Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar

Marcos da Rosa Garcia

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13

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Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar

Marcos da Rosa Garcia

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 10, Issue 1)

Received: 26 December 2021 Accepted: 11 January 2022 Published: 17 January 2022

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Abstract

This paper brings information and data about the work of jazz guitarist Mundell Lowe, who has influenced many musicians for over fifty years and is widely recognized for his imaginative and “orchestral-like” method of accompaniment. Mundell Lowe was born on a farm in Laurel, Mississippi, United States, on April 21, 1922, and died on December 2, 2017, he has often been described as a “guitarists' guitarist”. This study provides transcriptions and analysis of his accompaniment (comping) approach on all ten pieces from After Hours, the highly regarded 1961 album by the vocalist Sarah Vaughan. The data analysed in this paper is based on the biographical material and interviews of the guitarist plus transcriptions of the album mentioned - both transcriptions and interviews were done and conducted by the author as part of a doctored research. Lowe's complete accompaniment work is examined in detail and, for on this paper, few samples of his playing on the album were selected and presented for better explanation - the samples are written on traditional music notation. The findings disclose his techniques and tendencies pertaining to chord voicings, harmonic choices, treatment of intros and endings, double-stops, rhythmic devices, reharmonization, as well as several other techniques that embody his stylistic approach. Much of his style can be traced, and so related, to his musical background, his experience as a performer and arranger, and his interest in music styles beyond jazz.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13
Page(s)	16-27
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Jazz Guitar, Accompaniment, Mundell Lowe, Transcripts

References

[1]	Benson, Ed. 2005. “Mundell Lowe: 70 Years in the Music Business,” Just Jazz Guitar Magazine, May: 88-98.
[2]	Berger, Edward. 1986. First Ladies of Song. Various artists. Imports Label.
[3]	Boling, Mark. 2004. Creative Comping Concepts for jazz Guitar. Pacific: Mel Bay.
[4]	Brian LaClair, “Jim Hall: An Exploration of Jim Hall’s Guitar Stylings on the Album The Bridge by Sonny Rollings” (DMA diss., Five Towns College, New York, 2015).
[5]	Carlton, Jim. 2009. Conversation with Great Jazz and Studio Guitarists. Pacific: Mel Bay and Bill’s Music Shelf.
[6]	Crockett, Jim. 1972. “Long Time Jazz Great,” Guitar Player Magazine, May/June: 14-39.
[7]	Galbraith, Barry. 2010. Guitar Comping: Jazz Guitar Study Series. New Albany: Jamey Aebersold Jazz.
[8]	Gourse, Leslie. 1993. Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan. New York: Da Capo Press, Kindle.
[9]	Garcia, Marcos, Rogine, Peter. 2014. “Interview with Mundell Lowe,” recorded November 19.
[10]	Garcia, Marcos. 2016. “Interview with Mundell Lowe,” recorded September 9.
[11]	Garcia, Marcos. 2017. “Interview with Mundell Lowe,” recorded March 7.
[12]	J. Richard Dunscomb and Dr. Willie L. Hill, Jr. 2002. Jazz Pedagogy: The Jazz Educator’s Handbook and Resource Guide. Van Nuys: Alfred Music.
[13]	Levine, Mark. 1995. The Jazz Theory Book. Petaluma: Sher Music Co.
[14]	Lowe, Mundell. 2014. “Official web site.” Accessed November 27, http.www.mundelllowe.com.
[15]	Lowe, Mundell. 1956. Guitar Impressions. New York: Melrose Music Corp.
[16]	Lowe, Mundell. 1978. World’s Greatest Jazz Solo: Guitar. N. P.: Almo Publicatons.
[17]	Lowe, Mundell. 1996. Creative Jazz Guitar, vol. 191. VHS, Hot Licks, Instructional Music Videos. New York.
[18]	Lowe, Mundell. 1982. Fake Book, Studio City: Dick Grove Publications.
[19]	McNeely, Jim. 1993. The Art of Comping. Rottenburg N, Germany: Advance Music.
[20]	Norman, Morgan. 1983. The History of the Guitar in Jazz. New York: OAK Publications.
[21]	Owens, Thomas. 1995. Bebop: The Music and its Players. New York: Oxford University Press.
[22]	Piston, Walter. 1955. Orchestration. New York: W. W. Norton Company.
[23]	Schmitz, Alexander. 2010. "Mundell Lowe, 90,” Jazz Podium 61, no. 5, May: 32.
[24]	Yanow, Scott. 2013. The Great Jazz Guitarists: The Ultimate Guide. Milwaukee: Backbeat Books.
[25]	Varga, George. 2008. “Mundell Lowe,” Jazz Times, December: 40-42.
[26]	Vaughan. Sarah. 1961. After Hours, RKO Pathe Studios. Music Entertainment, Jazz Heritage Society. 5152883. CD.

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Marcos da Rosa Garcia. (2022). Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 10(1), 16-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13

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ACS Style

Marcos da Rosa Garcia. Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2022, 10(1), 16-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13

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Marcos da Rosa Garcia. Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar. Int J Lit Arts. 2022;10(1):16-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13,
  author = {Marcos da Rosa Garcia},
  title = {Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {16-27},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20221001.13},
  abstract = {This paper brings information and data about the work of jazz guitarist Mundell Lowe, who has influenced many musicians for over fifty years and is widely recognized for his imaginative and “orchestral-like” method of accompaniment. Mundell Lowe was born on a farm in Laurel, Mississippi, United States, on April 21, 1922, and died on December 2, 2017, he has often been described as a “guitarists' guitarist”. This study provides transcriptions and analysis of his accompaniment (comping) approach on all ten pieces from After Hours, the highly regarded 1961 album by the vocalist Sarah Vaughan. The data analysed in this paper is based on the biographical material and interviews of the guitarist plus transcriptions of the album mentioned - both transcriptions and interviews were done and conducted by the author as part of a doctored research. Lowe's complete accompaniment work is examined in detail and, for on this paper, few samples of his playing on the album were selected and presented for better explanation - the samples are written on traditional music notation. The findings disclose his techniques and tendencies pertaining to chord voicings, harmonic choices, treatment of intros and endings, double-stops, rhythmic devices, reharmonization, as well as several other techniques that embody his stylistic approach. Much of his style can be traced, and so related, to his musical background, his experience as a performer and arranger, and his interest in music styles beyond jazz.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar
AU  - Marcos da Rosa Garcia
Y1  - 2022/01/17
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 16
EP  - 27
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
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AB  - This paper brings information and data about the work of jazz guitarist Mundell Lowe, who has influenced many musicians for over fifty years and is widely recognized for his imaginative and “orchestral-like” method of accompaniment. Mundell Lowe was born on a farm in Laurel, Mississippi, United States, on April 21, 1922, and died on December 2, 2017, he has often been described as a “guitarists' guitarist”. This study provides transcriptions and analysis of his accompaniment (comping) approach on all ten pieces from After Hours, the highly regarded 1961 album by the vocalist Sarah Vaughan. The data analysed in this paper is based on the biographical material and interviews of the guitarist plus transcriptions of the album mentioned - both transcriptions and interviews were done and conducted by the author as part of a doctored research. Lowe's complete accompaniment work is examined in detail and, for on this paper, few samples of his playing on the album were selected and presented for better explanation - the samples are written on traditional music notation. The findings disclose his techniques and tendencies pertaining to chord voicings, harmonic choices, treatment of intros and endings, double-stops, rhythmic devices, reharmonization, as well as several other techniques that embody his stylistic approach. Much of his style can be traced, and so related, to his musical background, his experience as a performer and arranger, and his interest in music styles beyond jazz.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Marcos da Rosa Garcia

Music Department, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Paraíba, Jo?o Pessoa, Brazil

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APA Style

Marcos da Rosa Garcia. (2022). Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 10(1), 16-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13

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ACS Style

Marcos da Rosa Garcia. Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2022, 10(1), 16-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13

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AMA Style

Marcos da Rosa Garcia. Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar. Int J Lit Arts. 2022;10(1):16-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13,
  author = {Marcos da Rosa Garcia},
  title = {Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {16-27},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20221001.13},
  abstract = {This paper brings information and data about the work of jazz guitarist Mundell Lowe, who has influenced many musicians for over fifty years and is widely recognized for his imaginative and “orchestral-like” method of accompaniment. Mundell Lowe was born on a farm in Laurel, Mississippi, United States, on April 21, 1922, and died on December 2, 2017, he has often been described as a “guitarists' guitarist”. This study provides transcriptions and analysis of his accompaniment (comping) approach on all ten pieces from After Hours, the highly regarded 1961 album by the vocalist Sarah Vaughan. The data analysed in this paper is based on the biographical material and interviews of the guitarist plus transcriptions of the album mentioned - both transcriptions and interviews were done and conducted by the author as part of a doctored research. Lowe's complete accompaniment work is examined in detail and, for on this paper, few samples of his playing on the album were selected and presented for better explanation - the samples are written on traditional music notation. The findings disclose his techniques and tendencies pertaining to chord voicings, harmonic choices, treatment of intros and endings, double-stops, rhythmic devices, reharmonization, as well as several other techniques that embody his stylistic approach. Much of his style can be traced, and so related, to his musical background, his experience as a performer and arranger, and his interest in music styles beyond jazz.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Mundell Lowe’s Accompaniment Style on the Electric Guitar
AU  - Marcos da Rosa Garcia
Y1  - 2022/01/17
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 16
EP  - 27
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221001.13
AB  - This paper brings information and data about the work of jazz guitarist Mundell Lowe, who has influenced many musicians for over fifty years and is widely recognized for his imaginative and “orchestral-like” method of accompaniment. Mundell Lowe was born on a farm in Laurel, Mississippi, United States, on April 21, 1922, and died on December 2, 2017, he has often been described as a “guitarists' guitarist”. This study provides transcriptions and analysis of his accompaniment (comping) approach on all ten pieces from After Hours, the highly regarded 1961 album by the vocalist Sarah Vaughan. The data analysed in this paper is based on the biographical material and interviews of the guitarist plus transcriptions of the album mentioned - both transcriptions and interviews were done and conducted by the author as part of a doctored research. Lowe's complete accompaniment work is examined in detail and, for on this paper, few samples of his playing on the album were selected and presented for better explanation - the samples are written on traditional music notation. The findings disclose his techniques and tendencies pertaining to chord voicings, harmonic choices, treatment of intros and endings, double-stops, rhythmic devices, reharmonization, as well as several other techniques that embody his stylistic approach. Much of his style can be traced, and so related, to his musical background, his experience as a performer and arranger, and his interest in music styles beyond jazz.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download