Mystery bop/choro diminished lick, and a Bird story

Once upon a time, way back in the 1970s, before the Real Book, before the Omnibook, and even before the internet, I was a music major in Portland, Oregon. My classes were pretty much all classically-oriented, so my jazz studies were mostly self-directed. 

I discovered that a good source for solo transcriptions was the "Music Workshop" column in back issues of Downbeat magazine. The Portland Public Library had an archive of Downbeat issues, going back quite a few years, and for several weeks I spent my spare time reading through them. The two transcribed solos that grabbed me the most were of Coleman Hawkins' 1939 "Body and Soul" recording, and Charlie Parker's 1953 "Now's the Time" recording, which later appeared in the Omnibook as "Now's the Time #1."

The Parker solo transcription ends with this lick (here transposed to the key of C):

I've wondered about this lick since those college days. From its placement in the form (m.12 in a blues), the lick would have been played over a II V I, Dm7 G7  C. If you look at the notes in the lick, though, the F# note would theoretically be a "wrong" note over a G7 - although it sounds just fine in Parker's solo. 

This lick actually fits a diminished chord better than a dominant chord. Perhaps Parker was "hearing" Dm7 to D#dim7 here, rather than a II V.

Parker did this sort of thing frequently - he played lines that made perfect musical sense, regardless of whether or not the lines were an exact fit for the rhythm section’s chords. But the lines always had logical continuity. The point was to create beautiful and interesting music. Little clashes like this were not important, and not perceptible to the listener.

In his book Hearin' the Changes, Jerry Coker discusses this exact lick (though he does not mention Parker). Coker views it as outlining Dm7  D#dim7  Em7, which he considers a substitute for II  V  I . His logic is that the D#dim7 is acting as a B7b9, preparing the Em7. The Em7 is a substitution for Cmaj7. Thus, Parker would have been outlining a variant of II V I. Coker speculates that this progression may have originated with Art Tatum in the 1930s.

I can agree with Coker's analysis in this case, but these two pages in his book are concerned more with composers' use of this chord progression, and not so much with the lick itself. The lick can also be used in different contexts, that are not a substitute for II V I.

In addition to looking at usage, I have wondered about the origins of the lick.

Inteestingly, the lick turns up in Brazilian choros and bossas too. Following is a list of 11 songs and solos where the lick appears. I'm not saying that this is anything like exhaustive research. The examples are mostly from Parker and from Brazilian tunes, because that's where my personal interests are centered, and that’s where I have noticed the lick.

I did listen to some early Louis Armstrong, to see if the lick shows up there. Louis' musical vocabulary was state-of-the-art jazz in the 1920s. I didn't hear the lick, but again, that was by no means deep research. I checked some Art Tatum too, but didn't hear this particular lick in any of the tracks I listened to. 

The 11 examples below are all transposed to the key of C for easier comparison. Interestingly, the earliest of these examples is from a Brazilian tune written in 1937, predating any of Parker's recorded work.

1. Espinha de Bacalhau (Severino Araujo, 1937) - A section, m.2. Recording is here. 

This is a classic choro, composed in 1937, though some sources say 1945. It's just barely possible, though unlikely, that Parker might have heard a recording of "Espinha de Bacalhau.” But where might Araujo have gotten this lick?

The phrase is used here over a diminished chord, but not in a way that suggests Coker's II #IIdim III template.

2. Scrapple from the Apple (Parker, 1947) - solo, Omnibook p.17, line 11, m.2. Lick is at 1:08 here. 

Chords shown here are from the Omnibook, but I think are correct. The Dm shape in the lick fits the F7 just fine.

3. Perhaps (Parker, 1948) - head, Omnibook p.72, line 2, m.3. Lick is at 0:10 here.

This lick is certainly a similar shape, and similarly fits a diminished chord, but does not match Coker's template. I hear it as implying an Fdim7 - a passing diminished chord in this case, not one with dominant function. This is a blues in C, bars 7 and 8. I have added the Fdim7; the Omnibook does not show this chord.

4. Au Privave (Parker, 1951) - solo, Omnibook p.24, line 8, m.1. Lick is at 0:45 here.

This is bars 4-5 of a blues. It would be common to have one bar each of F7 and F#dim7 here. It looks like Parker is getting to the F#dim7 a bar early. This sort of harmonic displacement was something he did often. Again, it works fine, as there is logical continuity, even if the line doesn't precisely "fit" the original chord changes.

5. Anthropology (Parker, rec. 1951) - solo, Omnibook p.13, line 25, m.4. Lick is at 1:25 in this recording.

 Here the note F# is left out. The remaining notes fit a G7#5 in a perfectly conventional way.

6. Funky Blues (Johnny Hodges, rec.1952) - 2nd chorus of Parker’s solo, m.7 of the blues form. See solo transcription here (m.19 in the transcription). Lick is at 3:10 in this track.

Parker here seems to be interpolating Dm7 D#dim7 over the C7 in m. 7, to prepare an Em7 in m.8, which he follows with an Ebm7. The Em7 to Ebm7 is a normal blues variation, but interpolating the lick in this way is quite creative. The implication of Dm7 D#dim7 Em7 matches Coker's template.

7. Now’s the Time #1 (Parker, rec. 1953) - solo, Omnibook p.75, line 15, m.4. Lick is at 1:44 in this recording. 

This is the solo mentioned at the beginning of this post. It's exactly the example in Coker's book. His explanation is at the beginning of this post.

8. The Serpent’s Tooth (Miles Davis, 1953) - head, m.1 and m.3. Recording is here.

The diminished chords here are like secondary dominants A7b9 and B7b9. Not exactly Coker's template, as there is no implication of a II V I variant.

9. Chega de Saudade (Jobim, 1956) - B section, m.10. Lick is at 1:18 in this recording.

Like in Perhaps, here the lick follows a passing diminished chord.

10. Beliscando (Paulinho da Viola, 1976) - C section, m.3. Lick is at 1:45 in this recording.

Same usage as in Chega de Saudade, over a passing diminished chord.

11. For Toddlers Only (Ron Carter, 1994) - head, m.1. Recording is here. 

In the first bar of the head, our lick is again used over the F#dim7. This diminished chord is a dominant substitute, in that it acts like a D7b9, targeting the bass note G in the next measure (chord is C/G). This interpretation does not suggest Coker's concept of a II V I variant.

Looking at it as Coker might, you could consider the F chord to be replacing a Dm7, and F#dim7 to be replacing a B7b9, with the C/G to be equivalent to Em7. 

Summing up, I’d say that this lick is a part of bop and choro vocabulary, used over (or implying, or interpolating) a diminished seventh chord. Coker’s explanation covers some instances of usage, but not all. 

The origin of this lick is still a mystery to me. If any reader knows of an antecedent, from Tatum, classical music, ragtime, marches, polkas, or anywhere else, please let me know!

To close, here is the Bird story. Back when I was looking through old Downbeats in the Portland Public Library, I met another student who was also doing some music homework. We chatted a little, and he told me that his dad had been an aspiring trombone player in New York, in the 1940s. His dad went to a jam at a club, but was intimidated by all the great players who were on stage. So he went backstage, into a corner, and played his trombone quietly along with the band, where he thought no one could hear him. Then somebody grabbed him by the collar from behind, and marched him onstage. It was Charlie Parker.