer.
What does not vary in my work are what I consider the foundational elements of a good composition—melody and structure. In my view, a musical composition without melodic material is meaningless, and every composition needs both interesting melodic material and a thoughtfully unfolding structure. With this foundation established, the development of the melodic material (as in classical music) provides the substance, and improvisation (as in jazz) provides the embellishment.
As music history shows us, it is artistic merit that counts and not one’s success in jumping on a trend. Likewise, the serious composers—the ones whose work lasts—are those who best represent a certain musical style. I realize that this notion is practically heretical nowadays. It could be, however, that true innovation in music derives not from overruling convention, but from expressing unique creativity through musical forms and practices that touch people’s hearts. The world is always seeking meaningful music—and it’s the composer’s responsibility to lend it.
YELENA’S COMPOSITIONAL TIPS
Here is some simple compositional guidance, not just for jazz players, but musicians of all stripes:
If you have trouble finding a melody, try looking for it in the voicing of your harmonic progression. Also, note how poetic words can suggest a melody or how an unexpected harmonic progression can enhance one.
Carry writing or recording materials with you to grab your ideas as they occur. Transfer your hand-written notes or scratch recordings into music notation software and edit them down. Remember that skillful editing can transform a mediocre piece into a superior composition.
Build your composition in sections (such as intro, tune, structured/free improvisations, transition(s), contrasting theme(s), coda, ending, etc.) and experiment with various elements—order, instrumentation, chord/keys substitutions, etc.
Pay attention to counterpoint/polyphonic development to bring some interesting melodic interplay between the instruments within the written parts.
Avoid both unreasonably complex structural/melodic development and unimaginative, minimal development. Alternate complex sections with easier material so that the listener is both challenged and engaged.
For recording sessions, make sure that your lead sheets and charts are properly formatted and easy to follow. Be flexible in the studio, just in case your piece doesn’t unfold as you expect.
Remember that your bandmates are co-creators who help you to shape and finish your composition. Choose them wisely.
Do not copy any musician—no matter how iconic they are. Instead, let their inspiration guide your own unique expression.
Please yourself first and foremost—not everyone is going to like your music. At the same time, welcome constructive criticism.
Let creative inspiration—rather than ambition—be your muse. Attention-grabbing and crowd-pandering may amuse an audience for an evening, but a good melody can last forever.