Nuts And Bolts – Ray Bryant

Classic Ray Bryant in the form of a drum feature. This uptempo song, although not written specifically to showcase brushes, turned out to be a great drum feature. Subdued yet exciting, this song combines a happy major-pentatonic melody with a bit of rhythmic kick for that special Bryant charm. The form is AABC, with mostly 16-measure sections; the C section adds an eight-measure tag. The A and C sections have a Latin groove and the bridge swings. The changes begin alternating Ab and G♭ triads, giving the song a similar tonality to Thelonious Monk's Bye-Ya. The A section ends with stop-time hits modulating to E, C, and back to A♭; the last two measures of these sections are drum breaks. These breaks continue in the bridge where the soloist essentially trades twos with the drums; the same key centers of E, C, and A♭ are used followed by A. The last four measures are tagged two more times at the end of the C section.owed by A. The last four measures are tagged two more times at the end of the C section. Sounds complicated, plays easy!

Both of Ray's recordings of this song, and our "Further Explorations" version on which Ray plays, have the same form. A 16-measure Latin vamp intro sets up the melody. After the head is a drum solo chorus, with the same hits in the last four measures of the A and C sections as in the head. The C section (F in the lead sheet) is not tagged. The melody chorus is then taken out from the bridge.

This recording differs from the others in a few ways, most notably on the drum chorus whose bridge is almost entirely solo drums. The piano and bass have hits in the last measure, but in the other versions they hold out chords for two measures each as in the "trading 2s" on the bridge of the in chorus.

Lead sheets available under the "Con Alma" album cover are identical to those under the "All Mine And Yours" cover. The Minus You lead sheets, under the "Further Explorations" cover, are in a different key (F) and are tailored to the Minus You audio tracks.

This later trio version is considerably faster than the original recording, but uses essentially the same arrangement and is not stretched out or opened up for more choruses. At this fast tempo, the A section bass line is simplified to a 1-feel. Drummer Winard Harper's groove on the A sections has almost a half-time feel, accenting beat 3. The bridge of the drum chorus is as indicated in our lead sheet, with sustained chords alternated with two-measure drum breaks.

Lead sheets available under the "Con Alma" album cover are identical to those under the "All Mine And Yours" cover. The Minus You lead sheets, under the "Further Explorations" cover, are in a different key (F) and are tailored to the Minus You audio tracks.

This Minus You version is in the key of F and features a four-horn arrangement accompanying the melody. Though the tempo is closer to the first Ray Bryant recording, the arrangement is based on the faster second version. Like that version, the A section groove accents beat 3. The written melodic fills on the bridge of the in head are modified from Ray's trading on that version. The bridge after the drum chorus features piano/drums trading 2s. Click on the Drum Corner and Minus You tabs for more details.

Lead sheets available under the "Con Alma" album cover are identical to those under the "All Mine And Yours" cover. The Minus You lead sheets, under the "Further Explorations" cover, are in a different key (F) and are tailored to the Minus You audio tracks.