Jazz And Music Analysis: Dizzy Gillespie's Night In Tunisia

A virtuosic trumpet player, proficient composer, and a “brilliant showman” (Mcdearman 233) are all phrases that can describe the great Dizzy Gillespie. Right on the sunset the Big Band era, yet right at the dawn of the Be-Bop era, Dizzy Gillespie’s composition of “Night in Tunisia” flawlessly blends Big-Band, Bebop, and even Afro-Cuban styles all into one timeless and iconic jazz tune; it is impossible to put this tune into just one category because of its seamless transitions and inclusions of all three styles (Farington, pg. 166). In 1942, Dizzy Gillespie composed, arguably, his most influential and well known song in all of jazz and music history. “Night in Tunisia” was an important reflection of the time, an important stepping stone to

The overlaying form of the tune is relatively standard compared to a lot of the Big Band era tunes. However, it is the slight adjustments and additions that make it interesting and engaging for listeners beyond the different harmonic and instrumental ideas. For instance, the song follows an AABA form, however, there are feel changes and timbre shifts that differentiate it from other jazz songs that had previously been released. For instance, each A section starts in the latin/afro-cuban style. There is an intro as well that starts with an ostinato bass pattern that outlines the two alternating chords of the A section that carries throughout the A section (Thomas). There is a strong presence of layers in this song: on top of the bass, there is the latin/afro-cuban drum groove along with a saxophone effect that has small, stepwise motion. The next layer in the A section features a solo trombone that plays a mellow sounding legato line that is responded to by the trumpet section with a strong interjection every two bars. This continues for 14 bars and at the end of the A section there is a two bar change where the band moves from the latin/afro-cuban feel into a very straight ahead swing feel. At the end of the first A section, there is a very brash and harsh trumpet interjection where the trumpet plays a higher and lower note back and forth three times. The general layers of the bass,

The initial rhythmic texture is really determined first by the bass, but then also by the drums. The bass is responsible for setting up the rhythmic undertone of the first section; in this recording there is a very prominent straight 8ths feel which is a very typical attribute of latin and afro-cuban music. The drums can be heard playing a type of Afro-Cuban or “Beguine” rhythm that also has straight 8th notes and is primarily played on the snare drum with the snares off giving it a more latin feel. The other rhythmic texture is a straight ahead swing feel, common for most big band songs. The drummer is playing a swung 8th note pattern on the hi-hat and the bass is walking with the chord progression, seamlessly connecting the chord changes. Each groove is established for the band by these two instrumentalists The drummer is the musician that is primarily responsible for facilitating these changes through the use of “fills” or “set-ups” meaning that they play in the rhythm of the next rhythmic texture in order to guide and show the band the rhythmic division of time that they need to play. If they are playing straight 8th notes, the drummer will play with swung 8th notes, and visa versa. This is crucial since this piece goes between two styles so