Parker Blues

GEEBS · #1 05-08-2009, 09:32 AM

Hello, Could anyone talk me through the chord subs on the C.Parker blues in F illustrated in the lesson "Blues Chord Progressions & Variations". Also is there any reason for starting with a maj7 instead of dom7. Is it just the sound or does it help with the subs? In bar 2 is it a 2-5 of Dmin (minor 3rd of Bb)? Thanks any comments would be appreciated

m78w · #2 05-08-2009, 12:09 PM

Sure thing.

The maj7 chord is just a sound issue, it fits the melody and gives the blues an added twist that Parker liked. I don't know what came first the melody or the Fmaj7 chord but they fit each other perfectly.

Bar 1 is the Fmaj7, tonic chord of the blues.

Bars 1-3 are a series of 2-5's leading to Bb7 in bar 5, so they can be heard as #im7 VII7alt/iiim7 VI7/iim7 V7/ of Bb.

Bar 5 is the IV7 chord, Bb, in the key of F blues.

Bars 6-8 are a series of chromatically descending 2-5's that lead to the Gm7 chord in bar 9. You can also just think of it as Bbm7/Am7/Abm7 leading to Gm7 in bar 9.

The last four bars are just a 2-5-1 6-2 5 in F.

Hope that helps!
MW

GEEBS · #3 05-08-2009, 12:21 PM

Many Thanks MW, that's a big help. I will take time to absorb and apply that info. Have also found your site and lessons enjoyable & informative. Cheers

m78w · #4 05-08-2009, 12:22 PM

Thanks for checking out my site, glad the explanation was helpful!

MW

brian evans · #5 05-08-2009, 05:07 PM

I was watching the Elvis Costello show where he interviews musicians, and Diana Krall was on, being interviewed by Elton John. At one point they were talking about her early life and learning to play, and she said something about "working out the II/V's" and I knew exactly what she was talking about! At one point Elton asked about a tune Night Train and asked her to play it. Rather than just playing a few bars, which is what I think he meant, her eyes got a little big, she said "Ah, we didn't work that up", looked at the bass player and called a key, a little bit "you start, no you start" and they played a great full length version, you could tell they were really enjoying it and you could tell they had never played the tune together before! Great jazz!

edit, not sure why I put this here, but the conversation was on II/V's and it started as a II/V story...

Brian

gravitas · #6 05-08-2009, 06:20 PM

How many Parker Blues tunes are there? I know Blues for Alice, but I'm hard pressed to find other tunes that are based on the same changes

Banksia · #7 05-09-2009, 09:15 AM

Cool Blues. KC Blues. There's a couple off the top of my head.

gravitas · #8 05-09-2009, 05:00 PM

Well, KC Blues is just a bebop blues tune, not a bird blues... I'm not sure about Cool Blues. Who wrote it?

randalljazz · #9 05-10-2009, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gravitas

Well, KC Blues is just a bebop blues tune, not a bird blues... I'm not sure about Cool Blues. Who wrote it?

bird wrote it. just "regular" blues changes in C (nice tune, tho).

m78w · #10 05-11-2009, 12:26 PM

Another great Bird Blues tune is "Freight Trane", in Ab I believe, from the recording of Coltrane with Kenny Burrell. Jack Wilkins also covered it on an album in the late 70's with Brecker and Dejohnette I believe on drums. Great tune and not often played.

MW

abracadabra · #11 05-18-2009, 09:17 AM

Nothing to do with the changes, but the melody line to Cool Blues is directly from a line he first played in solos to Yardbird Suite.

I guess he liked the line so much he turned it into a whole new song.

Good one too!

gravitas · #12 05-18-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m78w

Another great Bird Blues tune is "Freight Trane", in Ab I believe, from the recording of Coltrane with Kenny Burrell. Jack Wilkins also covered it on an album in the late 70's with Brecker and Dejohnette I believe on drums. Great tune and not often played.

MW

Hey yeah! Thanks for the info matt

It seems to me that bird blues tunes are no where near as common as any of the other "standard forms." It'd be great for me if instead of playing so many 12 bar blues forms at my practice gigs I could just learn a bunch of bird blues heads... But after exhaustive searching I still only know of 2

randalljazz · #13 05-18-2009, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m78w

Another great Bird Blues tune is "Freight Trane", in Ab I believe, from the recording of Coltrane with Kenny Burrell. Jack Wilkins also covered it on an album in the late 70's with Brecker and Dejohnette I believe on drums. Great tune and not often played.

MW

...by the ever-swinging, somewhat under-appreciated tommy flanagan...

davidblair · #14 05-22-2009, 07:43 AM

There are many "Charlie Parker" books available. Mine is around here somewhere...
It has around 70 pages of tunes with accurate transcriptions. Worth buying, yes.

tedro · #15 06-08-2009, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m78w

Sure thing.
The maj7 chord is just a sound issue, it fits the melody and gives the blues an added twist that Parker liked. I don't know what came first the melody or the Fmaj7 chord but they fit each other perfectly.

I'm sorry help me out, please? Where do I find that melody line?

markerhodes · #16 02-25-2010, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m78w

Another great Bird Blues tune is "Freight Trane", in Ab I believe, from the recording of Coltrane with Kenny Burrell. Jack Wilkins also covered it on an album in the late 70's with Brecker and Dejohnette I believe on drums. Great tune and not often played.

MW

Yeah, that's my favorite "Bird Blues" and it's in Ab, allright. Tommy Flanagan (great jazz pianist) wrote it.