Just Because Of You – Jon Davis

One of Jon Davis' most beautifully melodic compositions. It's a bossa with an extended AABC form: 18-measure A and C sections and a 16-measure bridge. The dramatic, elegant melody has an almost classical sound, with its winding directions and unexpected suspensions in relation to the harmony. It starts in an unexpected place: A♯ (the ♯11th of the tonic chord) on the "and" of beat 2, resolving upward and then downward to the tonic. This motif is repeated and developed for the first 12 measures, followed by an unusual gap in the melody: a whole rest on the 13th measure, where the G♯ minor chord of the previous measure planes to Gm7, followed by a fanfare-like "hook" in the 14th measure that re-establishes the E major tonality. The last four measures of the A section alternate Emaj7 and B7sus. The bridge repeats an eight-measure phrase twice, with the last two measures different; the two halves are indicated as B1 and B2. This section has a simpler, contrasting melody and visits G, C, and (in the first half) E♭ major tonalities. The changes have many unexpected chromatic approaches, such as Cmaj7♭5 in the second measure linking B9sus and C♯m7♭5, and E♭maj7 in the first measure of the bridge resolving to D7sus. The intro and coda both vamp on Emaj7 and B7sus, with the coda ending in the "hook" figure, played in octaves by the piano and bass as it is in the head.

Our five-page Melody Transcription shows how Jon interprets both the in and out heads. This is a one-staff transcription that doesn't show his entire piano part, but contains the melody and notable inner voicings and lines. Especially at relatively slower tempos such as this, Jon always interprets his melody and rhythm slightly differently every time. The transcription also includes Jon's improvisation over the coda vamp.

The Minus You bass and drum parts also show Jon's in head the same as the melody transcription. Bassists and drummers playing along with the Minus You tracks can thus see exactly how Jon plays the melody and thus how best to accompany him. Of course he plays the out head differently; bassists and drummers are encouraged to compare and contrast these two interpretations of the melody. Click on the Minus You tab for format details and audio clips.

Bass rhythms are notated below the staff in the piano and drum parts. The bass part shows notable drum rhythms, especially cross-stick accents. The "hook" figure is shown in bass clef in the bass part, while the rest of the piano melody cues are in treble clef throughout.

A melody transcription is available for this entire solo piano recording. Jon plays mostly in time, but his melody interpretation is rubato in the classical sense: not freely out of time, but with slight fluctuations around a definite tempo. He plays the bridge as an intro, more freely with fermatas on important chords, before eight measures of Emaj7-B7sus vamp to set up the melody, where our audio excerpt starts. He then plays the melody twice, and vamps out as on the trio recording. In this solo setting his interpretation of the melody is more varied than the trio version (also the case with The Loop and One Up Front).

As with the trio Melody Transcription, this Solo Piano Melody Transcription transcription shows the melody line and notable inner voicings and lines. Comparing this transcription to that of the trio recording is a great way to explore the flexibility of Jon's melodies: he writes them in such a way that they can be easily played differently every time.