398 PART 4 | SINCE WORLD WAR II
timing section comments
0:00 introduction Piano alternates two chords a half-step apart over a thrumming pedal
point in the bass. Hi-hat provides light beat until the last bar, then snare
and kick drums energize the arrival of the head.
0:09 chorus 1 (head) a The three melody instruments (trumpet, alto sax, tenor sax) in unison.
0:18 a
0:27 b Alto sax solo.
0:36 a Trumpet and tenor return.
0:45 chorus 2 Alto sax solo. At bars 7–8 (0:52) Parker quotes his own tune Cool Blues.
1:22 chorus 3 aa Davis’s muted trumpet solo contrasts with Parker’s more energetic solo
by staying in a smaller range and making greater use of silence, or space.
1:40 b Tenor sax, with a relaxed solo more characteristic of the Swing Era.
1:49 a Davis returns, turning up the heat with more emphasis on upper register.
1:58 chorus 4 aa Tenor solo features more-convoluted melodic ideas, less symmetrical
phrases, and more-intense tone, almost growling.
2:15 ba Electric guitar launches into a fl eet single-note solo. In the last bar (2:32),
Porter switches from timekeeping on the hi-hat to throw in a pair of
triplets on snare and kick drums, propelling the group into the fi nal half
chorus.
2:34 half chorus b Piano begins the bridge with a right-hand melody doubled two octaves
lower in the left hand, then switches to quiet chords in the left hand as
the right-hand melody continues.
2:42 a Drums usher in the three melody instruments for one last statement of
the composed melody’s a section, with a new rising conclusion to mark
the ending.
note Recorded March 28, 1946.composer: Charlie Parker
date: 1946
performers: The Charlie Parker Septet:
Miles Davis, trumpet; Charlie Parker, alto
sax; Lucky Thompson, tenor sax; Dodo
Marmarosa, piano; Arvin Garrison, guitar;
Vic McMillan, bass; Roy Porter, drums
genre: bebop
meter: duple
form: 32-bar aaba chorusesWHAT TO LISTEN FOR- aaba structure of the composed head
- fl uid improvised solos with phrases of
unpredictable lengths - conversational quality of musicians’
interactions - role of drummer as both timekeeper and
interactive member of ensemble
CD 3.8 Listening Guide 16.2 Yardbird Suite^ CHARLIE PARKER
172028_16_386-411_r3_sd.indd 398 23/01/13 10:56 AM