Blue Spring Shuffle – Kenny Dorham

This is a simple, medium-tempo blues head by Kenny Dorham, repeating a two-measure riff with just a couple of variations, only four different notes in the whole head—there must be a catch somewhere! And indeed there is, in this case relating to the arrangement, for this version is essentially, though subtly, a bass feature.

Our audio excerpt fades in at the end of a one chorus F blues walking bass solo (major) that is K.D.'s set up for the melody. After an opening minor chord, the melody immediately is converted to major again by Kenny's written bass line. On the head, the bass alternates one measure of half notes with one measure of quarter notes throughout; the drum feel here is 2-feel.

There is a second melody chorus, a sort of shout chorus appearing before and after the bass solo. Based on a repeated one-measure riff, it contains a subtle "call and response" with one piano/drum hit on the "and" of beat 4 between each riff phrase. This chorus is played first by the trumpet, with the bass walking [>],; the bass doubles the trumpet melody the second time [>] before soloing. After the bass solo, the first of these choruses has the bass alone on the melody, with the trumpet responding on the hits with piano and drums; the second has trumpet melody and bass walking again.

Despite the minor-key qualities of the head, which uses a minor pentatonic scale exclusively and is notated with Fm6 as the tonic chord, the score and parts use F major as the key signature. The solo changes and second melody choruses are standard F blues, not F minor blues. This arrangement, fleshed out to a two-horn quintet, is used on our "K.D. Challenge" version. Click on the album cover above, right, for details on the Minus You parts and audio available.

Our lead sheets are applicable for both recordings. The Concert Condensed Score is recommended for piano and drums.

"Quiet Kenny" was recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs.

Blue Spring Shuffle was recorded on Kenny Dorham's first trip to Rudy Van Gelder's new Englewood Cliffs studio. Rudy had just done the first recording in his new studio a few months earlier, on July 20, 1959.

Don Sickler: Knowing this incredible studio well, but only since multitrack recording required Rudy to add isolation booths , I can only imagine how exciting it must have been for Kenny to play in this spacious studio in a quartet session. The natural acoustics in this room are stunning; the experience is enhanced by the architecture. Here's the view from the entrance to the room (photo by Rudy Van Gelder).



Kenny Dorham recorded this blues head three times, with different titles and arrangements. The first was in October, 1958, on a Cecil Taylor quintet session with John Coltrane, Chuck Israels and Louis Hayes. Shifting Down is the title of the song on this album, which coincidentally has been released with several different titles: "Stereo Drive," "Hard Driving Jazz," or under 'Trane's leadership as "Coltrane Time."

Under the title Blue Spring, a septet arrangement was recorded on Kenny's album "Blue Spring" in February 1959; that version is also a subtle bass feature for Paul Chambers. The "Blue Spring" album is notable for being the second full album with Cedar Walton on piano; the first was a K.D. vocal album, "This Is The Moment" from '58.

Paul Chambers' Transcribed Bass Solo Chambers begins his solo by referencing the rhythm of the shout chorus, which blends seamlessly into the rest of his solo. This solo is a perfect example of his understanding of bebop vocabulary, which is often described as "horn-like."

Fingerings have been provided for this transcription in places where younger or less experienced bass players may need help in deciding how to use their left hand. In many cases, there will be different possible fingerings from the ones written on the transcription, and it can be a great exercise to look for different ways to play a line in different spots on the bass.

Paul Chambers' Bass Line Transcription In the Bass Line Transcription, you'll see that Paul enhances drummer Art Taylor's 2-feel by alternating his first measure of 2-feel with a measure of 4-feel, and any listener will immediately notice the ease with which this alternating pulse locks up with A.T. on this recording. Chambers also often chooses not to hold out a note for the full length of the half-note, giving his line an even more swinging feel. A master of space, Chambers picks the perfect spaces to fill in order to provide momentum to the tune without stepping on anyone else's notes. Each chorus of his walking is a lesson in how to play the blues. This is a great way to pick up some of Paul Chambers' classic vocabulary.

Fingerings have been provided for this transcription in places where younger or less experienced bass players may need help in deciding how to use their left hand. In many cases, there will be different possible fingerings from the ones written on the transcription, and it can be a great exercise to look for different ways to play a line in different spots on the bass.

Paul Chambers opens up Blue Spring Shuffle with a solo walking chorus in which he chooses impeccable notes, artfully navigating through the changes in a way that is totally his own while making every note harmonically clear. While Chambers always provides a powerful groove, it is especially notable that he brings the same consistency in the absence of a drummer, sounding just as comfortable by himself as he does when Art Taylor comes in a chorus later.

Don Sickler: Getting to record "solo" bass to start this track in Rudy Van Gelder's incredible new studio must have been quite a thrill for Paul. My first thought was, was this Paul's first session in Rudy's new Englewood Cliffs studio? My research shows he was on at least two earlier sessions since the studio's opening in late July, 1959. On August 25, 1959, he made his first trip there for Curtis Fuller's "Arabia" session for Savoy Records, locking up with Charli Persip on drums and Wynton Kelly on piano. Three days later (August 28) he was back again with Curtis Fuller, but this time Art Blakey was on drums with Ray Bryant on piano for Benny Golson's "Gone With Golson" session for New Jazz Records.

Studying this transcription would certainly help any bass player looking to build a greater independence on their instrument.

If you want to see what Paul would have seen looking up in Rudy's studio, check out the Historical Notes for our session. In talking about the early days at the studio, Rudy told us that the room was fragrant with the scent of cedar from the roof planking. The floor, which is cherokee red, was burnished to a soft glow.

Paul Chambers' Transcribed Bass Solo Chambers begins his solo by referencing the rhythm of the shout chorus, which blends seamlessly into the rest of his solo. This solo is a perfect example of his understanding of bebop vocabulary, which is often described as "horn-like."

Fingerings have been provided for this transcription in places where younger or less experienced bass players may need help in deciding how to use their left hand. In many cases, there will be different possible fingerings from the ones written on the transcription, and it can be a great exercise to look for different ways to play a line in different spots on the bass.