Trummy Young on Ain't Misbehavin'

Here's a solo by trombonist Trummy Young, with no chord changes.

Click on this link, https://youtu.be/pwTDXtBsR_g and you’ll hear it (played on the banjo, natch!) against an Eb7 chord. Then after a pause, you’ll hear the exact same thing against the chord changes to Ain't Misbehavin' as played by Louis Armstrong and His Allstars:

Of course, it would be a sin to deny yourself the joy of hearing the original version. Young’s very funky solo over the three A-sections comes right after Armstrong’s sung chorus.

https://youtu.be/qTnAR_5qzw8

By the way, as you listen to this, notice the treatment of the major third (G in the key of Eb). Trummy rarely hits it straight on, preferring to scoop or slide up to it, and it is frequently played a little flat. More on this later, but in the meantime listen to some Bill Monroe and see how many times you spot the same thing! But the reason this solo is here (besides its being a fabulous solo, and worth knowing) is to illustrate the idea of using the key, more than the chord changes, as the basis of the solo.

For example, bar 10 doesn't work at all on paper. Most people would never think of playing a Gb (7/2 in the tab) over a II-chord Fm7, and right on the one to boot! But in spite of how it looks when it's written out, that is not what Trummy is doing. He is playing a "blue third" Gb in the key of Eb. The point isn't whether we're dealing with "trad jazz" or bebop or....; the point is that, to our ears, it doesn't sound "wrong." And it doesn't sound wrong because, just as with FMB in the last post, we can hear the music on two or more levels at once. Cool, huh?

Here is a version for  banjo of the piano accompaniment behind the first A-section, which begins at bar 3 in the transcription:

Do you notice that the melody note (from the pianist's right hand) never strays very far from the tonic Eb?  This is a perfect example of the balance we need to maintain between the harmony and the home key. He's both playing the harmony and providing its tonal context. Being able to negotiate these different "floors" of the tune - melody, harmony, tonal center - can give a solo depth, variety and interest. And variety. Did I mention variety?

Hey if there's anything you're interested in seeing here, by all means weigh in! See ya.