Billie's Bounce - What are the right notes?

Comparing versions of “Billie’s Bounce”

Charlie Parker’s blues “Billie’s Bounce” is a staple in the jazz repertoire. Most jazz musicians know it well, and it has been recorded by dozens of legendary players. It appears in many fake books. Comparing recorded versions by Parker and others, and comparing with various print versions, there are disagreements on a number of details. How should this tune really go?

I became interested in this project after reading an article by Henry Martin in Music Theory Online, discussing Parker’s compositional techniques. The article included an image of a lead sheet in Parker’s hand titled “Bill’s Bounce” from the 1945 copyright submission, deposited at the Library of Congress. This chart was significantly different from the way I had been playing this tune for many years, and also did not match the most widely-known print versions - those in the Real Book Vol. 2 and Charlie Parker Omnibook.

To clarify Parker’s intentions, one primary reference has to be the Savoy master, which was the last of five takes recorded on November 26, 1945. This would have been the only available reference for most earlier musicians, until the other four studio takes were released by Savoy in 1956. 

The Library of Congress lead sheet in Parker’s hand is significant, but perhaps not definitive. It does not completely match Parker’s recordings. It would not have been known to most musicians of the last 70 or so years (although it would have been available, had anyone cared to ask).

Other significant references are the other four Savoy takes recorded that day, and also three live Parker recordings from 1946, 1950, and 1951. The live recordings have poor sound quality, and different transcribers may hear them differently. Indeed, even the Savoy studio recordings are heard differently by various transcribers.

Less significant, but definitely interesting, are various print sources. Each represents a (sometimes anonymous) transcriber’s hearing of the tune. Fake books have been a major influence in disseminating “common knowledge” versions.

My thanks to Henry Martin for his comments and suggestions, and to Carlos Ribas, for spectrum analysis of some notes in the recordings.

My proposal for a "correct" melody is at the end of this post.

Points of difference 

Points of disagreement between various recorded and print sources are shown below, on a re-charted copy of Parker’s Library of Congress manuscript. Title, chords, and other features, including octave changes in m.6 and m.11, are copied exactly from the original manuscript.

1. m.1 beat 2+, G or G#
2. m.1 beat 4, D or Eb
3. m.3 beat 4, eighth note D on 4+, or not
4. m.4 beat 2, turn or not
5. m.5 beat 2+ and beat 3, Obvious typo in manuscript for these two notes. Note on beat 2+ is either A or Ab. Note on beat 3 is Bb in all sources.
6. m.8 beat 2+, E or F
7. m.9 beat 3, turn or not
8. m.9 beat 4+, F or G

Recordings

As I hear them, except where otherwise indicated. I should note that when trumpet and alto are both playing, it can sometimes be unclear whether the most audible note is Parker’s or the trumpet’s.

Savoy take 5 (master), Nov. 26, 1945

Youtube link

1. G on the first three heads. Last head uncertain, possibly G#. Mark Voelpel, transcriber for the “Best of Charlie Parker,” heard G# on the last head. Henry Martin heard G on all 4 heads.
2. Eb on all 4 heads
3. eighth note D on 4+ in all takes, but ghosted so much as to sometimes be almost inaudible.
4. turn
5. A on 2+, but possibly Ab in first head
6. F
7. no turn
8. F (Voelpel heard F#. No other transcriber or print version agrees with this.)

Savoy takes 1-4, Nov. 26, 1945 

Carlos Ribas used spectrum analysis on two spots to determine pitch, as noted below. All 5 takes have the same notes, except as indicated below. Quite a few clams from Miles. 

Youtube links: Take 1  Take 2  Take 3  Take 4

1. I heard G on all of these takes. Carlos electronically measured G# on first head of take 1 (Voelpel agreed, in a blog comment). Carlos measured G on the beginning of the Parker solo on take 3, where Parker quotes the head. 
2. Usually Eb. Also clear Eb on take 3 Parker solo, where he quotes the head. Possible D in first head of take 1.
3. eighth note D on 4+ in all takes, but ghosted. Clearer on take 2, head #2.
4. turn in all takes
5. A on 2+
6. F
7. no turn
8. F 

Finale Club, Los Angeles, 1946

Sound quality is poor. At start of his solo, Parker quotes the first chorus of his 1945 recorded solo on the take 5 master.

Youtube link

1. G (possibly G# on third head)
2. Eb (possibly D on third head)
3. first head no eighth note D on 4+, other 3 heads ghosted (uncertain)
4. turn
5. A on 2+, but possibly Ab on third head
6. F
7. no turn
8. F

Pershing Hotel Ballroom, Chicago, Nov. 5, 1950

Sound quality is poor. Splices in tape eliminate beginning of solo and beginning of out-head. Band is local musicians; Parker does not play harmony part, but rather plays entire melody.

1. G
2. D
3. no eighth note D on 4+. Poor sound, but I don’t hear the note, ghosted or not.
4. no turn
5. hard to hear, perhaps Ab on 2+
6. F
7. turn on last 3 heads
8. F

Hotel Diplomat, NYC, Jan. 19, 1951

Youtube link

1. In m.1 of second head Carlos measured G. I hear G both times.
2. Eb
3. I hear no eighth note D on 4+, but uncertain; almost inaudible
4. no turn
5. A on 2+, on both heads
6. F
7. turn
8. F

Clark Terry and His Section Eights, 1947 V-disc

Henry Martin suggested that this may have been the first recording with the fifth note played G#, and possibly the source of this commonly-played “mistake.” This version adds a turn on m.8 beat 2. Parker is not on this recording.

Youtube link

1. G#
2. D
3. no eighth note D on 4+
4. turn
5. Ab on 2+
6. F
7. turn
8. G

Print sources

Library of Congress Manuscript

Lead sheet in Parker’s hand. If it was created after the recording session, it either reflects Parker’s recollection of how it was recorded, or his thoughts after the session on how he wanted it to go. Copyright was registered 12/1/45, just 6 days after the session, so it is also possible that this chart was created before the session.

1. G
2. D
3. no eighth note D on 4+
4. no turn
5. typo in manuscript - eighth note on 2+ should be either A or Ab, going to Bb on beat 3
6. F
7. no turn
8. F

Charlie Parker, Composer

Book by Henry Martin, examining all of Parker's compositions. “Billie’s Bounce” chart is modeled on Savoy master (take 5).

1. G
2. D
3. eighth note D on 4+
4. turn
5. A on 2+
6. F
7. no turn
8. G

Charlie Parker Omnibook

Transcriptions mostly by Ken Slone. However, the head seems to have been copied exactly from Aebersold Vol. 6 “Just Bird” play-along pamphlet (1976), so probably not transcribed by Slone, who created most of the rest of this book (1978).

1. G#
2. D
3. eighth note D on 4+
4. turn
5. A on 2+
6. E
7. turn
8. F

The Best of Charlie Parker

Transcriptions by Mark Voelpel (pub. Hal Leonard) Head is mostly based on take 5, with some consideration of other Parker recordings.

1. G#
2. Eb
3. No eighth note D on 4+
4. turn
5. A on 2+
6. F
7. no turn
8. F#

Selected Fake Books

Library of Musicians’ Jazz

1950s or 1960s (?) bootleg, unknown transcriber. Note items 1. and 2.

1. G
2. Eb
3. No eighth note D on 4+
4. turn
5. A on 2+
6. F
7. no turn
8. G

The Great Gig Book

1980s (?) bootleg. Note items 1. and 2.

1. G
2. Eb
3. No eighth note D on 4+
4. turn
5. A on 2+
6. F
7. no turn
8. G

Charlie Parker Tune Book

Collection of head transcriptions on fredparcells.com

1. G#

2.  Eb (in sax harmony part)

3.  No eighth note D on 4+

4.  no turn

5.  Ab on 2+

6.  F

7.  no turn

8.  F

Original “Classic” Real Book Vol. 2 

1970s or 1980s bootleg, unknown transcriber

1. G#
2. D
3. eighth note D on 4+
4. turn
5. A on 2+
6. E
7. turn
8. F

Real Book Vol. 2 (pub. Hal Leonard)

Typo in m.1 beat 1 - missing a natural sign. Notes match version in bootleg “classic” RB vol. 2; probably derived from there. Unknown transcriber.

 

1. G#
2. D
3. eighth note D on 4+
4. turn
5. A on 2+
6. E
7. turn
8. F

The Bird Book, aka Charlie Parker Real Book

Transcriptions by Masaya Yamaguchi. This chart appears to be from the same digital file as the Hal Leonard Vol. 2 Real Book (same font, identical spacing, etc.), except that this file has been edited in two spots: In bar 1, to add a natural sign that was missing in the RB, and in bar 9, where the last note has been changed from F to G.

1. G#
2. D
3. eighth note D on 4+
4. turn
5. A on 2+
6. E
7. turn
8. G

Conclusions and comments

Regarding each point of difference:

1. Most of Parker’s recordings have a G here. Parker and/or Miles seem to have played the fifth note as G# in some of the Savoy takes. The manuscript says G. Perhaps there was some experimentation in the studio, and they tried it both ways. Alternatively, perhaps there were intonation issues. Martin hears all 3 live recordings as G, every time.
2. The manuscript shows D, but Parker seems to have generally played Eb. In Savoy take 3, where he begins his solo quoting the head, he also clearly plays Eb. Several print sources, probably modeled on the Savoy master, show Eb. In many Parker blues solos, he plays the flat 7 note (Eb in this case) in bars 1 or 4, before a chord change to Bb7, thus making the F chord sound more like V7 of Bb. The Eb works nicely in voice-leading as the alto line continues to D (the third of Bb7) in the harmony part, below the trumpet line.
3. There does seem to usually be an eighth note D on 4+, but it is ghosted.
4. Parker plays a turn here in all recordings except the Pershing Hotel and Hotel Diplomat (in those recordings, he adds a turn in bar 10). It’s the sort of embellishment that one might sometimes choose to play, or not. 
5. The manuscript clearly shows wrong notes here, although it may be pertinent that it seems to show a half step. Parker seems to have played it as A to Bb nearly always.
6. In the recordings, Parker plays F every time. The only sources showing E are the bootleg Real Book, the Hal Leonard Real Book, and the Bird Book, which may derive from each other (in that order), to some extent.
7. Most sources show no turn here, though the Omnibook does, and there seems to be a turn in the Pershing Hotel recording, as well as in the Hotel Diplomat performance. As mentioned in 4. above, this is an embellishment that one could just call optional.
8. This note is played F in all Parker recordings, though it is often hard to hear clearly. The manuscript shows F. G sounds fine here, and is the root of the Gm7 chord. Many charts show G, but that seems not to be what Parker intended. Voelpel heard F#.

Performers who play the fifth note G#

The 1947 Clark Terry recording may have been the first recording that used a G# for the fifth note. Martin speculates that this could have been the starting point for this “error.”

Clark Terry             Clark Terry and His Section Eights, 1947

Shelley Manne             The Three and the Two, 1954 

John Coltrane and Red Garland     Dig It, 1957

Stan Getz and JJ Johnson     Opera House, 1957

Lee Konitz             Very Cool, 1957

Dexter Gordon             Bouncin’ with Dex, 1975

Jim Hall                     Live in Tokyo, 1976

Ella Fitzgerald and Tommy Flanagan    Montreux ’77

Oscar Peterson             Encore at the Blue Note, 1990

Dizzy Gillespie     To Bird With Love, 1992

Phil Woods             Just Friends, 1994

Errors or improvements?

Performers have altered Parker’s notes at least since Clark Terry’s 1947 recording, and probably earlier. These common alterations do generally make musical sense, and it’s easy to see why some of these “mistakes” caught on. 

1. Playing G# here evokes the time-honored blues motive b3 to 3, and would match the notes in m.4, beat 1.
2. D here matches the 1 to 6 motive heard repeatedly in the first 4 bars and the last 2 bars. Eb here makes sense as voice-leading into the IV chord.
3. An additional eighth note D again repeats the 1 to 6 motive
4. Turns are a standard bop decoration, and completely plausible here.
5. Ab here is a chord tone. Also, the Ab to Bb is repeated two beats later.
6. E here still works as an enclosure note.
7. Again, turns are a standard bop decoration.
8. G is the root of the II chord here. F is less predictable, but apparently what Parker played. F# here (per Mark Voelpel) would match the Gm#7 chord that the melody outlines in this measure.

The fifth note - intonation issues?

In take 1 of the Savoy session, Carlos Ribas’ spectrum analysis of the fifth note of the take 1 first head measured G#. To all other indications, Parker intended a G here. It is at least possible that the G# was due to intonation issues. Concert G often plays sharp on both trumpet and alto saxophone, perhaps sharp enough to register as a G#. Of course, this is just speculation.

• Parker played a Conn 6M alto around this time. I own a 1929 Conn (slightly earlier vintage), and it does play fourth-space E (concert G) rather sharp. But it's not certain what make of alto Parker played on the Savoy (or other) recordings.
• John Worley, a respected Bay Area trumpet pro, tells me that this note can be sharp on trumpet as well. Thus, maybe Parker and Miles were both playing this note sharp.
• In a 1959 article for The Jazz Review, Sadik Hakim, who played piano on other songs at this session, wrote, “After three tries at Billie’s Bounce…Bird left to get a better horn and reed.”

Criteria for a better chart

Most charts have probably been intended to reflect the Savoy master (take 5 from the November 6, 1945 session), since that has been the most generally available recording. The four additional studio takes were released by Savoy in 1956. The live recordings seem to have surfaced relatively recently. Beginning perhaps with Clark Terry’s 1947 recording, common practice, as well as various fake books, has introduced some features that were not as Parker intended. 

A good chart should represent the intentions of the composer as closely as possible. In the case of “Billie’s Bounce,” I feel that this would be reflected in the way he had settled on playing it in the Hotel Diplomat recording from January 15, 1951, five years after the initial recording. The Hotel Diplomat recording actually is fairly close to the Library of Congress manuscript. The only differences are in m.1, beat 4, in the last note of m.3, and in putting a turn in a different spot. 

A chart based on the Hotel Diplomat recording is shown below, melody only. Chords and harmony parts are omitted.

The chords

I have not attempted to define the “correct” chords. I feel that Parker would have been comfortable with his rhythm section playing just about any standard bop variation of blues. The manuscript has some standard harmonic features, and an unusual G7 in m.9 (another typo?). On the five Savoy takes, Dizzy Gillespie (on piano) plays a different variation, including Am7 Abm7 in m.8, going to Gm7 in m.9. And in Parker’s blues solos, he is always very free in outlining alternate blues progressions, regardless of what the piano and bass are playing.