Recordings from
Persona Digital Studio
Pieces by Bands and Musicians
we have arranged, performed
and recorded

Beatles
Bob Marely
Bread
Chicago
Creedance Clearwater Revival
Dave Sanborn
Dizzie Gillespie
Eagles Erasure
Herbie Hancock  
Huey Lewis
Jennifer Rush
Joe Zawinul
John Denver
Joni Mitchell
JS Bach
Linda Ronstadt
Louis Armstrong
Miles Davis
Mozart
Pat Metheny
Queen
Rippingtons
Steely Dan
Stephen Gislason
Stevie Nicks
Tom Jobim and João Gilberto
Wayne Shorter
 

Recordings from Persona Digital
Recording Arts and Science
P2500 Band
Persona Classical Consort
Em4U
Stephen Gislason

The Sound of Music

All About Sound

John Coltrane

Coltrane was one of the jazz greats that passed through the Miles Davis school of innovative jazz. He is considered by many to be one the best tenor saxophonists in jazz history. His solos were dense with notes and complex in conception. His album  "Giant Steps" features the most complex harmonic structures in jazz. Coltrane was admirable in many ways: Beyond his technical virtuosity as a jazzman he explored world music and many religious traditions, seeking that elusive understanding. He was inspired by Igor Stravinsky's innovative compositions and looked for the magic code that underlies the power of musical composition. He studied the remarkable anthology of scale permutations and combinations in Nicolas Slonimsky’s Thesaurus of Scales.

Coltrane was also a tragic figure, lost in in the heroin/alcohol fog that swallowed many of the great jazz players. His interest in the permutations and combinations of novel scales and obscure, painfully long improvisations eventually alienated even the most devoted fans.

Scott Anderson's essay on John Coltrane, Avant Garde Jazz, and the Evolution of “My Favorite Things” , (1996) offers a perspective on Coltrane and a detailed analysis of several  variations on this familiar tune.

See Nicolas Slonimsky’s Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns (New York: Coleman-Ross, 1947), a book of nearly 1000 scales described by its author as a “reference book for composers in search of new materials”

Persona Studio Recording.

Lazy Bird appeared on Coltrane's 1957 album, Blue Train. The A section of "Lazy Bird"  features two tonal centers a major third apart, an idea that would be developed as the Coltrane changes,  harmonic progression variations using substitute chords over common jazz chord progressions. The ability to blow over the Coltrane changes remains one of the standards by which a jazz musician's improvising ability is measured. The changes serve as a pattern of chord substitutions for the II-V-I progression.

Coltrane's classic, Lazy Bird, was arranged by Stephen Gislason and Recorded by the Trinity P2500 Band

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Many of the topics presented online are from the Sound of Music by Stephen Gislason.
During September 2010 you can  Download a Free Copy. Your comments are welcome.  

Persona Digital Studio is located on the Sunshine Coast, Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada. www.personadigitalstudio.com  email  music@personadigitalstudio.com. Our Music catalogue includes recorded performances by the P2500 Band, Em4U, and the Persona Classical Consort. Music downloads are available from iTunes, Napster, AmazonMP3 and from our companion website: Persona Digital.  We have enjoyed association with Reverb Nation who provides an online service for musicians to present and market their music.