Summertime (Gershwin)

[CDweller]

I am trying to develop my ability to walk, and also solo over changes. Towards that end, I would like to work on "Summertime", because it's a little slower than many other tunes, and it gets called a lot at jams. Wonder if any one has a lead sheet (preferably in Amin) with accurate or maybe even better, great substitutions.

My intention is to learn the head (pretty much got it, but different artists have really stretched it beyond the original version!), learn to walk the chords in a tyical rythmic fashion (I think the song originally was played as a foxtrot, and now is most commonly played as a shuffle at jams), develop a soli line based on the head, and then solo over the chords.

Thanks for any guidance in this.

[CDweller]

Of course Miles has a good version. Of course, being a horn player, he did it in Bflat. Oh well, who said getting good at this was easy?

Prolly better get used to Bflat, F, and Eflat as quickly as possible.

[Toronto Bassist]

Well there's at least one Aebersold book with the changes...you could always grab that. If people are playing it in a shuffle type feel though, they might be going by the Janis Joplin version - in which case, transcribing it from the song is your best bet.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by Toronto Bassist

Well there's at least one Aebersold book with the changes...you could always grab that. If people are playing it in a shuffle type feel though, they might be going by the Janis Joplin version - in which case, transcribing it from the song is your best bet.

there's an aebersold book with the bass line that goes with that,and play along cd's that allow you to turn up or down the bass for play along practice......well worth a look imho

[Billnc]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

there's an aebersold book with the bass line that goes with that,and play along cd's that allow you to turn up or down the bass for play along practice......well worth a look imho

#54 Maiden Voyage simply move the chords down a whole step from the Eb section of the book to get the a minor changes. But I prefer the D minor, only gigged those changes once (singers always go A minor it seems) but they're cool.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by Billnc

#54 Maiden Voyage simply move the chords down a whole step from the Eb section of the book to get the a minor changes. But I prefer the D minor, only gigged those changes once (singers always go A minor it seems) but they're cool.

good practice to transpose on the fly too........billie holiday's version tops 'em all

[CDweller]

Sounds like Aebersold ftw. Have to listen to Billie Holliday's version, too.

Amin is the usual key that folks around here do it in, although of course one has to be ready for the inevitable chick singer who doesn't know what key she sings it in, but invariably it's not A.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by CDweller

Sounds like Aebersold ftw. Have to listen to Billie Holliday's version, too.

Amin is the usual key that folks around here do it in, although of course one has to be ready for the inevitable chick singer who doesn't know what key she sings it in, but invariably it's not A.

i've heard that song murdered many times

[CDweller]

I'm a serial killer in this regard, unfortunately

[Toronto Bassist]

Yeah, reminds me of that old joke: "How many vocalists does it take to sing My Funny Valentine?


All of them, it seems"

[CDweller]

Well, here's a fairly simple version, not too complicated, but also offering a hint of jazzyness to it...

Amin7 /E7alt(Bb7) /Amin7 /A7alt

Dmin7 /Dmin7 /Bmin7b5 /E7alt(Bb7)

Amin7 /E7alt(Bb7) /Amin7 /Dmin7 G7

Cmaj7 Fmaj7 /Bmin7b5 E7alt /Amin7 /E7alt(Bb7)


I have to catch a flight back to New York right now, but if my computer's battery holds up I'll explore these chords a little, and get into picking this song apart. If I'm not mistaken, all the chords are diatonic, which I think means that there are no notes used in the chords that do not naturally occur in a C (in this case with no accidentals in the key signature) major scale. The song is in A minor, which is the relative minor of C major.

I realise this is simple stuff for the learned guys, but I hope that maybe my fumbling along might provide some utility for my bass brethren and sistern.

So what does E7alt mean?

[Toronto Bassist]

An E7alt chord is an E7 that can pretty much have any combination of b9, #9, b5, and #5. Rob McConnell calls them "kitchen sink chords", and in fact his charts will notate them as "E7 ks".