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"D" Bass-ic Blues – Cecil McBee
Exactly what the title says—a bass-driven blues in D minor. Cecil McBee recorded this song in three trio settings, one without drums.
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- Recording: John Hicks - Power Trio
- Recorded on: May 10, 1990
- Label: Novus (3114-2-N)
- Concert Key: D minor
- Style: Swing (medium)
- Piano - John Hicks
- Bass - Cecil McBee
- Drums - Elvin Jones
This bass-driven minor blues has several trademarks of Cecil McBee’s writing style. It’s built around a simple two-measure bass vamp. The melody consists of three two-measure phrases, leaving two measures in between for the vamp or, at the end of the chorus, a drum fill. The melody phrases combine funky and post-bop vocabulary, covering a two-octave range with some bass-istic leaps as well as more scalar and patterned lines.
The two repeats of the head are separated by four measures of vamp, shown on our lead sheets as a repeat back to the second half of the 8-measure intro. There is no chord on the first four measures of the head; the piano plays the bass vamp figure here. A bass melody part is available; for a description click on Bass Corner.
On this recording, the bass has the melody. After piano and bass solos on blues changes, there is a drum solo over the vamp.
The two repeats of the head are separated by four measures of vamp, shown on our lead sheets as a repeat back to the second half of the 8-measure intro. There is no chord on the first four measures of the head; the piano plays the bass vamp figure here. A bass melody part is available; for a description click on Bass Corner.
On this recording, the bass has the melody. After piano and bass solos on blues changes, there is a drum solo over the vamp.
Cecil McBee had previously recorded with drummer Elvin Jones on three Chico Freeman albums in the ‘80s. Later in 1990, Cecil played on Elvin’s album “When I Was At Aso-Mountain.” Two other Chico Freeman albums from the ‘70s featured Cecil alongside John Hicks; the two also played together on trumpeter Lester Bowie’s “Fast Last” in 1974 and saxophonist Arthur Blythe’s “Da-Da” in 1986.
Our Bass Part shows how Cecil plays the melody. He goes back and forth between the melody and the vamp. On recordings where another instrument is doubling the melody with the bass, he goes to the vamp in the third measure while the other players hold out the tied-over melody note. The high D at the end of the sixth measure is a harmonic.
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- Recording: Stanley Cowell - Close To You Alone
- Recorded on: August 2, 1990
- Label: DIW (6003)
- Concert Key: D minor
- Style: Swing (medium)
- Piano - Stanley Cowell
- Bass - Cecil McBee
- Drums - Ronnie Burrage
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This version is about the same tempo as the first recording, but the arrangement is slightly different. The intro is 24 measures long: eight measures of vamp each with solo bass, bass and piano, and the full trio. Cecil plays the head the first time, with the piano resting for each melody phrase. On the second repeat of the head, the piano doubles the bass melody. The vamp is again used for the drum solo.
The title track of this album is also a Cecil McBee composition on jazzleadsheets.com , Close To You Alone.
Cecil played on quite a lot of recordings in 1990, including Roy Haynes’ “The Island” and Eddie Harris’ “There Was A Time.” Another 1990 album with Cecil was “Sunrise Sunset,” a standards album featuring an all-star quartet assembled by Impulse Records’ producer Bob Thiele, featuring saxophonist David Murray, pianist John Hicks and drummer Andrew Cyrille.
Cecil played on quite a lot of recordings in 1990, including Roy Haynes’ “The Island” and Eddie Harris’ “There Was A Time.” Another 1990 album with Cecil was “Sunrise Sunset,” a standards album featuring an all-star quartet assembled by Impulse Records’ producer Bob Thiele, featuring saxophonist David Murray, pianist John Hicks and drummer Andrew Cyrille.
Our Bass Part shows how Cecil plays the melody. He goes back and forth between the melody and the vamp. On recordings where another instrument is doubling the melody with the bass, he goes to the vamp in the third measure while the other players hold out the tied-over melody note. The high D at the end of the sixth measure is a harmonic.
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- Recording: Larry Willis - Steal Away
- Recorded on: December 23-24, 1991
- Label: AudioQuest (AQ-LP 1009)
- Concert Key: D minor
- Style: Swing (medium)
- Alto Sax - Gary Bartz
- Piano - Larry Willis
- Bass - Cecil McBee
The arrangement on this drummerless trio version is similar to the first recording, "Power Trio." The intro has eight measures of solo bass followed by eight with bass and piano. The bass has the melody the first time through the head; the alto sax doubles the bass melody the second time. In the absence of drums, the last two measures of the head are silent the first time; the second time through, there is a piano solo break.
Pianist Larry Willis adds a chord (Dm7sus) on the four measures of vamp between the two repeats of the head; he continues this chord on the first four measures of the next chorus.
Pianist Larry Willis adds a chord (Dm7sus) on the four measures of vamp between the two repeats of the head; he continues this chord on the first four measures of the next chorus.
Cecil McBee first recorded with Gary Bartz in 1970, on Pharoah Sanders’ album “Summun Bukmun Umyun.” Cecil and Gary played together on two albums by drummer Norman Connors in 1972, as well as trombonist Dick Griffin’s tribute album to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, “A Dream For Rahsaan” in 1985. “Steal Away” is the only recording Larry Willis made with Cecil.
Our Bass Part shows how Cecil plays the melody. He goes back and forth between the melody and the vamp. On recordings where another instrument is doubling the melody with the bass, he goes to the vamp in the third measure while the other players hold out the tied-over melody note. The high D at the end of the sixth measure is a harmonic.
Cecil McBee
born on May 19, 1935
From the time he first arrived in New York City in 1964, Cecil McBee has remained one of the most in-demand bassists in jazz, appearing on hundreds of influential recordings as well as in clubs and concert halls throughout the world. During this same span of five decades, McBee has also become a celebrated composer and teacher, leading his own ensembles and earning a distinguished professorship at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he has taught for over 25 years. Read more...