Another Way: Mike Morenos Improvisational Approach

Brandon Coleman MUS 539 - Studies in Jazz

Final Project Spring 2013

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Another Way

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New York City guitarist Mike Moreno has been making waves on the jazz scene in recent

years, known for his work with Kendrick Scott, Robert Glasper, Aaron Parks and vocalist Jill

Scott. Morenos fluid musicality, unique tone and his individual harmonic language set him

above the massive ranks of jazz guitarists on the scene today. One of his most personal

characteristics is his ability to play melodic and singable solos over seemingly complex chord

progressions.

Morenos sound is characterized by a dark and warm tone stemming from his full-hollow

body guitar, with a preference towards a touch of spring reverb and a long analog delay. Like

many other modern guitarists Moreno uses the delay to increase the guitars sustain, which

typically has a sharp attack followed by a quick decay.

To further explore Morenos language, I transcribed two solos from his 2008 record on

Criss-Cross, Third Wish. The first solo I chose to transcribe was from the original tune Street

Lights, a fast-paced post-bop song with chords reminiscent of Herbie Hancock. For the second

solo, I chose to transcribe Morenos interpretation of Wayne Shorters Children of the Night. I

obtained the charts to Street Lights and the arrangement of Children of the Night from

Moreno himself to assist me in my transcription and divulgence of his improvisations.

Street Lights1 is an interesting tune itself because the chord progression for

improvisation differs from that of the melody. However, due to similar structures within both

forms, the song stays glued together with strong thematic material. Deeply rooted in the vein of

70s modal post bop a la Joe Henderson or Herbie Hancock, Street Lights poses the challenge

1 Lead sheet attached. Handwritten chart, Mike Moreno.

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of fast-moving non-functional chords for improvisation. However, Moreno manages to

improvise seamlessly over these changes by using simple thematic material, triad pairs and

rhythmic displacement; he even manages to use the bebop scale in a modern context.2

Here we see the opening measures of Morenos first chorus. Over the final chord of the

tune, Moreno dovetails his solo in with an Fmin9 arpeggio over the Db6/9 chord. Moreno then

uses a 3/4 motif to kick off the solo; something that comes back later in the solo, but it remains

undeveloped for now. He implies G minor pentatonic over the F13sus chord, followed by an

ascending D Mixolydian scale in a rhythmically displaced fashion. Subsequent bars, as in the

excerpt below, show a post-bebop chromaticism in Morenos language, which is not often seen,

in modern jazz guitarists.

2 Full transcription attached.

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Morenos second chorus lays heavy on the motivic development. The excerpt below shows that

he begins with an intervallic shape and expands upon it for the first four bars. For the F13sus,

we get a taste of Morenos chromatic lines once again, followed by a nice example of triad pairs

over the D9sus; C major and G major triads, with slight ornamentation.

It is important to note here that Moreno cites Herbie Hancock as a major influence on his

writing and playing. The next excerpt shows Moreno developing a 3-over-4 hemiola pattern

similar to Hancocks playing with Miles in the 1960s. His 3rd chorus begins with an intervallic

motive in 3/4, displaced by one eighth note. This figure propels the solo forward, meeting with

another use of triad pairs on the D9sus chord (G and C Major triads).

The following measures feature another intervallic motive in 3/4, this time displaced by

one quarter note, thusly bringing more rhythmic tension to the table. He finishes off the phrase

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with a descending Eb Dorian scale, moving seamlessly in to the Gmin9 at the end of the phrase.

He uses a simple ornamented Gmin7 arpeggio to move into the next chord.

Moreno continues to expand his 3/4 rhythmic motives even further in the following

measures, this time beginning on the downbeat with descending minor 7th arpeggios from the

5th. He then ventures into more of his chromatic bebop material on the E9sus and F7 chords,

resembling a Charlie Parker line. Over the Bbmin11 he uses lower approach notes against a

Bbmin11 chord to melodicise the harmony.

At the end of Morenos fourth chorus, we see a variation on the ideas presented in the

measures above. He continues to use the 3/4 motive, this time in a descending scalar pattern. He

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biegins to use some of his bebop material again over the E9sus and F7 chords, returning to an

intervallic pattern on the Bbmin11 chord.

From Morenos solo on Street Lights, we can clearly observe his penchant for a

modern use of bebop language mixed with the triad pairs and intervallic patterns of the new

generation. His rhythmic vitality is clearly stated, and the way in which he uses it is very sonata-

like in that it is stated in similar places of the solo, yet developed in differing ways.

On Morenos arrangement of Wayne Shorters Children of the Night3, he dons an

acoustic guitar; he still retains his signautre touch and tone with an airy reverberation and light

touch of delay. He moves Shorters original key over C minor to B minor, a key that resonates

well with the guitar because of string tension and natural resonance of the instrument. In his

solo4 on Children of the Night, we see less of the hemiola and bebop language that we saw in

Street Lights, perhaps because of the more subdued mood and texture of this particular

language. In this situation, we see more of Morenos linear approach to harmony.

3 Lead sheet attached. Handwritten chart, Mike Moreno. 4 Full transcription attached.

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The opening measures have Moreno beginning with a very simple melodic statement.

Essentially rhythmizing the B Aeolian texture the opening chords provide, Moreno achieves a lot

from a small amount of material. The length of his notes makes the fast tempowhich is already

disguised by the arrangementseem even slower.

The next phrase shifts key centers in a typical Wayne Shorter-esque style; however

Moreno continues to play notes that are essentially linear patterns in B minor for the first four

bars of the harmonically shifting phrase. This is perhaps a nod to Shorters style of

improvisation. Moreno does use an instance of a remotely bebop line over the F#maj7 chord; he

uses scale-above, chromatic below enclosures over a F# major triad.

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A number of measures later, Moreno begins to uses more of his linear language while

introducing slightly more chromaticism to the lines. It should also be noted that his lines tend to

have an up-and-down motion to them, and the descending patterns often are attached to an

overriding rhythmic motive; this brings the solo unity as a whole.

The beginning of his second chorus starts with a quote of the melody, albeit in a

rhythmically obtuse fashion. Moreno begins to form longer phrases and more complex rhythms,

all the while remaining harmonically simple. This drives the solo even further, begging more

from the rhythm section as well. His lines begin to seemingly abolish the barline, and several of

his following phrases use anticipation and delay to further this effect.

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The final portions of the solo expand upon these ideas even further, which make evident

Morenos ability to cull a great amount of solo ideas from a small amount of material. This is

unique in the world of guitarists as many are flashy, or attempt to play as many impressive licks

as possible. Moreno manages to be melodic, harmonically and rhythmically vital, and musically

interesting, which are signs of a true master improvisor. I hope to learn more from Morenos

solos in the future.