Cheese Cake – Dexter Gordon

Cheese Cake is an all-time classic: an iconic example of the early '60s Blue Note sound and one of Dexter Gordon's best-known songs. Its relatively simple melody and changes make it a great workout for less experienced jazz players and improvisers. This simplicity isn't all that makes this song a classic, of course. The snappy rhythms are instantly catchy, and several subtleties of the melody are particularly hip and full of character. For example, the first A section's melody ends on A♮ instead of the expected C, creating that distinctive Cm6 sound. The bridge melody is a descending sequence which is slightly different the third time around, leading into a particularly elegant phrase to return to the last A (C) section.

Our lead sheet is based on the original recording. All lead sheets include the tag ending; the C treble and bass clef lead sheets also show the solo bass intro. Sonny Clark's piano fills that echo the first two melody phrases are shown, though not the variation he plays in the second A. We also include several of Dexter's melody variations. For example, he only plays the last note of the triplet pickup into the beginning of the in head; this note is shown alongside the full triplet played on the out head. The 11th measure of the A section is articulated long the first time and short the second time on the in head; we show both phrasings as well as the same two measures later, which Dexter plays long both times in the in head but short in the out head. On some grace notes, we have downward arrows which indicate they are played right on the beat.

The changes in the first eight measures of the A section are usually simplified in the solos; they are basically four measures of C minor and four measures of F minor. This is shown in our transcription of Dexter's solo; click on the Solos tab for more details.