Book's Bok – Bertha Hope
Book's Bok shows off Bertha Hope's vivid imagination as a composer. A separate bass part is available, as is a solo piano arrangement with an exclusive MP3 track.
- Recording: Bertha Hope - Nothin' But Love
- Recorded on: October 14, 1999
- Label: Reservoir (161)
- Concert Key: D minor
- Vocal Range: , to
- Style: Swing (medium)
- Piano - Bertha Hope
- Bass - Walter Booker
- Drums - Jimmy Cobb
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- Description
- Historical Notes
- Solos
- Piano Corner
- Bass Corner
- Drum Corner
- Guitar Corner
- Inside & Beyond
- Minus You
A Bass part is available, in addition to lead sheets for every instrument.
This is another composition from Bertha Hope's fourth album as a leader, "Nothin' But Love". Check out Bertha's Gone To See T, also on this album.
From an inexperienced bassist's viewpint:
Bertha Hope's composition Book's Bok ranks a 3.5 out of 10 for difficulty and is a really fun way to explore different techniques all bassists strive to perfect: locking into a solid groove with the drums, switching in between 2-feel and 4-feel, and keeping the pulse in a syncopated piece.
The anticipated downbeat Hope uses gives the piece its funky syncopation. Locking into a solid groove with the drummer on this piece is extremely fun since together you two can play off of the syncopation and really create a nice dialogue. None of the fingerings or rhythms are too tricky so a bassist at any level can do a lot with this piece.
The four-chord progression for the solo section is surprising but fits really well into the landscape of the piece, leaving you space to really lay down a groove, and is a great place to practice alternating between a 2-feel and 4-feel. Use this section to practice your communication skills within the rhythm section and the group as a whole when you practice this piece with others. Make eye contact with your drummer to make sure you two are on the same page about when to go to a 2-feel and when to switch to a 4-feel for each different solo.
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Bertha Hope
born on November 8, 1936
A dynamic force in improvised music, pianist Bertha Hope has been making headway in the jazz scene since the early 1960s. Raised in Los Angeles, Bertha attended Manual Arts High School. She began her jazz journey with pianists Elmo Hope and Richie Powell in her youth. Although she studied piano at Los Angeles Community College, she received her B.A. in early childhood education from Antioch College. She married Elmo in 1960; they moved to New York where Bertha worked as a telephone operator by day and performed at night. Read more...