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    From Tin Pan Alley to the Royal Schools of Music : the institutionalisation of classical and jazz music : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology at Massey University [at Albany]
    (Massey University, 2000) Ubeda, Patricia Rosalind
    This thesis argues that the development of both classical and jazz music has been influenced by motivating conditions which have existed within differing and changing religious, social and political regimes. It argues also that the motivating conditions have been generated and regenerated by social forces and factors in society. Presently, a breakdown of these former modes of regulation, which created a gulf between classical and jazz music, is taking place as both genres come under one institutional administrative locus, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. A focus has been made on new opportunities for the teaching and the learning of jazz piano music generally as presented by this institution. An implication is made that a break-down of attitudes, identified within social class, which previously kept classical and jazz music apart is taking place. This theoretically driven narrative locates both classical and jazz music against their respective historical backdrops. From this perspective, the ideas of various theorists have been drawn upon in order to make an understanding of how the motivating conditions are perpetuated. Attitudes, opinions and experiences from local classical and jazz music teachers and pupils, past and present, among others, are drawn on to solidify the theoretical arguments made in this thesis. Whilst an institutional wedding of classical and jazz music has taken place, philosophical artistic difference and intellectual development of each genre based on socialisation, it is argued, will remain.
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    Creativity in Jazz : a thesis submitted to Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy [in Music]
    (Massey University, 2014) Meehan, Norman Lawrence
    Common discourses around jazz generally acknowledge the centrality of creativity to the music, but scholarship on what precisely creativity is in jazz, and how it might best be enhanced isn't well developed. While the work of some scholars, for example Ed Sarath and R. Keith Sawyer, does critically address these questions to some extent, they are in the minority. In this thesis, I first investigate the extensive scholarly literature on creativity, drawing predominantly from social science and education contexts, and then apply some of the most relevant frameworks to jazz. These frameworks draw several key aspects of jazz practice into sharp relief, in particular the respective roles of individuals and ensembles and the ways they work in common, and the provenance of musical materials in creative jazz practice. With these key ideas acting as a theoretical lens, I view the historical practice of three unquestionably creative jazz musicians: Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington. The choice of these musicians in particular is important because their example, when understood through the lens of creativity, reveals creative practice to be attributable to understandable procedures that are available to all accomplished musicians. My conclusions call into question more traditional modes of jazz history and criticism, which while acknowledging the music’s collective nature, tend to emphasise the roles of individuals as primary in jazz. Instead, my research suggests that creativity is best achieved in group contexts where diversely gifted participants work collaboratively in egalitarian, interactive, improvised settings. Individuals do make significant contributions to this mix, and in terms of creative advances in jazz – and in terms of achieving meaningful self-expression – the most important quality individual musicians can pursue is the development and expression of unique musical voices. In addition to improvised interactivity among unique individual voices, the adoption of musical materials from outside of jazz and their transformations (along with similar transformations of musical materials already common currency among jazz musicians) can be shown to serve both the expressive goals of musicians and propel jazz in creative and potentially fruitful directions. It is the improvised colloquy of such individual voices, transforming received and newly acquired musical materials in the service of self-expression that contributed to the lasting allure of the music attributed to Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington. Saxophonist Jan Garbarek is proposed as a contemporary musician who has made use of all of these strategies in forging jazz music that demonstrates fidelity to the core processes of jazz while only provisionally embracing some of the style features of earlier forms of the music – style features that common jazz discourses have tended to emphasise at the expense of the processes that gave rise to them.
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    Against all odds : the life and music of Michel Petrucciani : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2007) Broadhurst, Philip Douglas
    Michel Petrucciani, jazz pianist and composer, was a major figure in the history of French jazz who achieved much critical and popular success in his short life span. In 1999 when he died at the age of 36, he was enough of a hero in his own country to warrant inclusion alongside Duke Ellington and Miles Davis in a series of postage stamps celebrating great jazz artists. He was one of only a handful of European jazz musicians to achieve success in the U.S. This thesis examines Petrucciani's life and music with particular emphasis placed on the evolution of his playing and composing styles through close analysis of selected piano solos and a range of compositions representing different periods of his career. An overview of his musical and personal life, as he battled with osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare bone disease that prevents growth to adult size, is also included, along with a study of the influence of pianist Bill Evans on Petrucciani's playing.
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    Elements of jazz : thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music, Conservatoriu of Music, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) Jackson, Leigh
    This thesis examines the unique musical and cultural elements particular to jazz improvisation. The topics of scales, melody, voicings, harmony and rhythm are examined in separate chapters with over two hundred notated musical examples used to demonstrate the materials in their context. This thesis also seeks to explain the relationships between these elements and presents the material material in a form applicable to improvisation. In its relatively short history jazz has developed many unique musical and cultural elements. The fact that most of these musical elements have been developed in an improvised environment means that the complexity of the harmonic, melodic and rhythmic material presents more than an academic challenge for the studentof this music. To play jezz rrquires a deep understanding of the complex relationships that exist between melody, harmony and rhythm. This must go beyond an academic understanding because the practical application of this knowledge ultimately determines whethe the elements can be used spontaneously in improvisation. To explain the theoretical material that underlies jazz improvisation, various types of musical shorthand and complex techniques of cross-referencing have evolved. Until more recently most of these techniques have been kept within the profession and were shrouded in mystery, with most information being passed directly from master to student. The relative lack of literature on the theoretical components of jazz, and the fact that most of its finest examples only exist in recorded form, have exacerbated this situation. In the last decade or so several books have been Written in an attempt to decipher jazz. The best of these works contain a large academic component with an emphasis on using the material in the context of improvisation. The theoretical complexity of jazz rivals any other western or non-western from of music, but the way in which it has been taught is based on the African tradition of aural learning through imitation. As jazz has grown in complexity, the tradition of learning improvisation solely by imitation has proven to be inadequate. The modern trend towards the blending of theoretical, practical and intuitive learning, has created a need to find new ways of organising the ever increasing material. This thesis seeks to examine the elements of jazz and categorise and organise the information in a more efficient way. The thesis is divided into chapters exploring scales, melody, voicings, harmony and rhythm. The subject of scales is explored with reference to traditional and extended structures and their particular relationship to harmony. To describe the relationships between scales and chords several charts and diagrams are employed, with parallel and derived approaches as a basis. Jazz contains many unique ways of generating and structuring voicings, with 4-way close, drop 2, slash chords anbichords, pentatonic derivatives, upper structures and quintal structures forming basis of this study. The similarities and differences between European classical harmony and extended jazz harmony are explored, with an emphasis on the techniques found in jazz. To explore this connection many written examples show the gradual introduction of harmonic density, from simple four-part writing through tro the of upper structure, alteration, substitution, superimposition and polyphonic elaboration. Basic reharmonisation and techniques of variation in chord progressions are explored, with a comprehensive study of chord substitution. Transcribed examples from the jazz repertoire are used to trace melodic and harmonic chromaticism, with reference to the parallel developments in rhythm. The use of polyrhythm, displacement, rhythmic grouping and metric modulation are examined with an emphasis on the parallel developments in harmony and melody. This thesis also contains several essays that examine the relationship between jazz and 20th-Century music the evolution of chromaticism in jazz, and the unique culture of jazz improvisation.
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    Developmental devices used to create coherence and unity in multi-movement suites in a modern jazz orchestra setting : an exegesis submitted to Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Musical Arts in Composition, New Zealand School of Music
    (Massey University, 2013) Brake, Ryan
    Solipsis is a six-movement composition for a seventeen-piece jazz orchestra. Each movement was composed to possess its own unique qualities and be able to stand alone. Yet one of the main objectives of this project was to create unity and coherence through the entire suite through the use of non-musical ideas like programmatic themes and conceptual ideas as well as applying various musical techniques such as melodic motifs, harmonic progressions and concepts, chord voicings and rhythm to develop musical ideas. As a way of creating a sense of unity between each of the pieces, each movement is inspired by themes and motifs inherent in the film Synecdoche, New York, and musical concepts such as nonfunctional harmony (modal harmony and atonal harmony) form the basis for much of the melodic and harmonic material contained in Solipsis. As preparation for the composition of Soilipsis I studied two three-movement suites from two of the more prominent jazz orchestra writers working today; One Question, Three Answers written by Jim McNeely, and Scenes from Childhood by Maria Schnieder. What follows is a detailed analysis of their works followed by a comprehensive breakdown of my own Solipsis.
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    The application of the teaching methods of Opher Brayer in the compositions of jazz pianist Yaron Herman : developing a portfolio of original compositions based upon these concepts : a thesis submitted to Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Performance, New Zealand School of Music
    (Massey University, 2013) Brown, Alan
    Yaron Herman is a talented and influential Israeli-born jazz musician, currently residing in Paris. At the age of 31, he has released six albums, the first when he was 21. What is more remarkable is that he only started learning the piano at the age of 16 (following a sports injury that curtailed his basketball career dreams), under the tutelage of Opher Brayer, who used a combination of philosophy, mathematics and psychology. The intent of this research is to firstly, identify and understand the key concepts of Brayer’s methods as applied by Yaron Herman, and secondly, develop a portfolio of compositions utilising these principles. A recital of these tunes will then be presented.
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