This study analyzes the piano performance style shown in the duo album Ella & Oscar, released by jazz pianist Oscar Peterson with jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald in
1975. The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of Oscar Peterson'...
This study analyzes the piano performance style shown in the duo album Ella & Oscar, released by jazz pianist Oscar Peterson with jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald in
1975. The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of Oscar Peterson's piano performance revealed in the album's tracks and to identify the
aspect of his performance with vocals.
For the study, a total of five songs were selected for detailed analysis, including “Mean To Me”, “How Long Has This Been Going On?”, “When Your Lover Has
Gone”, “More Than You Know” and “There's A Lull In My Life”, except for four late tracks in which Bass participated in the performance. I wrote and analyzed
the performance of the above five songs in detail in three aspects: melody, rhythm, and harmony. Additionally, by comparing and analyzing the examples of playing the same song with different musical instrument combinations to derive musical characteristics based on composition, we tried to present the performance characteristics more clearly, especially in the jazz genre's duo composition. The following is a summary of the common characteristics of the songs analyzed in this paper.
1. The piano right-hand melody was characterized by forming a melody organically combined with vocals, such as playing the same note as the vocal melody at the same time or placing the corresponding note before and after in units of eighth notes.
2. A voicing was constructed by adding six notes to the M7 code, and the six and seven notes were repeatedly placed simultaneously through the composition of
chords or the progression of the left-handed arpeggios.
3. Various compound code techniques such as invaders, hybrids, and operational structures were used consistently.
4. In terms of rhythm, the left-handed stride technique and modified cross rhythm were actively used to compensate for the absence of the bass and drum, and the bass was reinforced through melodic elements such as arpeggios and working bass.
5. The semi-progress through irregular up and down of both hands was high (70.6%), making a clear contrast with similar progression-oriented performances in
other arrangements.
The results of this analysis show that in the jazz genre duo composition, the piano went beyond a simple accompaniment role to reinforce the melody, rhythm,
harmony, and bass, and that the performance focused on the interaction with the vocals while supplementing the absence of other instruments. Additionally, Oscar Peterson clearly demonstrates that he performs by changing the improvisation and playing method according to the composition type by identifying the difference in performance between duo composition and other composition.
In Korea, academic research and educational materials on duo performance consisting of vocals and instruments are relatively insufficient, so this study can
be used as a useful basic data for jazz performers who attempt to perform in various musical instruments by analyzing and organizing the role and technique of
piano players in duo composition in detail. It is expected that this paper will lead to more active research on piano performance in duo composition in the future.