Score-informed analysis of intonation and pitch modulation in jazz solos

The paper presents new approaches for analyzing the characteristics of intonation and pitch modulation of woodwind and brass solos in jazz recordings. To this end, we use score-informed analysis techniques for source separation and fundamental frequency tracking. After splitting the audio into a solo and a backing track, a reference tuning frequency is estimated from the backing track. Next, we compute the fundamental frequency contour for each tone in the solo and a set of features describing its temporal shape. Based on this data, we first investigate, whether the tuning frequencies of jazz recordings changed over the decades of the last century. Second, we analyze whether the intonation is artist-specific. Finally, we examine how the modulation frequency of vibrato tones depends on contextual parameters such as pitch, duration, and tempo as well as the performing artist.