One of my favourite Peter Bernstein solos

[bediles]

Right at the start of the Ralph Bowen album, Soul Proprietor. Killer, lots of cool pentatonic, some of those trademark aug triads, yay. I think these are the changes to that 8 bar Eb min blues form on A Love Supreme, can't remember the name of the tune (Resolution?).

What are your favourite solos of his?

[joelf]

Right at the start of the Ralph Bowen album, Soul Proprietor. Killer, lots of cool pentatonic, some of those trademark aug triads, yay. I think these are the changes to that 8 bar Eb min blues form on A Love Supreme, can't remember the name of the tune (Resolution?).

What are your favourite solos of his?

Yes, cookin' all the way, with fine ideas and excellent control.

Hell of a cast, too. I knew John Swana (and his vocalist daughter, Rosalie) when I lived in Philly. Great player and sweet guy.

Thanks for posting!

[Doug B]

Hard to pick just one album, let alone one song.

Right now one of my favourites is Darn That Dream Live on the album Live at Cory Weeds Cellar Jazz Club.

[David B]

Here's one of my favourites, on Cedar Walton's tune 'La Fiesta Espagnol'. From Ralph Lalama's 1996 album 'Circle Line'.

[PMB]

[BreckerFan]

That whole album is killer. One of the first I started listening to when I was really getting into jazz. His solo on the rhythm changes and on Invitation are also great, but yeah Soul Proprietor is probably my fav from the record.

[jazzgtrl4]

Yep! ive burned that record out, Soul Proprietor. Great players..i really dig Brian Blade on this too!

[bediles]

Hard to pick just one album, let alone one song.

Right now one of my favourites is Darn That Dream Live on the album Live at Cory Weeds Cellar Jazz Club.

Love Django off that record!

[pingu]

Right at the start of the Ralph Bowen album, Soul Proprietor. Killer, lots of cool pentatonic, some of those trademark aug triads, yay. I think these are the changes to that 8 bar Eb min blues form on A Love Supreme, can't remember the name of the tune (Resolution?).

What are your favourite solos of his?

Sorry I haven't got one
Yes that solo is fab

Btw You made me have a go at Resolution
What a tune ! loving the b5 thing
At the moment

[jbernstein91]

This may be my favorite Peter Bernstein solo, playing "I'll Take Romance" in a duet with the late, great Jack Wilkins (solo starts around 24:40 in):

[bediles]

Here's another fave of mine. He takes a few rhythmic motifs and develops them over this three chorus solo. Really enjoyed the journey. Solo starts at 3:10

[yebdox]

So much to choose from, I give up trying to pick another. Heavily recorded, Peter is everywhere!

[Sam b]

what are these trademark augmented triads you speak of? Is that something he does a lot? in a chord solos or single lines?

[PMB]

what are these trademark augmented triads you speak of? Is that something he does a lot? in a chord solos or single lines?

Yes to both. Check out my transcription of How Deep Is The Ocean in post #5. PB's solo opens with an augmented triad!

[bediles]

what are these trademark augmented triads you speak of? Is that something he does a lot? in a chord solos or single lines?

In the Soul Proprietor solo you'll hear it in bar 4 of the 8 bar form quite a bit. In this case outlining #4, b7, 9 to get a lydian dominant sound on the b6 chord, which is Cb7 in this case.

[Sam b]

Cool, so you can play an augmented triad off the #4 of a dominant chord.
Are there other applications? Do people augment the fifth of the chord in the harmony, like raise the fifth in a major chord or a dominant chord?

[bediles]

Cool, so you can play an augmented triad off the #4 of a dominant chord.
Are there other applications? Do people augment the fifth of the chord in the harmony, like raise the fifth in a major chord or a dominant chord?

Yes, you can do that too, I'd say playing the #5 might be even more common. In fact many different triads can be "super imposed" over the chord of the moment to produce different sounds bc they are a structure that our ears are used to and have melodic gravity (aka they sound good). FWIW A lot of more modern playing consists of pairing two triads together in a line to create a unique sound.

[jameslovestal]

In the Soul Proprietor solo you'll hear it in bar 4 of the 8 bar form quite a bit. In this case outlining #4, b7, 9 to get a lydian dominant sound on the b6 chord, which is Cb7 in this case.

Thanks for spelling that out. I'm trying to use these augmented triads.

Is there a reason #4 is referenced instead of b5?

[bediles]

Thanks for spelling that out. I'm trying to use these augmented triads.

Is there a reason #4 is referenced instead of b5?

The jazz police may care what enharmonic you use first off. But it doesn't matter too much. For me #4 is lydian and b5 is an altered or whole tone sound. With that understanding, spelling the tone as a #4 also may imply that the 5th is natural in an accompanying scale while spelling it as a b5 may imply that the 4th is natural and there is no natural fifth. Typically the scale that works with a b6 dominant chord in minor is Lydian Domanint which is a dominant scale with a #4 so I like that spelling.

[Sam b]

Are there other augmented triad pairs to use?

FWIW A lot of more modern playing consists of pairing two triads together in a line to create a unique sound.

Does the above mean something like two aug triad pairs a whole tone apart?

[bediles]

Are there other augmented triad pairs to use?

FWIW A lot of more modern playing consists of pairing two triads together in a line to create a unique sound.
Does the above mean something like two aug triad pairs a whole tone apart?

Triad pairs in general are a huge topic, I think there's probably other threads digging into them in detail. For two augmented triads at least, you only have 2 options: half step apart and whole step apart and unlike many other triad pairs, these hexatonic scales have names:

B+/C+ = augmented scale
Possible tonalities:Cmaj7, Emaj7, Abmaj7, Amin7, D7, C#min7, F#7, Fmin7, Bb7, F#min7b5, B7b9, Bbmin7b5, Eb7b9, Dmin7b5, G7b9 (these names are simplified)

D+/C+ = whole tone scale
Possible tonalities: C7, D7, E7 etc.. (up in whole steps)

Rhythmically, if you play them as separate triads you get these 3 beat figures that break up your 8th notes but you can also play them as a note collection.

[pauln]

Cool, so you can play an augmented triad off the #4 of a dominant chord.
Are there other applications? Do people augment the fifth of the chord in the harmony, like raise the fifth in a major chord or a dominant chord?

There are perspectives (some call references), a common one sees some things in terms of the Melodic Minor, but a more rare one that sees those things in terms of the Lydian Dominant.

These are both modes of each other (inversions of the same scale), and the perspective used is typically the one first learned - Melodic Minor. However some of us discovered, invented, or learned the Lydian Dominant first.

With reference to the tonic of the Lydian Dominant, try these:

- 7th, 9th, 11#4, and 13th rooted on LD's tonic
- whole tones (four) from a whole tone below to two above LD's tonic
- augmented rooted from LD's #4
- diminished whole-half rooted from LD's major 3rd
- quartal (stacked 4ths) rooted from LD's major 3rd
- m7b5 rooted on LD's major 3rd

You may displace all these to conform with the MM perspective.

[Christian Miller]

I think of augmented triads used in this way as originally a Billy Strayhorn sound

C+ on D7 / take the a train
A+ on Bbm / Chelsea bridge

obviously generations of jazzers have made these choices omnipresent