Blues No. 1 – Herbie Nichols
Full of lilting double-time rhythms, this is a slow blues head you can really have fun with—as illustrated by our exclusive solo piano recording by Frank Kimbrough for our Herbie Nichols Centennial Project.
- Recording: Herbie Nichols - The First 6
- Recorded on: December 28, 2019
- Label: jazzleadsheets.com (JLS 1058)
- Concert Key: B-flat
- Style: Swing (slow)
- Piano - Frank Kimbrough
Video
- Check out our teaser video showing excerpts for the first 6 songs we're releasing that were recorded and filmed for our Herbie Nichols Centennial Project - a solo piano recording project featuring 23 gifted pianists playing 24 previously unrecorded compositions by Herbie Nichols. Order of pianists and Herbie Nichols songs (excerpts) on the teaser video: Jeb Patton - The Afterbeat Frank Kimbrough - Blues No. 1 David Berkman - Games And Codes David Kikoski - She Insists Frank Kimbrough - Tell The Birds I Said Hello Micah Thomas - Van Allen Belt
A slow blues head with a light double-time feel. The stop-and-start rhythms give this song a slightly Monk-esque lilt; the melody's focus on a single arpeggiated theme is also a bit Monkish. This is a blues head you can really have fun with, as illustrated by Frank Kimbrough's solo piano recording. Frank focuses his solo on variations of the melody phrase, suggesting Herbie Nichols' soloing style on his classic trio recordings.
For the Centennial Project, Frank chose to record Tell The Birds I Said Hello, but as the second phase (recording at the Van Gelder Studio) wound down, one title had not been chosen (Blues No. 1); Frank therefore got to record two. When he played this song at our Herbie Nichols Piano Summit, you'll hear he thought of Blues No.1 differently than his final version. Here's how he demonstrated it: CLIP
The alternate title of this song, on Herbie's manuscript, is That Moanin' Blues. Despite the title Blues No. 1, the date of March 5, 1959, attached to Herbie Nichols' manuscript marks it as one of his later compositions. Herbie only recorded one original blues head, Who's Blues, in 1952. More previously unrecorded blues heads are coming soon to jazzleadsheets.com in our Herbie Nichols Centennial Project.
For a treat, check out all of "The First 6" titles released January 3, 2024.
The alternate title of this song, on Herbie's manuscript, is That Moanin' Blues. Despite the title Blues No. 1, the date of March 5, 1959, attached to Herbie Nichols' manuscript marks it as one of his later compositions. Herbie only recorded one original blues head, Who's Blues, in 1952. More previously unrecorded blues heads are coming soon to jazzleadsheets.com in our Herbie Nichols Centennial Project.
For a treat, check out all of "The First 6" titles released January 3, 2024.
- Recording: Allison / Cardenas / Nash - Tell The Birds I Said Hello
- Recorded on: April 8-9, 2023
- Label: Sonic Camera (SC 2401)
- Concert Key: B-flat
- Style: Swing (medium slow)
- Tenor Sax - Ted Nash
- Guitar - Steve Cardenas
- Bass - Ben Allison
The Blues No. 1 melody on this recording is played only once, as an out head after a few choruses of group improvisation. This version is at a medium-slow tempo, rather faster than Frank Kimbrough’s version for the Herbie Nichols Piano Summit. Like Frank, tenor saxophonist Ted Nash and guitarist Steve Cardenas (who play the melody in unison) hit beat 4 of the third measure right on, without the glissando shown in our lead sheet and Herbie Nichols’ original manuscript. This embellishment is a fun place to explore in your own version of Blues No. 1.
Herbie Nichols’ alternate title on his manuscript, That Moanin’ Blues, is used as the title for this song on “Tell The Birds I Said Hello.”
While there have been many tribute albums to Herbie Nichols, there have only been a few focusing on Herbie’s compositions that were never recorded in his lifetime. Trombonist Roswell Rudd, who had played with Herbie in the early 1960s, released two albums of these songs in 1996. Two more albums of “unheard” Herbie Nichols music were recorded by pianist David Haney. As we continue to release the 24 songs in our Herbie Nichols Centennial Project, we look forward to more tributes exploring this rediscovered music.
While there have been many tribute albums to Herbie Nichols, there have only been a few focusing on Herbie’s compositions that were never recorded in his lifetime. Trombonist Roswell Rudd, who had played with Herbie in the early 1960s, released two albums of these songs in 1996. Two more albums of “unheard” Herbie Nichols music were recorded by pianist David Haney. As we continue to release the 24 songs in our Herbie Nichols Centennial Project, we look forward to more tributes exploring this rediscovered music.
Herbie Nichols
January 3, 1919 – April 12, 1963
Don Sickler "On January 3, 2019, we were at the Van Gelder Recording Studio celebrating Herbie's 100th birthday with his family and pianists Frank Kimbrough and Glenn Zaleski. Both Frank and Glenn each recorded a previously unrecorded Herbie Nichols composition, on the same piano Herbie played for his Blue Note sessions. These were the initial recordings that started my new project, the Herbie Nichols Centennial Project, which debuts January 3, 2024. Read more...