Swing Spring – Miles Davis

This song is based on a simple two-measure riff that is very characteristic of Miles Davis. The melody riff, played over a static dominant pedal point, rises stepwise and then descends in thirds, with each note approached from a half step below. The fifth measure breaks up the pattern with some off-beat hits. The bridge, a variation of the "rhythm changes" bridge with some tritone substitutions, is open for improvisation.

There is an interlude (indicated as D on the lead sheet), eight measures long with the same dominant pedal on beats 2 and 4. It is only played once, between the head and the first solo. The sixth measure of this interlude is harmonized; on the recording, the vibes harmony notes are above the melody. Solos are on "rhythm changes"; the tritone substitutions in the bridge are occasionally used.

On this recording, Miles Davis and Milt Jackson play the melody in unison except on the sixth measure of the interlude and at the very end. The bridge on the in head has Milt and Miles trading 2s; on the out head Milt takes the whole bridge.

See the Description and Historical Notes for the next album, "Reflections," for information on how the lead sheet came about.

Don Sickler: I can't remember when I first heard Swing Spring. I know it was many years ago, and I know I was immediately attracted to it, and I immediately tried to figure it out and create a lead sheet.

Before putting Swing Spring up on jazzleadsheets.com I went over Miles' recording very carefully, and I realized that I had made a couple of rhythmic changes to Miles' melody in my lead sheet.

My original lead sheet showed the first entrance was the bass on the "and-of-4," setting up the melody entrance on the "and-of-one," just like the 3rd and 7th measures of the melody for the two opening A and C sections. The melodic notes in the opening two-measure phrase were always the same. The notes I got right, but I had changed the rhythm. On Miles' recording, Miles and the bass start on the downbeat of the 1st A, and on the "and-of-4" leading into the C section. I re-wrote my lead sheet; we're using Miles' lead sheet for both recordings.

This recording uses essentially the same arrangement as the original version. In the sixth measure of the interlude, the alto sax's harmony notes are below the trumpet melody, as shown on the E♭ lead sheet. Pianist Ronnie Mathews solos on the bridge of both the in and out heads. The end of the out head is slightly different, with A♭ in the melody instead of B♭.