Scale for Am to Bb7?

[hublocker]

I usually play country, blues and rock, but my singer friend has a new interest in jazz standards.

We do "Girl from Ipanema" and I do alright accompanying the chords of the song, but in the coda, he likes to jam on an Am to Bb7 chord repetition.

Is there one scale that would work over that progression?

I enjoy doing an A minor thing and then into a Bb7 arpeggio/scale thing, but we were just wondering if one scale or mode could cover both.

[TroyK]

Are you keeping the groove for her, soloing, playing free or what?

If you're job as the bassist is to hold it together, I wouldn't get too cute on bossa novas, especially ones that everyone who has ever been in an elevator knows. Try A and E over the A minor and maybe something snappy like B-flat and F over the B-flat7 chord.

Unless you guys are going for something non-traditional.

My other suggestion would be to check out some Bossa Nova recordings. Getz/Gilberto is generally considered the referrence recording of that song, but there are about 17,000,439,234,923.2 others to chose from.

[hublocker]

I know it is a cliche, but we do it almost tongue in cheek?

We're doing a loungy corporate party tomorrow night, and the guitarist likes to vamp on chords and sometimes give me nod indicating "play a solo."

It's just a guitar/drums/bass trio.

Throughout most of the song I am in fact playing the root/five figure as you suggest.

[Stellar Blues]

Usually, only the notes C, D, F and G are common to both scales, so the whole point, perhaps is to shuffle back and forth between the Am and B flat 7th scales.

At least you don't need to change hand positions.

[Mike Montgomery]

hublocker wrote: "I enjoy doing an A minor thing and then into a Bb7 arpeggio/scale thing, but we were just wondering if one scale or mode could cover both."
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The A Neopolitan scale will work for both chords:
A-Bb-C-D-E-F-G#(Ab)

-Mike

[moles]

Troy,
Who recorded the .2? I'd like to hear that version