Soulful Bill – James Williams

This song has a classic soul-jazz sound without being overtly bluesy. The melody is smooth and lyrical, almost folk-ish with a slight gospel tinge. These elements are accentuated by the occasional countermelody that appears below certain long notes of the melody, where the bass ascends in three stepwise quarter notes to link a dominant to a tonic chord; the piano plays a third above these bass notes.

The two halves of the 16-measure A section are similar but melodically slightly different, with the ascending countermelody in different places. The bridge is more rhythmic and bluesy, while the C section is yet another variation of the A section phrase, with a tag to make it 12 measures.

The changes are relatively straightforward, with a few unexpected tritone substitutions. The two phrases of the A section are cyclic, not resolving to the tonic until the beginning of the next phrase. In the last two measures of the head there is a rhythm section figure similar to the end of Freddie Hubbard's Up Jumped Spring, approaching the tonic from below (Cmaj7-Dmaj7) instead of above. This figure is not played in the solos.

This recording has a 1-feel for the A section, but on the bridge of the head the drums play more of a 12/8 feel: accenting the downbeat of every other measure. There is a rhythm section intro that vamps on the tonic and V chord; the ending also vamps, this time a tag V of V of V of V and finally resolving with the rhythm section figure from the end of the head.

Click on the next album cover (Bill Easley - First Call) to see/purchase the C lead sheet for Bill's recording.

This later recording is only slightly different from the original version. It's a little slower, and the groove doesn't change on the bridge. The 13th measure of the A section doesn't have the ascending bass line as in the first recording, but otherwise this figure appears in the same places. The intro is a four-measure vamp, with Dmaj7 alternated with A7sus and then with F/E♭. The coda vamp ends with the last eight measures of the melody, rather than the last four in the first version.