"Rivera Paradise".....Simple way to play it?

[Nu2Keys]

I'm subbing in a band this weekend and they want to play "Rivera Paradise" and I need a simple and quick way to learn enough to back the guitarist....any ideas?

[Daddyg3042]

This is the SRV tune..Riviera Paradise?

 

Here's a cheat sheet I had on the tune:

Em7 A x2

FM7 G6 x2

EbM7 F6 Bm

 

There's a chromatic walk down every 4 measures to the next section; you'll hear it. Repeat as needed.

 

Good luck

[CEB]

SRV down tuned a half step. Find out from the band what A=440 key is before you get married to an arrangement.

[Philip Clark]

SRV down tuned a half step. Find out from the band what A=440 key is before you get married to an arrangement.

 

Yeah, I would play this in Eb myself.

 

Great and pretty simple tune, by the way.

[hazerkeys]

yeah - we did it in Eb from what I remember - very nice tune

[jerrythek]

This is the SRV tune..Riviera Paradise?

 

Here's a cheat sheet I had on the tune:

Em7 A x2

FM7 G6 x2

EbM7 F6 Bm

 

There's a chromatic walk down every 4 measures to the next section; you'll hear it. Repeat as needed.

 

Good luck

 

I use more "colorful" chords than this. More like:

 

Em7 A13 x2

FM7 G13 x2 (more like the 6 or 6/9 during the head, but certainly dominant for the solos

EbM7 F13 B7#9 to b9

 

The tune can use pretty jazzy voicings.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jerry

 

[JohnH]

I'm pretty sure this is the whole band playing at the same time in the studio. Hard to imagine now, the tape was running out and the engineer gave Stevie the cut sign and he just managed to end it right as the tape was at the end.

[Sven Golly]

Nothing like going right to the source:

 

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjDOjSmwjKg

 

Lots of inspiration here. Love how Reese played with SRV.

 

[jerrythek]

Thanks for that, Sven. And it confirms what I heard. In Eb the second set of chords would be Emaj7 to F#7add13, and you can clearly see Reese holding a low E in his LH voicing, which confirms the dominant7th chord quality, not a 6 or 6/9.

 

I learned the tune for a gig, and then it was never called. So I still need an opportunity to play it out live.

 

Jerry

[Nu2Keys]

Hey, guys, thanks for the help. Based on your recommendations this is what I came up with that is easy for me:

 

In the Key of Em:

 

Bm/E F#m/A (x2) Fm/Ab

Am/F Em/G (x2) Ebm/Gb

Gm/Eb Dm/F D/B F#m/B Em

 

Thanks again!

 

[jerrythek]

Hey, guys, thanks for the help. Based on your recommendations this is what I came up with that is easy for me:

 

In the Key of Em:

 

Bm/E F#m/A (x2) Fm/Ab

Am/F Em/G (x2) Ebm/Gb

Gm/Eb Dm/F D/B F#m/B Em

 

Thanks again!

 

That'll work. If you can stretch yourself a little bit try these note choices for the 2nd chord of each grouping:

 

instead of F#m/A use:

 

LH: A

RH: G B C# F#

 

instead of Dm/F use:

 

LH: F

RH: Eb G A D

 

instead of Em/G use:

 

LH: G

RH: F A B E

 

And in the last progression I wouldn't play F#m/B before the Em chord. It wants to be a type of B7 (dominant 7th). Try:

 

LH; B

 

RH; D# G A D natural

 

You'll sound very cool and jazzy with these. No need to analyze them for now. Just get comfortable with the shapes under your hands.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jerry

 

[JeffLearman]

Lovely tune, fun and easy to play. There are a couple of nice natural legato voicings. Here are two that I use (with variations I'll get to below.) I bet they line up with Jerry's, but I'm kinda the dumb so I have to translate from fingers to notes and we'll see.

 

I'll assume the guitarist isn't tuned down a half step. It's played in the key of the guitar, be that E or Eb. Few guitarists would tune to E and play it in Eb, it just ain't nacherl.

 

I'll omit the bass notes, which the bass player should be playing, not you (unless you're also covering bass). I play these chords on organ with my left hand, leaving my right hand free to punch leslie or play piano notes. They're easy left-handers, and I've a clumsy left hand.

 

From bottom to top notes:

 

Em9: G B D F# (playing a Gmaj7 over E)

A13: G C# F# (usual 13 voicing)

 

The G above is the G below middle C, for starters. I'll play it an octave up later in the tune.

 

Fmaj7: F A C E (note that if it was a Dm9 this would be the same voicing as above, but the bass player plays an F. He COULD play a D and it'd sound great. Leave him the room to do so!)

G13: F B E (usual 13 voicing)

 

The last three chords:

 

Ebm7: Eb G Bb D (again, same voicing as above, and again, bass player could play a C here!)

F13: E A# D# (same voicing as 13's above)

B7b9*: B# A C

 

* it starts life as a B7#9 and resolves down

 

The first variation I use is to put my ring finger down on all the chords except the last three. So, for the first two chords:

 

Em69: G A B D F#

A13add6: G A C# F#

 

I bet there are better names for these chords. I play 'em, I don't name 'em.

 

Next variation is to move up a notch on all the chords. This matches your interpretation above that Jerry commented on, with an extra voice above and handling the last chords as he said (I believe).

 

Em9: B D F# B

F13: A C# F# B

 

A small variation from the above that I like:

 

Em9: A D F# B

F13: A C# F# B

 

See how legato? Makes for a sweet part. Last three chords:

 

Cm9: G Bb D G (Gm or Gm7 if you play a high F instead of high G)

F#6: F# A# D# [F#] (This is enharmonic with the F13)

Cdim7/B: C Gb Eb A (again, mostly enharmonic with the B7b9, and you can do the same suspension and "resolution" from sharp 9 to flat 9, by starting with the thumb on D rather than C.)

 

These variations are all really easy shifts from the first set and should be pretty easy to visualize and get your fingers around, if your hands aren't tiny (the variations take a little stretch for me but my hand's aren't big; I've seen tiny women hands make bigger intervals. No idea how!)

 

HTH

 

And yeah, it's what Jerry sez, but he didn't name the chords, and I only use three notes on the 13 chords.

 

They're REALLY simple chords: just minor 9 and 13. The last one, just 7#9 to 7b9. Eazy peazy! I actually play this tune on guitar, but didn't have any trouble playing it just now on organ. On piano it'd take a bit more work figuring out a nice comp; on organ you can just let it drone sweetly and fiddle with the Leslie speed and swell pedal and occasional grace notes and stuff.

 

A keyboard solo shouldn't be hard either, with the chord structure I listed above (noodle in the key of the first of the two chords and wing it at the end). At least, it's not hard for me, and I'm seriously lead-challenged and abysmal at jazz changes. (Don't bother trying to play these like jazz changes, unless you're a jazzer in which case you probably wouldn't be asking.)

[JeffLearman]

Short and sweet chart:

 

Em9 | A13 | Em9 | A13 |

Dm9 | G13 | Dm9 | G13 |

Cm9 | F#13 B7b9 | Em7 | Em7 |

 

That assumes the bass player plays different notes than in the original, but it's harmonically simpler. Here's what they actually play, but it's equivalent to the above, just two different bass notes:

 

Em9 | A13 | Em9 | A13 |

FM7 | G13 | FM9 | G13 |

EbM7 | F#13 B7b9 | Em7 | Em7 |