This newsletter is about my music and performance and the 19 CDS I
created.
Greg Henry Waters
http://greghenrywaters.com/mp3
These 86 songs I recorded are a reflection on my
popular or jazz music life in
This also includes the scope of my music
performance which is five main woodwind instruments, (Clarinet, Flute,
Saxophones, Soprano, Alto and Tenor) jazz, classical, Latin, traditional forms,
new forms of music, compositions in all these styles. It is a total sum
of my music career. I have tried to place all this information on these
19 CDS and also make it easier for you to choose two or three so you can have
the scope of my musical and creative performance. I am not a Kenny G nor do I
want to be. I want to be a GREG HENRY WATERS which I am even though my
reviewers are always asking me to be more commercial. I think there is a
lot of commercial music here and maybe even too much. I believe music is
an art form and is not a road to become rich like most musicians or pop
musicians and companies are trying to do.
I hope you will read my notes here to get some idea at the history of these 86 songs and how they relate to my life and music. The song form which was started in the Dance Suites of J.S. Bach and how this music has developed and changed in the last 5 hundred years. The past is always with us and is in our lives no matter how we try to be free.
Here in
Anyway, I would like this musical journey to bring
to an understanding of the development of western jazz music from the 1950's to
the present. We live in the world economy now not in isolated countries. In
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These songs were composed in
NYC by me for the
All Originals: composed by
Greg Henry Waters Blues, Tenor Saxophone, Ballad,
Flute Waltz, Clarinet Mainstream, Tenor Saxophone Up Tempo, Soprano Saxophone Bossa, Clarinet and Tenor Saxophone Latin Salsa, Tenor Saxophone Latin, Modern Soprano Saxophone and Up Tempo Tenor Saxophone
The first song is a Blues, 12
bar feel, the second song is a ballad (16 bars), the 3rd song is a traditional
jazz waltz which I personally like so much, it is said that the waltz is the
closes rhythm to the humans condition. So that the waltz should be the style
that is heard more than the 4/4 rhythm but this is of course not true the 4/4
rhythm is the strongest or the most rhythmic pattern used.
The student of music should
get to know these different song forms and their relation to the one another
because if you perform traditional songs you will come across these patterns in
your studies and in your performances. The 4th song is a moderate tempo tune
right next to and up tempo tune. You see, the relationship between the
two tempos is a force in jazz music. The up tempo song in the early days
was a way of testing the musician ability to perform at different levels.
The up tempo proves a performers ability to reach a high standard of
performance just like the race driver or the runner works out to win a race and
goes as fast as they can. In music we have these types of conditions so a
performer has to have this ability to perform at many different tempos and accented
rhythms.
All Originals: Blues, Ballad,
Waltz, Mainstream, Up Tempo, Bossa, Latin Salsa, Latin, Modern and Up Tempo
Now we come to the Latin part
(Bossa) of jazz that played such a big role in NYC when the Latin's move there.
The mambo was the bases for everything when it comes to Latin
The next two songs are
traditional Latin styles, Salsa and Cha Cha. This is where the
percussionist sets a rhythm pattern and repeats it and the bass and piano has a
certain pattern to play over and over again. It is this repetition that
adds to the closeness of the song and the feeling of the song. The
problem for me with modern pop music is that the patterns have gotten so simple
it is almost stupid or if not just plan stupid. But if one adds an interesting
harmonic pattern which I have done in these songs it becomes quite interesting
and original. This is what makes these songs interesting is the harmonic
pattern of the harmony and the chord sequence.
The last two songs had to do
with the modern harmony in jazz and classical music which started in the early
20th century. 12 tone music and modal music which all seemed to take off
during the first part of the 21st century. The
So too conclude I have placed
all the musical standards and rhythms of the 20th century in these 10
songs. I hope you can learn to hear the difference and learn to
appreciate the styles of this music.
All Originals: Blues, Ballad,
Waltz, Mainstream, Up Tempo, Bossa, Latin Salsa, Latin, Modern and Up Tempo
2. Greg Henry Waters
Originals, 11 Songs, 56
This set of songs covers the
period of 1968 to 2004. (From my days in
Shopping in Shenzhen Shopping in Shenzhen, (clarinet) was composed
for my friend Frog who was a musician here in Shenzhen and had the ability to
play some jazz. Of course he was into Rock'n roll and other forms of pop
music and he liked the fusion music. So I composed these three songs for
him here in Shenzhen. I believe these songs catches the flavor of rock
and Latin rhythms with modern jazz harmony and melody which is in an
instrumental style and not a vocal style of music.
If you listen to Bach's
Cool Outside Cool Outside Waltz, (Clarinet) was a traditional
jazz waltz style created by some of the leading jazz artists of the 60's.
I was just trying to put my version of this song form in my 32 jazz songs book
which I created to have a song written by myself that would include all the
song forms in jazz at that time of music history. (8, 8, bridge, 8, four bar
tag form is the form of this song)
Diago Part VI, Clarinet and Tenor Saxophone, Is
the Bossa Nova style I talked about in the Diago Rivera Jazz Suite who is the
famous
Suite for Paul Part 1,
This first song is a mellow
soft and gentle song which Paul was for the most part except maybe when he was
playing lead trumpet.
This song is in the tradition
of jazz from the sixties. Please read Paul's page for more information
about him and this music I composed here in
Swinging Down China Lane, and China Jazz, is an attempt to reach the Chinese
Public with Jazz. This song is based on a folk melody and using tradition
modern jazz harmony in the background. It is really that simple. (Using
the traditional 16 and 32 bar song form) (Using western jazz
harmony and rhythms to create the effect.) When I perform these
songs I always ask the native Chinese people if they know this song and they
all say yes.
Diago Part IV, The 4th song is a moderate tempo
tune featuring the main stream jazz tradition of the 1960.s
Diago Part III,
the 3rd song is a traditional jazz waltz which I personally like so much, it is
said that the waltz is the closes rhythm to the humans condition. So that the
waltz should be the style that is heard more than the 4/4 rhythm but this is of
course not true the 4/4 rhythm is the strongest or the most rhythmic pattern
used.
Blues for Today, This is a tune I composed in
and about 1968 in
Area Code 416 Swing. Is a sixteen bar
song form up tempo tune for easy learning and good improvisation style. This is a tune also from my 32 original jazz song
book. This book was an attempt to perform original
songs and having the musicians easily read the music and learn.
While in
Aerguli Latin, This song is based on a Chinese
folk song which I arranged and tried to make it a serious attempt at mixing,
jazz, Latin rhythm and the melodic style of Chinese music all in one song or
performance. In these songs I always improvise like in the jazz tradition
dating back to the early 1920's in the States. Composed in
Shopping in Shenzhen, Cool Outside Waltz, Diago Part VI, Suite for Paul Part 1, Swinging Down China Lane, Diago Part IV, Diago Part III, China Jazz, Blues for Today, Aerguli Latin, Area Code 416 Swing.
3. Latin Dance Set, 10 Songs, 57
Slow
2. The syncopated (is the up beat) music for this dance in 4/4 time.
3. Tito-
Rumba 1. A complex rhythmical dance that originated in
This Rumba style features the
basic Latin Rumba rhythm featuring brushes and Congas. With P,B,G,D(brushes
and Congas). Strings @b. T =90-140. Uses brushes -
Samba, 1. A Brazilian ballroom
dance of African origin. 2.
The Samba was first danced in
2. In the style of Dave Grusin,
Lee Ritenour. It features electric piano, fretless
bass and Latin drums with a backbeat. It works with tunes where you'd like an
upbeat driving Samba feel.(100-150)
Cha Cha
1. A rhythmic ballroom dance that originated in
2. This Cha Cha retains the basic rhythm and adds a
push bass pattern thru-out. With El. Piano, Frt. Bass, Ac. Guitar, Drums &
Strings (at 'b').
Bossa Nova which is a song
style which came from
Trio Bossa -
Nylon Guitar ala C Byrd, b & brushes. Guitar Uses 'intelligent' voicing using
typical Bossa syncopation.
Do you want to
Dance? All these songs use the same basic beat with different accents and
tempos in each song. For example a Rumba is very slow like a Ballad in
Western
Cha Cha
chords are II V II V I I and when they play a
Amazing Grace, Nearness of You, I've
Grown a Custom to Your Face, Masquerade,
As Time Goes By, Amore,
April in Paris, Brazil,
All of You, and
Am I Blue
Sorry this is such a long
newsletter. If you made it this far that
is great!
The rest of the comments are
on the internet here. http://greghenrywaters.com/mp3/cdnotes.html
Greg Henry Waters
Remember to send me e-mail if
this is too much for you so you can cancel it.
A local record store will be
selling my cds in the near future.