One of my formative early musical experiences was a concert I attended in 1966, my last year of high school. I was a dedicated jazz fan, and a fairly decent high school musician. I played tenor in the school jazz band, but my musical education was more on classical clarinet at that point.
In the 1965-66 academic year, Stanford University (a few miles from my house) booked a series of "Jazz Year" concerts - an amazing lineup that included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and other major jazz figures. I persuaded my parents to buy us tickets to two of the concerts. The first one, on January 23, 1966, was a double bill with Thelonious Monk's quartet and John Coltrane's ensemble.
Here is how I remember it, almost exactly 50 years later:
The concert was in Stanford's Memorial Auditorium. MemAud seated about 1600, and was sold out. Monk came on stage 30 minutes late with his quartet (Charlie Rouse, tenor; Ben Riley, drums; Larry Gales, bass). The band sounded great, and it was a thrill to hear all the tunes played live that I had only heard on record. At one point during an extended Charlie Rouse solo, Monk got up from the piano bench to "stroll," i.e. walk around a bit and stretch his legs, while Rouse's solo continued with just bass and drums accompanying. Monk seemed to be having some trouble walking straight. It actually looked to me as though the stage was slanted, sloping down toward the audience. After doing a little recent internet research, I think that this may very well have been the case - Memorial Auditorium has a "proscenium stage," which could have included a "raked stage" feature. Monk played a set and two encores.
After an intermission, John Coltrane took the stage with his group: Elvin Jones and Rashied Ali, drums; Juno Lewis, percussion; Pharoah Sanders, tenor; Alice Coltrane, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; and Donald Garrett, bass and bass clarinet.
This was early 1966, after "A Love Supreme" had been released (I'd worn out the grooves playing that record), but before the release of "Ascension" or "Meditations." I was unprepared for what was coming.
Coltrane's group played an incredibly intense set, lasting an hour and 20 minutes. There was just one pause in the music; I guess that means there were two songs, maybe. It wasn't clear what the tunes were; there was no announcement, and I heard just a few recognizable pieces of melody. I could say that much of it was in triple meter, but with those three drummers, there were often different meters going simultaneously. Lewis Porter's The John Coltrane Reference
quotes Phil Elwood's review in the San Francisco Examiner, listing the pieces as "Peace on Earth" and "Afro Blue." Ralph Gleason, in his San Francisco Chronicle review, listed "My Favorite Things" and "Crescent." For what it's worth, I remember hearing a fragment of "Afro Blue."
It was music at a high spiritual level and a high energy level, transcendent like "A Love Supreme," but perhaps more spontaneously organized. It was not as chaotic as the "Ascension" recording that was released shortly afterward. I recall extended solos from Alice Coltrane, Juno Lewis, and Jimmy Garrison. Coltrane gave his players more solo space than he took himself.
I had no idea that music could be this powerful. Gleason's review described "ensemble climaxes of stupendous intensity." Gleason called the concert "one of the most intense and exhilarating musical experiences I have ever had." It hit me the same way. I walked out of there a changed person. My parents were at the concert with me; I can only imagine what their reaction might have been. I don't think we discussed it.
This was one of the last times that Elvin Jones performed with the group. Some more details on this concert, and Coltrane's gigs immediately after, can be found in these pages of Porter's book.
While doing some internet searching for this post, I ran across this article in the Stanford Alumni Magazine by one of the organizers of the "Jazz Year." The author describes the audience as "underwhelmed" and "tepid." I don't recall, I was too blown away to notice. There was no encore; no encore was necessary.
I wonder if somewhere there is a recording of that concert.
The "Jazz Year" series also included concerts by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington with Ella Fitzgerald, the MJQ, Dizzy, Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, and Miles Davis. The Miles event (with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter) was the only other one I made it to. It was a privilege to have been at that event too, but Miles was pretty subdued and straight-ahead, in comparison.
Jan 20, 2016
Jan 4, 2016
The "Back Door" Chord Progression
The use of IVm and/or bVII dominant chords in an otherwise-major progression is a common harmonic device in "Great American Songbook" tunes and jazz standards. When I was first learning theory, this device was described as "borrowing chords from the parallel minor" or "modal interchange" (i.e., switching briefly from major to minor). Some friends who had gone to Berklee in the early 1970s also used the term "subdominant minor" to describe these chords.
In maybe the last 15 years or so, I've been hearing the term "back door progression" to describe this device, and "back door II V" to describe the combination IVm bVIIdom (leading to the I chord). I've been trying to get some clarity on this term. The first instance of the term in print that I could find is in Jerry Coker's book, Elements of the Jazz Language (1991). Coker briefly describes IVm bVIIdom as a substitute for V7, calling it the "back door progression." A later Coker book, Hearin' the Changes (1997) - a terrific book, by the way - gives a more complete description of the device.
As described in "Hearin' the Changes," the "back door progression" is "a cell made up of IV-7 and bVII7 chords, leading to I." He never actually uses the term "backdoor II V," preferring to call it a "progression."
The book goes into more detail (below, with my comments):
Comment: I'm not so sure about this. Certainly bVIIdom was used occasionally in standards as a substitute for V (e.g., "Speak Low," "Georgia"), but IVm or IVm6 was used earlier and more often, not necessarily as a V substitute but rather as a way of importing minor-key color, with jazz players later sometimes adding the bVIIdom to form a quasi II V shape. At least, that's how I see it.
Comment: I agree. This is a nice breakdown of the harmonic situations where IVm and/or bVIIdom appear. My only reservation about this explanation is that it disregards the "minorizing" function of these chords, which I think is the basic reason that they are there.
In many, many tunes (e.g., Thad Jones' "A Child is Born," any number of tunes by Cole Porter, etc.), the IVm is obviously there to add minor color. bVIIdom can be used as a substitute for IVm; or the two chords can be used together as IVm bVIIdom. Sometimes IIm7b5 V7b9 can be used in these same spots. All of these variations include the "minorizing" b6 note of the key.
For a good example of early use, check out the original sheet music of "After You've Gone" (1918), bar 2 of the chorus (after the "verse" introduction). It's a IVm chord (not bVIIdom) in the key of C, following a IV. It fits Coker's category (2) above. The lyrics in this bar are "...and left me crying." The composer was clearly supporting the lyrics with evocative minor color. At the same time, the sequence incorporates some voice-leading from the A in the F chord, to Ab in the Fm chord, to the G in the C chord.
It's this sort of use that I think originally was (and still is) the main function of "parallel minor" chords, although it's true that bVIIdom has occasionally been used as a substitute for V.
But beyond the "descriptive" side; there's also the "prescriptive" consideration. That is, how can improvisers work with these harmonic areas?
Coker, who knows his stuff, suggests using IVm and/or bVIIdom as a substitute for V alt (I assume he is talking about both soloing and arranging). I'd add that the reverse can work too - playing V alt over the IVm bVIIdom - as seems to be the case in Clifford Brown's solo in "Joy Spring" (see this post).
As mentioned in that post, another possibility is to simply treat IVm bVIIdom as a II V. That is, if Fm7 Bb7 occurs in a tune in the key of C major, you could play as though it is a II V in Eb major. (Note, though, that I was looking at solos in two jazz tunes, "Lady Bird" and "Joy Spring," where the composer's melody itself was written as a II V lick in those spots.)
I still think that the way I was taught is the approach that is most to-the-point: Treat IVm and/or bVIIdom as borrowing notes from the parallel minor, and use the color brought by the b6 note of the key.
The b6 (Ab, in the key of C) is the important note. The chord progression is not necessarily a complete flip into the parallel minor. E natural, although it is not a note in the key of C minor, can work just fine over Fm6 or Bb7, depending how it is used.
Although it's a convenient shorthand, I'm not sure that "back door progression" is the best term for describing this device. "Chords borrowed from the parallel minor" describes its function a little better, as I see it. I should also mention that the term "back door" has also been used to describe a sequence like F#m7b5 B7 Cmaj7, a rather different concept.
Quibbles aside, I'm a fan of Jerry Coker's educational publications. The book mentioned here, Hearin' the Changes, is a well-written survey of the formulas that comprise most of the harmony in jazz standards. The book is aimed at giving players a means of more easily hearing and memorizing changes. It should be interesting to any fairly experienced jazz player, who enjoys digging into this kind of harmonic thinking.
In maybe the last 15 years or so, I've been hearing the term "back door progression" to describe this device, and "back door II V" to describe the combination IVm bVIIdom (leading to the I chord). I've been trying to get some clarity on this term. The first instance of the term in print that I could find is in Jerry Coker's book, Elements of the Jazz Language (1991). Coker briefly describes IVm bVIIdom as a substitute for V7, calling it the "back door progression." A later Coker book, Hearin' the Changes (1997) - a terrific book, by the way - gives a more complete description of the device.
As described in "Hearin' the Changes," the "back door progression" is "a cell made up of IV-7 and bVII7 chords, leading to I." He never actually uses the term "backdoor II V," preferring to call it a "progression."
The book goes into more detail (below, with my comments):
- Historically, this progression began as a simple bVIIdom, substituting for V. "At least as early as the bebop era, the IV-7 was added...providing a quasi II function..."
Comment: I'm not so sure about this. Certainly bVIIdom was used occasionally in standards as a substitute for V (e.g., "Speak Low," "Georgia"), but IVm or IVm6 was used earlier and more often, not necessarily as a V substitute but rather as a way of importing minor-key color, with jazz players later sometimes adding the bVIIdom to form a quasi II V shape. At least, that's how I see it.
- "The back door progression operates in one of three ways: (1) as a substitute for the II V progression (or just the V); (2) as a means of returning to the original key center after a brief modulation to IV major; and (3) as a free-standing cell, usually sandwiched between two I chords."
Comment: I agree. This is a nice breakdown of the harmonic situations where IVm and/or bVIIdom appear. My only reservation about this explanation is that it disregards the "minorizing" function of these chords, which I think is the basic reason that they are there.
In many, many tunes (e.g., Thad Jones' "A Child is Born," any number of tunes by Cole Porter, etc.), the IVm is obviously there to add minor color. bVIIdom can be used as a substitute for IVm; or the two chords can be used together as IVm bVIIdom. Sometimes IIm7b5 V7b9 can be used in these same spots. All of these variations include the "minorizing" b6 note of the key.
For a good example of early use, check out the original sheet music of "After You've Gone" (1918), bar 2 of the chorus (after the "verse" introduction). It's a IVm chord (not bVIIdom) in the key of C, following a IV. It fits Coker's category (2) above. The lyrics in this bar are "...and left me crying." The composer was clearly supporting the lyrics with evocative minor color. At the same time, the sequence incorporates some voice-leading from the A in the F chord, to Ab in the Fm chord, to the G in the C chord.
It's this sort of use that I think originally was (and still is) the main function of "parallel minor" chords, although it's true that bVIIdom has occasionally been used as a substitute for V.
But beyond the "descriptive" side; there's also the "prescriptive" consideration. That is, how can improvisers work with these harmonic areas?
Coker, who knows his stuff, suggests using IVm and/or bVIIdom as a substitute for V alt (I assume he is talking about both soloing and arranging). I'd add that the reverse can work too - playing V alt over the IVm bVIIdom - as seems to be the case in Clifford Brown's solo in "Joy Spring" (see this post).
As mentioned in that post, another possibility is to simply treat IVm bVIIdom as a II V. That is, if Fm7 Bb7 occurs in a tune in the key of C major, you could play as though it is a II V in Eb major. (Note, though, that I was looking at solos in two jazz tunes, "Lady Bird" and "Joy Spring," where the composer's melody itself was written as a II V lick in those spots.)
I still think that the way I was taught is the approach that is most to-the-point: Treat IVm and/or bVIIdom as borrowing notes from the parallel minor, and use the color brought by the b6 note of the key.
The b6 (Ab, in the key of C) is the important note. The chord progression is not necessarily a complete flip into the parallel minor. E natural, although it is not a note in the key of C minor, can work just fine over Fm6 or Bb7, depending how it is used.
Although it's a convenient shorthand, I'm not sure that "back door progression" is the best term for describing this device. "Chords borrowed from the parallel minor" describes its function a little better, as I see it. I should also mention that the term "back door" has also been used to describe a sequence like F#m7b5 B7 Cmaj7, a rather different concept.
Quibbles aside, I'm a fan of Jerry Coker's educational publications. The book mentioned here, Hearin' the Changes, is a well-written survey of the formulas that comprise most of the harmony in jazz standards. The book is aimed at giving players a means of more easily hearing and memorizing changes. It should be interesting to any fairly experienced jazz player, who enjoys digging into this kind of harmonic thinking.
Dec 23, 2015
"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.
Here are the changes to "Lady Bird":
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.
Dec 16, 2015
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:
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:
Nov 26, 2015
Who Really Wrote "Walkin’” (aka "Weirdo" aka "Sid's Ahead" aka "Gravy")?
The question of who really wrote the blues tune "Walkin'" takes us into some very murky territory. The song was made famous by Miles Davis; most of his recordings credit the song to "Richard Carpenter."
I'm currently reading Dameronia, Paul Combs' biography of Tadd Dameron. Combs describes Richard Carpenter as a "shadowy figure in the jazz world," who had some sort of long-term financial hold over Dameron. Combs avoids making accusations of illegality, but he is pretty clear that Carpenter made a business in the 1950s of buying musical rights from musicians with drug problems, who needed a little quick money. A Google search turned up some references to Carpenter from jazz writers who were more straightforward in their choice of words. For example, Chet Baker biographer James Gavin, in an interview on jerryjazzmusician.com (see page 2): "Chet wanted to kill him, literally. Carpenter is remembered as the greatest leech the jazz world has ever known." (Gavin's Chet Baker bio is Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker.)
Carpenter's hold on Dameron may or may not have had something to do with Dameron getting off more easily on a 1956 drug conviction because his previous arrest records had somehow disappeared from city files, according to Combs.
But let's get back to the question of who composed "Walkin'." It wasn't Carpenter. Miles recorded an extremely similar tune in March 1954 that he called "Weirdo," listing himself as the composer.
In April 1954 he recorded the same tune as "Walkin'," listing Carpenter as composer. The track was released on a 10" LP in 1954, and again in 1957 on the album "Walkin'."
In 1958 Miles recorded the same song under the name "Sid's Ahead," crediting himself this time. It was released as part of the album "Milestones."
Miles' later recordings of the song under the title "Walkin'" credited Carpenter; Miles frequently played the tune in live performances as late as 1965.
But Miles didn't compose "Walkin'," either. In 1950 Gene Ammons had recorded "Gravy," crediting Jimmy Mundy as composer. It's the same tune. Here's a link to listen to it.
I guess "Walkin'/Sid's Ahead" should be added to the list of tunes that Miles may not have written.
Combs, in Dameronia, offers his take: "...some maintain that ['Walkin''] was written by Lucky Thompson, and others cite Gene Ammons. The author is inclined to agree with the latter assignation but cannot prove it."
According to this 1964 Downbeat article, Richard Carpenter at one time managed Gene Ammons. According to James Gavin's biography of Chet Baker, Jimmy Mundy had been a client of Carpenter's too. From Gavin's book:
"After Mundy's death in 1983, Don Sickler, a trumpeter and music publisher who handled Dameron's catalogue, found the copyright certificate at the Library of Congress for a tune originally called 'Gravey.' Mundy was believed to be the composer, although some argued that it was Gene Ammons or Miles Davis. The title had been partly erased; 'Walkin'' was written over it and Carpenter's name inserted as composer." (This excerpt was quoted in a discussion of Carpenter at organissimo.org. If you're interested, there are some more details there.)
It's impossible to know exactly how that erasure and altered composer credit could have happened, but there would have been (and still is) a bit of royalty money at stake. Perhaps it was all legal, though.
I'm currently reading Dameronia, Paul Combs' biography of Tadd Dameron. Combs describes Richard Carpenter as a "shadowy figure in the jazz world," who had some sort of long-term financial hold over Dameron. Combs avoids making accusations of illegality, but he is pretty clear that Carpenter made a business in the 1950s of buying musical rights from musicians with drug problems, who needed a little quick money. A Google search turned up some references to Carpenter from jazz writers who were more straightforward in their choice of words. For example, Chet Baker biographer James Gavin, in an interview on jerryjazzmusician.com (see page 2): "Chet wanted to kill him, literally. Carpenter is remembered as the greatest leech the jazz world has ever known." (Gavin's Chet Baker bio is Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker.)
Carpenter's hold on Dameron may or may not have had something to do with Dameron getting off more easily on a 1956 drug conviction because his previous arrest records had somehow disappeared from city files, according to Combs.
But let's get back to the question of who composed "Walkin'." It wasn't Carpenter. Miles recorded an extremely similar tune in March 1954 that he called "Weirdo," listing himself as the composer.
In April 1954 he recorded the same tune as "Walkin'," listing Carpenter as composer. The track was released on a 10" LP in 1954, and again in 1957 on the album "Walkin'."
In 1958 Miles recorded the same song under the name "Sid's Ahead," crediting himself this time. It was released as part of the album "Milestones."
Miles' later recordings of the song under the title "Walkin'" credited Carpenter; Miles frequently played the tune in live performances as late as 1965.
But Miles didn't compose "Walkin'," either. In 1950 Gene Ammons had recorded "Gravy," crediting Jimmy Mundy as composer. It's the same tune. Here's a link to listen to it.
I guess "Walkin'/Sid's Ahead" should be added to the list of tunes that Miles may not have written.
Combs, in Dameronia, offers his take: "...some maintain that ['Walkin''] was written by Lucky Thompson, and others cite Gene Ammons. The author is inclined to agree with the latter assignation but cannot prove it."
According to this 1964 Downbeat article, Richard Carpenter at one time managed Gene Ammons. According to James Gavin's biography of Chet Baker, Jimmy Mundy had been a client of Carpenter's too. From Gavin's book:
"After Mundy's death in 1983, Don Sickler, a trumpeter and music publisher who handled Dameron's catalogue, found the copyright certificate at the Library of Congress for a tune originally called 'Gravey.' Mundy was believed to be the composer, although some argued that it was Gene Ammons or Miles Davis. The title had been partly erased; 'Walkin'' was written over it and Carpenter's name inserted as composer." (This excerpt was quoted in a discussion of Carpenter at organissimo.org. If you're interested, there are some more details there.)
It's impossible to know exactly how that erasure and altered composer credit could have happened, but there would have been (and still is) a bit of royalty money at stake. Perhaps it was all legal, though.
Nov 18, 2015
David Raksin's "Laura" - Soundtrack vs. Sheet Music
"Laura" was published as sheet music in 1945, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. No lyrics appear in the movie; they were added for the sheet music version, as was the unremarkable introductory "verse." Mercer's lyrics have pretty much nothing to do with the film's storyline, but they do create a mood, and certainly contributed to the song's popularity.
There's an excellent writeup of the tune's origins at JazzStandards.com, where it is rated number 35 on their list of the top 1000 standards.
"Laura" is one of the very few "Golden Age" jazz standards that ends in a different key (C major) than it begins (G major). The only other tunes I can think of that do that are "Unforgettable" and "Autumn Leaves" - and that one only if you count relative major (G) and relative minor (E minor) as being different keys.
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I watched "Laura" via Netflix streaming. As the title theme played, I noticed an unusual modulation halfway through the tune. I checked it out, and as it happens, this modulation allows the song to end in G (or rather, it would have, if the last three bars had been played). I could guess that Raksin might have originally set up the tune to end in the same key it started, but later changed his concept when preparing the sheet music.
Below is how the changes appear in the sheet music. This is a bare-bones version; I've omitted some superfluous chord symbols. Most modern fakebooks show similar changes, but with the Fdim7 replaced by Dm7b5 G7b9.
And here's an outline of the way the movie's opening credits presented the song. The melody starting in bar 17 matches the sheet music, but is pitched a fifth higher than in the sheet music, beginning with an F# in the melody, over the Em7 chord.
The sheet music version smoothes out the tune by beginning the second half in the same key as the first half, as one might normally expect in a commercial song. The modulation halfway through in the movie version worked in the soundtrack, but may have seemed a bit strange for a popular sheet music version, hence the revision. The trade-off was that by beginning the second half conventionally, in G, the tune would have to end in a key (C) different from the one it began in.
This is just speculation, of course, but it might be why "Laura" ends in a different key. Just a guess!
Here's Charlie Parker playing "Laura" with strings, recorded live. This arrangement employs a modulation, but not the same one heard in the movie.
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