The "Honeysuckle Rose" II V lick - Charlie Parker, K-Ximbinho, and Mauricio Einhorn

One of the staple bop solo clichés is the "Honeysuckle Rose" II V lick. Bop-era jazz players utilized it quite a bit, and it is still part of the jazz improviser's language.

Here's the lick as it originally appeared in Fats Waller's 1929 song "Honeysuckle Rose" (key sig. is one flat):

Use of the lick in soloing is associated with Charlie Parker, but I really can't say when American jazz players first started using "Honeysuckle Rose" as an improv element. If any reader can point out a recorded 1930s instance in a solo by a jazz artist, please let me know in the comments section below.

One interesting early use is in the head to Tadd Dameron's "Lady Bird." According to one source, this tune was written around 1939. At that time Dameron would still have been living in Cleveland, Parker was not well-known, and bop had not yet taken shape as a distinct style. (See this post for more about this tune.)

Here's the "Honeysuckle Rose" phrase in "Lady Bird" as it appears in the Hal Leonard Real Book (bars 3-4). The last note was originally F, not E.

Another well-known use of the lick is in "Donna Lee," written by either Miles Davis or Charlie Parker in 1947 (see this post regarding authorship) (key sig. is 4 flats)

By Parker's own account, "Honeysuckle Rose" was the first complete tune that he ever learned, as a teenager. He used the lick throughout his career.

Parker got extra mileage out of the "Honeysuckle Rose" lick by varying its notes and rhythmic placement. A few examples from the Charlie Parker Omnibook are below:

Marmaduke head (Omnibook, p. 68)

Scrapple from the Apple solo (Omnibook p.17)

Blues for Alice solo (Omnibook, p.19)

Bloomdido head (Omnibook, p. 108)

7

Donna Lee solo (Omnibook, p. 49)

Perhaps solo (Omnibook, p. 72)

Klaunstance solo (Omnibook, p. 90)

Parker uses the lick in various ways, not just over a straight II V. For example, the "Donna Lee" solo clip above is over what I would have called IVm bVIIdom (as is the Dameron "Lady Bird" instance). The Scrapple example is pretty heavily disguised, and played in Eb, "side-slipping" a half step above what the rhythm section is playing. 

I also ran across a couple of examples in some Brazilian classics - a 1946 choro by K-Ximbinho, "Sonoroso," and a 1960's bossa by Mauricio Einhorn, "Estamos Ai." That seemed a little surprising, but upon further reflection, maybe not so surprising after all. K-Ximbinho (stage name of Sebastião Barros) was a Brazilian jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, born in 1917. His bio is here (translation from Portuguese Wikipedia). It's quite likely that he would have been listening to records from the US in 1946.

Mauricio Einhorn is a jazz harmonica player, born in 1932. He was active as a performer in Rio in the 1950s, and was prominent in the early days of bossa nova. He's still performing. American jazz fans might remember him as the composer of "Batida Diferente," recorded by Cannonball Adderley. Einhorn certainly would have been familiar with the bebop language. His bio is here (translation from German Wikipedia).

Here's the lick as used in K-Ximbinho's "Sonoroso" (it occurs at the end of the "B" section) (key sig. is one flat):

There are many recordings of  "Sonoroso" on Youtube. The first one below is probably the original. It's from 1946 with the Orquestra Tabajara; K-Ximbinho played with the group at that time. Following it is a more modern version with Altamiro Carrilho and Paulo Sergio Santos.

Here's the "Honeysuckle Rose" lick as it occurs in Einhorn's "Estamos Ai" (bars 16 and 32):

A 1965 version by Leny Andrade:

A two-harmonica rendition by Einhorn and Toots Thielemans, played with a swing beat:

"Lady Bird" and "Joy Spring" - Parallel Minor or II V?

According to some sources, Tadd Dameron's "Lady Bird" was written in 1939. This sparked a few thoughts. The melody in measures 3-4 is a version of the well-known "Honeysuckle Rose" lick, deriving from Fats Waller's 1929 tune of the same name, and a favorite II V phrase of the 1940s bebop players (often played with rhythmic or melodic variations). If the 1939 date is correct, it's the earliest use of the lick that I know of, after Waller's original song - though I'd imagine players quoted it plenty in the 1930s, since the tune was a pop hit.

Here are the changes to "Lady Bird":

I had always thought of the Fm7 Bb7 in bars 3-4 as IVm and bVII dominant, two chords borrowed from the parallel minor key (C minor), rather than as II V in Eb major. But here Dameron uses a II V lick as melody, indicating that he was thinking of the harmony in bars 3-4 as a II V in Eb. This shift of tonality from C to Eb, a minor third up, would not be unusual for Dameron. Note also that he follows this in bars 7-10 with a shift from C into Ab, a major third down. All of this makes me think that II V in Eb is probably what Dameron had in mind for bars 3-4, not "parallel minor."

Yes, it's true that Eb major and C minor share a key signature, and use the same set of notes - but they are not the same thing; they sound different. Using one key or the other, or thinking of the sequence as a II V, will lead one to come up with different types of solo ideas. Taking a cue from the melody, is II V maybe a better way to go in this case?

The IVm bVIIdom progression is sometimes called a "back door II V." I've never felt quite right about using this term. For one thing, IVm and bVIIdom are not always used together, but quite often are used singly, and can substitute for each other. In many or most Broadway-style standards, IVm and/or bVIIdom do not suggest a key change, but are there to provide minor color to a prevailing major key. In that kind of setting, they are best explained as "chords borrowed from the parallel minor." Classical music has long used this device.

The IVm bVIIdom progression is also sometimes classified under the heading "subdominant minor" - a group of chords that use the b6 note, the strongest note for bringing minor color to a piece that is otherwise in major. Subdominant minor chords used in C major would include Fm6, Fm7, Bb7, Abmaj7, Ab7, Dm7b5. They can often substitute for each other.

"Modal interchange" is another term used for this sort of device: i.e., switching from major mode to minor mode. Using this term, we can add G7b9, G7#9, G7"alt" and G7 #5 to the above list (I can't quite bring myself to label a dominant, V-type chord as "subdominant minor"), since they import notes from the parallel minor.

In "Joy Spring," written by a jazz player (Clifford Brown) rather than a Broadway composer, the melody and chords in measures 4, 12, and 28 seem to reflect a treatment more like Dameron's - that is, the melody employs a II V lick over the IVm bVIIdom. I don't hear any key change here, but the melody in these spots is definitely a II V shape.

All this musing led me to check out some classic solos on "Lady Bird" and "Joy Spring," to see if I could find any indications as to which way the soloists might have been thinking. I checked Clifford Brown's and Harold Land's solos on "Joy Spring," Miles Davis' solo on "Half Nelson" (1947, same chords as "Lady Bird"), Fats Navarro's solo on "Lady Bird" (first recording, 1948, with Dameron), and Dexter Gordon on "Lady Bird" (1964, 9 choruses).

Below is my take on what these great players were doing over the IVm bVIIdom sections in "Lady Bird" and "Joy Spring." The players' names are linked to the transcriptions that I consulted - thanks to the musicians who did the transcribing, including Jeff Rzepiela for the Harold Land solo!

Clifford Brown on "Joy Spring" (transcription is in concert key, F; trumpet solo starts at 1:45 of the video) (the measure numbers below are not as shown on the linked chart; my numbers do not include pickup measures):

m.4 - Notes are plausible as a "back door II V" (Bbm7 Eb7), but Brown may be treating this measure as he would a C7 (V in F), playing a b9/#9 lick over it.
m.12 - Brings out the D, the parallel minor-signifying b6 note in this section, but the line is plausible as a II V.
m.28 - Plausible as a II V, but again reflects a possible b9/#9 over an imagined C7.
m.36 - The D natural doesn't really fit the Bbm7. Could be a missed note, but would fit an imagined Gm7 C7 with b9/#9 over the C7.
m.44 - F# minor scale (parallel minor in this section).
m.60 - Brings out the Db (parallel minor note in this section); plausible as a II V.

Harold Land on "Joy Spring" (transposed for Bb inst., shown in G; tenor solo starts on 0:55 of the video linked to above for the Clifford solo) (again, measure numbers not as shown on chart; mine do not include pickups):

m.4 - Seems to be an obvious II V lick
m.12 - Bebop scale II V lick
m.28 - II V lick

Miles Davis on "Half Nelson" (same chords as "Lady Bird") (transposed for Bb inst., shown in D; recording is here; trumpet solo starts at 1:21):

mm.4-5 - Melodic shape somewhat follows the outline of the "Honeysuckle Rose" II V lick.
mm.19-20 - Scalewise with F# pickup; plausible as a II V (Gm7 C7) lick, with #9/b9 over the C7.

Fats Navarro on "Lady Bird" (transposed for Bb inst., shown in D; recording is here; trumpet solo starts at 0:32):

mm.4-5 - Chord-oriented with "enclosure" shapes; he is probably thinking II V.
mm.19-20 - Runs Gm7 to the 9, possibly a II V idea.

Dexter Gordon on "Lady Bird" (transcription in link, described below, is in concert key, C; video is here, with visuals showing transcription in D, transposed for Bb inst.):

mm.3-4 (chorus 1) - Seems to be thinking Fm7 for both measures
mm.19-20 (chorus 2) - Same
mm.35-36 (chorus 3) - Eb note moving to D suggests II V
mm.51-52 (chorus 4) - Perhaps II V
mm.67-68 (chorus 5) - Quotes head (Honeysuckle Rose II V lick)
mm.83-84 (chorus 6) - Eb major material (suggests II V)
mm.99-100 (chorus 7) - F "blues scale" lick, both measures
mm.115-116 (chorus 8) - F blues lick and Fm material
mm.131-132 (chorus 9) - Eb note suggests parallel minor, but Dexter might be just thinking Fm7 for 2 bars again.

Summing up - In these recordings, the II V interpretation is the approach most utilized over the IVm bVIIdom. In the case of these two tunes, "back door II V" might be an apt term. However, II V doesn't seem to have been the only way these players' thoughts went. Sometimes we hear a parallel minor shape, as in m.44 of Clifford Brown's solo, or a b9 #9 that would normally go over a C7 (V) even though the chords are  Bbm7 Eb7 (IVm bVIIdom), as in mm.4, 28, and 36 of Clifford's solo. Or a player might just run the IVm chord, as Dexter seems to be doing. It all works. As always, if it sounds right, it is right.

That Lick from "Four," "If You Could See Me Now," and "Groovin' High"

The phrase below appears in all three of these songs: Tadd Dameron's "If You Could See Me Now," Dizzy Gillespie's "Groovin' High" and Eddie Vinson's "Four." I've often wondered which tune came first. Here's how it occurs in "If You Could See Me Now":

I've been reading "Dameronia," Paul Combs' interesting and well-researched bio of Tadd Dameron. Dizzy and Tadd were good friends, and discussed music a lot in the early 1940s. Either one of them might have worked out this lick, but Dizzy recorded it first in February 1945, as part of the trumpet cadenza (arranged rather than improvised, I'd guess) at the end of "Groovin' High." "If You Could See Me Now" was first recorded by Sarah Vaughan in 1946, with a beautiful arrangement by Dameron. "Four," written by Eddie Vinson, was first recorded by Miles Davis in 1954.

There is a stylistically similar lick in Dameron's "Good Bait," weaving through the chords of a turnaround at the end of each 8-bar section. "Good Bait" was written possibly as early as 1939, according to this Dameron bio (see Chapter 10).

Here are the tunes in question. Be sure to listen to "If You Could See Me Now" - you'll see why this tune became a jazz classic. As an aside, note the altered melody that Sarah sings in the last A section. It parallels a melodic phrase in the introduction; maybe Dameron intended the last A to go that way.

In "Groovin' High," the lick occurs at 2:32:

The "Lady Bird" Turnaround, the Jazz Auction, Treble Clefs, and More

Thinking about my last couple of posts, I was reminded of the different takes on the turnaround to Tadd Dameron's "Lady Bird," and thought I'd write a quick post about a vintage leadsheet I had run across, that I had thought might settle the matter. But looking a little closer, the issue became more complex. Here's how it went, more or less chronologically:

1) I used the old Real Book version of "Lady Bird" for years - in fact, since the old RB first came out. It is straightforward, and easy to memorize. I had an LP of a Tadd/Fats Navarro version, but I had never listened to it analytically.

2) When the Sher "New RB" came out, it had two lead sheets for "Lady Bird," both of them different from the old RB - a Miles version, and a Tadd/Fats version. I noticed the differences and wondered about them, but never actually researched it.

3) In 2005, Guernsey's auction house in NY staged an incredible auction of jazz memorabilia, including sheet music, instruments, and personal items that were consigned by the families of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Gerry Mulligan, and many more. A catalog with details about the items was printed, and sold for (I recall) $26. I had to have one, of course, although actually bidding on the items was out of the question for me financially. The catalog was easily worth the $26. Besides documenting the amazing collection of auction items, it had thumbnails of some manuscripts - for example, the original score to "A Love Supreme" (final sale price: $129,200), the chords to "Naima" in Coltrane's writing ($10,620), and... a leadsheet to "Lady Bird" ($1534) that had belonged to Coltrane. The catalog seemed to imply that this chart was in Tadd Dameron's handwriting. The turnaround in bars 15-16 was shown as  |  C  Ebmaj  |  Abmaj  Dbmaj  ||  (the chart showed triangular "delta" signs to indicate "major").

Note: Apparently you can still purchase this catalog from Guernsey's. The price is $60 now. Click this link and scroll down.

4) So, I thought that that settled it. Assuming that "C" and "Ebmaj" were meant to indicate major 7 chords, it would seem that the old RB got it right. Whether it was in Tadd or Coltrane's hand, I figured that if Trane learned it that way, it was good enough for me. Besides, I liked the sound of the parallel major 7 chords, and was used to playing the tune that way.

5) So back to the present - I thought this would make a nice little post. However...

6) Looking a little closer, the notation on the lead sheet thumbnail did not seem to match the other Tadd Dameron offerings in the catalog, at all. The other Tadd charts were much cleaner, and nicely calligraphed. Now, it's possible that someone else did the copy work for Tadd, but it started me thinking.

7) Looking at some of the other Coltrane charts, I started to think that it looked more like his writing. One problem with this idea was his style of writing a treble clef. The clefs in the "Lady Bird" chart used what I might call the "stick" approach, while almost all of his other work used what I'll call the "curvy" approach. Shown here are my own renditions of the "stick" and "curvy" approaches.

8) However! Another of the papers up for auction, thumbnail provided, was a sheet showing Coltrane's practicing how to draw a treble clef; he tried it both ways. I'd guess that both the practice sheet and the "Lady Bird" sheet were from very early in his career. And it's still possible that someone else wrote the lead sheet.

9) A couple of other characteristics of Trane's notation convinced me that the chart was probably in his handwriting: Indicating a major 7 chord with just a letter and a triangle, as in the "Naima" sheet;

and showing quarter note triplets with a "3" within a broken bracket (my writing, not his).

10) But of course, the best info about a tune is to be found in the recordings. Here, once again, the tracks posted quasi-legally on YouTube were quite helpful. Here are some of the versions I checked out:

Miles with Charlie Parker playing "Half Nelson" (1947) (This tune uses "Lady Bird" changes, slightly tweaked, with a different melody, by Miles) 

Tadd Dameron (1948) with Fats Navarro, Allen Eager, Wardell Gray. Very much arranged, with intro, harmony lines, kicks, shout chorus, and coda. 

Tadd Dameron and Miles Davis (1949) with James Moody.

Miles Davis (1951). Jam session format, not much of the arrangement. Date and personnel listing is more correctly listed here.

Miles with Coltrane playing "Half Nelson" (1956). Uses shout chorus from "Lady Bird" original arrangement to set up drum solo. 

Dexter Gordon and James Moody (1969). Uses shout chorus from original arrangement to set up drum solo. 

Tommy Flanagan with Jerry Dodgion (1979)

Where the piano was audible, I can't say that I heard the all-maj7-chord version of the turnaround in any of these versions. I didn't hear solo lines outlining all maj7 chords, either. Of course, I'm just a horn player, without a pianist's ear, but overall, IMHO, I heard  |  Cmaj7  Eb7  |  Abmaj7  Db7  ||. The last chord could equally well be G7. Please have a listen to these, and let me know what you think.

The Tadd Dameron performances are very much arranged, with harmony lines, an 8-bar "shout chorus" that sets up an 8-bar solo break, and arranged kicks. Some of the other performances include this shout chorus line as well. The only fake book source that shows any of this is the Sher "New RB," which shows the shout chorus as part of the "Miles" version, and some of the harmony notes and kicks in the "Fats/Tadd" version.

The original melody uses the notes as shown in my third handwritten example above for measure 3, with a similar shape in m7. This is a sort of "Honeysuckle Rose" shape. Often, though, the last 2 notes of m 3 will be switched (likewise in m7). Measures 4 and 8 are also played in various ways by different players - though I've not heard any versions with the b5 notes shown in the old RB for mm 4 and 8.

11) Just because a lead sheet belonged to a young John Coltrane, does not mean that it is "correct." All sorts of lead sheets have no doubt been floating around since the late 1940s. Here are some of the versions I checked:

a) The Coltrane sheet that we have been discussing. 

b) The earliest fake book source that I can find is in a pre-Real Book bootleg from the early 1960s (I think). It was published with the title "Library of Musicians' Jazz," and probably reprinted under other titles also. Perhaps you have seen this book - the titles look like this: 

This chart shows the melody as played in the 1948 arrangement, but shows the turnaround as all major 7 chords...as does the old RB. Maybe it was a source for the old RB. 

c) The old RB version - The melody here is a bit different - in m4 and m8, the phrase finishes on the b5 of the chord. It sounds good, but I haven't found any classic recordings that do that. And incidentally, these notes in m4 and m8 seem to have been added in later, by someone with a different manuscript style.

d) The Sher New RB versions - The "Miles" version seems accurate; the "Tadd/Fats" version is also, though it omits some harmony notes and kicks, and does not show the shout chorus.

e) The Colorado Cookbook - Very close to the 1948 Tadd/Fats version, but in a minimal format, with no harmony, kicks, or shout chorus.

f) The Hal Leonard "6th Edition RB" version - Measures 4 and 8 were copied from the old RB, but the turnaround is fixed. Again, minimal format.

12) Conclusion? Well, as usual, one must consider the alternatives, and make a choice. I'm inclined to go with  | Cmaj7  Eb7 |  Abmaj7  Db7  || as a basic version, but I might play it differently at any given moment, just for the heck of it. I'm not sure how I'd play the melody at any given moment, but if playing with someone else, now I'd at least be aware of which variation they might be using. And it's good to know that cool shout chorus.

While we are on the subject, here are a few observations about the harmony in this tune:

1) The melody in bars 3-4 sounds like a II V lick (Honeysuckle Rose or otherwise); perhaps Dameron was thinking of this as a II V in Eb. To me, though, the  |  Fm7  |  Bb7  | comes across more as a IVm bVIIdom in C. I don't hear the key of Eb being established, so much as a change of mode from C major to C minor. Of course, whether Eb major or C minor, it's 3 flats in both cases. For solos, you could think either way. C blues licks can work well in mm 3-4.

2) | Cmaj7  Eb7 |  Abmaj7  Db7  || for the turnaround is a variation of the very basic  |  Cmaj7  A7  | Dm7  G7  | , via a couple of tritone substitutions, and the substitution of Abmaj7 for Dm7. However, this way the Eb7  Abma7  comes across as a quick, temporary change of key:  V  I  into Ab major. The first 6 beats of the turnaround are like a snippet of "Giant Steps" changes. It's worth noting that the main part of the tune includes a modulation from C major into Ab major in mm 5-10; if the turnaround is played this way, it reflects that part of the tune.

Here's a great article about the 2005 auction.