Bel Aire – Ray Bryant

Don Sickler writes: "Pianists can move more easily over wide range melodies than most horn players. As a trumpet player, I'm always looking for lines that force me to develop the flexibility necessary to fly over the whole horn. This is definitely a great example."

The lead sheet is complete with a written introduction (which starts our audio excerpt), an interlude that sets up the out melody and a fiery coda.

George Shearing loved Ray Bryant's compositions and recorded quite a few of them over the years. Ray sometimes let other artists record a composition of his before he recorded the composition himself. In the case of Bel Aire, Ray loved Shearing's recording. He felt Shearing had really nailed the composition, so Ray felt he didn't have to recorded it himself. Instead, he concentrated on writing new material for himself to record with his new record company, Sue Records. The first of four albums Ray made for Sue Records was "Groove House," which was recorded on May 23, 1963.

Note that 1963 was the year then-twenty-year-old vibraphonist Gary Burton toured and recorded with Shearing, shortly after attending the Berklee School of Music in Boston.

Here are a few other Bryant titles recorded by George Shearing: Bebop Irishman, Cuban Fantasy, Cubano Chant, 18th Century Ballroom, Minor Trouble, Pawn Ticket, Splittin' (which was retitled on his recording as Later).

Ray Bryant's Bel Aire is an intricate and catchy bop melody full of snake-like chromatic passages and tricky embellishments, all performed at a high tempo. With all its nuances, one of the best ways to practice Bel Aire is by playing along with the original recording (featuring guitarist John Gray) and immersing yourself aurally into the phrasing and articulation used by the band.

However, if the brisk tempo of the original seems intimidating, one way to develop your technique is by following the process used by guitarist Joe Freund in this video performance. Slowing down the original recording in GarageBand (this process can be seen in our video performances of Ray Bryant's Pawn Ticket and Chuck Wayne's Slightly Dizzy), Freund starts by playing with the recording at a considerably reduced speed before gradually increasing the tempo, allowing him to become more comfortable with the technical and phrasing demands of the melody. Combined with the clear view of Freund's guitar and hands, this video is perfect for guitarists seeking to not only master the melody to Bel Aire, but to learn useful practicing methods.