The first eighth note in parentheses is not actually played by Evans, but is useful here to see the pattern.The brackets identify the three-beat riff and you can see that it takes three full measures of 4/4 before the pattern begins again on beat one. Use a metronome or count to keep your place in the 4/4 measure. Tap this pattern with the left and right hands. I tend to think of the entire whole-tone scale that fits both interpretations.Once you are comfortable with the sound and feel of the harmony, it’s time to move on to the RhythmThe hallmark of developed rhythmic improvisors is the ability to freely cross the estabilished bar lines and still create a musically complete phrase. Bill Evans uses a common technique here that can be understood as a repeated three-beat phrase over several bars of 4/4 time. You could also think of this as D9 with a raised fourth and fifth. I’ve chosen to analyze the first chord as Ab9(#5) to highlight the descending nature of this pattern. HarmonyIn a typical Bb rhythm changes tune, the bridge begins on D7 and continues to G7, C7, and F7 before resolving back to Bb.Įvans takes advantage of the nature of the and to complete this cycle using a descending half-step motion. The harmony commonly follows a cycle of dominant chords, each resolving down a fifth (or up a fourth), and the tension created by this progression provides fertile ground for melodic inventions.This week we will look at the the way Bill Evans uses harmony and rhythm to create a unique statement on the bridge of Sonny Rollins’ tune “Oleo.” (This recording is on the album Everybody Dig’s Bill Evans (1958) featuring Sam Jones on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums). I’ve long admired listening to this album and now to be able to play these arrangements with exactly the voicings that Bill uses is an education in itself. The bridge section of the musical form known as “rhythm changes” is a perennial improvisatory playground. Fantastic transcriptions for solo piano taken from Bill Evans’s solo album ‘Alone’. Garland often plays four or more measures of solid eighth-notes without rests, but when he does rest, it feels just right. My instinct is that these are the “intended” notes but the tempo does not allow for them to come out cleanly. His album, Alone (1968) is a masterwork of solo piano where truly he shows us how it’s done. I have placed brackets around a few notes where the connecting notes are not heard clearly and probably not played at the recorded tempo. Transcription 1 - 'All The Things You Are' From the Album 'Alone' Bill Evans showcases his signature 8th note lines over the chord changes of the tune All the Things You Are.
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