The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
Reply to Thread Bookmark Thread
Posts 1 to 23 of 23
  1. #1

    User Info Menu

    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

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

    User Info Menu

    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

  4. #3
    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

  5. #4

    User Info Menu

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

    MW

  6. #5

    User Info Menu

    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

  7. #6

    User Info Menu

    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

  8. #7

    User Info Menu

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

  9. #8

    User Info Menu

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

  10. #9

    User Info Menu

    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).

  11. #10

    User Info Menu

    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

  12. #11

    User Info Menu

    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!

  13. #12

    User Info Menu

    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

  14. #13

    User Info Menu

    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...

  15. #14

    User Info Menu

    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.

  16. #15

    User Info Menu

    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?
    Last edited by tedro; 06-08-2009 at 06:09 PM.

  17. #16

    User Info Menu

    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.

  18. #17

    User Info Menu

    Here is a great article about Blues Variations . Blues is not always same 12 bars over and over again!

  19. #18

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by gravitas
    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

    Confirmation is the other common one, Au Privave is an altered blues, but not quite as altered as BfA, and others have subsequently used the form - eg Charlie Chan (Steve Swallow) and, in 3/4, Bluesette (Toots Thielmans).

    Jonathan

  20. #19

    User Info Menu

    Hi guys!
    I just found this forum (googled for "advanced 12 bar blues chords" and found this page which linked here for discussion) and this is my first post. Hope you can help me.

    The page I linked to above contained a lot of interesting variations to the blues, but none of them minor key. Does anyone have any tips, links or ideas for playing the minor key blues a bit differently than standard?

    Also, do you have an example of a song using the tritone substitution format shown there?

    Thanks in advance!

  21. #20
    Minor Blues | Jazz Guitar Chord Progressions
    I think this is what you're looking for.

    Jazz Theory - Minor Harmony
    You might also find this useful

  22. #21

    User Info Menu

    Thanks a bunch! I'll check it out more thoroughly later tonight, but it seems to be exactly what I was looking for.

    Nice forum you've got here, by the way!

  23. #22

    User Info Menu

    Hello!Thanks for your help, now just looking around...

  24. #23

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by brian evans
    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
    I saw this show. And, yes, that was a cool bit!