Jump to content

Parker's Mood

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Parker's Mood" is a piece of music originally performed by Charlie Parker as an improvised blues in 1948. Vocalese lyrics were later written and recorded by King Pleasure and Eddie Jefferson.

Original recording

[edit]

Alto saxophonist Charlie Parker recorded "Parker's Mood" in New York City on September 18, 1948.[1] The other musicians for the Savoy Records session were pianist John Lewis, bassist Curley Russell, and drummer Max Roach.[2] There were five takes: two false starts and three complete takes.[3] The complete takes were improvised spontaneously,[4] with the probable exception of the opening two bars, which are the same on each take.[5] Parker "varies the phrasing and motivic relatedness of the opening melodic idea in each take".[6] The tempo across the takes varies from 65 quarter notes to 87.[7]

"Parker's Mood" is a B blues.[5] "The introduction begins on G minor [...] The feature then proceeds to C minor, which [...] suggests i–iv in G minor (or v–i in C minor)."[8] Then, from the third bar, "the rhythm section begin a four-bar chord progression that establishes B major through a tritone substitution of each chord of a vi–ii–V progression with major-seventh chords as the vi substitute (DM7) and the ii substitute (GM7)".[6]

The piece was copyrighted on November 15, 1948.[9]

Vocalese versions

[edit]

Vocalese lyrics were added in 1953 by King Pleasure.[10][11] Lewis appeared on piano in Pleasure's recording of it for Prestige Records, which was released around 1954.[12] Separately, Eddie Jefferson wrote vocalese lyrics.[13] Jefferson's version was retitled as "Bless My Soul" and recorded in 1962 for his album Letter from Home.[13]

Reception and legacy

[edit]

Jazz historian Ted Gioia described Parker's performance of "Parker's Mood" as a "bittersweet lament [that is] as deep a statement of the blues as exists in the jazz tradition".[14] Jazz writer and musician Brian Priestley categorised the piece as a "slow blues masterpiece".[15] By late 2018, there had been at least 90 recordings of Parker's piece.[16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Priestley 2005, pp. 158–159.
  2. ^ Priestley 2005, pp. 154–159.
  3. ^ Martin 2020, pp. 266–267.
  4. ^ Martin 2020, p. xxiii.
  5. ^ a b Martin 2020, p. 288.
  6. ^ a b Martin 2020, p. 268.
  7. ^ Woideck, Carl (2020). Charlie Parker: His Music and Life (revised ed.). University of Michigan Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-472-03789-6.
  8. ^ Martin 2020, pp. 267–268.
  9. ^ Martin 2020, p. 5.
  10. ^ Martin 2020, pp. 269, 288.
  11. ^ Whitehead, Kevin (2011). Why Jazz: A Concise Guide. Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-19-973118-3.
  12. ^ "Jazz". The Cash Box. Vol. XV, no. 35. May 22, 1954. p. 31.
  13. ^ a b Martin 2020, p. 269.
  14. ^ Gioia, Ted (2021). The History of Jazz (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 243–244. ISBN 978-0-19-008721-0.
  15. ^ Priestley 2005, p. 64.
  16. ^ Martin 2020, pp. 300–302.

Bibliography