Dick Oatts solo on Bohemia After Dark - 2012

Featured soloist with WBG Big Band

Navigating Harmony Through Contour & Chromaticism

In his solo on Bohemia After Dark, Dick Oatts creates tension through
consistent use of two primary techniques. The first method Oatts uses to
depart from the diatonic harmony appears in his solo break, one bar before
the top of the chorus. On an E-7 chord, Oatts ascends up an E minor scale,
paying 1-2-3-4-5-7 before departing from the tonality. Once Oatts reaches
the seventh, he changes both the harmony and contour of the line,
descending with C#-A# before resolving to a B (the fifth) at the top of the
form. I have named this the scalar ascent, chromatic descent technique.
Oatts uses this method several times throughout the solo. In bars 7-8, Oatts
again ascends up an E minor scale, this time playing 4-5-6-1, reaching the
root before descending and using notes outside the diatonic harmony. Roller
coaster.
This method is effective because he couples a tonality with a line
direction, making to the downward shift more significant as it simultaneously
breaks the contour of the line while introducing altered harmony.
Chromaticism is common in jazz improvisation, however, the use of line
direction in Oatts playing is unique. It makes his departures more clear than
if he incorporated chromaticism within a line moving in one direction. Oatts

frequently climbs to a register on the alto saxophone that speaks more

clearly than the lower, before navigating downwards and outside the
harmony. This use of range and contour are a couple of ways Oatts
improvisational voice is easily recognizable. Oatts goes on to use this
method in bars 22 and 25-26.
When analyzing Oattss use of chromaticism, it is clear that his note
choices are not random. Instead, used often as extended enclosures for
target notes of resolution. In the first bar of the solo, there are four notes
beginning on beat two that all surrounding the target on beat four, G (third).
Oatts plays two notes below and two above before landing on this note. This
method is seen again in bar nine and ten. In this instance, there are twelve
notes before landing on his target on beat one of bar 11. Chromatic
enclosures appear in bars 16, 23-24, and 26.