Footprints (composition)

"Footprints" is a jazz standard composed by saxophonist Wayne Shorter and first recorded for his album Adam's Apple in 1966.[1] The first commercial release of the song was a different recording on the Miles Davis album Miles Smiles recorded later in 1966, but released earlier.[2] It has become a jazz standard.[3][4]

Rhythm

Wayne Shorter in 2006

Although often written in 3
4 or 6
8, it is not a jazz waltz because the feel alternates between simple meter and compound meter. On Miles Smiles, the band playfully explores the correlation between African-based 12
8 (or 6
8) and 4
4. Drummer Tony Williams freely moves from swing, to the three-over-two cross rhythm—and to its 4
4 correlative.[5]

The ground of four main beats is maintained throughout the piece. The bass switches to 4
4 at 2:20. Ron Carter’s 4
4 figure is known as tresillo in Afro-Cuban music and is the duple-pulse correlative of the 12
8 figure.[6] This may have been the first overt expression of systemic, African-based cross-rhythm used by a straight ahead jazz group. During Davis’s first trumpet solo, Williams shifts to a 4
4 jazz ride pattern while Carter continues the 12
8 bass line.

The following example shows the 12
8 and 4
4 forms of the bass line. The slashed noteheads indicate the main beats (not bass notes), where one ordinarily taps their foot to "keep time."

{ \relative c, << \new Staff << \new voice { \clef bass \time 12/8 \key c \minor \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 100 \stemDown \override NoteHead.style = #'cross \repeat volta 2 { es4. es es es } } \new voice { \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 100 \time 12/8 \stemUp \repeat volta 2 { c'4 g'8~ g c4 es4.~ es4 g,8 } \bar ":|." } >> \new Staff << \new voice { \clef bass \time 12/8 \key c \minor \set Staff.timeSignatureFraction = 4/4 \scaleDurations 3/2 { \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 8 = 100 \stemDown \override NoteHead.style = #'cross \repeat volta 2 { es,4 es es es } } } \new voice \relative c' { \time 12/8 \set Staff.timeSignatureFraction = 4/4 \scaleDurations 3/2 { \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 100 \stemUp \repeat volta 2 { c,8. g'16~ g8 c es4~ es8. g,16 } \bar ":|." } } >> >> }

Harmony

Harmonically, "Footprints" takes the form of a 12-bar C minor blues, but this is masked not only by its triple time signature but by its avant garde turnaround. In the key of C minor, a normal turnaround would be Dm7(♭5), G7, Cm7. But Shorter doubles the harmonic rhythm of the turnaround, and the progression reads: F♯m9(♭5), F7(♯11), E9(♭5), A7(♯9), Cm7. In jazz jam sessions and for educational purposes, players often choose D7(♯11) D♭7(♯11) Cm7 as turnaround, which also fits with the original melody.[7]

Notable covers

References

  1. ^ Waters, Keith (11 March 2011). The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68. Oxford University Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-19-983016-9. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Stories of Standards: "Footprints" by Wayne Shorter". KUVO. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  3. ^ Gioia, Ted (2021). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. Oxford University Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-19-008717-3. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  4. ^ Cheyne, Peter; Hamilton, Andy; Paddison, Max (2019). The Philosophy of Rhythm: Aesthetics, Music, Poetics. Oxford University Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-19-934777-3. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Footprints" Miles Smiles (Miles Davis). Columbia CD (1967).
  6. ^ Peñalosa, David (2010: 43). The Clave Matrix; Afro-Cuban Rhythm: Its Principles and African Origins. Redway, CA: Bembe Inc. ISBN 1-886502-80-3.
  7. ^ Boras, Tom (2005). Jazz Composition and Arranging. Thomson/Schirmer. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-534-25261-8. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  8. ^ Jurek, Thom. Kenny Barron – Images: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 24, 2017.