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Thread: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

  1. #1
    Registered User Pete Martin's Avatar
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    Default January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    This months winner is Lady Be Good. Once again I'll post 2 versions.

    Version 1 is 140 beats per minute. Play the head (melody), 3 improvised choruses and the head.

    Version 2 is faster, 185 beats per minute. Head, improvise 4 choruses, head, then what we in Seattle call the “Venuti ending”. Head chords are same as version 1, solos are bebop era chord changes. Jump to the CODA on last head, last four measures. CODA is written on the last page of the PDF file.


    Lady Be Good version 1 play along.mp3

    Lady Be Good version 2 play along.mp3


    Music and tab, click the black box:
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Lady Be Good Music and Tab.pdf  
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  3. #2

    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Thank you, Pete!
    "Those who know don't have the words to tell, and the ones with the words don't know so well." - Bruce Cockburn

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    Gummy Bears and Scotch BrianWilliam's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Thank you and Merry New Year! Beef jerky time.

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  6. #4
    Registered User Pete Martin's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    This "Venuti ending" device is a very common way to end a piece and you hear it much on 50s era jazz recordings. It is this

    IIm7 V7 IIIm7b5 VI7(b9) one measure each chord.

    This is repeated as many times as the improviser wants, then some kind of ending phrase signals

    IIm7 V7 one measure each IMaj7 or I6 (or some alteration like a b5 or #11) for two measures.

    In some cases I've heard this ending phrase go on for as long as a couple minutes. Anyway I thought you all may be interested in trying a short one of these.

    Sonny Stitt play an extended version this ending here starting about 3:22

    Last edited by Pete Martin; Jan-04-2018 at 12:12pm.
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  8. #5
    Stop the chop!
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Martin View Post
    This "Venuti ending" device is a very common way to end a piece and you hear it much on 50s era jazz recordings. It is this

    IIm7 V7 IIm7b5 VI7(b9) one measure each chord.

    This is repeated as many times as the improviser wants, then some kind of ending phrase signals

    IIm7 V7 one measure each IMaj7 or I6 (or some alteration like a b5 or #11) for two measures.

    In some cases I've heard this ending phrase go on for as long as a couple minutes. Anyway I thought you all may be interested in trying a short one of these.

    Sonny Stitt play an extended version this ending here starting about 3:22



    Shouldn't the third chord be IIIm7b5?

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  10. #6
    Registered User Pete Martin's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Yes, sorry. IIIm7b5 now corrected. You mean what I know
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    Registered User alexheflin's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Moved across the country this week, so I barely had any time, but I put together this quick one-chorus improvised chord melody.


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    Gummy Bears and Scotch BrianWilliam's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Sounds good Alex! I hope the move went smoothly.

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    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good



    I mistakenly posted this on the poll thread.

    Here is it, warts and all, first take no-fix version; I combined both versions and used a short ending.

    Happy New Year!

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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Quote Originally Posted by alexheflin View Post
    Moved across the country this week, so I barely had any time, but I put together this quick one-chorus improvised chord melody.

    Jeez, what will you do when you're settled in? Great stuff!

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  20. #11
    Registered User Pete Martin's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Here is my submission. Been working on my recording chops. Any comments on that part or suggestions very much appreciated as well.

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  22. #12
    Registered User Pete Martin's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    David and Alex, very cool versions. You each have very good Jazz stylings in your playing!
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Martin View Post
    Here is my submission. Been working on my recording chops. Any comments on that part or suggestions very much appreciated as well.
    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Martin View Post
    David and Alex, very cool versions. You each have very good Jazz stylings in your playing!
    Thanks - your style ain't bad at all! Seriously, I appreciate that from a jazz player like you.

    The recording sounded very good to me, warm clear mandolin tone, good balance, yeah!

  25. #14

    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    The standard of playing here up to now is worryingly far too high - time to lower the bar!

    Last edited by des; Jan-07-2018 at 10:09am.

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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    I'm in heaven listening to these renditions

    A big thanks to each who've made submissions so far. It's just too cool hearing each interpretation, and IMO each is a special treat in its own right.

    Alex - a beautiful arrangement and beautiful style of playing. Hope the move went well, I only wish you could have kept going for a while with that tune.

    David - I love the rhythmic feel of your playing and the interesting phrases, and the "one off" feel of freshness. Great job on the tempo change. Good stuff.

    Pete - Your in-depth study, practice and performance of Bebop really allows you to express yourself and honor the genre. Thank you once again for starting this program, it has been a lot of fun listening and participating so far.

    des - I admire your efforts most of all. Great job of feeling the rhythm and putting on the improv hat!

    I had fun playing last month's tune, and hope to do this one as well. Circumstances have kept me from it thus far, but it's so much fun just listening to you guys - I hope we get a bunch more submissions, and hopefully more newbie submissions to boot!
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    I don't have any talent for improvising, so I gave up trying to play jazz some years ago, concentrating rather on classical and some folk. But today I went over my Soundcloud recordings and discovered a version of Lady be good. I had played the changes with my Gypsy Jazz guitar, then played the melody as a reading exercise for my tenor banjo, then transcribed a Charlie Christian solo for mandolin and finished the whole piece with a a guitar solo, which is, if I remember right, from the same book as the mandolin solo. Must be, because I would NEVER have ideas for such weird licks...
    Well, I cannot compare with the pros in this section, but I thought I'd let you share my mediocrity.

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  31. #17

    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Thanks for the kind words Mark. You rightly spotted that I've been prioritising timing.

    I remember reading an interview with Diana Krall in which she said she worked on her timing by watching old videos of English comics. At first I thought "pretentious jazz musician mystification" - then I saw some old Morecambe & Wise reprises and realised she really was on to something - so here are the masters showing how it's done -

    Last edited by des; Jan-11-2018 at 10:02am. Reason: Timing - I pressed the "submit" button half a beat too soon

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  33. #18
    Registered User Pete Martin's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    That is FUNNY!!!!


    Crisscross, love the Charlie Christian licks! I hear a lot of the early bebop language is Christian's playing. Easy to forget that his jam session playing with Dizzy, Monk, Bird and other early boppers had as much to do with the musics development as anyone else. Find and listen to the Minton recordings of CC. Like this:
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Martin View Post
    That is FUNNY!!!!


    Crisscross, love the Charlie Christian licks! I hear a lot of the early bebop language is Christian's playing.
    If Christian had lived longer, I bet the front line of early bop would have been Bird, Diz, and Charlie.

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  37. #20

    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    [QUOTE=crisscross;1624242]I don't have any talent for improvising, so I gave up trying to play jazz some years ago, concentrating rather on classical and some folk. ]

    Really nice music!

    If I could play like that I wouldn't have to improvise.
    Last edited by des; Jan-11-2018 at 5:08pm.

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  39. #21
    Registered User Pete Martin's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidKOS View Post
    If Christian had lived longer, I bet the front line of early bop would have been Bird, Diz, and Charlie.
    I think so as well.
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    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Wow, what a great Charlie Christian track, Pete, thanks. After researching the history of that recording, and coming across this mini-documentary by Larry Newcomb & Bucky Pizzarelli, I begin to follow a little of what you and David are talking about. The first half of this is commentary, second half is a slow interpretation/transcription of Charlie's Swing to Bop

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  43. #23
    Registered User Pete Martin's Avatar
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Swing to Bop.pdf 
Views:	193 
Size:	73.1 KB 
ID:	163951

    Here is a transcription I did of Christians solo on Swing to Bop. It is for 5 string mandolin but most of it is in the standard 4 string range. You can move the C string notes an octave higher and it works fine.

    Sorry to temporarily hijack the thread. Now back to Lady Be Good...
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  45. #24
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    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    http://www.soloflight.cc/

    "the official cyberhome of the legendary jazz guitarist

    Charlie Christian"

    http://www.soloflight.cc/xcrpt.htm

    lots of transcribed solos

    If you want to study CC's style, which in my opinion is one of the most important sources of jazz guitar along with Django, this is a great site.

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  47. #25

    Default Re: January Jazz tune of the month: Lady Be Good

    Hi here is my shot at lowering the bar.

    I messed up the ending (and some of the middle and beginning).

    This month is not going to plan. Came back from travel sick, car issues, house guests, and ... (may I have cheese with my whine?)

    Anyway, Bob and Ike were on a break and Al, Brian and I tried it as a slower bossa nova. If I ever shake this cold I should have time at the end of the month to try again.
    Attached Files Attached Files
    <><><>><<><><>
    Start slow, fade early

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