PRACTICE PORTAL

The solo below by Booker Little is from the song “Booker’s Blues”, that can be found on his record BOOKER LITTLE AND FRIEND. i transcribed the lead sheet in an earlier post and have finally gotten around to pulling his solo off the record. the blowing form and chord progression is a bit different from that of the head. it alternates between a 12 bar minor blues and an 8 bar section (2 bars of Ab minor and 2 bars of Eb minor repeated once). Little displays his great virtuosity and passion in this solo, playing intriguing melodic ideas and spectacular 16th note bursts. the thing i really enjoy about his lines is his use of the melodic minor scale. those major 6ths and 7ths are not as prevalent in improvisation nowadays but they lend a certain energy to minor melodies that a minor 7th doesn’t… beautiful solo!

BOOKER LITTLE- BOOKER’S BLUES (mp3)

Lately i’ve been rereading a great book, the second part of Chester Himes’ two volume autobiography entitled “My Life Of Absurdity”. Himes, an awesome writer and contemporary of James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, John A. Williams, etc., spent a large part of his adult life as an expatriate artist searching for and eventually finding a measure of success after leaving the U.S., where he was largely neglected. as the title suggests, Himes’ tale is one filled with enough adventure, humor, heartbreak and stories so bizarre that they test the limits of credulity. he speaks with gritty, bitter honesty about the lifestyle of expatriate black artists in postwar Europe. the first volume, “The Quality Of Hurt”, which deals with his life before leaving the states, is just as incredible. perhaps Himes and Mal Waldron have nothing more in common than spending the larger part of their artistic life living abroad. unlike Himes, Waldron didn’t want for work while in New York. he was busy as a leader and sideman before his departure. also, unlike Himes, he seemed to adapt to his new environment in Europe without too much difficulty… below are two of Waldron’s compositions from different points in his career. the first, “Fire Waltz”, is from the record, ERIC DOLPHY LIVE AT THE FIVE SPOT, VOL. 1, recorded in New York in 1961, which features forward thinkers Dolphy, Booker Little, Ed Blackwell, Richard Davis and Waldron. listening to Waldron blow, after to the iconoclastic wail of Dolphy and the fertile linear conception of Little, one is struck by how stark and stubborn Waldron’s solo sounds. he takes very specific melodic and rhythmic ideas and ceaselessly reexamines them. his approach to improvising is very personal and unique. “Fire Waltz” is a sixteen bar song built over a common turnaround. it opens with a funky four bar intro from Waldron and Blackwell, then the melody by Dolphy with comments by Little and the rhythm section. “Autumn Dreams”, recorded thirty years later in Germany, is from the album by the same name, and features the beautiful alto of Charlie Mariano along with paulo Cardoso on bass and John Betsch on drums. it’s a thirty two bar AABA ballad. the melody and harmony are pretty conventional but contain some subtle tweaks that set it apart…

MAL WALDRON- FIRE WALTZ (mp3)

LEAD SHEET FOR FIRE WALTZ (pdf)

MAL WALDRON- AUTUMN DREAMS (mp3)

LEAD SHEET FOR AUTUMN DREAMS (pdf)

It’s been a while since i lasted posted any music. i took a nice vacation with the family and thought about nothing but putting back a few beers and eating mom and dad’s home cooking. while i was gone i got a couple of requests for lead sheets.

as anyone who’s checked out this blog knows, i am a big fan of Booker Little, so i was happy to oblige the request for a lead sheet to his song “ROUNDER’S MOOD”. it was featured on his record, BOOKER LITTLE 4 AND MAX ROACH. i’ve also heard it on a Joe Lovano date called TENOR LEGACY. it’s a really nice melodic line played at a pretty quick tempo. the song form is ABCAB with each section being 8 measures. the progression is more or less conventional so it wasn’t too hard to figure out. horns mostly play in unison, branching out into independent lines on occasion. the second horn line is muddy and difficult to hear in measures 13 and 14 so i took a bit of liberty with that. i may have to make revisions later.

Wayne Shorter is arguably the most influential composer in modern jazz. his conception played a huge part in shaping the sound of the Miles Davis quintet of the 60’s. listening to his classic recording dates on Blue Note, we get a glimpse of his unique take on composition and improvisation. his music of that period, like his improvisations seem to be an intense refinement of things he’d learned from his influences. everything feels essential and inevitable, nothing seems wasted. like many of his songs, Shorter’s “DANCE CADAVEROUS”, which comes from his seminal recording, SPEAK NO EVIL, is an extremely tough nut to crack. the big obstacle is deciphering his progressions which are very cryptic and personal. Herbie Hancock, the pianist on this date, demonstrates his mastery of the art of accompaniment, enveloping the melody and solos in a cloud of impressionist coloring. his voicings and chord choices never remain static and they conjure latent possibilities in a progression that the composer might not have expected. Ron Carter’s bass is removed from the traditional role of only serving as a rhythmic anchor and playing roots and fifths. he often occupies areas of a chord that lead instruments function in. this of course presents a problem to anyone attempting to transcribe what’s happening. the music is always moving forward from phrase to phrase, chorus to chorus. i don’t know if Shorter has ever published a definitive lead sheet to this song. mine is just a guess so please take it as that. i also referenced a version of this song from the Larry Willis recording, HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING?, on which the rhythm section plays in a less ambiguous style. however, that presented another problem and raised more questions because his version often diverged from the original recording.

“DANCE CADAVEROUS”, one of my favorite Shorter songs is a thing of beauty- a gentle waltz with an elegant melodic line played by Shorter along with the late Freddie Hubbard on trumpet. the melody is simple enough but what adds intrigue is the harmonic framework that it’s set in. the song begins with an 8 measure introduction:

|| Ab Maj7 | Ab Maj7 | Ab Maj7 | Ab Maj7 |

| A7 | A7 | A7 (b9, b13) | A7 (b9, b13) |

Shorter and Hubbard play a simple three note riff that is answered by Hancock’s piano. the song then moves into the main melody. the first chord, B min(Maj7) lends to the eerie quality of the song:

|| B min (Maj7) | B min (Maj7) | C min (Maj7) | C min (Maj7) |

| C#min7 (b5) | C#min7 (b5) |F#7 (b9) | F#7 (b9) |

the second eight bars of the melody imitate the first but the progression eventually modulates to a G Maj7 (the relative major of E min7, the chord that one would expect to be the destination after B7 (b9) ):

| B min (Maj7) | B min (Maj7) | C min (Maj7) | C min (Maj7) |

| C# min7 (b5) | F#7 (b5) | F# min7 (b5) | B7 (b9, b13) |

from G maj7, the progression works its way to Ab min11. the fifth bar of this progression gets pretty sticky! i’m regarding the note G in the melody of the fifth and sixth bars of this section as ornamentation and not material from the chord (which may be totally off the mark).

| G Maj7 | G Maj7 | C7 (b5) | C7 (b5) |

| C7 (b9, b13) | Ab7 sus4 | Ab min11 | Ab min11 |

the progression then makes its way back to B min (Maj7) using a series of ii-V’s:

| F min9 (b5) | F min9 (b5) | Bb7 (b9, b13) | Bb7 (b9, b13) |

| Bb min11 | Bb min11 | C# min7 (b5) | F#13 (b9) |

the melody and chord progression repeats from the top but the progression changes from the fifth bar (moving to D Maj7 (#5) instead of back to B min (Maj7). both chords share the same notes) while the melody remains essentially the same:

|| B min (Maj7) | B min (Maj7) | C min (Maj7) | C min (Maj7) |

| C#min7 (b5) | C#min7 (b5) |F#7 (b9) | F#7 (b9) |

| D Maj7 (#5) | D Maj7 (#5) | D13 sus4 | D13 (b9) |

in the next four bars, the color of the chord is G maj with the bassline descending along a G major scale:

| G Maj7 | G/F# | E min7 | G/D |

the next eight measures are the same as measures 17-24 except for the chord on the first two bars which is a C# min7 (b5) instead of a G Maj7 (they have a very similar sound).

| C# min7 (b5) | C# min7 (b5) | C7 (b5) | C7 (b5) |

| C7 (b9, b13) | Ab7 sus4 | Ab min11 | Ab min11 |

the last eight bars move the harmony back toward the original tonality of B minor but instead of landing there, the last ii-v ( |C# min9 (b5) | F#7sus4 (b9)| )moves to C Major:

| G Maj7 | G Maj7 | C# min9(b5) | F#7 sus (b9) |

| C Maj9 | C Maj9 | C Maj9 | C Maj9 ||

check out the transcriptions below…

BOOKER LITTLE- “ROUNDER’S MOOD” (mp3)

TRANSCRIPTION OF “ROUNDER’S MOOD” (pdf)

WAYNE SHORTER- “DANCE CADAVEROUS” (mp3)

TRANSCRIPTION OF “DANCE CADAVEROUS” (pdf)

Booker Little’s date, Out Front, is perhaps his best recording, followed closely by Booker Little And Friend. both are standouts because of excellent writing and blowing but what puts Out Front out front are the personnel choices: Eric Dolphy on woodwinds and Julian Priester on trombone, with the rhythm section of Max Roach on percussion, Ron Carter or Art Davis on bass, and Don Friedman on piano. the addition of Eric Dolphy, who doubles on bass clarinet and flute, opens up more textural possibilities for Little’s writing, which he takes full advantage of. also, to my ear, because the record features only original material by Little, Out Front sounds like a more personal vision. the 7 songs feel closely related and flow into and out of each other. in these days of 20 song recordings, you don’t often hear “whole” records anymore. somewhat like Kind Of Blue, Out Front is a brief but emphatic statement of an artist’s vision that leaves a listener wanting more but doesn’t leave him feeling short-changed. the title, “Out Front” also suggests that Little saw this record as his introduction to the world as a bandleader. “Hazy Hues” begins with a mysterious unison line over a two chord progression:

[F min / / ] [Gb7 / / ] [F min / / ] [F min / / ]

Little, with Dolphy on flute, plays the first phrase. this is answered by Priester’s trombone along with the rhythm section featuring Roach on tympami. Little and Dolphy play a second line which is again followed by the other musicians. after a brief cadenza, played by Little over the same progression as above, the main melody begins in 5/4 time. the first four bars of the progression look like this:

[Bb min (maj7) / / / / ] [G min9 (b5) / / / / ]

[Eb min11 / / / / ] [B13 (b5) / / / / ]

the horns outline the Bb min(maj7) chord in the style of a musical canon. the other horns then support Little as he states the rest of the melodic phrase over the next three chords. what a beautiful progression! 3 of the 4 chords utilize the sound of an augmented triad (A Db F) and, excepting the Eb min11 chord, retain the essential color of the first chord. the next part of the progression is a group of Bb minor chords that features a moving tone, played by the two lower horns, that starts on the 5th and goes up by half steps to the sixth, then back down to the b6th:

[Bb min / / Bb min (b6) / ] [Bb min6 / / Bb minb6 / ]

[E13 / / Eb13 / ] [Eb13 / / / / ]

the Bb minb6 chord makes a strong move to an E7b13 and then to an Eb13 chord to end the phrase. Little often uses a three horn cluster in his arrangements that has the outer voices spread out over a major 7th with the inner voice either a fourth or a tritone away from the bottom voice. the bottom horn voice is then positioned a minor 7th above the bass voice. depending on the placement of the middle horn, Little gets a nice, open dominant or minor thirteenth sound. with the next phrase, Little crunches the horns together into tight clusters over a Db in the bass. the first cluster is Eb, E, Ab. the second is an A major triad in first inversion. following that, the first cluster is transposed up a fourth: Ab, A, Db. the final cluster is G, Bb, F#. the phrase is then ended with two min (maj7) chords. notating the fourth chord in this sequence is a little iffy. my guess is this:

[Db min9 / / Db min (b6) / ] [Db min (b6) / / G dim (maj7)/Db / ]

[Eb min (maj7) / / / / ] [Db min (maj7) / / / / ]

the next phrase starts like the last but moves in a different direction:

[Db min9 / / D maj9 / / ] [F# min7 / / / / ]

[Bb min (maj7) / / E (maj7#11)/ Bb__Ab maj13]

[G7 (b5) / / Ab13 / ] [A/G / / / / ] [A/G / / / / ]

the Bb min(maj7) chord starts a moving line in the two bottom horns that is just plain sick. the bottom voice moves along a diminished scale and finally lands on an E (in the A/G) chord. the middle voice runs along a Bb min scale, then to the third of the G7 (b5) and Ab13 chords and comes to rest on an A. the E finds resolution by moving to F in Bb min (maj7) when the melody is restated, while the A brings to mind the major 7th of the initial chord of the melody. the reason i labeled the last chord of this sequence A/G is because i couldn’t hear a seventh. the quality of the chord is “hazy”. the forceful return to the initial melody puts all ambiguity to rest. really beautiful, intelligent, and sophisticated writing by Little, who at the time of this recording was around 23 years old(!) after the restatement of the melody, the song moves to a short coda section:

[Ab min / / Ab min/Gb / ] [E maj7 (#11) / / A13 (#11) / ] [Gb13 (#11) / / / / ]

[C min7 (b5) / / B ma7 (#11) / ] [Eb min7 / / / / ]

[C min7 (b5) / / B ma7 (#11) / ] [Eb min7 / / / / ]

some more nice counterpoint under the melody by the bottom voices. like before, many of the chords in this sequence share very similar colorings. the first three all have an Ab minor sound over changing bass notes, the next two are dominant chords with identical alterations, a minor third apart, and the last six chords have an Eb minor sound over the bass notes. theoretically speaking, many of the chords pairings are perhaps tenuously related. i like the idea of imagining harmonic progressions as colors on a canvas with varying degrees of lightness, saturation and hue, that bleed into and out of each other. i like hearing things that i can’t quite explain. there are many such instances on this record, which is what makes this recording so special to my eyes… the last section, a vamping interlude that is used as a segue into the solos, is a series of horn clusters over an Ab in the bass. i won’t even bother to try and notate the progression. just listen to it… Max Roach switches back to tympani during this section. the sound is really tense and martial, almost like a fanfare heralding the arrival of some high ranking group of dignitaries. in this case, they are Booker Little, followed closely by Eric Dolphy and Julian Priester, all of whom blow great solos… check it out.

BOOKER LITTLE- “HAZY HUES” (mp3)

TRANSCRIPTION OF “HAZY HUES” (pdf)

Booker Little, like Clifford Brown and Fats Navarro, was a young trumpeter who was taken from us before he realized his full potential. but in the time he was here, he left us with several awesome examples of his compositional genuis and deeply moving improvisations. by the time he passed at the age of 23, he had performed with, among others, Max Roach, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, Abbey Lincoln and Coleman Hawkins. when i listen to his music i can’t help but wonder where his tremendous gifts would have taken him had he been given more time. some of his standout recordings include Max Roach’s Percussion Bittersweet, Abbey Lincoln’s Straight Ahead and his own date, Out Front. “Booker’s Blues” is a song from Booker Little And Friend and as the title suggests, it’s a blues. but like many of his compositions, he inserts some device that opens up more possibilities for expression. in this case, the combination of Booker’s soaring lyricism set against the tight harmonies of the other horns and the rhythm section’s pedal points creates an ever mounting tension that builds until melody gives way to the solos. the solo section has an AAB form made up of 2 choruses of blues followed by an 8 measure vamp. the vamp acts as a reservoir in which energy is quickly accumulated before it is released into the following chorus. below is a clip of the melody and a transcription of the score… i’ll be posting more music by Booker Little in the coming weeks because he is trumpeter/ composer that all musicians should be more aware of.

BOOKER LITTLE- BOOKER’S BLUES (mp3)

SCORE OF BOOKER’S BLUES (pdf)