DAVID N.

BAKER'S MODERN JAZZ SERIE

IMPROVISATIOF{AI PATTERNS
rHE BLUES
FOR ALt TREBLE CIEF INSTRUMENTS

M.G.

,t A, mauro grossi
I7-) musicista
ty'ia
cji Salvrano. rr
Yl , f/124 Uvomo - ltatia
Tel. e Fax 0586 ffig7äg
- Celt. 328 2298912

CHARLES COLIN 315 West 53rd St., New York, N.Y. 10019
-
 t
-a,i

PREEACE
"lmprovisational Patterns: The Blues"
is a part of a series of pattern
books predicated on the belief that while certain patterns
seem to transcend
eras and styles, the greater. bgdy of
.improvisafional materials is of high
specificity with regard to its timeänd ptacä within the jazzcontinuum. Unlike
the subjects of the other books in this series "The Beb;;-dr;;öiles
-a
:
a

and 3) and "Contemporary Patterns,"the blues ir trrti t, z

i a music which does
i,
indeed transcend eras and styles and it is this p"ruu"riu",
.dt
universal quality which is addressed in this book.
ubiquitous and
I
if
4

il

_ @.Copyright 1980 by CFARLES COLIN, 315 W.53rd St., New york, N.y. 10019
International Copyright Securäri Made in U.S.A. AI Rights Reserved
t_
TABLE OF CONTEIITTS
t_
Scale Syllabus.... ..........4
t_ Chapter l. The Blues: An Essay. ........6
The Performers... ..........8
Boogie Woogie .......9
t_ Discography .........9
Chapter ll. Some Suggestions for Using
This Book. .......14
t_ FurtherSuggestedStudy. ....1,4
SignalsintheBlues .........15
Chapter III. Blues Patterns.... .........16
t_ Chapter lV. (1) Some Model Solos Based on
Various Sets of Blues Changes. . .26
(2) Some Model Solos Making
l_ Exclusive Use of Specific Scales. .46
WholeTone.. ......46
Diminished ........47
Diminished Whole Tone. . . .49
Lydian Dominant. . .. . . ...50
l-- TthScales .........52
Pentatonics and 4ths. . . . . . .53
Blues Scales .......59
(3) 16BarBlues .....63
t_ (4) BlueswithBridges .......66
(5) Variations on Minor Blues
Changes .......77
t_. Chapter V. Some Popular Boogie Woogie
Patterns . ...75
Chapter Vl. Some Common Riffs and Backgrounds
l_ to be Used as Models . . . . ..80

Chapter VII. Some Model Piano Voicings for

the Blues .........85
t_ Chapter Vlll. Some Model Bass Lines Based on
Basic Blues Changes ......89
l_ Chapter lX. Some Original Blues Compositions for
StudyandPerformance ....92
(1) Brother :.......92
(2) Line for Wes . . . .92
t_ (3) Blues for Bird .........93
(4) The Naptown Strut. .. . . .. . . . .93
(5) The Felix Walk (with bass line). .94
(6) Herman's Theme (with bass line). 96
l-- (7) Le Miroir Noir (with bass line)
from the original recording . . . .98
(8) TerribleT(with bass line). . . . . . .99
(9) Mon (L'odeur du Blues) with the
t-- solo line from the original
recording .....100
(10) Kentucky Oysters (composition
and David Baker's transcribed
L: solo from the original
recording) ...102
(11) Honesty (cr,.rmposition and David
Baker's transcribed solo from the
recording ...
l-- original 105

t--
t_-
 SCALE SYLLABUS
Relationship Of Chords To Scales
Major Famity
Cho.d Typ. (t)
Scrlr Form
Major-13579... .Major12345678
Major(14)13S79[1 1
.Lydian12314567g
Major(14Is) j 3
{s 7 911 1 . . . . . . . Lydian
Augmenred.l 2 3fl4
Major(b619)1gsz gir rr... .Augmented1 [56 78
Major13579 .... 1235 b67
.... . .. diminished 1 b2b3!39456 b78 1

Major13S79....
il;;;;;;;; ::lT:l'cM_ajor1 234sb678
...brueslb3q3414Sb78
....... mjnorpentatonic 1!34s b7g
... Majorpentatonjc 1 23 S6 g

minor Family
Chord typ!
Scsle Form
minor, tonic (l) Function . ........ Dorian 1zbg4'6b7 I
Nalurat minor 1 Z bg Ä S
phrysian 1 b6 b7 I
bZß 4 sb6b7
Ascending Melodic minor
I
12b34567a
Harmonic minor 1 Zb3 4 5167I
mrnor pentalonjc 1
b3 4 5 b7 S
minorTth(r)Funcrion . . ;:,,il,T;tilitlrrt
Ascending melod jc minor
12b345678
Fjarmonic minor 1 213 4
Sb67 1
minor pentatonic 1 b3 4
5 b7 g
örues1b334i4578
dimjnished (start wirh whote
step)
| 2b348415678

Dominanl Family
Cho.d Typo
Sc.l6 Fo|m
Dominanl 7th unattered
13s b79
.
.. Mjxolydian t ZeqSAbt A
Lydian Dominant 1 2 g
Major Penratonjc 1 23 5
14 5 6 b7 I
68
minor pentatonic 1 b3 4
s 67 I
ulues 1 b3 13 4i4 5b7 I
Dominant 7th lrr...... . Lydian domjnant
135 b79t1 1

Oominant 7th b5, 15 or borh. 1231456b78

. .. . .. WholeToner 23r4f5d6
13bs17
r 3f5 b7
13(bsis)b7

4
Chord Typc Seda Form

DominantTth(bg)
-- .. ... .. Diminished
135b7bö' 1b2Fl3l4s6b78
Dominant 7th 19 . ....... Diminishedlb2ß 13i45b78
1 35 bTls Diminished wnole tone
1b2 13!3f4ls168
Dorian12t3456b78
Brues I b3!34$45b7I
ritinor oentatonic 1 b3 4 5 b7 I
Dominant 7th bg and f 9......... . diminisheö1b2b3 !3h56 b78
diminished whole tone
1 b2 b3 13 i4 t516 I
minor pentatonic 1 b3 4 5 b7 I
Elues 1 b3 !3 414 5 b78
Dominant 7rh bs and bg o,',"iTr"i,
13 g4 s 6 b7 s
diminished whole tone
1b2ß!3 14 lsü68
minor pentatonic 1 b3 4 5 b7 8
Bruesl b3!34f45b78
Dominant 7th . . diminisheo scale
bs and b9 13 b5 b7 bg 1bzt3 13$456b78
ls and $e 13 ls b7 is minor pentatonic
b5 anrr is 13 b5 b7*9 1b345 b78
fs and Us 13 ls b7 b9 Brues 1 b3 134$45b78
(and/combination)

Halt-dlminlshed chords

chord Typ. Scda Form

(halt{iminished7th ........... Locrian 1b2b34b5bob78
(ö7) locrian $2
- 1 2 t3 4 b5 bo b7 I
minor 7th (b5) diminished (start with whole step)
1b3bsb
1b3bsb7 12b3414fs678
brues 1 b3 13 414 s b7 8

dlminished chords
diminished 7th . diminished scale
(o7) (starl with whole step)
1 b3 b56 12b34141567I

&t2
 The Btues
The blues has had a profound influence on American
music. It is without a doubt the most widelv used sono
form in black popular music and jazz. As a iorm and ai
influence, the blues can be found in much music of the
theatre, and in country and western music. lt is the foun.
dation of much gospel music, most rhythm and blues
compositions, much rock and roll music, all booqie
woogie. as well as other universally popular song forÄs,
and it has shown a decided influence on some European
Art music.
A cu.sory examinatjon of all the recorded iazz music
would probably reveal an unbelievably high percentage
of blues and blues-influenced compositions, as well äs
blues.influenced performances. Tire yield would be
higher in certain eras than in others. During the halcyon
days of Bebop it was rare.to find a ZB and later an L.p.
without a blues on it.
It is not an accident that almost without exceDtion the
players who have influenced the flow of iazz have been
great blues players and,/or composers -well.rooted in
blues: Louis Armctrong, Jelly Ro|l j{orton, Count
Basie, Earl Hines, Lester young, Charlie parker,
Dizzy Gillesple, Thelonlous ltonk, Sonny Rolling,
Charles llingua, Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp,
and othe.s.
These men and others, often as not, chose the blues as
vehicles fo. improvisation for many reasons, some of
which follow:
1. T}le blues is a highly flexible form with exceedingly
simple harmonic structure (thfee chords).
2. lt allows extreme latitude for musical exDression
- issuing
J.
out of this simplicity.
lne blues provides a compositional type common
to the background of every would-be jazz player ir-
respective of era, musical persuasion or stylistic
preference.
4. The blues is a form that can be .endered as simple
or as complex as the individual performer/com.
poser desires.
5. The ubiquity of the blues (via radio, T.V., church,
jukebox, nightclub, etc.) provides a form with which
most aspiring jazz players are at least superficiallv
conversant.
. In addition
rormat
to those compositions actually employing a
Dtues structure, lhere are
countless compositionS
which borrow heavily on the other components oi blues_
e.g., "Worksong by Nat Adderley, "Moanin'by Bobbv
Timmona, Hummin by flat Adderley. ..Sister Sadier.
by Horace Sllver and others.
Many jazz players-Oscar peteraon, Horace Sllver.
Wes llortgomery, Irült Jacklon, Stanley Turrentlne,
and others-show a decided propensity fär convertinq
pop compositions to blues typ;s.-This metamorphosis i!
usually brought about by the imposition of tÄe blues
scale, blue notes, certain characteristics inflections and
phrases, and the unique use of characteristic rhythms.
Whatever the means used to effect the change. ail good
jazz playeß evince some aural evidences of their blues
roots.
What are the musical characteristics of the blues? Most
blues utilize a twelve measure structure consistino of
three chords. Because of the exceptionally pers;nal
nature of the blues and its extraordinary flexibility, the
measure structure might include seven, ten, eleven, thir-
teen, seventeen or any other amount of measures. (Form,
struqture. internal arrangement are always subservient to
content in the blues and most other African derived
musics,) The cirord sequence might also vary greatly
without causing the blues to lose its identity. For in-
stance. many blues even have a bridge or releaje section.
I he (u) section ot the bfldge ts the secuon wnere new
contrasting material is introduced, (i.e.,
ABA
i- 12---l l*8*r '--12-.
_ arbitrary number or bars.)
Examples of such compositions are "Bill not phil" by Bil
Harria, "Traneing In" by John Coltrane and;an)
otnerS.
In many instances instrumental blues in the iazz tradt-
tion tends to.be more predictable and regular in structure
(symmetrical) with the exception of biues by Ornette
Coleman and those of similar persuasion. (Many avanr-
garde players tend toward the säme irregularitiei, asyrr"
metricalities 9nd freedom indigenous to many voca
blues.) The Classic Blues," 'Ctty Blues" and.othär more
sophisticated forms have settjed into reqular forma
structures (twelve or sixteen measure oatterns) often a.t
the expense of vitality, spontaneity anä the demands oi
content.
While blues instrumentalists of the iazz oenre have
tended to _accept certain regularities wiih relard to the
numDer ot measures in a blues (i.e., 12, g. 16, etc.).
"Watermelon Man," Herbie Hancock-16 bars-
"Stolen Moments," Ollver Nelson-16 bars, thev have
been less wedded to the sanctity of the original simple I
lV V progression. Some of the iubstitute c-hords foi the
instrumental blues follows. (See example l, p. 10.)
Some examples of altered bluej are:',.Dahomev
Dance, John Coltrane; Honesty,'David Baker; Sip
pin at Bells," l|llles Davis; "When Will the Blues Leave,'
Ornette Coleman.
Likewise, jazzmen have been much less riqid in their
adherence to the 4/4 / 12y8 metric scheme prevalent in
vocal blues, Virtually every meter and combination of
meters has been used in jazz blues, i-e., 6/A,314, 514,714.
514 + 614,7/8 + 5t8 ad infinitum.
Some sample compositions include:
3t4
"Valse Hot"-Sonny Rolllng
"Kentucky Oysters"-Davld Baker
"Terrible T"-Davld Baker
Compound 6/4-5l4
''Four-Five-Six''-Lanny Hartley
Amalgam 414 I 314 I 214 I etc.
"Blues in Orbit"-Georg€ Ruasell
12t8
"All Blues"-i[llee Davlg
"Roly Poly''-Davtd Baker
"Foot Prints"-llilea DavlE
"Senor Blues"-Horace Sllver
"Mohawk"-J.J. Johnaon
The next musical consideration is that of melody.
Perhaps it would be best to first examine vocal blues,
As would be expected the range of most vocal blues
melodies because of voice limitations is much narrower
(range and general placement within the range) than in-
strumental blues with two, three, four or mori octave in.
struments, lr ost vocal blues melodies, with the exceo-
tions of falsettos and other dramatic note disolacement!.
rarely exceed an oqtave. Many of these bluäs melodies
are strongly reminiscent of tfe sorrow songs and other
tour and trve note melodies-
Vocal blues melodies while highly personal usually
derive.their personality from the lyrics and/or style rather
than the originality of the musical line, which is often
trite, predictable and derivative. Often a single melody
will serve hundreds of disparate verses and coÄpositioni.
Blues melodies usually follow the tdnets of other vocal
forms of melody, i.e., essentially diatonic (pertaining to
the standard major and minor scales and to the tonality
derived from these scales), symmetrical, relatively
predictable, and singable.
Jazz instrumental blues melodies are often wider in
range than vocal melodies (althotjgh often much nar-
rower in expressive range). Of course, the wider range of
harmonic variation permits a commensurately greater
variety of melody types, asymmetrical, angular, wide
range, dissonant, and unpredictable. Jazz melodies of the
blues variety are usually quite distinctive and individual
and much less likely to resemble all other blues
melodies. Of course, there are many exceptions such as
riff type melodies ("Now's the Time," "Jumpin With Sym-
phony Sid") and many ultra-funky melodigs ("Sack O'
Woe," "Cool Blues"). Exceptions notwithstanding, the in-
dividuality of jazz blues is even apparent in works by the
same composer, e.g., T. llonk's "Straight No Chaser,"
"Misterioso," "Blue Monk"; or C, Parker's "Bongo Bop,"
"Au Privave,'' "Barbados," "Buzzy"; or George Russell's
"Stratusphunk," and Davld Baker's "Blues for Bird,"
"Roly Poly," and "Brother." (See example 2, p. 11.)
The vocal blues are usually on horizontal scales, such
as the blues scales, the major scale or some simple modal
or pentatonic scale. (A horizontal scale is a scale which is
used to color an entire area of harmonic activity as in the
instance of blues.) The C blues would use one scale to col-
or all of the chords in the tune. (See examples 3 and 4, p.
1z.l
These scales are usually much easier to hear and the
paucity of materials makes improvisation a lot less dif.
ficult and much more accessible to the novice as well as
the professional blues singer. These horizontal scales, of
course, offer the possibilities of the use of chordal
melodies drawn from scale tones.
The blues instrumentalist in jazz usually draws on a
much wider variety of scales, although the blues, major
and modal scales are still the most popular for realizing
blues changes. (The horizontal scales are particularly
populqr among the soul jazz proponents, i.e,, Horace
Sllver, Ramsey Lewls, [.ou Donaldson, the Turren-
tine brothers, the Adderleya, et al.) Some of the other
scales with wide-spread currency and the manner in
which they are used to color the blues chords follow. (See
example 5, p. 13.)
Increased possibilities for harmonic variation, of
course, offer a broader base for using different scales,
(See example 6, p. 13.)
As with melodic and scalar possibiiities, rhlthmic
possibilities are much less vast for the blues singer than
the blues instrumentalist. Traditionally the instrumen.
talist (in whatever field) is usually thought capable of han-
dling a greater variety of rhlthmic structures than the
vocalist; consequently, instrumental blues (azz) music is
usually much richer is rhythmic materials and variety and
contrast.
In the area of timbre, the.jazz blue instrumentalist has
tended to borrow from the blues vocalist. ln fact, the in'
süumentalist has tended to borrow all those things which
were originally considered the domain of vocal music.
Things such as slides, fall'offs, slurs, grunts, yelps, rips,
yodels and other such inflections have been added to the
instrumental color pallet. The instrumentalist has also
added such idiosyncratic spinoffs from vocal practices
as: lip trills, shakes, various articulations, flutter tongue,
muting effects, harmonics, and multiphonics (playing
two notes simultaneously on an instrument traditionally
thought of as single Iined, i.e., trumpet).
This wide choice of possibilities, of course, offers the
blues vocalist and instrumentalist a great deal of room
for personalization, This last is, of course, one of the ma-
jor factors which helps to define blues and jazz.
As near as can be ascenained, the blues did not exist in
slavery although the group work songs of that era did pro-
vide an important link. The work songs with their in-
evitable call-and-response patterns helped to provide a
form for the blues. But the work song with its inherent
rigidity lacked two vital elements, indigenous to ever the
earliest blues types, personalization and flexibility.
A second and perhaps even more imPortant con.
tributory element to the blues was the holler, The holler,
unlike the work song, was not intended as a means of
group expression. The holler, in its earliest form, was a
means of communication, intensely personal and usually
wordless. It was functional. The cry was usually pitched
high and with sharp syllables to enable it to be heafd
across vast distances.
So personal was the holler that around the countryside
a man could be easily identified by the Pitch, timbbre and
shape of his holler. As the holler evofued, it became a
kind of fteely structured, usually modally derived phrase,
often melismatic (many pitches to a single syllable), but
still highly personal. According to Paul Oliver, the
adopted sound preference of these later hollers was the
pentatonicscalewithab3andbT(i.e.,D E F C A B C
or the dorian scale).
The earliest blues, like the hollers, were modal in
character and showed a decided preference fo. the b3and
a b7 (flatted third and flatted seventh). Even though the
blues, from the beginning, was essentially a solo form, it
retained the essential characteristics of the work song-a
call.and-response pattern (couple and refrain). Prior to
World War I it evolved into the relatively inflexible twelve
measure three line form that we now know. Buy its very
nature, and the nature of the blues People, the form re-
mained subservient to the content but the model was
established.
The blues could only have beeir born after a concept of
leisure time, however illusory, emerged. The blues from
the beginning has been a means of self'expression, a man
alone singing of personal tragedies, or chronicling his
own heroic feats imagined or otherwise. During slavery
the concept of a black man alone with his thoughts was
inconceivable,
In all probability the blues made their first public ap'
pearance at the juke joints, Saturday night fish fries,
country suppers, "bar.be-cues," and other social gather'
ings of black people. At any rate, by the time of the first
major migration to the cities by Blacks, the blues was
firmly established.
w
ft Ihe Performere
It would be impossible to list all of the performers in
vocal blues and instrumental blues, but foiour purposes
it is possible to enumerate some of the more important
blues singers and instrumentalists across the history of
black music.
These performers in vocal and instrumental music
have come from diverse geographical, musical and
philosophical situations. Each period in black music
.since the early 1920s has produced its great blues per-
formers. Jazz produced great instrumentalists and blues
great singers. It would be easier from our standpoint to
start with the great blues instrumentalists who
have
issued from jazz.
' Although few if any historians would type l-ouls Arm.
strong as a blues player per se, it is a fact that the spirit
of the blues is pervasive in much of the playing of his ear.
ly years. His uncanny ability to invest even the most
pedestrian "pop" tune with an air ofjazz spontaneity is at-
tributable largely to his feeling for the blues. Aside from
his extensive and skillful use of the blues scale and blue
notes, Armstrong's playing and singing contained a
great deal of those things which we perceive as in-
digenous to the blues and roots oriented black music.
Armatrong's free and imaginative use of vibrato (par-
ticularly what Gunther Schuller in Earlv Jazz referi to
as terminal vibrato), his wide repedory;f shakes, trills,
his use of elision, slides, slurs, fall-offs, and his imDec-
cable sense of swing, atl suggest that if his playing did-not
come out of the blues, at the very least, it drew very
heavily from the same sources.
Most of the great and near great jazz bands of the late
1920s and 1930s emerging from the Southwest (Kansas
City, Denver, etc.) were blues oriented bands. That is.
their repertoire consisted primarily of blues and blues
type compositions. The presence of a heavy blues tradi-
tion virtually assured a modicum of experience with blues
to the young musician from these areas. A cursorv ex-
amination of the recordings of Count Basle, Wiltcr
P_age and the Blue Devils, Alphonsa Trent, B€nny
I{oten, and others will reveal an overwhelmino diet of
blues and blues influenced music.
While the number of brilliant bluesy'iazz soloists to
come out of this era and area is too vast t; warrant an ex.
haustive approach, it behooves us to at least examine the
work of the Count Easl€ soloist, who is usually given the
title of "the fifst great blues instrumentalist."
Lester Young was the most important soloist to come
ffom the ranks of the Count Baale band. He was the ftrst
of the lreat instrumental players..He was largely respon,
sible for the reestablishment of the rhythmic priorities in
jazz, priorities inextricably linked to the blues. Young'e
most impo.tant contributions were basically melodic, his
experimentation with sustained rubato phrasing and even
artlculated eighth notes was something entirely new to
jazz, Young's musical though! flowed freely over barline,
not unlike his contemporaries in vocal blues, His lyricism
extended the traditional riff-style blues melodies com-
mon to soloists of his time.
Young's lyric style often impressed many of his con-
temporaries with its sophistication in comparison with
an,thing that had gone before. There is undeniably a
sense in which Young's approach to a chord progression
was more ingenious than that of any of his predecessors.
Where Coleman Hawklna would exploit everv note in
the chord, racing up and down the arpeggioi, Young
would pass along the same harmonic path by means of
omission, implication and suggestion endowing even the
familiar blues changes with a strange orientation by the
use of negleCed intervals, economy of notes and grert
pungency of wit. lt is no wonder that Young has been
called the great epigramaticist of jazz. His was the splrit
of the blues singer-directness, economy of means.
irony, musical double entendre.
Harmonically speaking, Young was th€ first to incor-
porate most of the revolutionary devices of the thirties in-
to his own style, Whether or not he introduced them is of
little consequence, for he was the only iazz player who
possessed the tastefulness required to make thern
musically convincing.
In many of Young'! solos of the mid.thirties, one may
detect the instinctive groping toward chromatic progres.
sions of descending minor sevenths, which was to
become a cliche in modern jazz blues playing some fif.
teen years later. There has been much sDeculation and
dispute among critics as to whether or not young was ac.
tuglly thinking in terms of minor seventh progresiions, or
if he merely liked the sound of something Binny Good.
man had done as his partner on the Tcddy Wlleon-BllUe
Hollday recording of "l Must Have Than Man."
In retrospect it seems only natural that Young'r inven.
tiveness would dictate a preference for tunes which mov.
ed in the conventional cycies of resolvinq sevenths (e.q..
"Blues," "Sweet, Georgiä Brown," and th-ousands of pöp
tunes). Most of what is truly fascinating about his müsic
stems from the fact that, restricted by the harmonic
boundaries of the blues and most jazz and pop tunes of
his time, he always managed to replace ionventional
structures with fresh, colorful shapes sounding at times
perversely complex, but which, in fact, have the true
greatness of simplicity which is so characteristic of the
blues.
lssuing directly out of the southwest, instrumental
blues and the Lcster Young tradition, is another sax.
ophonist, Charlcr Chrlrtophcr (..Blrd'.) parkcr.
Parkcr served his apprenticeship in great blues bands
like that of Jay llc8hann. At one time or another he
came into contact with all of the great blues shouters and
players of the southwest who weie his contemnoraries.
Despite Parkcr'r many innovations he was and re-
mained throughout his career a blues plaver. lf one were
to examine his recording output, he wöulä probably find
that the blues comprised well over half of -Bird's" record.
ed works. ln addition to this, of his tunes which have
become a part of standard jazz repertoire a great mahy of
them have been blues: "Now's the Time," ..Billies
P"9n.9,1' "Cheryl," "Bird's Blues," "Happy Bird Bar.
bados," "Cool Blues," to mention a few.
Aside from these more obvious manifestations.
Parkcr'3 use of the blues scale, blues pattems and th€
like allowed him to invest any composition with the vitali.
ty, urgency and earthiness of the blues. lt is perhaps this
attitude about the blues that he was able so lucceisfullv
to communicate to later generations of players. We can
hear this musical phenomenon as filtered throuqh parker
in the playing of most of the major players of this genera.
tion, Cannonball Addcrlcy, Joh; Coltrlnc-, J.J.
Johnron, Archlc 8hcpp, Ornctte Colcmrn, and
others.
Continuing the southwest tradition and the Lcatcr
Young-Charllc Parkcr blues lineage is another young
southern saxophonist, Orrcttc Colcman. Orncttc was
born in Forth Worth, Texas, March 19, 1930. He was ex.
posed very early to the blues by singers and various
groups with their ingeniously improvised instruments:
kazoos, combs with tissue paper, washtub basses,
spoons, etc, He learned from records the various rhvthm
and blues tunes as they came out and began mäking
 blues gigs. He along with his young friends "investigated Llghtnin' Hopklns: Createst Hits. Prestige-7592.
the honky tonks where the various rhythm and blues The Legendary Son House. Columbia-CL 2414.
groups played. His young contemporaries included the Shaky Jake: Mouth Harp Blues. Prestige-Bluesville
'later to be famus tenorman Klng Curtle. He consciously 1027 .

imitated the rh,'thm and blues heroes of the day, such as The Immortal Blind Lemon Jeffereon. Milestone-
Lynn Hope, Blg Jay llcNeely, Arnett Cobb, Louls 2004.
Jordan, and Gene Ammons. The blues lessons that he Blind Wlllte Johneon. Folkways-FG 3585.
learned during these formative years have never been Robert Johnson, King of the Delta Blues Singers,
abandoned, He spent some time in Pee Wee Cralrton's Columbia-CL 1654.
Rhythm and Blues band. B.B. Klng: Indianola, Misiissippi Seeds. ABC-S.713.
It seems very natural, in light of Coleman s Huddle Ledbetter: Keep Your Hands Off her. Verve-
background, that blues should be a pervasive influence FVS9021.
on his music. Despite the juxtapositions of usually Crlppled Clarence Lofton. Vogue-LDE 122
segregated elements, his playing has never been any fur- l|lemphls Sllm: Just Blues. Prestige-Bluesville 1018.
ther out than that of a country bluesman. His bluesy, Negro Folk Music of Alabama (game songs and others).
folklike playing and composing have had far reaching ef- Ethnic Folkways Libr ary -78, 447 l-7 4.
fects on legions of young avant garde musicians- Negro Folklore from Texas-4477
State Prisons, Elektra-
Charlea Tyler, Archle Shepp, Albert Ayler, and 8KS.7290.
otnerS. Negro Folk Music of Africa and America. Folkways-
FE.4500.
- BOOgle WOOgle Negro Prison Songs from the Mississippi State Peniten-
Booiie Woogie wä the first and to date the only ex- Tradition-TlP.1020'
--tiary'
Ma Ralney: Blues the Wofld Forgot. BiograPh-12001.
ctusively piano music to issue from the blues. Boogie
woogie, a term which is used to descfibe the blues pian; 1":t: tf-!l:-Blues' Atlantic-1348'
- ptayi"ng inat thrived roughly between the years 192b and story,',col,umbia-cl 855-858'
i9.i5,
-was
a highly popuiar"music in teneÄents. The very Be-ssie :-lllt
P9::l-t Sfilth' The-World's Great Blues Singer.
name "Boogie" was another name for the "house rent tolYt?l=Yt
party. Boti terms describe a phenomenon that took -Rolgevelt Syi{es:".1
,.
The Honeydripper. Prestige-
- ptaci inthe crowded tenements of chicago, Detroit, New ^ t'luesvllle lul4'
Vork and virtually every city with a largi black popula- *nly Terry/Brownle lqrchee. Fantasy-3254.
tion. Because pou.tty *u" u way of liie, black'piople {9e Tu-lTer.'.Bo:s of the Blues. Atlantic-1234.
learned quickly to depend on each other to band together Dlnah washlngton: Best in Blues. Mercury-20247.
- and to work toward common goals. one such goal was Jlmmle-,Wltheiepoon: Evenin'Blues. Presiige-73oo.
that of simply being able to pa/the rent. With u;mploy- t{uddy W-ater8:.After the Rain. Cadet-CS-320.
ment at a irormatl/ nigh level"(at least for Blacks), men !:an:)' Ms-o-n:.llurt.So.Bad' Capitol-ST353'
tong accustomed to s-urviving under the most adverse Howlln' Wolf:l1oanil:rl Moonlight. Chess-1434.
llte
- co.räitions ingeniously devise? a technique that served . women of the -Blues -RcA'victor-LPV 534-
the combined purposäs of raising the reni and providin^ Jlmmie and llama Yancey: Pure Blues. Atlantic-
a means of social intercourse. " 1283'
The "House Rent Party" ("The Parlor Social," "The CollGctlonr
- Boogie") was a party given by a tenant as a means of rais- DiscographylFor the Blues
ing his rent. For the nominal sum of "two bits" or "four Country Blues'Classics. Vol, 1, 2, 3 Blues Classics (A)
bits," the tenant s neighbors were treated to an evening of BC 5/617.
boogie woogie piano by some local hero, some southern The Rural Blues. RBF Records (A) RF202.
! culinary treat such as catfish and Kentucky oysters (bring Conversation with the Blues (documentary). Decca (E)
your own drinks) as well as some "hangin out." Of course, LK 4664.
such parties were reciprocal-"you come help me pay my Screening the Blues. CBS (E) (M) 63288.
rent and I'll come help you pay yours." Blues Roots. The Atlanta Blues RBF (A) RF15.
The blues pianist, unlike most other instrumentalists, Modern Chicago Blues. (An Anthology).
had a great deal of mobility mainly because he didn't Blues Southside Chicago. (Chicago Chess Recording
have to carrv his instrument with him. For this reason the Vol. 1, 2, 3).
blues piano player was often somewhal of a cosmopolite, Blues Singer. Folkways FJ 28V4, Vol.4.
traveling with the mood, or the local Sheriff, struck him. Boogie Woogie. Folkways FJ 2810, Vol. 10.
Some of the more famous boogie woogie players were: The Blues. Folkways FJ 2802, Vol. 2.
iq.ade Lux Lewlc, Albert Ammona, Crippled
Clarence Lofton, Jlmrny Yancey, and Sugar Chlle Boogla WooglG
, Roblnaon, Cow Cow Davenport, Plnetop smith, Jay Honky Tonk Train. Riverside (E) RLP 8806.
- I[cShann, and Pete Johnson. Barrelhouse Blues and Boogie Woogie-1, 2. Storryille
sLP 1.551183.
Dlecography Ciants of Boogie Woogie. Riverside 12-106.
Blucr Boogie Woogie. Folkways FJ 2810, Vol. 10.
Anthology of Rhythm and Blues. Columbia-CS-9802.
Blues Roots. Arhoolie-Poppy 60003. Blu€a Initn rGntrllrts (Jrzz)
R.y CharleE: Genius Sings the Blues. Atlantic-S-8052. Louls Armstrong Plays the Blues. London (E) AL 3501.
Hank Crawford; Mr. Blues Plays Lady Soul. Atlantic- t ester Young-The Immortai Leeter Young. Savoy MG
s.1523. 12068.
W.C. Handy Blues. Folkways-FG-3540. CharleE Parker-Historical Masterpieces. PLP 701.
History of Rhythm and Blues. Atlantic-8 record set. The Happy Bird. PLP 404.
John Lee Hooker: Real Blues. Chess-1508. Ornette Coleman-Change o? the Century. Atlantic
That's My Storyl John Lee Hooker Sings the Blues. tJzt,
Riverside- 12-321. The Shape of Jazz to Come. Atlantic 1317.
t'

Exarnple 1

@ Copyrisht 1980 by CXIÄRLES coUN, 3r5 w.53rd St., N.w York, N.y. l0ot9
Irt6rrtiond Copyrjsir S.dred Made ln U.S.A. AI RiChts Re!€ncd

10
 rl

Example 2
BLUES FOR BIRD
Davld Il. Brkcr
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ROLY POLY Davld II. Bakor

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11
 BROTHER
Devld Il. Bakcr

Example 3 Example 4
Example 5
F

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A- üt

&,minisrrerf wr.ota tong) wholc +cna)

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(aliaisr*a-) (rnr'rory.üon)

Exampte 6

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[6 wn"r" ]one sco-rel

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 SOIIIE gqGGESTIONS
FOR USII{G THIS BOOK
1. Read the various essays found throughout the book.
2. Take time to enjoy the recommended readings.
3. Try to listen, in dePth, to as many of the recom-
mended recordings as Possible.
Familiarize yourself with as many different styles
and eras of blues as possible (from Bunk Johnson to
the AACM).
5. Investigate through study and performance boogie
woogie, rhythm and blues, classic blues, country
blues, bebop, fusion, etc.
6. Make the learning of a few of the basic blues Patterns
included herein a part of your daily practice ritual'
a. Transpose all patterns to all keys.
b. Play all patterns varying temPo, meter' reglster'
volume, articulation, intensity' etc.
c. If you're in doubt as to proper inflection, articula-
tion, etc., go to the source(s) (Bird, Diz, Ray
Charles, Huddie Ledbetter, Miles' et al.).
d. Strive for authenLicity of expression.
?, Play with the recordings of your fav-orite blues
olavers and sinqers. Imitate. emulate!: Widen your
bluis horizons by continually including singers and
Derformers unfamiliar to You.
f. if the blues have lyrics, learn them.
9. Make.a thorough study of the different sets of
substitutions to the blues bYr
a. transposing them to all keys
b. playing them with varied temPos, articulations,
expressive markings' etc.
c. listening to recorded examPles
d. analyzing the various changes and the patterns'
scales, rhythms, etc., used to realize the'
e. creating your own solos using the substitutions
and playing them in the style of the model.
f. singing, memorizing and Playing on your instru'
ment (and piano) the various solos that serye as
models.
10. See how many of the choruses (sets of changes) you
can identify with regard to their genesis, then study
these originals.
1 1. Experiment with all of the examples before decidinE
on favorites.
12. Read lots of exercises for familiarity with them:
memorize and apply those that you like better than
the others.
13. Practice the licks, patterns, etc. with a rhythm sec'
tion or another horn or a Play'along record. (Jame!
Aebersold's play'a-long series is excellent for this
purpose.) The ultimate goal is to internalize as man)
batierns as possible anä be completely comfortable
with them.
14. lf you are not a piano player' familiarize yourself witl'
thL pages of basic voicings for Piano included herein
15. Bass players should study the line construction tecF'
niques in the section on bass. Also try your hand a:
creating original lines on the model substitute
changes. Listen to a variety of bass Players Playing
the blues in a variety of circumstances.
16. Once the various exercises, patterns, scales, etc. are
learned. begin the assimilation Process by repeate:
and continual use.
17. Personalize all Patterns so that they fit your Playin!
and style, emerging or otherwise.
Remember no player can call himself a jazz musicia:
until he is comPletely at home with his blues.

Further Suggested 9tudY

Gcncral Plano

Baker, David' ImProvisational Patterns' The Bebop Jazz lmprovisation ior Keyboard Players by Dan
- gr", Vof. t, 2, anä 3. (available in Treble Clef or Bass Haerle.
Cle0 JazzlRock Voicings for the ContemPorary Keyboard
Bakei, David. Improvisational Pattems' Contemporary Plaver by Dan Haerle.
piit"rn.. {available in Treble Clef or Bass Clefl Jazz improvisation by David Baker, pg. 133.
Saker, Oavia. Jazz ImProvisation' Chapter Xl
"The
E lues. Gultar
gJer, Oa"fa. Arranging and Composing for the Small
Jazz lmprovisatlon for Rocl</Blues Guitarist, P. Lucas
Ensemble. Chapter XX, 'The Blues and Rhythm ano
Blues A Svstem of Tonal Convergence. Ted Dunbar'
The-1 1-V Cadence as a Cre;tive Guitar Learning Devie
Coker, JerrY. Listening to Jazz'
Coker, Jerry. The Jazz ldiom. Ted Dunbar. (Particularly Pp.3 through 6)
ÄeUersota, iamey. Nothin'But Blues" Vol 2' New ADDroaches to Jazz Cuitar. Ted Dunbar'
The tniirrelationshlp of Chords. Scales and Finger'
Blues are also found in the following Aebersold Play' board of the 12 Tonalities of the Guitar. Ted Dunb-
alonqs: TRANSCRIPTIOTS
v"l. t. s. 6, ?, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 77, and' 27
Spcclflc Instrumentt Aebersold, Jamey, Charlie Parker Omnibook' (ava '
able in Eb or C editions)
Bass Viol. llonk lrlontgomery Electric Bass llethod' Baker, David. Charlle Parker Monograph' J'J'
edited bv Davld Baker. Johnson lrlonograPh.
Thomas.:'C'harlle Parker: Techniques of- l:-'
laä impidvisation for Strings, Vol' 2' Cello and Bass' Owens,
- provisatlon, Vols. I t'll (Ph.D. 1974, Oniversity of
David N. Baker.
.larz IÄpäuiiatton. Davld N. Baker, ChaPter XVll' The California, Los Angeles )
--ä".1üi"f
.t See pages 143-1441A Few Hints on Playing
the Blues)
14
I SIGT{ALS III THE BLUES
I 1. A major 7th chord on the first measure of the blues ususally signals the advent of something out of
the ordinary, i.e., "Bird" changes

Fr I E-A, I D-c, I c-Fr etc.

I
I

"Sippin' at Bells" changes

FA I Bb, I n-c- lr*-e,

lj. 2. A major 7th chord in measure five usually signals the advent of something unusual, i.e.,

I r, I r, I r, I r, I ao1 | eo-eu,f n-o,

Ab-Db,lc-l c' erc.

I lr' I r, l-r, I eua I e-e, I a I ao-eo, etc.

t Likewise listen for the dominanHth to signal the return to 'regular' changes,

3. On slow to moderate tempos, very often, the second measure of the blues goes to the lV7, i.e,,

[- F, lBb, I F, I F, I nu, I er'' I n, etc.

t 4. Slow blues particularly in 12y8 meter a la gospel are very often in the Keyof G (probably a carry-over
from "After Hours" played by Avery Parish with the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra).

a. ln the above situation the changes are almost always some variation of the following:

li 12t8 @t C,tG,tG,
c, I c#", IGr IEr
"Roly Poly"
II and
Ar l Dr l G' l G?ll "Mon"

II 5. Db is also a favorite key for slow blues.

6. Whenever substitute changes are used they should be played more than once. They may be initiated
by either the soloist or one of the chord-producing rhythm instrument
II 7. Onusual substitutions which are not yet of the public domain variety such as "Clyde," "Bird," "Sippin'
at Bells," etc., should be discussed ahead of perlormance.

II 8. The favored keys (currently) for the blues are:

F major C minor
Bb major D minor
II C major F minor
Bb minor

II
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