My band is going to try our first jazz song - Take Five....We have a bass (me), gutiar and drums. I was going to try and play the piano part on the bass while the guitar played the sax part. To make it more interesting I was going to try and throw in some double stops to make the bass emulate the piano, but I cant figure out exactly what the piano is doing. Any help will be greatly appreciated...thanks:cool:

When in doubt, keep it simple: walk through the chord changes.

Piano's on min7 for the "signature" part of the song. Try tapping fourths over the roots. If the tune is played in a min, the part would go:


----17-----17-----16---|---17----17
----17-----17-----17---|---17----17 etc.
------------------------|-----------
--5----5-------0---3---|-5----5----

If you're not comfortable with tapping, just transpose the bassline up an octave and play it fingerstyle.

When the sax (guitar) goes into the descending lick, never mind the double stops and just play the bass. To get back to a min, descend along the following roots: D, A, C, G, B, F, E.

Originally posted by Angus
When in doubt, keep it simple: walk through the chord changes.

Well, this is one Jazz standard where you can't do that as it's in 5/4 and the solos are usually over the harmonically static piano vamp, so it's often a problem to know what to do as the bass player. I tend to start off simple with the riff that is played on the record and then build up and add other notes - sometimes double stops, but I couldn't tell you what exactly. It's easy when you have a piano player! ;)

CEM that particular piece was transcribe in the now gone Bassist magazine here in the UK, about 2 years ago and then again in Guitarist mag.

it's arrange for solo playing, can't remember the key, but it'll be easy enough to move, depending upon what your playing in.

i came across the piece in question the other day and thought about having a go, it may be of some help to you.

if you'd like it PM and i'm scan it for you.

stu

Thanks everyone for your input! :D

I'd recomend doing a different song for starters. Maybe something in 4. Take 5 is kind of an awkward song to play. You may want to try "A night in Tunisia."

I am not famaliar with that song - I am new to the jazz world. Who does that song?

"Night in Tunisia" was played by Dizzy Gillespie.

Originally posted by Christopher
Dizzy Gillespie.

Of course "Night in Tunisia" has been played by lots of people, but the "Jazz Theory Book" credits it to Bud Powell - 1951 Blue Note.

"Take 5" was written by Paul Desmond and most famously played by Dave Brubeck's band on their classic album "Time Out"!

Originally posted by Bruce Lindfield


Well, this is one Jazz standard where you can't do that as it's in 5/4 and the solos are usually over the harmonically static piano vamp, so it's often a problem to know what to do as the bass player. I tend to start off simple with the riff that is played on the record and then build up and add other notes - sometimes double stops, but I couldn't tell you what exactly. It's easy when you have a piano player! ;)

Actually, that's right...didn't it have a repeating bass line in the original recording?

No, there is a part (well, it most of the song) which consists of a repeating bass line, then it goes into something else (can't remember.)

:confused:

Would you like to be a little more specific, please?

Well in the "head" there is a middle 8 which in the recorded version goes :

Gbmaj7/Cbmaj7 Abmin6/Bbmin7 Ebmin7/Abmin7 Db7/Fmin7 Bb7/ - then 3 bars where the Ebmin and Bbmin7 repeat like through the rest of the piece.

Usually the solos are taken over the Ebmin/Bbmin7 repeating forever with the piano vamp.

I would recommend something a little easier for your first tune, Take 5 is not really a beginners tune. All Of Me, Autumn Leaves, Blue Monk, All The Things You Are etc.

Originally posted by Bruce Lindfield
Well in the "head" there is a middle 8 which in the recorded version goes :

Gbmaj7/Cbmaj7 Abmin6/Bbmin7 Ebmin7/Abmin7 Db7/Fmin7 Bb7/ - then 3 bars where the Ebmin and Bbmin7 repeat like through the rest of the piece.

Usually the solos are taken over the Ebmin/Bbmin7 repeating forever with the piano vamp.

Thanks Bruce, that's more what I was looking for. I actually just went and grabbed the recording and listened. Great song; I forgot how much I love Brubeck!

mind if I reminice...I saw Brubeck in Memphis(with Rufus Thomas!) in '81 or so and the tarp above the stage caved in spilling water all over the piano! The bass player(I don't know his name, I was a piano player at the time) walked to center stage and blew the place away for 8-10 minutes while the piano was being dried off. I came away with a stronger memory from the bass player than I ever had from my hero, Dave!

Does anyone notice the bass line going out of tune around 2 minutes in?

You'll have to be specific to the second, because I don't hear anything wrong with it around 2 minutes. Sounds in tune to me. ;)