In 1955, the then 25-year-old trumpeter Clifford Brown released the album Clifford Brown and Max Roach, which would not only come to be recognized as an iconic album of the hard bop movement, but also debuted tunes that would later become standards in the jazz repertoire, including “Joy Spring,” and “Daahoud.” The band included prominent West-Coast tenor man Harold Land alongside pianist Richie Powell (the younger brother of Bud Powell) and bassist George Morrow, and was anchored by co-leader Max Roach on drums. In this transcription analysis, we’ll take a look at Harold Land’s solo on the famous recording “Joy Spring” (recording and transcription may be found at the bottom of the article).
The Tune
“Joy Spring” is a fairly typical, though complex, hard bop tune. The form is a 32-bar ABCA tune, with the A sections being fairly diatonic in the key of F. A ii-V7 progression is used to modulate to Gb in the B section, and then modulating up another half-step to G to begin the C section. For the improviser, the C section is the most difficult part of the tune; after modulating to G for one measure, the improviser is faced with a quick modulation down to Eb, then Gb, before another ii-V leads the tune back to the home key of F for the last A section.
With its seemingly constant modulations, the tune appears rather difficult to improvise over, but there are a few factors that make it easier than it might appear at first. First of all, the entire tune is composed of ii-Vs, allowing the improviser to use patterns and other linking material. However, one must be careful not to overuse such material, nor use it in a way that would keep the improviser from creating strong melodic ideas. The sections of the tune where the harmony is relatively stagnant – such as the beginning of the A and B sections – are excellent opportunities for the soloist to employ motivic development.
The Recording
Recorded in 1955, Clifford Brown and Max Roach has come to be known as one of the quintessential hard-bop albums. In addition to the now-famous “Joy Spring” and “Daahoud,” the album also includes an interesting rendition of Victor Young’s “Delilah,” taken from Cecil DeMille’s 1949 film version of Samson and Delilah. The album contains one blues (“The Blues Walk”), one standard (Duke Ellington’s “What Am I Here For?”), and one additional hard bop composition (Duke Jordan’s “Jordu”). The 2000 Verve Records re-issue of the album contains one additional standard (“My Foolish Heart”), and additional takes of “The Blues Walk” and “Joy Spring.”
The album was the second released by Brown and Roach’s Quintet, following a year after their initial release Brown and Roach Incorporated. Both albums, as well as the subsequent Study in Brown, were recorded by the same band, featuring Land on tenor, Richie Powell on piano, and George Morrow on bass. Sonny Rollins would replace Land on the quintet’s last recording, Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Street, in 1956. The band dissolved after the tragic death of Brown and Richie Powell in a car accident in June of 1956.
Clifford Brown and Max Roach remains one of the iconic albums of the hard bop era, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
The Solo
In just one beautiful chorus, tenor saxophonist Harold Land demonstrates many of the quintessential traits of hard-bop saxophone, as well as several of his own personal traits that differentiate him from other saxophonists of the era.
Perhaps the first thing to note about Land is his tone. Rich, breathy, and light, Land dances around his horn, creating beautiful bop-inspired lines. There are very few players who play with a similar tone to Land’s, which is somewhat reminiscent of Benny Golson’s sound.
Land begins with a fairly standard ii-V lick ending on the 3rd of the opening Fmaj7 chord (0:56 on recording), which he uses as a springboard for a strong opening motif. The catchy opening motif is essentially a major pentatonic idea (0:58-1:00). Land then leaves space before launching into a long, perfectly voice-led line (1:01-1:07) that leads the listener into the B section. The space idea is very important for Land, who has a tendency to alternate between short and long phrases during his solo.
At the end of the first A, we hear Land echo a rhythmic motif from the melody with the 16th note triplets in measure 8 of his solo (1:06). Note that this rhythmic motif becomes an anchor for his solo, and is repeated with different pitches in measures 17 (1:20), 24 (1:29), 27 (1:34), 30 (1:39), and then twice in 32 (1:42-1:43).
The material that Land uses for his opening lines of the B section (1:09) is basically just major scales (Gb and then a 4-note chromatic pick-up into a descending B major scale before resolving on the concert F in measure 14).
A nice double-time lick (1:22-1:27) leads him back to the last A section, where he increases his use of the rhythmic quote from the melody, before ending with an allusion to the opening pentatonic motif (1:43-1:45).
Of particular note in this solo is Land’s articulation and use of ghosted notes. While Land often employs ghosted notes in his solo (notated in the transcription by parentheses), then are sometimes employed in non-standard places (the first two notes of triplets in measures 4 and 17, 1:01 and 1:19 respectively). Additionally, he articulates notes far more often than his contemporaries. Examples of this include the line from measure 5-7 (1:02-1:05), as well as the two lines in measures 10-14 (1:12-1:16). Land also makes great use of scoops into a number of his notes, which, along with his purposefully uneven time during his double-time passage and the blue note in measure 33 (1:44), are characteristics that differentiate Land from other players of the era.
Harold Land’s playing represents exactly what makes a good solo: it contains strong melodic ideas, perfect voice-leading between the changes, some tasty double-time passages, and hints of the melody sprinkled throughout the tune. Most of all, however, Land plays it with great intensity and emotion in what turned out to be one of the most important recordings of the 1950s.
Harold Land - Joy Spring Concert Transcription
Harold Land - Joy Spring Bb Transcription
Harold Land - Joy Spring Eb Transcription
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