"CHAPTER SIXTEEN ~—Three Rebarmonizations hapters 13, 14, and 15 covered several reharmonization techniques; this chapter covers three specific reharmonizations, two by John Coltrane, one by Kenny Barron. Jobn Coltrane's Reharmonization of “Spring Is Here” igure 16-1 shows a simple arrangement of Richard Rodgers’ 1938 song “Spring Is Here.” Figure 16-2 shows John Coltrane's reharmonized version of “Spring Is Here."' Coltrane recorded the song in the key of Ab, but it is shown here in G for easy comparison with figure 16-1. The chord voicings Red Garland played ‘on ‘Trane's recording are simplified in this example. " John Coltrane, The Stardust Session, Prestige, 1958. 371Cuarren Sixteen Figure 16-1 | Spring Is Here Words by Lorenz Hart, Music by Richard Rodgers Ge G6 ee G6 B-7 €7 A-7 D7 ca Bralt ea Al A-7 p79 (©1938 (renewed) EMI Robbins Catalogue, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission. WARNER BROS. PUBLICATIONS, Miami, FL 33014 372Curren Sixteen SL Let’s compare the two versions. Here are Coltrane's reharmonizations: ‘In the first four bars, instead of keeping the original G pedal point, Coltrane approaches both GA chords with C741, the V chord a 4th above G. FA, the melody note in bars 1 and 3, changes from the major 7th of Ga in the original version to the #11 of C7. +In bars 8-9, Coltrane changes the original I-V-I in G by substituting F7 for D7, creating an approach to GA from a whole step below (F7, Ga). ‘In bars 11-12, Coltrane changes the original C4, B7alt chords into a minor I-V (Fi, B79). +n bars 15-16, he plays a chromatic approach II-V (B)-7, Eb7) to A-7, D7. ‘In the second ending, Coltrane creates a four-bar tag by twice repeating the M-VLI-V (B-7, €7, A-7, D7) progression. Coltrane's version of “Spring Is Here” was recorded in 1958, eatly in his recording career. His reharmonization is clever and creative, but gives 1 hint of the revolution he would spark with his explorations of only a year or two later. Before we look at an example of Coltrane's later work, however, let’s examine what another great musician, Kenny Barron, did with “Spring Is Here.” Kenny Barron (©1990 K. Gypsy Zaboroskie All Rights Reserved Kenny Barron's Reharmonization of “Spring Is Here” Ke Barron's version of “Spring Is Here”? is much more radical than Coltrane's. Kenny's arrangement of the tune is a textbook example of what you can do with pedal point. He plays a G pedal throughout the entire tune, as shown in figure 16-3. Kenny plays the tune with a loose straight-eighth note feeling, too rhythmically complex to be shown in this simplified version. His reharmonization transforms this standard into as personal a statement as Richard Rodgers’ original version. 2 Kenny Barton, Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Concord, 1990, 374THREE REHARMONIZATIONS igure 16-3 eharmonization by Kenny Barron iano voicings and rhythm simplified als CG Spring Is Here Words by Lorenz Hart, Music by Richard Rodgers cal 6 Gsus'? oG Gsus'? = Be CG C41 GA CG Ga cg GalS gs FG Ga 6a Galdgaldcs — cald G (c-616) a G6 GIGGA AG AG AG c (©1938 (renewed) EMI Robbins Catalogue, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission. WARNER BROS. PUBLICATIONS, Miami, FL 33014 375Cuarren Sixteen Figure 16-4 Kenny Barron's piano voicings simplified Ge catS ie 376 Here are some highlights of Kenny's reharmonization: +The melody note in all the Gal5 chords is either Dé (the raised 5th) or Fé (the ‘major 7th). Remember, major 7th chords with the 7th in the melody are a good place to use Lydian augmented (A!5) chords. ‘Listen to the cadences in the first eight. bars. Both the GAl5 and Gsus!9 chords resolve to C/G, a kind of temporary tonic chord in place of GA. Although the song is in the key of G, Kenny doesn’t play an unaltered Ga chord until bar 9. ‘Listen to the four-chords-per-bar movement in bars'9-10. The F#0/G chord in bar 10 is a disguised D7'9 chord that resolves to GA. «Note the sudden darkening of the harmony when Kenny goes from the very bright A/G chord in bar 15 to C-A/G in bar 16. Kenny uses the same effect on the final eight bars, alternating bright (GA) and dark (C-A/G) chords. + Kenny repeats the cadence (GA, C-A/G) in bars 19-20 two more times, adding the same four-bar tag that Coltrane played in his version of “Spring Is Here.” If you listen to the recording while you study this reharmonization, you'll hear Kenny sometimes play Ge, Gat in bars 1 and 3 of the melody chorus, 4s shown in figure 16-4, although he plays GAS on his solo choruses. John Coltrane's Rebarmonization of “Body And Soul” igure 16-5 is a simple piano arrangement of Johnny Green's “Body And Soul” in Db. This song ‘was harmonically very advanced for its day (the bridge goes up a half-step from Db to D, an unusual modulation). “Body And Soul” was composed in 1930 and has long been a favorite of jazz musicians. 3 The most famous version of "Body And Soul,” until Coltrane, was by Coleman Hawkins, found on his recording Body And Sout, Bhiebird, 1939.Tuer REHARMONIZATIONS Figure 165 Body and Soul Words by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton, Music by John Green eb-7 Bb7 eb-7 Ab7 Dba a7 F-7 Eo 4 7 cr FAD obey 707 | "oy abr DA E-7 AT Da e-7 ome G-7 c7 FI-7 B77 E-7 AT Da D-7 67 E-7 Bebo D-7 G7 cy B77 5 D.C. al Fine (01930 (renewed) WB Music Corp., Range Road Music, Inc, Quartet Music, Inc. and Druropetal Music. All Rights Reserved. {Used By Permission. WARNER BROS. PUBLICATIONS, Miami, FL 33014 377Cuapren Sixteen SR Figure 16-6 Reharmonization by John Coltrane McCoy Tyner's piano voicings simplified Intro eb- b-47 £b-7 ab eb eb-47 Bb-7 ADT piano bass % [Ale char her | abr Bday ghey an Ab pedal in bass Dbiab FHA — Gai/ab F-7/ab E-7 AT Absus . [8] bb E-7 AT Da E-7 Det G-7 c7 378Three REHARMONIZATIONS reece Figure 16-6 (Continued) DA FT Bba ob7 Ga Al ba De 79 ca a7 aba 87 eA s7 ca 87 Bbsus Bb7 DS. al Fine Now play figure 16-6, a simplified version ‘of McCoy Tyner’s piano part and Steve Davis’ bass part to Coltrane's 1960 recording of "Body And Soul:"4 ‘Trane's reharmonization shows just how much he had evolved in the two years since his ‘Spring Is Here” date. Here are some highlights of Coltrane's "Body ‘And Soul”: + Coltrane has lengthened the tune from 32 to 64 bars by playing it in half time. +n the vamp intro and first four bars of the tune, McCoy plays a chromatic descending line within the chords. The line (Eb, D, Db, C) changes the chords from Eb- to Eb-A, Eb-7, and finally Ab7. + McCoy and Steve play an Ab pedal on the intro and on bars 1-7, 9-11, and 13-15 of the A sections. Chords with 4 John Coltrane, Coltrane's Sound, Atlantic, 1960, 379Carrer Sixteen ase mmmmmmmmmammmmnmemeeseneeeemeseeeamaaeenanenneaneene ed a note other than Ab in the bass (on bars 8, 12, and 16) provide breathing space that breaks up the otherwise constant Ab pedal. +The E-7, A7 in bar 8 is a chromatic -V approach to Absus in bar 9. + Note that the B7 chord in bar 12 has a #11: Remember that #11 is usually played on V chords when they are not part of a II-V and don’t resolve down a Sth, which is the case here. + Listen to the very dark F+/Ab and G+/Ab chords in bars 6 and 13-15. «The bridge is perhaps the best known part of Coltrane's treatment of “Body ‘And Soul” Beginning on the fifth bar of the bridge (bar 22 in figure 16-6), Coltrane abandons the written melody and improvises over changes similar to "Giant Steps” and “Countdown,” moving the key centers down by major 3rds (from D major to B major to Gb major, and back to D major). He begins the second half of the bridge (bar 26) with a Da chord in place of the original D-7, and again moves the key centers down by major 3rds through the keys of C, Ab, E, and back to C, before descending chromatically to the original 817 chord at the end of the bridge. Like Kenny Barron’s version of "Spring Is Here,” Coltrane's “Body And Soul” is as personal a statement as Johnny Green's original song. mM | | Upto this point, weve discussed harmony | and theory, scales and improvising, practice | i techniques, how to play on blues and ‘I've Got Rhythm’ changes, and rebarmonization. It's | time to analyze the original source material that jazz musicians start out with: the tunes. Lo 380