Bones – Peter Bernstein
An easy-grooving minor blues with some well-placed rhythm section hits. Peter Bernstein has recorded this several times, with slight variations.
- Recording: Peter Bernstein - Peter Bernstein With The Tilden Webb Trio
- Recorded on: February 25-26, 2012
- Label: Cellar Live (CL 042613)
- Concert Key: D minor
- Style: Swing (medium)
- Guitar - Peter Bernstein
- Piano - Tilden Webb
- Bass - Jodi Proznick
- Drums - Jesse Cahill
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Video
- Peter Bernstein performing Bones with Chuck Deardorf, bass, and Matt Jorgensen, drums: KPLU Studio Sessions, KNKX Public Radio
- Live at the Press Room in Portsmouth NH, June 6, 2010: Peter Bernstein. guitar; Ryan Parker, piano; John Lockwood, bass; Brooke Sofferman, drums
This simple minor blues melody is all about setting and establishing a great two-feel medium groove tempo. The answering 3rd and 4th beat hits in the second and sixth measures help you put both feet on the ground, as you spin out the melody. It's a classic hard bop format spiced with chromatic passing chords. The melody is mostly pentatonic, with more chromatically angular lines for the turnaround; this is a chromatic approach Fm7-B♭7 to Em7-A7. Peter doesn't play the turnaround line exactly as written in our lead sheet on this recording, but on other recordings he does.
The coda in our lead sheet editions consists of six measures of I-VI-II-V vamp followed by a descending series of chords beginning in quarter-note triplets. The qualities of some of these chords vary on different recordings, but the direction and root motion is the same. The Coda from our lead sheet comes from this recording. Note that the lead sheets available under each record cover are identical.
Check out the videos above as well as the videos attached to the other recording for a chance to watch Peter performing this great groove.
The coda in our lead sheet editions consists of six measures of I-VI-II-V vamp followed by a descending series of chords beginning in quarter-note triplets. The qualities of some of these chords vary on different recordings, but the direction and root motion is the same. The Coda from our lead sheet comes from this recording. Note that the lead sheets available under each record cover are identical.
Check out the videos above as well as the videos attached to the other recording for a chance to watch Peter performing this great groove.
This recording was done live at The Cellar in Vancouver; both the venue (which closed in 2014) and the record label were founded by saxophonist Cory Weeds.
Peter says he named this song after his beloved dog Bones, and he carries a photo of Bones in his wallet to this day.
Peter says he named this song after his beloved dog Bones, and he carries a photo of Bones in his wallet to this day.
While Peter Bernstein tends to interpret his own melodies freely, adding embellishments and pushing and pulling the time as you can hear on this record with the Tilden Webb trio, our Bones lead sheet provides the basic framework along with the Coda.
With a soulful melody and some interesting harmonic twists, this composition is great learning material for intermediate guitarists to expand their ideas over a minor blues.
With a soulful melody and some interesting harmonic twists, this composition is great learning material for intermediate guitarists to expand their ideas over a minor blues.
- Recording: Mike LeDonne - On Fire
- Recorded on: May 23-24, 2006
- Label: Savant (SCD 2080)
- Concert Key: D minor
- Style: Swing (medium)
- Tenor Sax - Eric Alexander
- Guitar - Peter Bernstein
- Organ - Mike LeDonne
- Drums - Joe Farnsworth
Video
- Recorded live at the Ballard Jazz Festival. Eric Alexander on tenor saxophone, Peter Bernstein on guitar, Chuck Deardorf on bass and Matt Jorgensen on drums, 2005
- Martin Schack, organ; Peter Bernstein, guitar; Morten Lund, drums; live at SMKS, Denmark, October 2013
Looking at our lead sheet editions, while checking out this recording, you'll find that the melody on this version is played in unison by tenor sax and guitar, first an octave below where it is written, and the second time in the written octave. Peter harmonizes the melody on the last four measures of the second chorus.
The ending is different on this recording: an open vamp and fade to a final Dm6(9) chord. Note that the lead sheets available under the two different album covers are identical.
Check out the videos above as well as the videos attached to the other recording for a chance to watch Peter performing this great groove piece.
The ending is different on this recording: an open vamp and fade to a final Dm6(9) chord. Note that the lead sheets available under the two different album covers are identical.
Check out the videos above as well as the videos attached to the other recording for a chance to watch Peter performing this great groove piece.
Peter's first recording with organist Mike LeDonne was in 1991, on Michael Hashim's Stash label album "A Blue Streak," which contains one of our organ/guitar classics, Our Miss Brooks. Lord discography shows 18 more recordings that feature Peter and LeDonne, where they've also recorded more music from the jazzleadsheets.com/Second Floor Music catalog. Here are two that are currently on jazzleadsheets.com:
-- from composer Don Patterson: Aries and Up In Betty's Room
We'll be adding other songs they recorded together soon:
-- from composer Jon Gordon: Minor Dues
and Stapleton
-- from composer Sonny Clark: Blues In A Jiff
-- from composer Eli "Lucky" Thompson: Monsoon
-- from composers Miles Davis and Victor Feldman: Seven Steps To Heaven
Peter also recorded this song in May 2011 with a quintet led by Italian drummer Nicola Angelucci
. That version is actually the most similar to the lead sheet here. The turnaround melody the same as in this Mike LeDonne recording, but the coda is closer to the later Tilden Webb Trio version (click on the first album cover above).
-- from composer Don Patterson: Aries and Up In Betty's Room
We'll be adding other songs they recorded together soon:
-- from composer Jon Gordon: Minor Dues
and Stapleton
-- from composer Sonny Clark: Blues In A Jiff
-- from composer Eli "Lucky" Thompson: Monsoon
-- from composers Miles Davis and Victor Feldman: Seven Steps To Heaven
Peter also recorded this song in May 2011 with a quintet led by Italian drummer Nicola Angelucci
. That version is actually the most similar to the lead sheet here. The turnaround melody the same as in this Mike LeDonne recording, but the coda is closer to the later Tilden Webb Trio version (click on the first album cover above).
On this performance of Bones, Peter Bernstein plays the melody in unison with tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander—first in a lower register and then up an octave before adding a harmony line.
Our lead sheet, written in the lower octave, provides the basic melody and chord changes so you can follow in the footsteps of this top-notch organ group. With some interesting harmonic twists, this composition is a great resource for intermediate guitarists looking to expand their jazz blues vocabulary.
Our lead sheet, written in the lower octave, provides the basic melody and chord changes so you can follow in the footsteps of this top-notch organ group. With some interesting harmonic twists, this composition is a great resource for intermediate guitarists looking to expand their jazz blues vocabulary.
- Recording: Peter Bernstein - Live Studio Sessions from KNKX
- Recorded on: May 18, 2015
- Label: KNKX (KNKX.org)
- Concert Key: D minor
- Style: Swing (medium)
- Guitar - Peter Bernstein
- Bass - Chuck Deardorf
- Drums - Matt Jorgenson
Video
- Peter Bernstein performing Bones with Chuck Deardorf and Matt Jorgenson at Seattle station KNKX in 2015.
Another chance to enjoy this minor blues, in a guitar trio setting.
For about a quarter-century Peter Bernstein has been one of the most in-demand guitarists in jazz. So in-demand in fact, his fans were more likely to hear him on someone else’s CD rather than his own.
However, even though he’s sought after as a side-man, Peter’s slowly been putting together a fine discography of his own, with 10 CD releases since 1992. In this studio session with Abe Beeson, there’s no question about who’s leading the band.
Here’s Peter Bernstein front and center, performing 3 of his favorite pieces in a trio setting that includes Chuck Deardorf on bass and Matt Jorgensen on drums.
However, even though he’s sought after as a side-man, Peter’s slowly been putting together a fine discography of his own, with 10 CD releases since 1992. In this studio session with Abe Beeson, there’s no question about who’s leading the band.
Here’s Peter Bernstein front and center, performing 3 of his favorite pieces in a trio setting that includes Chuck Deardorf on bass and Matt Jorgensen on drums.
Transcribed by Bruce Acosta.
Combining a soulful melody with an interesting harmonic approach to the minor blues, Peter Bernstein's Bones is an excellent example of a fresh take on a tried-and-true form. This particular transcription comes from Bernstein's trio performance at a live studio session in Seattle. Guitarists should take special notice of Bernstein's ability to comp for himself during both his melody statements and his soloing, as well as of the frequently "Monk-ish" nature of these chordal interjections.
This Bones melody transcription is a great choice for intermediate to advanced study.
Combining a soulful melody with an interesting harmonic approach to the minor blues, Peter Bernstein's Bones is an excellent example of a fresh take on a tried-and-true form. This particular transcription comes from Bernstein's trio performance at a live studio session in Seattle. Guitarists should take special notice of Bernstein's ability to comp for himself during both his melody statements and his soloing, as well as of the frequently "Monk-ish" nature of these chordal interjections.
This Bones melody transcription is a great choice for intermediate to advanced study.
Peter Bernstein
born on September 3, 1967
Jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein has been a part of the jazz scene in New York and abroad since 1989. During that time he has participated in over 80 recordings and numerous festival, concert and club performances with musicians from all generations. Read more...