“Miles Tones” – An investigation the Baritone

Saxophone Sound
Gary Smulyan is considered by many to be the leading voice on the baritone
saxophone in the modern age and it is clear through his countless albums,
collaborations and recordings that this is true. Not least of which, in his recording of
“Miles Tones,” a contrafact of John Lewis’ “Milestones.” However, it is important, I
think, to investigate where his sound comes from, the evolution of the baritone
saxophone sound and how to incorporate this sound into practice.

Firstly, it is important to give some background into Gary Smulyan himself. Born in
Bethpage, New York, on the 4th of April 1956, Smulyan started playing the alto as a
young teenager, while still in middle school. Before graduating, he received the
opportunity to sit in with Lee Konitz, Chet Baker and Jimmy Knepper. He went on to
study at Hofstra University before being asked to play in Woody Herman’s “Young
Thundering Herd,” with the ‘Four Brothers’ line up alongside Joe Lovano in 1978. In
1980, Smulyan moved to New York City and joined the Mel Lewis Orchestra under
the direction of Bob Brookmeyer while also finding work with the Mingus Big Band
and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. Slowly establishing himself,
Smulyan would be asked to record and tour with many jazz legends including Freddie
Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Tito Puente, Ray Charles and B.B
King. On top of performing with the previously mentioned list, he has recorded over
10 albums under his own name with various groups, with players like Charles
McBride, Billy Drummond, Kenny Washington, Joe Magnarelli, John Fedchock, Dick
Oatts and Greg Abate.

Throughout all these albums, it is clear where Smulyan draws inspiration. Pepper
Adams was Smulyan’s baritone saxophone hero and the first player he listened to
when starting the baritone sax and it is evident throughout his sound. This brings me
to the reason why I chose to look at “Miles Tones” in the first place. When searching
around for what to transcribe, I obviously was drawn to bari sax players (considering
I am one). The thing that drew me to transcribe this recording was Gary’s sound.
Having listened to many different bari players, I noticed many similarities in the
sounds of Gary Smulyan, Pepper Adams and Leo Parker which will be the topic of
discussion for this analysis.

However, it is important to discuss the origins of the baritone saxophone sound

before we delve into these more modern players. Until the mid-1920s, the baritone
sax was considered a novelty instrument (much like the saxophone in its origins) due
to its awkward size and high price. Slowly, in the swing era, it was incorporated into
big bands like Duke Ellington’s with Harry Carney being the pioneering voice (and
generally considered to be the godfather of the baritone sax). Carney’s sound was
warm, full of depth and powerful, while also able to draw on different sweeter
colours through his use of vibrato and his ability to play comfortably in the higher
register. This similar sound can be heard in players from all ages, but more
specifically in Joe Temperley (1929 – 2016) and Paul Nedzela of the Jazz at Lincoln
Centre Orchestra. The Harry Carney sound would continue throughout the 30s with
many different big bands.

Entering the late 40s and through the 50s there started to emerge two distinct
sounds on the baritone. The first being the sound of Gerry Mulligan who took the
warmth and softer vibrato style of Harry Carney and produced it throughout the rest
of his horn. Mulligan would become known instantly by his soft, warm sound and
melodic playing. Mulligan also took this idea to the West Coast scene and a similar
sound can be heard on different horns by players like Stan Getz and Paul Desmond,
who’s sounds revolve around a light, warm, subtone oriented sound and melodic
playing. Others to take on this sound include Serge Chaloff, who I personally mistook
for a tenor when I first heard him due to his warm, Ben Webster like tone and higher
register playing. The second is the sound of Pepper Adams. Listing his main influence
as Harry Carney, Adams took the sound in the opposite direction of Mulligan,
focusing on the fullness and depth that Carney had, as well as the roughness that
Carney would get when playing loudly. Due to this, Adams was nicknamed ‘the knife’
for his full, rich and deep sound. Another defining characteristic of the sound is the
number of overtones that can be heard, adding a dirty edge. Other players with
similar sounds are Leo Parker, Cecil Payne and, later, Ronnie Cuber, Dennis Diblasio
and, obviously, Gary Smulyan.

This brings me to a point that I have across when researching the evolution of the
baritone sax sound. It is my belief that there are two different types of baritone
saxophone sounds: that of the West Coast Cool sound and the Hard Bop/Bebop
sound. While it seems that the West Coast sound has waned in popularity since the
1950s, it is clear that modern bari players are capable of both sounds easily and
some, like Nick Brignola, have had great success mixing the two. However, it is also
evident that most players take their inspiration from the Bebop and Hardbop sounds
of Pepper Adams and Leo Parker. This is evident when speaking to young bari
players. When Jason Marshall, a New York bari player (currently a member of the
Mingus Big Band and having released 3 albums with his own group, as well as
Smulyan’s student) is asked in an interview about who to listen to as a bari player, he
confidently states Leo Parker: “Square one on Baritone is Leo Parker. People say it’s
Pepper Adams,…it’s Gerry Mulligan,…it’s Harry Carney… I respect all of that. It’s Leo
Parker.” Anecdotally, when I was in New York at the end of 2018 I spoke with a
young bari player filling in for Gary Smulyan in the Vanguard Orchestra, he said he
listened to Gary Smulyan, Pepper Adams and Harry Carney, further illustrating that
this is the lineage of listening that bari players are listening too, myself included.

It was clear from listening to not only this Smulyan record, but almost all of them
that this is the lineage he followed too. “Miles Tones” is a contrafact of John Lewis’
tune “Milestones” which he wrote for Miles Davis in the 40s. This tune is often
referred to as the old Milestones, however, due to Miles Davis writing another much
more famous tune called Milestones which he released in the mid-50s. Smulyan’s
recording of “Milestones” is a medium swing tune at around 160 bpm and features
the head followed by a few choruses of bari solo and bass solo before the head
returns. Throughout the recording, Smulyan’s playing, and especially sound, is
dripping with the influence of Pepper Adams.

Smulyan’s sound on this recording is full, has great depth and a roundness to it, while
also having that edge that is common in the modern player (derived from the Bebop
sound previously discussed). His higher register notes are still full (while naturally not
quite as full as the lower register) and anything from his midrange is full of character.
The few times he drops below around a middle G (concert Bb2) the depth in his
sound is heard to the full extent and while the edge is more clearly defined in these
lower notes, there is no harshness or dirtiness that is often stereotypical of a
baritone sax player (like Leo P). Another Pepper-ism that Smulyan has obviously
adopted into his playing is the clarity with which he plays all his lines. This is most
obvious when in the second chorus when Smulyan plays a series of semiquaver lines.
It is obvious exactly what notes he is playing through the clarity of his tone and it is
clear the notes haven’t just been lost due to speed which can also be common in
younger players.

The inspiration and study by Smulyan of Adams can be heard when he plays tunes of
a similar tempo. For example, his solo on “Down Tempo” from Donald Byrd’s ‘Off to
the Races’ album has the same full bodied, rich sound that Smulyan has. While
Adams occasionally gets a little dirtier than Smulyan, any time Adams enters the
lower register, the exact same depth and fullness can be heard. The same can be said
for the upper register in that the notes still that characteristic Adams sound of power
and oomph. The middle range (in which he plays most of the solo) is full of character,
depth and power and again, like Smulyan, the clarity isn’t lost when more notes are
added. Each note is well defined, clean, crisp and clear, arguably even more so than
Smulyan’s playing. Similarities can also be heard when Adams picks up the tempo
and adds a semiquaver passage towards the middle of his second chorus (of the
blues). Every note is well defined, and you know exactly where he has come from
and, when he’s arrived, you know exactly where he has landed. In relation to the
clarity of speed, anecdotally again, on the same album, Adams can be heard pressing
the peddle to the metal over the tunes “Lover Come Back to Me,” “Off to the Races,”
(both up tempo swingers) and the other blues (at a slower tempo) “Sudwest Funk,”
where Adams rips many impressive semi quaver lines.

Comparisons can also be drawn to Jason Marshall’s square one, Leo Parker. While
Leo recording significantly less than Adams or even Smulyan, it is clear that Smulyan
took a page out of Parker’s book too. An example of Parker’s influence and
similarities can be heard on the tune “Parker’s Pals” from Leo’s album ‘Let Me Tell
You ‘Bout It.’ Parker’s tone, while slightly dirtier again than Adams or Smulyan’s, is
clear, defined, powerful and full of depth. Parker spends the majority of the solo in
the middle or upper register and the similarities become incredibly obvious between
the three players. The clarity in the fast passages is also heard very early in the solo,
when Parker rips a couple bars of semiquaver lines before continuing to swing along.
He illustrates this again towards the end of the solo when he plays a few more bars
of similar lines. In these lines, every note is incredibly clear and well defined and, like
Smulyan and Adams, you know where it starts, where it ends and where it went in
the middle. Two more examples of Parker’s clarity can be heard on the same album
in the tunes “Glad Lad,” “Vi,” and “TCTB (all up tempo swingers).”

In listening, learning and transcribing this recording, among other Smulyan

recordings (which will not be discussed because I didn’t do them for class), I gained
rather deep and useful insight into playing my own instrument and much greater
insight into the minds of my favourite players. I was always aware, as a player, that it
is important to listen to the people that mastered and laid the foundations before
you but I never really realized until this semester and in taking on this transcription,
how much some of my favourite players were influenced by the legends of the
instrument. At the start of this semester, I took it upon myself to really delve into the
greats of the baritone sax as, while I had listened to them, I had sort of glossed over a
few important recordings and players. This is what led me to this transcription and to
these conclusions I had come to.

Moving forward, somethings I’m going to incorporate into my practice include

(obviously) long tone exercises and, more specifically, filling up the horn with air and
trying to not concern myself with how loud I am. This should help me work on
control over the general sound I make as well as assisting in my dynamic control.
Another thing I need to incorporate into my practice is having the recordings I want
to emulate playing while I play. This should make trying to emulate these players
easier as I won’t be trying to remember what they sound like, because I’ll be listening
to them. Furthermore, I’ve learnt that I really need to transcribe more Pepper Adams
and Leo Parker specifically. Considering they are who I want to sound like, it would
only be logical to listen to and transcribe who I want to sound like.

Recommended Listening:

“Our Contrafacts” By Gary Smulyan, recorded on Steeplechase, 2020

“Motor City Scene” By Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams, recorded on Bethleham, 1960

“Let Me Tell You ‘Bout It” By Leo Parker, recorded on Blue Note, 1961

“Off to the Races” By Donald Byrd, recorded on Blue Note, 1959

“Rock Me Gently” By Harry Carney, recorded on Metronome, 1960

“Pepper Adams Quintet” By Pepper Adams Quintet, recorded on Mode, 1957

“What is there to Say” By Gerry Mulligan, recorded on Columbia, 1959

“Hidden Treasures” By Gary Smulyan, recorded on Reservoir, 2006