The Jimmy Raney Book Study Group

[Rob MacKillop]

Or better still, The Rite of Spring!

[CliffR]

Well guys, you've inspired me to order the book. I hadn't listened to much of Jimmy's music until jameslovestal recently recommended his version of Billie's Bounce to me, and I've been playing him on Spotify ever since.

[Rob MacKillop]

Welcome aboard, Cliff. It was The Cool Jazz Sounds of Jimmy Raney that got me hooked - also on Spotify. His way of phrasing ballads is superb.

[CliffR]

Welcome aboard, Cliff. It was The Cool Jazz Sounds of Jimmy Raney that got me hooked - also on Spotify. His way of phrasing ballads is superb.

Thanks Rob! I'll check it out.

[CliffR]

FWIW, I ordered the last available copy from Amazon UK. But then I got impatient and bought the PDF instead, because it was going to take a few days to come. So if anybody else wants the hardcopy, Amazon UK has one left, assuming my cancellation works

[CliffR]

Looking at chord variation A for chapter one, I don't understand where the Ab7 and DbMaj7 substitutions are coming from. Can somebody explain please?

[pamosmusic]

Looking at chord variation A for chapter one, I don't understand where the Ab7 and DbMaj7 substitutions are coming from. Can somebody explain please?

Ab7 is a tritone sub for D7. DbMaj7 is a tritone sub for Gm7.

It’s the Ladybird turnaround.

[CliffR]

Ab7 is a tritone sub for D7. DbMaj7 is a tritone sub for Gm7.

It’s the Ladybird turnaround.

Thanks Peter! The first I should have figured out, but the second idea of subbing a tritone Maj7 for minor7 is new to me . Either that or Christian told me and I forgot.

[pamosmusic]

Thanks Peter! The first I should have figured out, but the second idea of subbing a tritone Maj7 for minor7 is new to me . Either that or Christian told me and I forgot.

Dont know that I’d think of it as a one to one sub. So that’s my bad.

More like that you hit that tritone sub for D7 and then just cycle back to I. The whole progression is sort of a plug and play for an entire regular turnaround more than each chord fits in for each other. Though it’s not far off of that in this case either.

Just wouldn’t want anyone subbing a Gbmaj7 for the first bar of Blue Bossa

[CliffR]

Dont know that I’d think of it as a one to one sub. So that’s my bad.

More like that you hit that tritone sub for D7 and then just cycle back to I. The whole progression is sort of a plug and play for an entire regular turnaround more than each chord fits in for each other. Though it’s not far off of that in this case either.

Just wouldn’t want anyone subbing a Gbmaj7 for the first bar of Blue Bossa

Got it.

[Mick-7]

Well, Rob, I can tolerate nonseasonality - in small doses anyway - but I'll be really perturbed if we don't use I Remember April next!

The first I should have figured out, but the second idea of subbing a tritone Maj7 for minor7 is new to me

If you're eccentric, Gb6 = Cm7b5b9 (no root)

[Rob MacKillop]

If anyone else is having trouble with the chords, I find it is often best to read backwards for some chord sequences. The V of Gb is Db, the V of Db is Ab - they could be dominants or major 7ths.

But why the Gb7b5? Just spell it out: C E Bb (look familiar so far?) Gb = C7b5.

[Rob MacKillop]

Progress report: I’m working on the A section of Autumn Leaves, which I’ve temporarily termed Raney Autumn, keeping in mind the seven “Things To Think About” on page 6. Some things are familiar, but the process is giving me plenty to contemplate, and providing useful landmarks for both soloing and comping.

[Mick-7]

If anyone else is having trouble with the chords, I find it is often best to read backwards for some chord sequences. The V of Gb is Db, the V of Db is Ab - they could be dominants or major 7ths.

But why the Gb7b5? Just spell it out: C E Bb (look familiar so far?) Gb = C7b5.

Many people think of the b5 sub trick as pertaining only to dominant chords, which I suppose it did originally?

[Rob MacKillop]

All quiet here. Anyone working on it? Any questions? Any answers?

[Mick-7]

All quiet here. Anyone working on it? Any questions? Any answers?

I've read through and played all the examples in the first chapter on "constructing and editing jazz lines," and it already seems too complicated in that he changes the rhythms, note values, and alters the chord tones. That's a lot to think about, where do I start?

And that doesn't seem applicable to a song melody, e.g., Autumn Leaves, unless you consider its melody to be the "constructed line" one is editing? Is that what you had in mind, Rob?

[Rob MacKillop]

Well, you are not playing the melody, as in the start of a tune, but a later solo that hints at the melody. Pick out a few notes that are important in the melody, and weave lines in and around them.

Here's a pdf half-improvised, half-composed arrangement that I've been working on tonight. I'm off to bed now, so will answer any queries anyone might have tomorrow.

Keep in mind it is not a performing score, just a few ideas jotted down, which I might change. A work in progress. I had my guitar in hand while typing it out, but haven't had to time to work it up for a video, though I plan to.

Also keep in mind, I'm just guessing at what we should be doing here, and might be very wrong (I have previous). And also also keep in mind that I've only looked at the A section.

Now, I hope I've managed to attach the pdf...

[PickingMyEars]

Been crazier than I thought in my household ever since I left my teaching career.

Recording should be easier with this newfangled phone. I figured out that voice memo has decent fidelity. Finding quiet time to record is easier said than done.

The first chapter is really an introduction to everything covered throughout the rest of the book. I really wish that Jon Raney was still active on the forum to see your book study, Rob. He broke down a lot of the complicated rhythmic stuff for me during our email correspondence.

Even in the A1 example, Jimmy/Jon say "In its favor, it is a very song-like melody. It also fits the chords without 'running' them sequentially" (2). That melodicism is exactly what I need to get back to after all this Barry Harris Line Building. Balancing the harmonic with the melodic just right is so challenging. 10 years ago, I was all about key centers and improvising melodies. Now I am all about internalizing vocabulary, bebop, and harmony. Finding that balance is HARD WORK!

That and the rhythms! In the first couple of examples, we are starting to see how melody and rhythm are strange bedfellows. What makes a great melody is the rhythm, and what makes a grooving phrase is the melody. Chapter one is the taste of what is yet to come. As soon as I have another chance to record, I'll get an example or two and try to extrapolate.

[Rob MacKillop]

Excellent post, Pick. Your exchanges with Jon might enlighten us here and there, so if something comes to mind, please do share.

“Balancing the harmonic with the melodic…” is something missing from much jazz education, and something which defines the players I’m drawn to, from Charlie Christian to Django to Jim Hall to Julian Lage, and indeed Jimmy Raney. And this is the first book I’ve encountered that makes this the start and end point.

[CliffR]

So far I've just been working on getting the first few examples under my fingers. I think I'm up to B3, and it's really starting to sound cool. To be honest, I'm not sure how much time I should be spending on these examples versus moving forward and trying to apply some of the ideas to a melody. Last book I worked through was Mickey Baker's, decades ago, and I now realise I went through it far too quickly.

[Rob MacKillop]

Good to know, Cliff. I agree that it is difficult to stay with a book, and sometimes these Study Groups help keep us focussed a little longer. Let's see how far we get this time!

[Rob MacKillop]

Here's a talk-through of my pdf upload in post #67 above.

Bars 1 - 8: just a statement of the melody. The main notes for me are on the first note of each other bar: Eb D C Bb. I then start a few improv and thought-out ideas based on these notes.

Bars 9 - 16: It really starts at the end of bar 8: a simple two-note lead-in to the Eb, then into the D, but in bar 13 I fight the predictability and aim for another Eb as it forms the b5 of the Am7b5 and also the b9 of a D7b9, which was too tempting to miss, and then it ends with a Gm Blues lick.

Bars 17 - 24: bars 17, 19 and 21 aim for the Eb D and C notes of the melody, and has a little conversation with a bass line. There's something about playing an E natural on the 4th or 5th string that really sounds beautiful over the Gm6 chord (bar 23).

Bars 25: Again the melody notes Eb D C. Bar 31 supplies the Bb melody note, but gets pushed to B natural over a G7 chord. Some people keep this bar Gm, some prefer a G7 to take us back to Cm.

So far I have kept focus on the melody, hopefully without driving it home too much. I've used a lot of sequences, and occasional upper chord extensions, included a variety of rhythms, but shape of the line is fairly unvaried.

Here's a quick recap of Jimmy's seven 'Things To Think About':

1. Sequence, varied rhythm, pitches of melodic interest.
2. Vary the shape of the line - not always going down (as I do here) or up.
3. Use b9ths on V chords.
4. Connect to 3rds of chords.
5. Use syncopation
6. Use b9/#9 combo to create tension
7. Take care preparing and resolving chromatic tones.

I think I have examples of most of them, but for the remaining three variations I abandon the melody, and stretch out a little on the chords.

Bars 33 - 40: I noticed that a Gm arpeggio would fit over the first four bars, so played the arpeggio twice over four bars. Then I went triplet-mad - not something I could do over a fast tempo! The Am7b5 is just a straight arpeggio. Over the D7 I play Ebdim7 arpeggio - which is just a D7b9 arp without the D.

Bars 41 - 48: Rising lines! An attempt to vary the downward flow I've explored so far. Over the F7 I use an F# melodic minor scale - a common overlay, adjusting the end of it to land on the 3rd of the Bb chord. I've changed the EbMaj7 chord by flattening the 5th. In bars 45/46 I suddenly remembered Joe Diorio!

Bars 49 - the end: a little classical/baroque-like arpeggio sequence. Bar 53 - the D7 gets altered to hell and back.

So, after all that, I wish Jimmy or Jon were here to say, "What a load of crap! Do this instead...". But this is my take on the first chapter. I'm happy to accept criticism or enquiries for further elucidation.

[Rob MacKillop]

Here's the video for the above, playing through the pdf from post #67.

These are not "real solos" of course, just an exercise in applying things discussed in Chapter 1. It would sound better more up-tempo, I think, but then I'd have to take the triplets out.

I'd appreciate some feedback - not of the "well done, Rob" variety, more about what I'm doing, and if you think it is what Jimmy and Jon were looking for, in the ballpark, or have you a completely different take on it.

[pamosmusic]

I’m still chunking through the first few examples in different fingerings

[lawson-stone]

I am going to do this but this week we've had ALL the grandchildren and their parents--18 at the dinner table! 9 grandchildren all 9 or under! It's been fun, but chaotic and obviously not a study break. I will be back on board in a day or so.