[Monday Notes No. 186] ‘Two Areas’ is a piece from pianist Kenny Barron’s album ‘Peruvian Blue’. The American musician, who is still active today, is one of the greatest performers of ‘mainstream’ jazz; his music is deeply rooted in the jazz tradition. This album, however, is influenced by the music of the 1970s and features jazz-rock and fusion sounds.
On ‘Peruvian Blue’, Kenny Barron makes extensive use of the electric piano and clavinet; he is also accompanied by a typical fusion rhythm section, comprising electric guitar and percussion instruments. The album features a blues number and a jazz standard, as well as rhythms inspired by South America and modal pieces.
‘Two Areas’, a track composed by guitarist Ted Dunbar, is a modal piece based on a short theme and extensive improvisations that unfold over a single chord. The piece opens with a long sustained pedal on the D-flat Lydian scale. The Lydian scale is a major scale with an augmented fourth.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
If you’d like to find out more, you can read the lesson on modal music.
After the introduction, we hear the theme, which once again begins in the Lydian scale of D flat.
The theme continues with a more rhythmic section, which also briefly touches on the D minor 7 and F7sus chords; the latter chord is taken up again in the modal coda of the piece.
The theme is followed by the first improvisation, performed by guitarist Ted Dunbar on the D-flat Lydian scale. In fact, although the notes are the same, the bass places particular emphasis on the G note, shifting the tonal centre towards a Locrian mode of G.
The solo begins with just the guitar (1’13’’), then the other instruments join in gradually. This gradual building up is very evocative and effective; the gradual return of the rhythm section launches Dunbar’s solo, which lies halfway between rock and jazz.
After a reprise of the theme, we hear Kenny Barron’s improvisation (3’36), which also begins alone. Once again, the key notes are those of the initial mode, D-flat Lydian. In this instance, the bassist emphasises the note C more strongly, transforming the scale into the C Phrygian mode.
The concept may not be immediately obvious to those unfamiliar with modal jazz, so let’s try to simplify it: both the theme and the improvisations are based on the same seven notes: Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C. However, during the solos, the double bass emphasises a different note each time, thereby altering the colour of the scale.
It is only in the coda of the piece (8’33’’) that we hear a genuinely different scale: the F Mixolydian. This scale is derived from the piece’s final chord, F7sus. ‘Two Areas’ is therefore a piece conceived entirely in a modal framework, which does not resort to the typical functional harmonic progressions of tonal jazz.
Click here to download my transcription of ‘Two Areas’, from the album ‘Peruvian Blue’
Kenny Barron’s music is generally a fine example of great elegance and refinement. In ‘Two Areas’ and throughout the entire album ‘Peruvian Blue’ however, we can appreciate a more bold, almost reckless style of playing. As well as his absolute mastery of the piano, here we also hear a youthful vigour that blends with the captivating sounds of 1970s music, straddling the line between jazz and rock. I hope this listening experience proves to be a delightful discovery for my readers, just as it was for me.