Originally Posted by
John A.
OK, limiting the discussion to C7 chords in a C blues: yes, you can certainly play the chord tones of a Gmin6 or Gmin7 chord over C7 (they're he same notes as C9 and C11, respectively, minus the C). But if you do that without playing a C it sounds more like Gmin than C7, and creates a sense of suspension/ambiguity as to where you are in the form. Wes did that often (he also often used pedal points a lot). That's neither a good nor a bad thing in itself. But I do think it works better if you don't do that in every chorus and hit C sometimes. Apply the equivalent logic to Cmin and F. There's a duet version of Unit 7 by Frank Vignola and Jimmy Bruno on youtube, which I think illustrates this pretty clearly. Bruno plays his solo in a way that emphasizes Gmin; Vignola emphasizes C7 + making all the changes. It's an interesting contrast. Going beyond just the 4 notes of that chord you then have to think about what flavor of Gmin you draw additional pitches from (i.e., natural, harmonic, melodic, or dorian) because there are pitches there (e.g., F# in GMM) that produces dissonances over a C7 chord. That's all I'm saying.
I misunderstood wzpgsr, and thought he was talking about playing a GminMaj7 (and by implication, G melodic minor) on that C7 change. But strangely, he wasn't talking about doing that (he was talking about IYOSW), but he was actually playing it, which sparked my little trip down theory alley. Anyway, that's as far down that path I go.
TBH, I haven't thought all that much about why Wes's lines don't sound like Bird, but I think the main reasons are phrasing, time, and articulations on the instrument rather note choices, which are the things that make him unique overall, not just with respect to Bird. Wes was generally right on top of the beat or a hair behind; Bird was on top or ahead. Bird generally played longer and less symmetrical phrases. Wes's tended to be less jagged/angular. Bird held notes, Wes didn't. Bird used a wide vibrato and bent notes a lot; Wes's didn't do much of either. Wes didn't do the 1/16 and 1/32 runs that Bird would do. That sort of thing. However, I do think that there was a greater degree of similarity between Wes's soloing and some trumpet players. Check out the Wes/Cannonball version of Au Privave and compare it to the Bird version with Miles Davis on Trumpet. I haven't transcribed it, but at least on a superficial listening, I get a fairly similar vibe out of MIles's and Wes's approaches (and between Cannonball's and Bird's, obviously)
Yes, that an avoiding the root and creating a sense of "modal" playing over moving changes
Presumably the tune to play alongside that pursuit is Stelae by Starlight.
John
Crimson/Hutchins Gibson l5
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