Eazy E – Justin Robinson

Eazy E is a song full of contrasts, in a Wayne Shorter-esque vein. It's set up by a simple bass vamp that creeps up and down in half steps. The A section of the 32-measure AABC form continues the bass vamp; the melody is simple at first, but at the fifth measure it bursts into an angular line full of rising stacks of fourths. The bridge has a less dramatic melody; the bridge changes begin with ascending II-V7s and then some more unpredictable motion that resolves in E♭ minor.

Another contrast in this song is the relationship between the melody and the changes. There are several places where the chord quality doesn't reflect the melody, most notably in measures 3 and 4 where the melody note is G♭ over an A♭m(maj7). The G natural in the chord certainly works if it's in a lower octave than the melody note, as pianist Sullivan Fortner demonstrates on the recording.

The bass vamp is played on the A and C sections of each soloist's first chorus, going to 4-feel for subsequent choruses. The last four measures of the head are repeated twice more as an ending.

About the arrangement: We have a Concert Condensed Score and second parts for the two-horn arrangement heard on the recording. The horns harmonize most of the longer notes of the melody, using mostly larger intervals such as 6ths on the A section and smaller intervals in the bridge. In the fourth and eighth measures of the bridge, the harmony notes are above the melody; though the eighth measure on the recording still has the trumpet above and alto sax below, we show the upper harmony notes in the second part in both places.