Bassically Simple – Donald Brown

A bass feature on "rhythm changes"—but definitely not so simple! The head is a workout for any instrument, packed with twisty lines full of unexpected intervals and side-slips. One of the most notable of these side-slips is a resolution to a C tonality at the end of the A sections; the last measure of the C section is a half step lower and resolves to B instead. The bass doubles the melody for both A sections. The bridge is open for a soloist (bass on the recording), while at C the bass walks under the melody. In both head and solos, the bridge changes are slightly different from a standard "rhythm changes" bridge, with essentially an extra chromatic "walk down" in the second half.

On the recording, the vibes, piano (in octaves), and bass take the melody at the first A with the horns joining on the second A and C. Our B♭, E♭, and C bass clef lead sheets have the first A section melody written with smaller notes as a cue.

There is a pickup to the melody, tied over to the first beat; for the in head this note is two measures long but the out head has only a one-beat pickup. Our lead sheet shows both the two-measure and one-beat pickup, with the latter indicated "D.S. only." The two-measure in head pickup is written on the downbeat in our lead sheets, as it is in Donald Brown's original manuscript. However, on the recording this note is actually a beat longer, tied over from a one-beat pickup to the two measures before the head.