("Mr. P.C. Album Cover") ("Golden Krithis Colours Album Cover")
Overall Thesis
Throughout this investigation, I discovered that "Mr. P.C." and "Saamajavaragamana" are musically linked, despite their cultural and tonal differences. For their melodies, they both follow versions of the Minor Pentatonic Scale. For their forms, they both follow Call and Response. For their meters, they both use syncopation.
Introduction
In this investigation, I will compare jazz standard "Mr. P.C." by John Coltrane and a traditional South Indian (Carnatic) piece "Saamajavaragamana" by Tyagaraja.
John Coltrane wrote "Mr. P.C." in the bebop era. Like many bebop tunes, "Mr. P.C." is characterized by the presto tempo. For the purpose of this investigation, I will use Coltrane's original recording from his "Giant Steps" album, which I found on YouTube. The medium is a jazz quartet with tenor saxophone on the melody and a rhythm section of piano, bass and drums on the accompaniment.
"Saamajavaragamana" is a Carnatic piece written by the saint Tyagaraja in ancient times. It is characterized by a more moderate tempo. For the purposes of this investigation, I will be using a recording by Pundit Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and Ustad Zakir Hussain from their album, "Golden Krithis Colours," which I also found on YouTube. The medium is the Carnatic violin on the melody and the tabla on accompaniment. Even though the violin is a western instrument, in this Carnatic context, it is tuned to fit the harmonies and overall style of Carnatic music. There is also a drone played by a Sruthi Box in the background.
Due to the great difference in style, instrumentation, harmonic texture and key centers between the two culturally-distinct pieces, they do not have any similarities regarding medium, harmony and context. However, they do have strong musical links in aspects of their forms, melodies and meters. My investigation will focus on these three similarities and also the subtle differences within each of those categories.
John Coltrane wrote "Mr. P.C." in the bebop era. Like many bebop tunes, "Mr. P.C." is characterized by the presto tempo. For the purpose of this investigation, I will use Coltrane's original recording from his "Giant Steps" album, which I found on YouTube. The medium is a jazz quartet with tenor saxophone on the melody and a rhythm section of piano, bass and drums on the accompaniment.
"Saamajavaragamana" is a Carnatic piece written by the saint Tyagaraja in ancient times. It is characterized by a more moderate tempo. For the purposes of this investigation, I will be using a recording by Pundit Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and Ustad Zakir Hussain from their album, "Golden Krithis Colours," which I also found on YouTube. The medium is the Carnatic violin on the melody and the tabla on accompaniment. Even though the violin is a western instrument, in this Carnatic context, it is tuned to fit the harmonies and overall style of Carnatic music. There is also a drone played by a Sruthi Box in the background.
Due to the great difference in style, instrumentation, harmonic texture and key centers between the two culturally-distinct pieces, they do not have any similarities regarding medium, harmony and context. However, they do have strong musical links in aspects of their forms, melodies and meters. My investigation will focus on these three similarities and also the subtle differences within each of those categories.