Orient Express – Charles McPherson

This riff blues head is an example of the melodic side of the bebop tradition. Many bebop heads focus on outlining the harmonic structure, but there’s also a diatonic, melodic vocabulary peculiar to bebop which is not as frequently discussed. The theme of Orient Express is certainly within this vocabulary. It’s concentrated around the fourth, third and second of the tonic scale, never landing on the tonic or any chord tones; the last note of the phrase is D, the second. The rhythms are highly syncopated, ending on the second beat of the third measure. The second phrase differs from the first only by one note, E♭ instead of the first E to fit the F7 chord; the last phrase is exactly the same as the first. The long note at the end of each melody phrase is a space for the piano to fill in around the melody.