Deep-Dive into Live From Emmet's Place performance of "Falling in Love with Love" with Cyrille Aimee

 

Cyrille Aimee Four Chorus Solo (4:47-7:16)

 

Chorus #1 (4:47) - Blues Motif

Starts solo with a technique she would use on A sections throughout this solo: Repeating and sequencing melodic riffs over the F major pentatonic scale. It is used very bluesy, following the tone that Emmet set in his solo.

Cyrille goes to singing a guide-tone solo, adeptly singing phrases that hug the ii-V-Is in Bb, F, and especially the most difficult one in A. She is more salty on the A sections and sweet on the B. She uses tasty small amounts of chromaticism, very difficult to vocally execute, in the B section guide tone soloing.

 

Cyrille returns to her bluesy motives on the last A

 

Chorus #2 (5:23) The #9

Expands the blues harmony by now stressing the #9 on the tonic chord of F7. In the original, the chord is an Fma7, but treated like a F7, now given the even spicier F7(#9).

 

She continues motif soloing, seeming like she’s channeling Ella.

Quotes, “I Got it Bad and That Ain’t Good”

 

On B section, again skillfully goes against her motivic A section repetition with ii-V-I improvising.

 

Chorus #3 (6:02) Building intensity

Cyrille is building the intensity with double x figures, including a quick triplet figure. She is also keeping the blues.

 

She is adding range by going for high notes.

 

She is going back to more repetition in the last A.

 

This is the most melodic B section that she’s improvised. It’s almost like she was laying down a new melody to the tune. It was a nice change up from the A section ideas.

 

Chorus #4 (6:39) Carried intensity

Most energy provided by the rhythm section.

 

More of everything we’ve heard but louder and more intense.

 

Cyrille carries the intensity of her solo directly into the Head-out.

 

TIP: In planning to improvise on a song, it doesn’t hurt to map out a few different ways of approaching it, using your particular skill set. Judge the tone of the song, and figure out, loosely, what might work. It doesn’t mean memorizing your solo and singing it in performance, but to jam out some ideas in the practice room and try them out in the context of your rehearsal or performance.

 

TIP: Sometimes singing your highest notes can overpower the sound system. Cyrille pulls back on the mic to find the right balance of volume. Be conscious of this when you belt high notes.

 

Arrangement:

16 measure Introduction

32 measure Head-in sung by Cyrille

32 measure x 6 Emmet Cohen solo (6 choruses)

32 measure x 4 Cyrille Aimee scat solo (4 choruses)

32 measure Head-out sung by Cyrille

Tag and ending The last few bars tagged with an ending

 

Conclusion and 10 Thought-Provoking Questions