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The Style of Buddy DeFranco

Author: AndyW
Date: 2023-05-12 15:20

I was working this text up from one page in an near-illegible / badly scanned PDF book of solos, & thought I could share here, for fans of signore Boniface Ferdinand Leonardo DeFranco.
I'd happily credit the original author, but I've no idea who it is.

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The Style of Buddy DeFranco
1) His tone has an almost liquid quality, rich, woody and round like a classical sound. His tone is
commonly considered more "classical" than Goodmans, though it has roots in the Benny Goodman / Artie Shaw tone.

2) Articulation in very smooth and even.

3) Vibrato-less tone, which was a major component of the Bebop style, is where be began to differ from his clarinet predecessors

4) Phrasing is very polished and tends to accent top notes of phrases.

5) Flawless, technical virtuosity which gained law both fame and criticism.

6) Scales he favours in order of frequency:
a) bebop dominant d) half step diminished
b) chromatic e) whole-tone
c) bebop major/ or major f) blues
(these(?) are the predominant scales used in Bebop by all players)

7) Uses the BIues scale or patterns built on the key of the tune. (e.g. Key of D, D blues)

8) Uses substitutions frequently and here are some of his favourites:

On major chords = play a major triad built on 6th degree of chord. This contains a raised root

On major or dominant chords = play 1whole step above the chord.
= play a tritone away from chord.
= play 1 whole step below the chord.

On minor or dominant chords = play half step above the chord.

On a ii-V7 progression = play a ii - V7 a half step above the chords.

9) Masterful sense of chord to chord voice leading is more sophisticated than the Goodman’s approach to harmony.

10) Has command of an entire arsenal of Parker and bebop patters. Most of his patterns are dominant oriented.
Not that many ii - V7 patterns are evident.

11) Has an affinity for using the altissimo range to extend his melodic concepts. His great dexterity in this register allows him to perform as easily in it as in any other register. He also differs from his predecessors and contemporaries by not using the altissimo register predominantly for high pedal notes,

12) Places(?) patterns up or down by half or whole steps.
Very effective way of making slow moving harmony more interesting.
There are several examples of this process in the transcriptions

13) Most of his phrases are in even eighth notes, the primary rhythmic figure in bebop.
He uses varied rhythms in order to supply rhythmic freshness to his solos.

14) Equality of facility in all twelve keys, which was another contribution of the Bebop era.
This equality also pertains to tempos

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-Andy-

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