musical thoughts

Actually, this is analysis and transcription.

The real book chart is horribly inadequate. I think that a lot of the notation behind the sounds is open to interpretation–go with what works for you. But there’s also a good deal of just incorrectness in the real book changes.

So, I went to the Sorcerer album and transcribed the comping Herbie does behind the first two choruses (and verified the bass notes).

You can get a PDF of my transcription of Herbie’s comping here: page 1 page 2. Note, this isn’t a proper chart, just my working transcription, and may have a couple goofs left in it. They don’t affect the analysis. (Or if they do, let me know.)

Doing two choruses was essential. The second chorus voicings really nailed down things I suspected by looking at the first chorus.

If you need the audio, I also have that for you to study. This excerpt is expressly for educational purposes, please don’t ask to send you the file for the whole track.

Let’s analyze…

Form

The thing that always pisses me off about real book charts is that it’s hard to see the real form. This tune is 21 bars. The real book just crams one extra bar in on the last line, and that hinders you from seeing the parallelism between the third and fourth phrases. Parallelism is obviously a critical part of music. In this composition it lends unity where there’s a collection of chords that aren’t realted to each other in the tonal ways we are familiar with (for example, there is no authentic cadence in Pee Wee).

My roadmap has five phrases, made up of 4, 4, 5, 4, and 4 bars.

There’s significance to the five-bar phrase occuring in the center of the piece. It’s symmetric. But it also makes the third and fourth phrases begin very similarly. I couldn’t find a better solution.

Changes

The melody is okay on the real book chart. But can we come up with better chord symbols that match Herbie’s comping more closely? You’re damn right we can.

First phrase tracks pretty well with the real book:
Db maj | Eb/Db | F/Db | Dmi
From an analysis point of view, I ‘d argue that F/Db -> F/D forms a sort of cadence-like experience. It moves from more to less tension, but it holds the upper structure constant while the root moves to “reveal” the second chord. Herbie and Wayne use this a lot.

Second phrase, I have total disagreement with the real book on every chord.
Looking at the first chorus, that A-Eb-Ab (fourth over a tritone) struck me as a lot like what I typically play for a dominant seventh chord. This structure could be spelled F7#9 or B7(13). It moves in parallel up a half step, then again up a half step. However, the root moves by a half step (Eb -> E) followed by a whole step (E -> Gb). Glancing ahead at Herbie’s figure on the second chorus, bar 6 makes it quite clear this is a dominant thirteenth chord over a different root.

My chord changes on the second phrase go:
B13/Eb | C13/E | Db13/Gb | Db13/Gb
We have a C natural in the melody that doesn’t fit the Db13 chord symbol. My transcription looks like I have Herbie playing a C natural in bar 8, but that’s just my bad calligraphy. It’s B-F-Bb over Gb.

The third phrase is a puzzle. Herbie plays a voicing with a B on top while the melody note is C. The first chord is pretty clearly Gsus, but Herbie’s voicing is something to consider. Mark Levine deals with the sus voicing that has a third on top in chapter four of “The Jazz Piano Book.” So I’m not gonna jump hoops to justify it–it’s G sus in one of the more jarring possible voicings.

Then where the real book gives G alt (Eb/G7) Herbie is actually consistently playing G7b9. My first chorus transcription has the B on the bottom of the voicing in parentheses because even though I couldn’t hear it it makes sense if you look at the voice leading.

I can live with Dbmaj #11 because of the melody, but Herbie is not leaning on the #11 or playing the Eb/Db here. Dbmaj is a better chord symbol to me. The Gbmaj that follows though, gets a #11 from Herbie in both choruses.

So my third phrase is:
Gsus | G7b9 | Fsus |Dbmaj | Gbmaj #11
note this is five bars.

Fourth phrase contains the worst real book mistake. Bar 16 has the wrong roots. The structure in the real book version is meaningless and arbitrary, while the tune actually makes sense here. While the bass walks up Eb -> F -> Gb, the upper structure triads walk down Eb -> Db -> A+. (that’s A augmented triad)

A+ is enharmonic with C#+, Db+, and E+, so if one of those suits you better, thats fine. A+/Gb actually spells Gbmi(Maj7) as well. But to me the more important sound is the bass goes up while the triad upper structure walks down (contrary motion).

My changes:
Gsus | E/G | Eb Db/F | Gbmi(Maj7)

The final phrase is okay in the real book. A Db pedal point with B triad “resolving” to F triad. Herbie plays a Dbmaj7b5 voicing made of fourths on the second chorus instead of F/Db. He leaves the A (#5) out and uses G (b5).

Consider the symmetry of the first and last phrases. The last is all Db pedal, and the first is very close to being that.

This tune makes sense in terms of upper structure harmony. In spite of the lack of cadential formulas, check out how powerful Herbie’s voice leading is. I actually omit a few of the inner voices on the last part, because my ear was getting fatigued and it didn’t affect the analysis. But the third and fourth phrases of the first chorus are amazingly powerful voice leading.

I’d like to know if Tony really wrote this tune.