musical thoughts

I transcribed the John Lewis composition Django several years ago because I never saw a lead sheet for it that accounted for the different changes that they solo over. All the fake books I’ve seen just list the 20-bar head. So here’s my chart in case you want to play the tune the way MJQ does.

Grab the PDF chart here.

And if you haven’t heard it, here’s once through the roadmap for you. It’s worth buying the album, John Lewis’s solos are brilliant.

Okay, the head is 20 bars long, with the last 4 being a repetition of the previous four bar phrase. The tune gets a very classical feel by virtue of not using the seventh chords that are typical in jazz, and by the use of a “pedal point.”

The first phrase is i - iv - V - i in the key of F minor. So the key is established quite strongly, thanks to very conventional harmony.

The second phrase modulates to the relative major key, Ab major. To do so, it sets up the ii-V-I for that key by pivoting on F7 as the dominant of Bb mi. Even though it’s a ii-V-I, it “reads” more like Bbmi:V-i Ab:V-I. The root motion is right along the circle of fifths, and it’s very strong.

The third phrase continues the journey around the circle, by going to Db. But then we set up the return to the home key. Bbmi6 connects us to the G triad that is a secondary dominant of the home key F minor. The C7 is our dominanat for the return to the home key in the last two phrases.

The fourth and fifth phrase restate the i - iv - V - i from the beginning.

Turning to the melody, the rhythmic pattern in the first two bars is repeated four times, taking us through the tenth bar. The eleventh and twelfth bars are a repetition of the second half of that rhythmic pattern, and build tension several ways. The repetition of the rhythmic pattern, the sequencing upward of the melody, the accidental B natural that doesn’t belong to the key, all of these build tension to the release in the thirteenth bar.

The fourth phrase climaxes, reaching the highest melody note. We unwind all the tension by walking down scalewise. The fifth phrase continues downward, the additional “tag” providing a prolonged dénouement (post-climax release of tension).

Harmony and melody work effectively together here to provide a climax.

Turning to the changes that they blow over, it gets more interesting. This is the really surprising part of the tune, which is why I was dismayed that fakebooks don’t include it. The blowing happens over three sections: a 12-bar section based on turnarounds, an 8-bar pedal point section, and a 12 bar section that has a kind of hooky bass vamp. Let me label those sections B, C, and D.

B section is pretty familiar jazz territory. The harmonic rhythm is acceelrated, with two changes to a bar instead of the one change per bar pace established in the head. The first phrase takes us through a turnaround in F minor, and a second one that modulates us to Db. The second phrase uses Db as a substitute secondary dominant for F minor, returning us to another turnaround in the home key. The third phrase of B section sort of recaps that same territory by taking a straight line through the circle of fifths movement from F minor back to F minor.

C section is really where the magic of this tune begins. For 8 bars we “pedal” on F7. In organ music, especially fugues, when you hold a bass note constant and move the harmonies above it to prolong tension, that’s a pedal point. Since MJQ lacks a pipe organ, the bass player repeats the F like an ostinato to keep the static harmony. Pedal points are usually on the dominant, adn this is no exception. The 8 bar prolongation of F7 is a dominant setting up the Bb minor that follows at the start of D section.

D section is 12 bars. The first four bar phrase is the same progression as the first four of B section, but sequenced up a fourth. But when the second phrase starts, we shift into a sort of “hook” or “tag” based on a really catchy bass riff that I’ve notated on the chart. The harmonic rhtyhm slows to one change every two bars here, and we spend the second and third phrases moving between Gb7 and Db7. The overall effect is pretty bluesy, which forms a powerful contrasting element to the classicism of the A section.

So we have a composition that is extremely strong. It has several unifying principles (repetitive rhythmic figures, restated harmonies, sequencing) but still has a good balance between unity and variety. It has a definitive climactic moment. And the repeated rhythmic figures from A section omit the down beat, which really emphasizes the downbeat in the eleventh bar, which is the first note outside the key signature and also a modulation pivot. When you don’t have the B, C, or D sections on your chart, it looks a lot weaker as a composition. So I wanted to do this magnificent tune by John Lewis some justice.