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The Reharm Room


SK

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Back to topic... :)

 

Here's a version of "Darn That Dream" which I did very quickly tonight. I just started fooling around with the first two bars, without a precise goal... until I stumbled on these chords:

 

| Ebmaj7/Ab Fm7/Ab | Fmaj7/Bb Gm7/Bb |

 

Nothing too exciting, but they gave the melody a 'modal' feel, so I thought to develop a kind of Chick Corea-style reharm. You know - upper structures, a strongly directional bass, strong rhythmic sense... I had never thought that this song could stand this sort of treatment, but I liked it, so I did it. :)

For some reason, the bridge lead me to a kind of R&B or Gospel groove; I hope it's not too schizophrenic coming from the previous section.

 

Darn That Dream

 

 

 

 

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Hey I liked that. For all the trouble I'd personally have trying to name those chords, you kept it sweet and simple sounding. I might have preferred the smile of a straight F to finish it off, otherwise it sounds a bit contrived, almost like we're not getting the whole story. ;):thu:

 

"........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER
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Interesting version again, Carlo, on Darn That Dream.

 

I have a strange, joke version of that song which probably shouldn't go here.

 

Richard, I'd like to hear your last reharm played in a trio as a slow, out of time ballad. That would be very cool. And Sue's final chord suggestion is "hip".

 

Sorry I'm not posting music right now - the least I can do is type. I'll submit something soon as I can, maybe The Way You Look Tonight.

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Finally, here's sort of an Eyes Wide Shut version of The Way You Look Tonight.

 

Some electrical pops and sound weirdness in here, but a relatively simplistic, consonant reharm, trying to shift the tonal center some.

 

I was trying to remember all the chords, so I went into an uptempo of normal changes in the middle. The tempo was so fast, my heart wasn't into it, so I said to heck with this and went back and took it out. Experimental at best. :rolleyes:

 

http://www.divshare.com/download/4282494-f3e

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I liked it Steve. That little vamp in the beginning and the end is my kind of thing. Very effective with the tonal center change.It had a very musical feel to it. The uptempo portion had a nice random sound to it...sometimes it great to do things on the spur of the moment, take some chances. You do that kind of thing so well.

That's what makes your playing very unique sounding I think.

https://soundcloud.com/dave-ferris

https://www.youtube.com/@daveferris2709

 

 2005 NY Steinway D

Yamaha AvantGrand N3X, CP88, P515

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here's my reharm of Take The A Train. It was recorded very quickly on an upright using a boombox cassette recorder, my apologies for the sound quality. It's a spontaneous quick-take done in a stride style. It's a bit of a mangled, sloppy performance, but it is a reharm.. :eek::laugh:

Take The A Train

 

This is a great thread, I'm learning alot from you jazz vets. Keep them coming!

 

 

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SK - you blow me away. Hard to put into words. Yeah, you flow. That upwards happy rush, the time you take to look around, so many different plateaus... well, it wasn't boring, or academic. Cool intro. Great ending. Man. This thread is wreaking havoc with my sleep patterns.

 

Mojazz - One for the girls. :D That was real honky. Fun. :thu:

 

 

"........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER
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I enjoyed that Way You Look Tonight, Steve. Do I detect some Waltz for Debby in there? I think I do! I like how you so easily take chances, are not afraid to just go places - sort of like the kid from Family Circus, but with chops. I can't really figure out how you do that with such ease and confidence!

 

 

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Hello guys. I've been back from Hawaii for a week and a 1/2 but now have the complication of not having anywhere to live! Well that's an exaggeration. But all my stuff is in boxes as I scramble to find a new place in the South Bay of Los Angeles, where crappy 2 bedrooms rent for $1800 / mo..

 

As soon as I get my life together a bit more, I'll contribute instead of making promises about contributing. I have about 5 pages to catch up with. I hope everyone's well!

 

This thread has been around for almost a month now!!

Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37

 

My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section

https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native

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More great music to listen to!

 

Richard - I'm afraid I've never heard "I've got my love to keep me warm". The melody is quite clear in your version, though, so I have a grasp of what's like. I think you described it correctly: it's become almost a classical piece, and there's a good dose of Bartok in it. I like!

 

Steve - I absolutely love your "The way you look tonight". Again, it feels like a classic Sonatina... followed by a jazz improvisation. :D Some of the harmonic movements are totally original and beautiful. My applause.

 

Dave and Bob - nice to 'see' you again. Post something soon! :)

 

MoJazz - he he. Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha. Hi hi. Ha! :D

 

As for me, I need to write a chart for "Darn that dream"... otherwise, I'm going to forget all those upper structures and voicings. :freak: But I still have gigs for the next few days...

 

Btw I have a kind of challenge for all of you crazy 'harmonic' minds! I'll post it real soon... as I have the time to explain it in a clear/logical way. ;)

 

 

 

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Thanks everyone for the kind comments.

 

Bobby, welcome back, man.

 

Carlo, I hope I'll be up to your "challenge". :) I was thinking of one too... where we pick a tune in advance and simultaneously do versions of it.

 

Floyd (one minute I call you Richard, the next Floyd :) ) Putting those changes in 3 makes it a faux Debbie for a few bars.

 

And I love to take "chances" - I love the chances we're all taking in these posts. I think I'm actually more aggressive and free about that when I play than on most of these reharms, which are a little more sterile by nature. Reharms sometimes are more about the vehicle itself than the actual trip. I always liked Paul Bley's esoteric remark that "Jazz musicians have a disdain for the known." But I don't want people to flee the thread screaming either.

 

Speaking of Darn That Dream and mentions of 'lighter fare', this very loosely constitutes a type of reharm. :) I think this was posted somewhere here before. A little OT frivolity.

 

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Well, it's not much of a challenge as a request for help...

Here's what I have in mind:

 

I have reharmed/arranged a whole series of Cole Porter songs, and I have played "theme" gigs or seminars with them. There's a song though, that has always eluded me. I know I want to play it with a fast latin jazz (straight eights) feel, and with a somewhat energetic mood. Until now, I've used the original changes, plus a few bebop turnarounds and tritones, but that didn't sound very satisfactory to me. I have reharmed and/or arranged hundreds of songs, but for some reason, I've never been able to even attempt to do this one.

 

It's not any Cole Porter song, to be sure; it's maybe the most famous of all standards, one of the big hits of all time, it's "Night and Day".

Now, one of the reasons why I never came to attempt a reharm is that I am aware that the original changes (there are a few different versions in jazz performances) are perfect in their simplicity. They illustrate the mood and the lyrics perfectly.

What I'm seeking for is a set of changes which would retain some the 'clarity' and directionality of the original, but in the context of modern jazz harmony. No easy task, you say... Yeah. That's why I still haven't done one. :)

 

So my fellow reharmonizers, is there some brave soul out there that's feeling like helping me out? I need something to get the juices flowing! I think it's the only case of music writer block I've ever experienced in my life. :freak: not nice if you ask me.

 

Thanks in advance to everyone who will partecipate in this. Remember, it will be played in latin-jazz style. And, I'll still be very busy in the next few days. So you have more time to come up with something... :) I'll try to do a version as well, but after a few years of aborted attempts, I'd be not so optimistic!

 

 

 

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Well, I could always do a particularly lame version of it to inspire your confidence. :) Years ago I did some different things on that tune, nothing elaborate, and did it as a latin.

 

As you said, good to keep some clarity of the original, but it's such a recognizable piece, it would be hard to disguise it beyond recognition without rewriting it. It is simple - it's a matter of pulling out more emotion from the song without destroying the mood that's there.

 

Thanks for the idea. Just got home from a gig, but I might try something on it soon - could be fun.

 

Or maybe someone else here has a version ready to go.

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Talk about lame, I've been trying some re-harm. First I started to RH 'All the Things You Are' and had a bit of luck. Then I started to Re-Harm 'These Foolish Things' and stayed with it and started to really like the whole process. Of course I forgot what I had done on All Things. I have absolutely no training in this whatsoever!

 

If I can get the nerve up and have some time, after a little practice, if I feel it's not too lame I'll post it on DivShare.

:wave:

 

 

 CP-50, YC 73,  FP-80, PX5-S, NE-5d61, Kurzweil SP6, XK-3, CX-3, Hammond XK-3, Yamaha YUX Upright, '66 B3/Leslie 145/122

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Richard,

 

I dug this!

 

Here's one I just finished:

 

Ive Got My Love To Keep Me Warm

 

I wish the playing were a little smoother, but hey, this stuff's hard to read, especially cause it's mostly just a scrawl at the moment.

 

I think of it as a little classical piece, perhaps Bartok-esque.

 CP-50, YC 73,  FP-80, PX5-S, NE-5d61, Kurzweil SP6, XK-3, CX-3, Hammond XK-3, Yamaha YUX Upright, '66 B3/Leslie 145/122

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