(Eb) in Session With Charlie Parker

7/28/2019 (Eb) in Session With Charlie Parker

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N I C O L A S C E L I Z

n i c o s a x @ g m a i l . c o m



CharleParke

the Book...

r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r . 4

n heSolo na lys is , , , , ,

% The GD..,Track 1 TuningTones

Billie'sBounceïrack2 Fast empowithsaxophoneTrack3 Fast empobacking rackTrack 4 Slow empo withsaxophoneTrack5 Slow empobacking rack

OrnithologyTrack6 Fast empowithsaxophoneTrack7 Fast empobacking rackTrack Slow empo withsaxophoneTrack9 Slow empobacking rack

Yardbird uiteTrack 10 Fast empowithsaxophoneTrack11 Fast empo backing rackTrack12 Slow empowithsaxophoneTrack13 Slow empobacking rack

Now'sTheTimeTrack 14 Fast empowithsaxophoneTrack 15 Fast empo backing rackTrack16 Slow empo withsaxophone

Track17 Slow empobacking rack

Donna eeTrack 18 Fast empowithsaxophoneTrack19 Fast empobacking rackTrack20 Slow empowith saxophoneTrack21 Slow empobacking rack

AnthropologyTrack22 Fast empowithsaxophoneTrack23 Fast empobacking rackTrack24 Slow empowith saxophoneTrack25 Slow empobacking rack

r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r ! . 15

Su i te , r r r r r ! r , r r r r r . 22

The Time r r r r r r . r r r r . 27

r r r r r r r r r r ! r r r r r . 3 4

hropology t t t t t l t t t t t t l t 42





Blographyake a few narcotics, dd in a pinch of alcohol,stir in somecultural tension fuelled by a new and dangerousmusicl nowadd prohibition, a tragically shortened life and a musical giftas prodigious as it was revolutionary. Now you have thebasic ingredientsfor the life srory of one of the greatestand

most influential jazz musiciansever- charlie 'Bird' parker.

He was born in Kansasciry on 29th August r920,the only son of charlesand Addie Parker. He started earning the baritone sax but found his rueinstrument when his mother gave him an alto sax. Suchwas his infatuationwith th e instrumenr that at the ag e of 14 he dropped out of schoolcompletely to dedicate himself to it. He got the nickname 'yardbird' from

his love of chicken.This inelegantsobriquetwas subsequently hortened othe altogethermore appealing'Bird', and it stuck.

His first forays into the world of the professio al azz musicianwereanything but successful,however. Kansas City musicians were verycompetitive (Herschel Evans and Ben Ïíebster both came fromKansas) nd f you couldn'tcut it, you wereout! on parker's irsttime out, at theHigh Hat club, he driedup half way throughasolo on Body And soul and didn't touch the instrument orthree months afterwards. A potentially more damaging laterouting culminated in drummer Jo Jones throwing a cymbal atParker as a subtleway of telling him to get off the stage!Ratherthan discouraging him this experience seemed o stiffen Bird,sresolve,as he simply practisedmore diligently and for longer hoursthan he had before.

He startedo get egularwork, firstwith TommyDouglas 1936-7)and thenwith Bustersmith (1937-8).At this timehe started ostudy harmony with pianist carrie powell, a move that laidthe first brick in the impressive wall of his mastery ofjazz improvisation.

In 1938he joined he bandoÍ JayMcShann,and started o make a name or

himselfas ahard-swinging aker-of-libertieswith iazzharmony.

ln 7939 he madehis first visit to NewYork, wherehe was greatly nfluencedbythe musicalstyleof the Big Apple. t wasduring his time with McShann hat he madehis first recordings in 1941,). hese earlyrecordings inc luding SepianBounce,Jumpin ' B lues and Lonely Boy Blues)broughthim to the attentionof a wrder azz

public, and his reputationas a harmonicinnovator begano spread.



During the Second orld var he hookedup with Earl Hines (1942-and Billy Eckstine 1944)where he met Dízzy Gillespie, prodigioyoung rumpeterwith a cutting soundand an attitude o match.

rn 1,942 Bird moved to New York where, with a vafiety of musicianincluding Dízzy and drummers Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, anwith Thelonious Monk on piano, he helped pioneer bebop.

By 1945 bebop had caught the narion's attention from its New Yorspiritual home, and Parker was by this time leading his own outfit.'síest

Coast residency at Billy Berg's helped widen the appeal of hmusic. In 1.946he played at the LA Philharmonic, and in rhe same yeahe cut a number of landmark recordings or the Dial record label.

During all this time Parker had been living up ro his 'rabble rouseimage, with a growing record of narcotic and alcohol abuse, whicculminated in the famous 'Loverman session' ncident in 1,946whenafter a recording session he was so desperate hat he set light to h

hotel room.

A spell in the psychiatric wing of the LA county jail was the consequenof that affan, followed by si x months rehab, which Bird ironicallcelebrated n the recording RELAXIN' AT CAMARILLO in 1947.

\$7henhe returned to normal life he immediately set to work recordinfor Dial, this time with Erroll Garner. The appeal of New York proveirresistible and in t947 he returned to form a band with the hot yountrumpet sensationMiles Davis and drummer Max Roach. It was withthis band that Parker arguably hit his peak.

1949 saw Parker ouring a foreign country for the first time when hplayed he Paris estival, ollowing that with a trip to Scandinavia1950.

In the sameyear, and in an attempt to reach a wider audience,hreleased n album of music with string orchestra,and the success

;|ilï:ïï:'.:::.ïïHï1ï:ï"ï:'j_,*;"1Ë.a .a

something his sanitised,unashamedlypopulist style of mus

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couldn'tsuPPlY'

'- -MUSiC iS VOUf OWn ThedefinitiveParker ecordings eremade or two labe

. .r' Íduring he mid to late40s:on Savoy etween 945-8h

our houghts,our 'Ëïli!,"1ïo'',.*,"J::,"\:!::::?;^t ,L^|i,Z:

If you don't live it, it won't ?:i?lii;i,iettnrunisia,ouer an ndcra

Out on yOur horn. ,, His ast ublic ppearanceas n 1955 t Birdland,heclunamedafter him, but it was not an auspic iousinale. He rowe

.\r r. Ír _-t_ _- publicly with pianist Bud Powell, who srormed oÍf stagLnaf l le fafkef. qui .k ly ' fo l lo*.d

by bassistChar l ie Mingus. Depressedisillusioned, is body wastedby disease nd yearsof abuse,Birsought solacewith the great patron and friend of bebop, Baronessde

Koenigswater. Eight days after that fateful gig he was found dead inher hotel suite.



Musical tyle

Parker's interests and influences \Mere as diverse and far-reaching as onecould imagine - from the classicalsophisticati on of Hindemith andStravinsky to the primitive directnessof the Kansas City blues tradition,which Parker was immersed in from his upbringing and early professional

employment with theJay

McShann Orchestra, of which he was aconscientiousead alto player.

? ?As an intelligent nd deeplysensitiveman, he lived through he

Á Áwhole anoramaf human motionsrom oy and ove, - -

BifdrS mind and fingefS Wthrough to tragedyand despair and it's all here n his playing.

with incredible peed. e can m

four chord changesn a melodicp

whereanothermusicianwould h

troublensertingvvo.3t

Leonard Feather.

His conception of sound was based on that of the altoistBuster Smith, and the leading tenor saxophone player of theday Lester 'Pres' Young, whose comparatively vibrato-lesssound was adopted by Bird on the alto saxophone. Parkersaysof 'Pres', I was cÍazy about Lester,he played so clean and

beautifullv'.

Although Parker completely overhauled Lester's harmonic andrhythmic concepts, he had indeed transcribed and memorised muchof the tenor star's recordedoutput with the Count BasieBand, and as theformative bebop drummer Kenny Clarke relates: 'W'ewent to listen to Bird

at Monroe's, for no other reason except that he sounded ike 'Pres',untilwe found out that he had something of his own to oÍf.er,something new'.

That 'something new' was a melodic appreciation of the upper extensionsof conventional chord progressionsand cadenceswhich Bird had beenpractising at jam sessionswith the guitarist Biddy Fleet.As Parker himself

explains: 'Well that night I was working over Cherokee, and as I did Ifound that by using the higher intervals of the chord as a melody line, andbacking them with appropriately related changes, could play the thing I'd

beenheari.rg I camealive.'

This explanation from the saxophonist is both clear and informative, but itfa i ls to do just ice to the depth of h is innovat ion, which includedchromaticisation of melody and harmonic introduction of passingchords,chord substitution, displacement of the harmonic metre and, on occasion,extensive reharmonisation. W'hen you combine this with an awe-inspiringrhythmic approach, containing complete freedom of accentuation andarticulation, you have he musicalpersonalirywho went on to revolutionise

concepts of small group playing on every instrument.

\íhile not wishing to devalue Parker's greatnessor individual achievement,he was part of an extraordinarily fertile musical environment amongst anexpand ing c i rc le o f young mus ic ians , whose dar ing and musica l

exploration were leading them down similar roads of enquiry.

The nightly fam sessionsat Minton's Playhouse n New York provided thefocal point for this group, which included Thelonious Monk, Charlie

Christian, Dizzy Gillespie and Kenny Clarke amongst others. It was at such

venues that the small group, consisting of two or three frontline and

rhythm section, began to asseÍt ts ascendancyover the larger ensemblesof

the swing era as the preferred working environment fo r the seriousimproviser.

Photo:WilliamGottlieb



a guíde to suggested iistening farpieces ln this book:

, i ! i , a : : : lu i i : i : , l : i:,i

- 26/11/45,New York City * The CharlieRe-boppers- The Complete SavoySessions

Miles Davis (tpt),$adik HakÍm(pno),Gurly RussellMax Roach {drums) Savoy/Arista 5850-1

* 24/1U49* Camegie Hall, New York City{tpt), Al Haig (pno),Tommy Potter(drums),S.C.A.M.JPGï ,,r*i!.,,1i,:

, i i : . .: 'Suite' - 2813/46 witfi Miles Davis (tpt),

(tenorsax),Arv Ganison {gtr),Dodo{pno},Viv McMillan (bass),Roy Porter

releasedon 'Bird Symbols' - Atlantic Music407

,,,, ,the ïme' *24112149 -CarËËiiieHatl, New York- wÍth Red Rodney {tpt},Al Haig {pno),Tommy

{bass},Roy Haynes drums)S.C.A.M.JPGÍ

Lee' * 8/5i47 * The C*ertie FarRerAll Stars - TheSavoy Seseions - with Miles Davis {tpt}, Bud ,

(pno),Tommy Potter (bass),Max Roach (drums)

,. .

Radio Broadcast, Royat Roostt Club, New York Ctty * with Charlie Parker, Kenny

{tpt},Al Haig(pno},'Lucky'Thompson tenor. Milt Jackson (vibraphone),Tommy Potter (bass),

Roachdrums)

Bird's style is the culmination of the musical developments of th eexperiments of the early 1,940s, aking in the harmonic knowledge of thegreat pianist Art Tatum and giants of the saxophone such as Don ByasandColeman Hawkins, all delivered with incredible virtuosity and the rawpassionof the blues.

PerformanceotesBillie'sBounce

'! ' I rv'L\'\'

This is one of two blues compositions in this selection and is an idealstarting point for any saxophone player who wants to get to grips withParker's sryle. This is a comparatively short solo (see f you can memoriseit) and shows how Bird was able to tailor his playing to the demands ofany situation.

OrnithologyThe theme of Omithology was originally a phrase Parker improvised on

Jay McShann's The Jumping Blues, which Benny Harris crafted over thechord progression of the standard How High The Moon, a common

variant of the 32-bar song format ABAC (4 x 8-bar phrases).This'Carnegie Hall ' performance bears all of Parker's trademarks - fo rexample, fantastic singing sound, time feeling, varied articulation and anindefiablesense f structure allied to form.

Yardbird Suite'Yardbird' was one of Charlie Parker's nicknames,derived from his likingfor fried chicken. This composition, with its rigorous functional harmonyan d modulation to the key of III minor in the bridge, records th esaxophonist'sagility and succinctness f phrasing over chord changesandhis understanding and masteryof the 32-bar song form.

Now's The TimeJay McShann (one of Parker's first musical employers) considered hisprotégé to be the greatestof blues players, and while such comparativeterms are ultimately meaningless n any discussionof the human spirit, wecan perhaps forgive McShann for getting carried away in this case.Thisperformance of the blues, over six majestically constructed choruses,illustrates Parker's depth of connection to and understandingof this mostarchetypal of forms.

Donna LeeAlthough credi ted to Parker , there is a st rong suspicion amongst

musicians that this'line'

over the chord progression of Indiana, wasactually penned by the young trumpeter Miles Davis, who spent much ofhis formative period as the saxophonist's sideman. If this is indeed thecase, hen the tune is a classic example of how Parker's vocabulary wasidentified and applied by his contemporaries.

AnthropologyThis is a daring virnrosic performance at 'break-neck' tempo of a Parker'line' over the chord progressionof I Got Rhythm (which musiciansnowrefer to as rhythm' changes).Thesechangeshave been a stalwart of manyjazz players up to and including the present day. til7ith its rapidly movingharmony, albeit within tonic and subdominant key areas, and its cyclicmiddle eight (III? I I I I I I I l aVl? I I I I I I I I lrl1 | | I I I I I I lV? | I I I I I I I lllit remainsa challenge o contemporary improvisers.



Notes n heSoloAnalysIt will help us enormously n our appraisalof Parker'splaying if we can gain insight into how hischoices unctionwithin the melodic ine.

To illustrate his,we will examine hreeextracts n the following terms:

1. Chordnotes the t,3, 5,7 of thechord

2. Passing otes a noteor notes hat passbetween wo chord notes

3. NeighÉournotes the four noteswhich are a tone and semi-toneaboveand below a chord note.

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This is bars22 and 23 of the solo from Billie's Bounce.The Al in bar 23 is a chord note of D7 (the 5th) and is the destina

target) of the notes n bar 22. The B, B! and Ab respectivelyconstitute the upper neighbournote, the chromatic upper nei

note,andthechromaticlowerneighbournotestotheA|,andservetodrawtheeartotÍreresolutionontothe5thofth

In bar 23, theA (5th), Ff (3rd) and D (root) are obviously all chord notes of D7. The G passes etween wo chord notes,FÍ

and is thereforea passingnote. The B! in bar 22 is a neighbournote to óe A in bar 23. Iíhilst appreciatingóat the Bq s the

D7. t is also useful o realise hat 13ths derivemuch of their particular quality from their relationship with the 5th

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The aboveexample s bars 32-33 (thesolo break)from Omithology. The Bf itt bar 33 is the 5th of E major and is the target

A, Ci and Bbwhich 'prepare'and lead the ear to it. Again, whilst appreciating Ïat the Cf is the bt of Bt, óe main question

how does henote unction n termsof themelodicphrase?

.Ihe Gh n bar 33 is the lower chromatic neighbour note to the G* (the 3rd of E major). Notice that the Df and Ff (the 7th a

of E maior) are lower and upper neighbour notes to tlre root of E. The 7th and 9th of chords derive their particular qualr

their relationship ith theroot, and n the case f the 9th the3rd also.

The descendingDd and Cf - which passbetweenE and B (chord notes) are, n this system'passingnotes.You will notice

samenote canhave more than onemelodic function, dependingon what precedes nd follows it.



3

aboveexample bars11G117 of Anthropologyl, heCÍ and Bb n bar 116areboth neighbour otes o the sth ofET(Bl). The

Cl still functions as a neighbour note to BIr although the Bí is not sounded again until the beginning of the next bar. An

about neighbournotes s that they dont haue o be resolvedand, altematively, the resolution can be delayed,as

Note that when the Bc(thedestination of the descending hrase n bar 116) is playedat the beginningof bar 117, it is now the

A' insteadoÍ the 5th of 47.

in bar 116 is a chromaticpassingnote, comingas t doesbetween wo chord notes the root and the 7th oÍ E7:E and D.

reiterate ater in the book, Parkeraccesseshis kind of detail and beauty ntuitively. That is to say,he wasn't thinking in these

during performance,hewashearing t, Even with this brief introduction" it is helpful for us to think aboutphrasing n óe wayars t - in terms of tension and release ather than attempting to justify Parker's chromatic choices n relation to

heory. That is not to say hat tÍris approach eplaces hord/scale heory, rather it complemene t. For óe musician who

to explore this further, a study of Schenkerian nalysis s recommended.

to the solos described n this book, this approach will help to shed ight on why certain things sound sogood and, most

o understand arker's seof chromaticism.

uideShort accentednote

? - Accented note

Tenuto mark - hold the note for its full value

Play the note a semitone below the written note,and very quickly release nto the written pitch

A 'ghosted note', or note that is only half sounded



B I L L I E I g B O U N C EBy CharlieParker

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ThéSoloBillie'sBounceIíithin the three choruses, he ideasunfold naturally and in

balance with each other. The beginning of the second

chorus expandsthe opening phraseof the first in much the

same way as people mull over and return to themes n a

conversation.

Bar 23 returns o

developedurther n

the moti f in bar

bars 41,and42.

18 , wh ich i tse l f s

In eachof theseexampleshe phrase eturnson a different

rhythmic placementof the bar. Also seebars 33 and 34

which re-invent he ascending uaver riplet phrase rom

bars26 and27, andbar 42 which is reinforcedby bar 45.



This repet i t ion and, impor tant ly ,dev e l opmen t f ma te r i a l a i s esan

enormously aluablemusical ssueor us

as improv isers that i s , i t ' s not

necessarily ow many ideasyou come up

with, but how you work with and expand

the ideas you do have and in how many

different ways and contexts you can apply

Harmonically, we have the usual selectionof bounties that

Parker regularly servesup - so we have unadulterated blues

playing in bar 2l and bars 41-46, in combination with

gems of phrasing (bars 24 and 36) which simultaneouslydescr ibe he cadencepo in ts and which are ind iv idua l

melodic statements n their own right.

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Bar 22 (and 23) which is shown n the exampleabove,

containshighly detai ledchromatic ensionand release

within the line (see Noteson the SoloAnalysis')as does

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bar 19. The accentuat ion of the 7th of the D7 chord,

prepares the move to the subdominant - a favour i te

melodic traít of Parker.The subtlety of the man is evident

in the way he uses he tonic (D), initially to bring his first

chorus to a conclusion and then to launch the beginning of

the next, re-iterating the truth that clarity and simplicity

are usually indicative of the greatest ntelligence'musical or

otherwise.

TryryF-f.ryii.ï.{ejwPractice Tip :

Takesome í the melodicphi&s from th$irolo'&dteb if Xiyou can use he marenal

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Ëyeltr ou.nblueo eadand./or olo.Dont be afraid o return1l

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O R N I T H o L o G YBy CharlieParkerand BennieHarris

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TheSoloOruitbologyIt is an interesting exercise o sing the melody of How High

The Moon over Bird's solo here, becauset becomesapparent

that far from obscuring the melody the solo actually functions

asan elaboratecounterpoint.

One of the reasonsParker'smusic communicatesso directly is

the completeness f his melodic statementswhich he expertly

frames with space,allowing himself and the music to breathe

(bars 36 and 40). Alternativelg he may follow a seemingly

fully self-contained dea with a complementary andlor satirical

afterthought, such as that which appears n bar 44 (as in all

great ar t there is an in-bu i l t senseof propor t ion and

perspective, nd internal balance)

Throughout the solo Bird useschromaticism to embellish the

line, which further energises is playing with the resulting in-

built tensionand releaseseebars 33r 37,45, 50 and so on);

the use of the V7(v9)shape (bar 32 and,bars 42 and 46

amongst others); and strong descriptive and melodic chord

shapes,utilising Tths and gths (for examplebars 33,38,39,

41 and48 to namebut a few).

Bars 49-57 show Parker taking one melodic ideaand adapting

it to effect, in this case he modulation to D major. In this

instance bars 51 and 52 - he alters he givenharmony:

l E m T l l l A T l l l l D m a j l l l l D m a j l l l l

which he embellishes ith:

l E m T / E m - m a j 7E r n A 7 l D m a j l l l t D m a j l l l l l

Bird then exploits the inner line of root, major 7th, minor7th-3rd.

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This became a favourite harmonic device of the bebop

generationplayers such as Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, KennyDorham and so on.

Bars 64 and,65 are nrerestingfor their use of the 87* chord

and the way Bird decorateshe ensuing ine of the 9-(b13)-(9).

BTaug

Bar 65 is also interesting for irs use of the melodic qualiry of

the unresolvedmajor 7th.

Bars 74 - 78 utilise a three-notegroupinghntervalstructure ofa semitone hen a tritone.

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Bird transposeshe structurehrough he chordprogression,conceptusedby many contempoÍary mproviserswho, since

Coltrane,haveexplored his territory extensively. arkermay

haveconceived f this idea from his studiesof Slonimsky's

Thesaurus f Scales nd Melodic Patterns,which retains ts

relevance sa researchesource.

Practice TiP,,,

The main rhythmic constituent of Parker's solo "(ánd the

melody) is the quaver or eighth note, so we must be able to

deliver the phrases n a way that ignites the rhythmic vitaliry

of the solo. Parker achieves his through the quality of

support he maintains for the air stream at àll timesi which

a l l o ws h i m t o a c c e n t ,an d i n v e r s e l y o ' g h o s t ' ( o r d e -

emphasise)certain parcs of phrases. n bar 6 of the melody

the F! is accented o enhance he syncopation of its rhythmic

placement n the bar (notice R"y Haynes' bass drum push

here in conjunction with this) and the Dh and gb in bar 8 are

bo th sub t l y i n f l ec ted to g ive them more emphas is .

Throughout the solo be aware of how you attack and end

n'ótes,and where you accent within phrases. This will help

bring the music alive for you. (Farker's anguage s as much a

A good #áy.i.ot $fáctisi"g':this approaclt 1ri$.r"i"p[..'t[i..ohi

$ë

you're working on at a slower tempo and play it through

without tonguing so that you're relying on the air-stream

alone for the projection of each note. The next step is to

experiment with accents firstly using the sfi$port from thê

abdomenand secondlyby introducing the tongue. Once you

can make all the notes speak with an even qualiry of sound



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across he registersyou can useyour tongue to accent, attack

and inflect notes o good effect.Stylistically his is essential ori : : ; t ; : i :

the mdiió becauset is part of the rhythmic dialogueacross

rhewhole baád- that is, theib r infËË$lay érw.ét thË'i:$narc

and bassdrum accents nd thepiano comping,accenrsn the

bassineand he soloistic tatements. '. . : , , . , , i . . ,

À'i:goodip herê s t$l'ieferro rhe original recording

"r,di:[olearn to sing someof the phrases or the whole solo if you

like),so that you begin o 'internalise'themusic.Remember' '

that the $óund yo'u héáï'in your head and feel in your heart, . i ,is ,'whatultimatelycomesout of the horn, as much as any

I t

saxophone/mouthpiece/reed ermutation. If you are having

difficulry at any time, for instancewith a particular phrase,: : : : : :

pract ise t in the same way as you would a techn ica l

exercise. Think of it a$ a musical inve$tffientyou

can't fail to cash n on.

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Theme=zzuteo

By CharlieParker

A G7>

l :Bm

Cfim Dilmz(bs)ilzogt CËm

Bm Cfimz(bs) Ffi7

G7

87 ToCoda# Bm

:1946 AdanticMusic.@ renewed nd assigned 974 AdanticMusic Corp,USA

Y n R D B I R D S U I T E

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TheSóloYardbirdSuiteThis is a miniature masterpieceof construction over just

one chorus, and demonstrates he intuitive compositional

mind of a great improviser. It is no coincidence that the

first two statementsof the solo are exactly the same ength

- 3 y, beats with identical rhvthmic stress.

E x í

The first four bars of this solo demonstratehe kind of

detailand balance arker vascapable f manipulatingof f

the cuff'. The noteswritten in ExampleL are he keypoints

o f t he ph rase ba rs 36 -40 ) wh ich the ea Í s l ed to

melodically. ncidentally he tune of 'Yardbird' establishes

the top line here,but in the soloParkerembellishes oth of

these inessimultaneouslS s well as a hint at the root

movement n bar 38 - via the A on the last quaverof bar

37 and n bar 39 - melodicexploitation f the ine#9 -b9 -Sth.

líhenwe arrive at bar 40, the logicalcontinuationof

the upper line would be to descend o the root of the II7

chord - 8,7 which is why the Cfi, which contradicts his

prepared xpectation, ets he maximum rom its qualityas

the unresolved th. This al l sounds ncredibly academic,

and it is important to remember hat most of this detail

was accessedntuitively.On the other hand, this kind of

cognitiveappreciation an often 'kick start' the intuition '



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into geaÍ. t can't be a bad thing to

something ounds reat!

In bars42 and43 Parkerwent on'riff' bluesheadentitledCool Blues.

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: ,considerwh5 and how, !,

ril

to use his phraseas a

Ex2

Here the root movement s melodicallyembellished ithin

the line, and bars46 and47 arc unified by the ascending

semitoneo firstly emphasisehe G and secondly heFf

E x 3

The above example details the descending ine inherent in

bars 45-47 as alreadyshown in example2.

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ED

Cf,m Dilmz(bs)



I n t h e b r i d g e o f t h i s s o l o b a r

transposes he contour of the phrase

bar 52 down a tone from Cfi minor to

minor.

rnruse"d;;";l::ïÍl;l6at

B

Bar 58 reinforces he 'gesture'of Bar 57. Subtly,Bird

waits to resolve he Afi in bar 57 until bar 59.

Theseexamples how Parkermaking a mockeryof the

difficulties contained n the chord progressionand they

result n a highly organised ompositional tatement ver

32 bars.

Instrumentally peaking,Parker's laying hereuses races

of v ibrato in the sound n what, for him, is qui te an

unusualway. As a saxophonisthe was one of the first,

afterhis

originalmodel LesterYoung, to curtail the use

of vibrato and to use t more discerningly,n a very vocal

way. In th is solo the del icacyand finesse f Parker 's

soundcounter-balanceserfectly he invincibilityof his

musical houghtprocess

#;iiti:

&'i,ri

' ' ' , , " . i " l i : , : . . t t t ' .

Beginby singine h1 A'sectionof,the

melofl and ihên

moveon to singing he 'lines' in Ë á*pte t HavE r6"ràt

vocally improvising 8uttd the line and theni"iépeat he

whole procedurewith the saxophone. his canbe a lot of

fun and will help ïj-: insidethe yhrasingand

lelt"::tions of Parker's olo You can pràèiise his

approachas an improvisational esource n $y"':bontext

you choose. ' ' , ,ffis*-



N o W I g T H E T I M EBy CharlieParker

*_

Theme =ts+ttzoX o ,

Gil oim

DT A

D7| L .Em A7 A7

Fine(^)

D7

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A7(be)



Thê oloIr{ow'sThe TimeThis is an audaciousoffering from the saxophone player,

containing some of his most celebrated and oft-quoted

vocabulary (seebars 26-30, bars 34 and 35, and bars

54-56. Throughout, the performance is littered with the

most poignant of blues proclamations which remarkably

transform relatively simple musical resources nto the most

strident and meaningful of deliveries (for example bars 37

an d 3 8 . T h i s i s a c h i e v e d t h r o u g h an i n c r e d i b l e

understandingand respect or the tradition that gave rise to

this music, backed up by virtuosic instrumental command

of articulation and inflection.

Over the six choruses here is an identifiable pattern to the

organisation of material which is self-evident, hat is, while

the harmony remains more static (for example, in bars L-6

of eachchorus on the tonic and sub-dominantchords), he

phrasing s more vocal and drawn out.

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Bird saves is moreexplosive ouble-time assagesor bars7-12 of each horus,wherewe have he bebopgeneration's

harmonicadaptations o the blues or which Parker Mas

very much responsible. or example, rom bar 7 of the

chorus:

(71 (8 (e) (10) (11) (12)

r vr7 / | IImi v7 lI I Im i v r7 lb t t tmTbv l7 l r rm i7l l l v7 t t t l

Here the phrasing s

harmony.

Before we leave

intimates at the

more descript iveof the shift ing

this solo bar 52

tritonesubstitute

is interesting becauseBird

of D7 which is Ab7.

E x í

UnusuallS however,he does

This is interestingbecauset

still is , to insert the tritone

this in bar 3 of the chorus.

was more conventional, nd

substitution n bar 4 of the

Am7



blues, n this case Ab7 G7. Bars 63 and64 are nteresting

because ird implies he harmony of Eb7.With

thrbl(

chord functioningas the tritone dominantof D7 (that is ,

the tritonesubstitute f the dominantof D7- A7),

subsequent ly

the playersat

. :;(62) (63)

fD7 t r1vtr7fr11

:!

-.

Er 2

(64)

| | t l n b T o 7 D 7 | | |

(Ebn

theseare harmonicpr inc ip les hat have

becomemajor roadsof inquiry for many of

the forefrontof themusic.

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When practising hit pi.i., see i you can really get insideI

the more blues-orientatedhrases, nd deliver hem as if ,. ' . ' ' '

you weiê singing!As with all these ranscriptions,t is. . : , i

essential o check out the original recording, béCáusèhe

inf lect ion and rhythmic placement is so personal , and

notation is only the starting point fo r the music. Jazz ts ,: : : , ' : : ' :

;w ' and always has beèn,primarily an aural tradition. : :,'$F

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Theme =184/160

D O N N A L E EBy CharlieParker

C7sus4

D7(be)

G7(f11) Gm

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*

TheSoloDonna.LeeParker's olo containsmuchof the harmonic nformationand

contour from the actualmelody,materialwhich has been

assimilated y the tradition because f its enduringmelodic

strengthand harmonic ogic. A detailedstudy of the melody

would be beneficialn itself,however,et usconcernourselves

herewith the Parkersolo which containsall of the musical

ideasandprincipleswithin the original ine- andmore.

One of the definingaspects f Bird'ssryleas opposed o his

predecessorsho influencedhim (for example,Lester

Young),was his use of the addednotes/extensionsn his

arpeggiationof the harmony. So for example,as we have

already een lsewhere,earpeggiateshe V7(b9) hords rom

the 3rd of the v7(b9)chord (superimposing result ing

diminishedth shape)n bars34,39,50,55, 58,66,76,82

and90.

Likewise,he arpeggiateshe G9from the 3rd to the natural9

(superimposinghe notesB D F A - Bm7(bs) over G7;. See

bars 35, 67 (whereBird paraphraseshe melody at the

beginning f the second horus),77 and 83. Notice that

although he material n theseexampless essentiallyhesame, is rhythmicpermutationand placementn the bar and

acrosshebar ine s seemingly ndless.

It is here hat we comeacrossanother avouritedeviceof

Parker altering heharmonicmetreof the chordprogression

so that the resolution s either delayedor brought forward

slightly. n bars 38 and 39 the underlyingharmony s C7-p.

However,when we arriveat the F chord,Bird is still outliningtheC7(b9) hord, hus delayinghe arrival of the tonic chord.



Cm

Similarly in bar 55,

outlining the V7(bel

the stated harmony is D*7, but Bird

of Dm7 which is A7(be).

TS

\ fhen he does finallv resolve o the tonic chord (bv.

imp\icatïon with ttreTï\ ïn bar 56., he hatmony of the tune

hasmoved o A7(b9)r

Anotherexamples at bar7"1, here he Cm -F7 whichwe

aremoving o is brought forward by threebeats o expand

the cadencerom 17 o lVmai (that s, (Cm)F7-Bb .

Finally here s theharmonv n bar 93

phrase n bar 92, which s anticipatinghe(the onic chordof F major).

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The effectof this harmonicdisplacements exrremely ubtle.

At the time Bird was doingthis, manyof the rhythm section

players el t that they were in the wrong par t of the

progression.

The conceptof altering the harmonic merre has been

exploitedever sinceBird, and understandingt will throw

some ight on many contemporary mprovisers, lthough

stylistically hey may be verydifferent.

Anotherof Parker'smannerisms as to chromaticallyfill in'

the space f a descending ajor 3rd interval for example,n

bar 37 betweenhe 9th and the 7th of G minor (A-F), and n

bar 92 wherehe chromatrcally'fillsn' the major 3rd interval

betweenE and C.

Bar 79 is interesting ecause f its arpeggiation f the minorchord hrough heTth,gth and11th.

The phrase hen fallsro rheSth of C7(b9b13)i" rhe accentedbB of C7(b9b13).hi, is a goodexample f how parkercould

decorate guide one ine, n thiscase g -b13- 5. There s an

echoof this dea nbar 94.

Bars60-67and bars 95-96 show Parker nserting n AJ^7betweenA minor and G minor to createa s t r ing of

descending inor 7ths,a favouritedevice f his.

c7(b 3)

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Other hallmarksof Parker'sstyle nclude:outlining of the*' t! 11) chrorC,, \m 4Lard,'"hÊ. /(! 11) chrc"d.n lrar 44',,hr-'HoneysuckleRose'motif n bar 38; and he repetition f the

phrase t bars47 59 and87

Throughout the solo Parker decorates he l ine wi th

chromaticneighbourand passing otes.For example, t

bar 94, the Db and Bh both targer he C in the following

bar and can be thought of respect ively s the upper

chromaticand lower chromaticneighbournotes o C. Of

courseParkerdidn't think of this whenhe was performing'

and we certainlydon't need o. However, t is crucial to

understand, ither ntuitivelyor cognitively andpreferably

both), how notes function within a melodic line. For

example, f we immediately hink ''Síhat'sthe major 7th

doing over a C7 chord at bar 94?', hen we've missed hepoint!

The point is, as he greatpianistBill Evans aid, Thereare

nO wrong notes, ust wrong resolutions'!Ultimately here

areno rulesandno rightandwrong.

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Take some of the recurring material we've examined and| 1 . ? ?

,,practise he differentvariantsas they occur n the solo (for1,

j., xample,bars 35 and 67).ïíhen you have he material

i,,,md.t'.'youringers,pr*ctisê mprovisin$usingthe shape

1, nd then see f you can incorporate t in your oWn

; improvisation.Another \Mayof working in this area s to

,r ake a bàl' (for examplebar 56)'"fthefêBird.superimposesdescending m7(b5)hapeover A7P9iL3)nd resolvesr

n

o ' : 'eb1 '3 )t t l Dml l l

V/ ..i;iiii:iili:i;iiil:.,:liii:iiirli.l.l..

Out of contextyou can then practise he cadence, nd see,il

how many different,ways f playing he Gm7(bs) hape ."'' i

can comeup #ith óu*. the A7(b9b13)hord,and how yo" ii:

can phrase" nd rê:sol$eor not resolve)out:' f it . Only Oo :i':th is w i th ideas and sounds you are at t racted to . The i

'intentionhere s to take Bird'ssolo as a startingpoint *r,iiil

our olvr, *rrri''"1 $I"bwthand exploration. It is fine t..Ï

practiseParker'sphr:['ses nd tra"'lposb them io all kef$1iiru

but where t begins o get exciting is when you start to .prac t ise nd apply the mus ica lpr inc ip les eh ind he, i

phrases! , ii$

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A N T H R O P O L O G YBy CharlieParkerandDízzyGillespie

Am7 D7

E7(be)





@,G7

Am7 D7

' solo starts_

D7(be)

G 7

e A 7



Am7

Film7(b5)

B70e) Bm 7 E7(be) Em7 A70e) Am7 D7frm7(b5)

G7 c7

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€D G7 G7IBEm7 Am7 D7

i: i c É . g : ' S q !

E7(be) D7(be)

D7 (Bbm7)

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G7 c7

Am7 D7 Am7 D7 G7A



TheSoloAnthropology(alsoknown asThriving From A Riff)

Parker's solo here represents he man at the peak of his

immense powers i ns t rumen tal l y , s t ruc tu ra l l y and

imaginatively. The solo contains many examplesof Bird's

harmonic freedom and progressiveapproach, and there are

concepts contained therein that have been retained and

expanded upon ever since.For instance,bar 37 alludes to a

possible tritone substitution Db7 fo, G7, moving to C7, and

the last two beatsof bar 82 whereFT(f,11)s implied, moving

to E7 6z(il11) is the tritone substitute of B7 - the original

harmony here).

E x í

87

Another outstanding example of Bird's forward harmonic

thinking is demonstrated by the material in the first rwo 'lf

sectionsof the secondchorus, where he superimposesa string

of V7(b9)chords, ultimately moving to chord IV7 He realises

this largely with connecting diminished 7th shapes hat

describe he impliedV7(b9) ou.ments.

(F7)

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Ffim7(b5)

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B70e)

Then in bars 62 and 8 8 we have the insertion of a blI^uj7

chord resoiving to the tonic (that is, Ab9 goirrg to G). The

major chord a semitone above the tonic, or chord we are- ^ " i - - i a - f " - ^ ; i ^ - - t ' ó Ê ' * " ^ L , l : 1 . ^ ^ l ^ * i - ^ - .

movmg to, functlonsvery much like a dominant.

E x 3

This is a principle he explores further in the B secion of thesecondchorus, where the state B7 chord is approachedwitha c major idea. In bar 1,07 he nsertion of gb minor crearesasuccession f chromatically descendingminor 7th chords,implying B

minor-

E7-Bbmino-

Eh7- Aminor - D7,or moresimply7 w7)nb7 wrl o, (v7).

Ex4

Em7(bs)



A similar deacan befound n bars1,1,9 ndL20 where hereis description,nd hereforemplication, f pb7$W7; rhifting

to D7 N7).

These harmonic devices,although radical for the time, were

ideas hat Parkermay have been nspired o explore from his

exposure o the great pianist Art Tatum and the 'Giant of the

tenor saxophone' Coleman 'Bean' Hawkins who were

masters at embellishing and expanding upon the existing

harmoniccontent.They may also havereflected is

interestand study of classicalmusic. Parker was highly

musically aware acrossthe board' (notehis humourous

referenceo Chopin'sA maior Polonaisen bars 124-1'26,

and his quotation rom AlphonsePicou's elebrated larinet

obligato from High Society bars97-98). Indeed,Parker

was a master of quotation and was able to incorporate themost banal of contemporary themes into his improvisations

and produce moments of pathos andlor humour from the

satire and socialcomment that ensued.

In organisat ional erms, this solo contains much cross-

referencing and development of ideas over the duration of

three choruses.Thus the phrase n bars 78 and 79 is an echo

of the opening phrase of the solo (the Cil at the end of the

phrasemay have been accessed y Parker's use of the side D

fingering - the authentic fingering for 'high' D, without the

octavek.y).

Parker's stock vocabulary is well represented hroughout. It is

imponant to realise that he usesmuch of this material as a

writer usespunctuation, that is, his use of certain phrases s

gÍ:rrnmatical and, as such, helps the overall structuring of

lkas. For example, the classicphrase n bar 35 is repeatedan

fastn =";ini*r*r _?f-,:,,,,:::iihe tim

''fuhole aïs,

ater than ;

indiviou"iË"lt^Yithin .,i theb;"a11?O

to;...i:'tàin a t"h"" o.fsPace

,,,,,hd PhY;ic* t'.llxation

,,,,,,,;,,,,nvouï'óËvingS

,témPosvery

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octavehigher to top off the extraordinary racured line ofbars 36 to 40. lt appearsagain n bar 47 and here s avariationof it in bar 103. Bars110-1l,L refer backro bars4647 , but noticehow Parker omesn andout of this phrase

differently. ikewise,bars 116-118 area direct ifting of bars84-86, but in eachcase he line eithersideof this contains

differentmaterial.

It is important to remember he speedof this performance)

and that anorher facet o rhe reperitionof languages that itallows he mproviser o rhink ahead,buyinghim time.

The bridgeof the first chorus llusrrates ow parker couldtake one ideaand develop t for an extended eriod.In thiscase, he semitonenterval s the prevailingmusical deaforbars 49-56. (An instrumentalnote

here you maywant topract isebars 49-50 with the long Bb and the side cfingerings, lsousing he BiskeyBband normalC fingering.)

Practice Tipi fi#ryËii#ffiË#t'Fêffi*ir+tr+p36's11;44*{1+i,t-&"

Playing ast tempos equires he ability to srayphysically

relaxed. n termsof fingeiing,economyof movementand acomfortablehand positionarevital.Thiscanbefacilitatedbyincreasedontrol of the weaker ingers.For example, veraperiod of time you may find ir useful o 'anchor' th* ,ight

'

hand ittle fingeróver he Ebkey andthe efrhand ittle finger"

over the Gfi key.Pracrisingslowlg with the intenrion of"oË'f

moving the fingersaway from thesekeysand maintainingu.,;irelaxedhand position at all rimes,will begin to facilitrt*liil

econom of movementand increased o-ordination"rrd

t'' .:.,i':.accuracy. :: :, ,



Documents

(Eb) in Session With Charlie Parker