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Double Bass What possible chords does this outline?

M

mattbassclark

Jun 15, 2014
45
10
35
#1
Hi, I've transcribed/memorized fragments of ray brown bass lines and one enormous one (14ish choruses of a blues) and there's one recurring phrase that I can't figure out when to use in my own lines.

The first measure is obvious to me: C-D-Eb-G. Cm7, duh.
The second measure goes: E-F-G-A.

What is this? Would I use this phrase over 2 bars of Cm7?
He then goes to Bb on beat one of the third measure.

What chord does that second bar outline?
 
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#2
Coming from Cmin7, F7 makes the most sense, heading towards Bb? Did you say this bassline occurred on a Blues in C? Or is it Blues in Bb? The "Key" you're in will help in determining the function of the Cminor7 chord.
FYI - I'm not a big fan of the "stand-alone" E natural (major 7th) on the downbeat of an F7 (dominant 7th) chord, but most folks around here are OK with it leading (chromatically) into the F7.
Thanks.
don kasper
 
#3
The phrase happens several times in the REALLY long F blues I've memorized (it's a weird one though, definitely beyond my theoretical understanding.)
It also happens in a Bb version of Mack the knife.
 
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#4
mattbassclark said:
The phrase happens several times in the REALLY long Bb blues I've memorized (it's a weird one though, definitely beyond my theoretical understanding.)
It also happens in a Bb version of Mack the knife.
Click to expand...

If it's a Blues in Bb, then the Cminor7 probably is heading towards F7 ( ii7 - V7- I7) - Does the Cminor7 happen in bar 9 of the 12 bar Blues form?
Or, is there a recording/YT that you can refer us to, to help us see what's "weird" about it?
Thanks,
don kasper
 
#6
PM me your email so I can send you a PDF of what I transcribed, or if you have musescore I can send you the regular file. It's J.J. Johnson and Stan Getz at the opera house. It appears at bar 11 and 12 of the form, measure 63 and 64 of my entire transcription.
 
#10
Billie's Bounce is a blues in "F" on that recording - there is a 4 bar piano intro that begins the track. Did you begin your transcription AFTER the 4 bars of piano intro?
Let me know, or check the YT video and provide the time code at the measure(s) in question.
I'll give it a listen...
 
#14
Matt,
You should find a leadsheet for an "F Blues/Billies Bounce" - you're pdf is showing some unusual/additional/unnecessary chords for an F Blues. It's less complicated than you have written.
(For example - bar 11 is "F7", while bar 12 is "Gmin7 C7" (not "D?"), even though RB is playing a lot of "D" in those 2 measures!). It would be helpful to write the correct chord changes over the bassline for at least the first chorus, and ideally throughout the whole transcription, even though there may be chord substitutions occurring throughout. Seeing the basic harmonic structure written above each measure will help make sense of the notes being played by RB.
Your transcription of the notes at 1:16 - 1:18 looks correct - The measure containing "C,D,Eb,G" is an F7 chord - RB is simply outlining the ii7 (Cmin7) chord that sometimes precedes a V7 (F7) dominant chord, while the measure containing " E,F,G,A" is indeed an F7 chord, that leads to the Bb7 chord in measure 5 of the 12 bar form - at this tempo the "E" (major 7th) is barely perceived as a "clash" against the F dominant 7, containing an Eb.
Nice work on the transcription - I doff my proverbial cap to you, sir!
Thanks.
 
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#16
Thorough, thoughtful advice from Don as usual. Definitely start with the *standard* changes for the F-Blues as Don recommends. One thing I noticed as I transcribed Ray, though, is that he doesn't stick to the *standard* changes, which, IMO, is a major point of transcribing. He subs, tritones, whole-tones, fifths, etc, adds intermediate chords, and they all work beautifully. Well, ALL, is an exaggeration, still, transcribing Ray let's you know how a successful, money-making bassist played the chart at that given moment. Ray's not always perfect, but I have always found him to be interesting. I'm not sure about his bossa work, yet. Swing, blues, though, groove to the moon and back. His work with Oscar Petersen is the real deal.
 
#17
mattbassclark said:
Thank you!
For a regular blues, I was taught:
I7-IV7-I7-v7 I7
IV7-IV7-I7-iii7 VI7
ii7-V7-iii7 VI7-ii7 V7

I really don't trust lead sheets, but I guess I'll learn the normal billie's bounce sheet....
Click to expand...

Matt,

YES! Those are the basic (jazz) Blues changes - write them in, in the key of F on your pdf. (Did I just "freestyle"?!).
There are specific chord changes that support the melody for "Billies Bounce" that are worth knowing, as well as the "generic" F Blues chord changes, AND the specific changes that may occur on this recording ( after the melody has been played). The next step would be to try to hear the chords being played on the recording, and write those in above each measure of the bassline.
Thanks,
 
#18
Standard blues, is:
I7 - IV7 - I7 - I7
IV7 - IV7 - I7 bvii7 - vi7
ii7 - V7 - I7 VI7 - ii7 V7

But, you don't have to go the IV7 chord in the 2nd measure, nor do you have to go to the bvii7 chord in the 8th measure. Lastly, the last two bars are a turnaround and there are too many ways to cite all of the different blues turnarounds. Chromatic ascending, scalar descending, etc.
 
#19
The measures in question are 3 and 4 of the 12 bar form.

He's treating the first four bars of that chorus like so: || F7 | Bb | Cm7 | F7 | Bb etc...

So, the notes C, D, Eb, G outline the Cm7 and E (chromatic lower neighbor tone of F), F, G, A indicate the V7 (F7) of Bb.

In fact, if you take into account the G before the E beginning the 4th bar, you get the upper diatonic neighbor followed by the lower chromatic neighbor of F. This is a common way of introducing some chromaticism around chord tones. The E natural goes by quickly and the whole bar is leading to the Bb so it doesn't sound "out".
 

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