While I await my copy of Dan Charnas’ book Dilla Time, I’m listening to lots and lots of James Dewitt Yancey. As I was poking around WhoSampled.com, I noticed that Dilla used a sample of Gary Burton in three different tracks in three consecutive years. It’s five seconds into Burton’s 1967 recording of Carla Bley’s tune “Sing Me Softly of the Blues.”
Here’s my transcription:
Presumably Dilla was drawn to this sample due to a combination of its harmony, rhythm and timbre. The sample’s basic harmony is a V-I cadence, B7 resolving to E. However, the B7 is really a bar each of B7b9 and F7(#11). These chords contain the not-very-E-major-ish notes C and F, respectively. Meanwhile, the E chord is actually E9sus4. That adds up to a lot of abstraction and ambiguity. The rhythm in the first bar of the sample is complex, too, a polyrhythmic-sounding half note triplet. The last note of the triplet extends into the rest of the bar, further blurring its metrical function. The timbre is pillowy and indistinct, thanks to the vibraphone’s inharmonics and the soft attack of the mallets.
Let’s dig into the sample flips!
Flip one: The Pharcyde – “Bullshit” (1995)
My transcription:
This first example is also the most complex one. There are two layers of the Gary Burton sample. One is pitched way up, and other is at its original pitch (well, almost; they are both tuned 44 cents sharp). The lower part starts with the E9sus4, and then jumps back to the F7(#11). The higher part is the descending triplet sped up extremely with a lot of echo or delay on it. Taken together, the whole thing sounds like it’s in E minor, not E major.
Flip two: Busta Rhymes Feat Zhane – “It’s a Party (J Dilla remix)” (1996)
My transcription:
The Gary Burton sample is pitched up a half step to F minor. There is no triplet part; it’s just a couple of chords with tempo-synced quarter note delay. The high-pitched melodic sound is mysterious. I originally guessed it was strings, but no, it’s obligato vocals doubling a chromatic harmonica from a Tom Scott record. Cool!
Flip three: Slum Village – “Things U Do (Remix)” (1997)
My transcription:
Here the Gary Burton sample is pitched down to A minor (but not all the way, it’s 38 cents sharp.) It sounds like it has been aggressively filtered to remove the highest and lowest notes in the chords. The sample plays a repeated Am to E7 progression. The bassline has leading tones in it, which is very rare in hip-hop. That bassline seems like a repeated loop, but it’s not; every so often there’s a subtle variation in it. The likeliest explanation is that Dilla just played the whole thing live rather than programming it. If so, he has breathtaking focus and groove.
Note that I have not come close to conveying the nuances of these tracks’ groove or timbre, and of course with any Dilla production those are the two main things. But I love a good repurposed melody or harmony, and Dilla was great at those too.
This, by the way, is not the only Gary Burton sample that Dilla used. Here’s another one, and another one, and another one, and another one, and another one. The man loved Gary Burton!
Yall, white men really get on my nerves with this. Why is that everything black folx do you have to study it and break it down? Why though? It only benefits you and your cis white male privilege. You are not the know all in the Hip Hop Ed group on FB as your white colleagues treat you. This ain’t cool at all. The white washing needs to stop. Noone asked for this. And, how do you know why Dilla did what he did and why he was drawn to it,? So many ppl, specifically white men writing books, blogs, post, and essays about Dills to profit and make a name for themselves. You know whoelse is tired of it? His family. Stop it. We black folx still code in our music and talk to one another in our music. You weren’t invited, so stop inviting yourself to our conversations. Gtfoh!
You’re right, I don’t know why Dilla used this sample so many times. All I can do is try to hear what’s in the music. I don’t see how I’m harming his family or anyone else by writing this kind of thing, but if I am causing harm, I need to know how and why so I can not do it in the future.