Microrhythmic Measurements in the Count Basie Band: An Analysis of the Eighth-Note Division in "Basie-Straight Ahead"

Abstract: This study applies the ideas developed by Matthew Butterfield to the microrhythmic measurements present in Count Basie's recording of "Basie-Straight Ahead" to see why this ensemble favored a specific division of the eighth note. Butterfield's research focuses on comparing the length of the downbeat and the upbeat in a series of jazz solos and on the effects caused by the various divisions of the eighth-note pattern. He claims that all "swung" eighth notes do not imbue musical passages with the same rhythmic response but that this depends on the length of the downbeat and the upbeat. The values were taken from this Count Basie recording due to the influence that this ensemble had on the rhythmic foundation of the big band canon.