The Jazz Sax & Improvisation Blog of Saxophonist Bobby Stern

Marvin Gaye Sessions #2 - Tomorrow Comes

6/26/2013

After seemingly scoring some points with Marvin (Gaye) and Harvey (Fuqua) with a brief tenor solo on "'Til Tomorrow" (see Part 1), I talked my way into having them invite me back for some more fun the next day.

When I found out they were going to be recording in Munich for a few more days, before Marvin headed back over to Ostend, Belgium, I had to try to convince them I could still be useful; and while I don't consider myself one of those individuals born with the gift of gab, whatever I told them worked.

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Marvin Gaye Sessions - 'Til Tomorrow, Pt 1

6/20/2013

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Marvin Penz Gaye

It was a typical Munich summer's afternoon in 1982 when I got back to my apartment and found a message, that I was to call Arco Studios back about a "Marvin Gaye Session".

I had been doing a modest amount of studio work in those days, mostly as a tenor saxophone soloist, as saxophone solos were common on many pop recordings of the '70's & '80's.

Munich, as far as Europe went, was a pretty major recording town. It was a center of the "Disco" boom of the '70's, and the city boasted several film music recording studios, hosting rooms large enough to hold entire orchestras. Arco was one of those places.

I called the number which was left with the message and a guy with a deep, resonant Barry White type voice answers. I gave him my name and that I was contacted about a session.

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Korner Karnataka #3 - "Yagapriya", The Jazz Version

6/13/2013

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Let's take a look at a very hip sounding scale, Melakarta #31, known as Yagapriya. As you can see on the keyboard graphic to the left, Yagapriya has an unusual interval makeup:

1 1/2 steps - half step - half step - whole step - half step - half step - 1 1/2 steps

The interval scheme of the second four notes (tetrachord) is the reverse of the first four notes, separated by a whole step.

Yagapriya can also be thought of, in western terms, as 4 triads: (In C) C Maj., C min., F Maj., & F min.

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Korner Karnataka #2 - Melakarta #15, Double Harm. Maj. & Graha Bedham

6/7/2013

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A Melakarta, in Carnatic (South Indian) Music is a scale consisting of seven notes (swaras), which among meeting other qualifications, must include a root (Sa) and a perfect fifth (Pa).

The individual swaras of a Melakarta are identified with syllables, similar to Western solfege:
Sa - Ri - Ga - Ma - Pa - Da - Ni - Sa
(Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do)

There are 72 Melas, organized into 12 chakras (groups) of 6 Melas each. The second-half group of 36 Melas is identical to the first half, except that each of the Melas belonging to the second half has a raised 4th degree (M2).

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Marvin Gaye Sessions #2 - Tomorrow Comes

Marvin Gaye Sessions - 'Til Tomorrow, Pt 1

Korner Karnataka #3 - "Yagapriya", The Jazz Version

Korner ﻿Karnataka #2 - Melakarta #15, Double Harm. Maj. & Graha Bedham

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Korner Karnataka #2 - Melakarta #15, Double Harm. Maj. & Graha Bedham