JGBE Virtual Jam (Round 56) - Jeannine

[ragman1]

Another one from John A.

[Triple_Jazz]

Great Great Tune!! I look forward to learning this one

[JazzinNY]

Jeannine, Jeannine, Jeannine, Jeani-i-ine!

[Lionelsax]

Great pick ! John !

I'm looking forwards to hearing these blues licks all over the tune then this wonderful pattern quickly repeated half step by half step all over the neck.

[Lionelsax]

It's the first time I play it, sorry.

[Lionelsax]

Not a lot of takes, I think they are busy, maybe they are touring, who knows ?
Well, so... since nobody participates, I'm strumbling and noodling on Jeannine, I would have preferred Jeanette.

[John A.]

I accidentally posted this in the wrong thread before. I think there's a verse about that in the Eddie Jefferson version ...
Anyway, here we go.

[Lionelsax]

I accidentally posted this in the wrong thread before. I think there's a verse about that in the Eddie Jefferson version ...
Anyway, here we go.

Very great sound John ! It's very musical ! You underline well the chords, I wish the backing track had a better timing.

[wzpgsr]

Not a lot of takes, I think they are busy, maybe they are touring, who knows ?

Mine is coming soon. Was trying to work out the head first!

[ragman1]

Oh, well, you can have mine now then. I haven't done the whole double-stop thing with the head because it doesn't sound good on my equipment, too echoey. Apart from that it's how to play endless bars of Abm7...

[John A.]

Oh, well, you can have mine now then. I haven't done the whole double-stop thing with the head because it doesn't sound good on my equipment, too echoey. Apart from that it's how to play endless bars of Abm7...

... and wake up in time for the bridge. I find this to be deceptively difficult tune. Each of the sections is easy, but it's tricky to knit them together. And with such a long form it's very hard to sustain interest. As always, Wes is the master.

[ragman1]

Absolutely. Wes's version was clever.

[Lionelsax]

Well, this is my last take, then I will stop because I made a mistake during the guitar solo at the second A...
I think you won't appreciate !

[ragman1]

It's like a surveillance camera. In a police station :-)

[ragman1]

I've done another one, a little slower. You can probably hear what I mean about the double-stops, they boom a bit.

[Lionelsax]

Since it's a guitar forum, this is just the guitar.
John will say I'm just strumbling and noodling.

[wzpgsr]

Let’s talk about those 8 bars of static Ab minor. How to create some sense of motion over 8 bars of the same chord? Theoretically, I feel like I should have improved enough since we did “So What” that I should have some additional ideas for this—like implying chord changes in my lines over the static chord—but in practice this has not occurred.

[ragman1]

Hi, wzpgsr -

The best thing I can say is look at these two transcriptions and listen to the Joe Pass and Wes solos on YouTube.

The Bernstein especially is good for movement. He harps on particular notes, hits strong rhythms... you can see. The Adderley one is more scalar but it certainly zooms along.

To be honest, it needn't race along but even at a medium pace, when soloing, the Abm7 honestly doesn't seem to last that long. The main thing, as John pointed out, is arriving neatly at the F#m on time :-)

The main notes for the Abm7 (apart from Abm pentatonic/blues) are from the Dorian - Gb/F# maj - and arpeggios, definitely. Putting in the Ebm arpeggio is good too because it gives the Abm9 sound. Most soloists use it. (Joe Pass does) but you also have the Ab melodic minor for a bit of variety (I probably overuse it). Bernstein uses it.

[John A.]

Let’s talk about those 8 bars of static Ab minor. How to create some sense of motion over 8 bars of the same chord? Theoretically, I feel like I should have improved enough since we did “So What” that I should have some additional ideas for this—like implying chord changes in my lines over the static chord—but in practice this has not occurred.

I think of it as two distinct 4-bar stretches. Ask and and answer a question in 4 bars; a second q/a in the next 4 (or variation on the first), taking care to land somewhere that can lead to the Gbmin. To me it's a different endeavor from So What, which is more static.

[wzpgsr]

Hi, wzpgsr -

The best thing I can say is look at these two transcriptions and listen to the Joe Pass and Wes solos on YouTube.

The Bernstein especially is good for movement. He harps on particular notes, hits strong rhythms... you can see. The Adderley one is more scalar but it certainly zooms along.

To be honest, it needn't race along but even at a medium pace, when soloing, the Abm7 honestly doesn't seem to last that long. The main thing, as John pointed out, is arriving neatly at the F#m on time :-)

The main notes for the Abm7 (apart from Abm pentatonic/blues) are from the Dorian - Gb/F# maj - and arpeggios, definitely. Putting in the Ebm arpeggio is good too because it gives the Abm9 sound. Most soloists use it. (Joe Pass does) but you also have the Ab melodic minor for a bit of variety (I probably overuse it). Bernstein uses it.

Funny. Those are two of the three reference versions I have in my playlist. Long story short: there are no shortcuts. I wish I had more time.

[wzpgsr]

I think of it as two distinct 4-bar stretches. Ask and and answer a question in 4 bars; a second q/a in the next 4 (or variation on the first), taking care to land somewhere that can lead to the Gbmin. To me it's a different endeavor from So What, which is more static.

Agreed. The Ab minor section feels like the spring coiling up for release when that F# minor rolls around. The tune has a nice logic to it. I need to spend a bit more time with the B section before posting.

In terms of movement, I was thinking about things like playing changes over static chords. Like, maybe on measure 4 implying a ii-V or tritone (A7) resolving back to the i. If you listen to Barry Harris comping over the intro on Cannonball’s version, he seems to be playing Ab minor for a bar, then Db9/Ab (or Abm6) for a bar, so I guess one could mess around with that a bit.

[wzpgsr]

Bruce Forman posted this today. Maybe he’s a closet virtual jam participant.

[grahambop]

Let’s talk about those 8 bars of static Ab minor. How to create some sense of motion over 8 bars of the same chord? Theoretically, I feel like I should have improved enough since we did “So What” that I should have some additional ideas for this—like implying chord changes in my lines over the static chord—but in practice this has not occurred.

Donald Byrd uses a simple motif (probably derived from the melody) over those bars and just keeps varying it slightly. Makes a good contrast with the longer lines he plays on the other sections.

[ragman1]

Donald Byrd uses a simple motif (probably derived from the melody) over those bars and just keeps varying it slightly

Cop out!

[grahambop]

Donald Byrd uses a simple motif (probably derived from the melody) over those bars and just keeps varying it slightly. Makes a good contrast with the longer lines he plays on the other sections.

Also a bit reminiscent of the first 8 bars of Miles’ solo on So What.