Tasty Pudding – Al Cohn

The simple minor-key melody of Tasty Pudding has made it a very versatile song, and it's been arranged in a variety of ways at different tempos and in three different keys. This original version is taken at a laid-back tempo, a perfect vehicle for that inimitable mellow Miles Davis mood. The melody has a classic "cool jazz" sound: simple and slow-moving, with blues undertones that are brought to the surface with a tasteful flat 5th in the sixth measure. The A section changes of this AABC form are like a truncated blues, going to a dominant IV chord (A♭7) in the fifth measure, followed by B7 as a tritone sub V of V. The bridge goes to the relative major, with a call-and-response structure: two measures of chromatically winding low-register melody, alternating with two measures of more active melody. The last chord of the bridge is E7, a tritone sub V. In this arrangement, another E7 is played at the end of the C section going into the solos.

Our lead sheet is based on the head from this recording. On the bridge, we show the lower part of the counterpoint until the 7th measure. The ascending line in this measure is included in our lead sheet as all recordings have some version of it; likewise we have a simplified ending based on the repetition of the last melody phrase heard in most recordings.

About the arrangement: In this four-horn arrangement by Al Cohn, the A section melody is voiced in closed-position harmonies. The first and third measures use an unexpected voicing structure for B♭7(♯9): a B♭m7 chord in the horns with no D♮, leaving only the piano to show the complete chord quality. The bridge starts with trombone and one tenor sax on the low-register melody, which continues below the harmonized high "response" from the trumpet and the other tenor. Miles takes one chorus of solo, with simple backgrounds from the other horns on the A and C sections, voiced with the trombone above the two tenors. After the solo there is a shout figure for two A sections, a sort of rhythmic variation of the head with a hip even-eighths figure in the trumpet and trombone on the 5th and 6th measures. The bridge of this chorus is a piano solo, and the head is taken out from the C section with a coda that winds down from the last melody phrase.

A full score is available for the septet arrangement; besides this combination of horns, we have alternate transposed parts for other combinations of melody instruments including trumpet, tenor sax, trombone, and baritone sax; two alto saxes and two tenor saxes; or four guitars. We also have a rhythm section part which shows the melody with chord symbols and rhythm section figures. All parts show changes for the solo chorus as well as backgrounds; this arrangement can easily be opened up for more solos. The top line of the background is shown in our first parts and rhythm section part.

Chuck Wayne's version of Tasty Pudding is quite a complex arrangement, especially given the small instrumentation. The first four measures of the A section feature three-part counterpoint: tenor sax and guitar unison on the melody, a piano countermelody in mostly quarter note triplets, and a bass line in mostly half notes but with a burst of eighth note triplets in the second measure. The triplet figures give these measures an implied 6/8 feel; the drums reinforce both the piano and bass triplets.

In the fifth and sixth measures, the piano countermelody continues in quarter notes while the bass walks. The last two measures of each A section have melodic fills, which start in unison on the first A; in the second there are two lines in counterpoint: tenor and guitar vs. piano and bass. The bridge goes to 4-feel; the melody combines the "call" and "response" of the original version into the same octave. The seventh measure of the bridge adds a piano/bass countermelody in contrary motion to the melody. At the end of the C section is a 2-measure break for the first solo.

There is no shout chorus; two measures of chordal hits at the end of the last solo set up the out melody, which on this recording is only the C section but could also be the entire head. The ending is similar to that of the original Al Cohn arrangement. In our condensed score, the unison guitar/tenor melody is written an octave above where it sounds, where it would be read on guitar; the piano countermelody is written in the sounding octave.

For lead sheets, septet parts, alternate parts and full score, click on the Miles Davis album cover.

Our Condensed Score shows the in melody as played by Stan Getz and Bob Brookmeyer. This version appears to be loosely arranged, with a combination of written harmonies and some improvised fills or backgrounds. It's slower and even more laid back than the original Miles Davis recording; the melody is a little less syncopated and lacks the quarter note pickup heard on most versions.

On the head, the rhythm section plays a pedal on B♭ for the first three measures of the A and C sections. The horns begin the melody voiced in fourths; at the end of each A section they play fills that may be improvised. The bridge is essentially the opposite from the Miles Davis version: the tenor sax starts the melody in the upper register, with the trombone playing the "response" below—and in inversion! On the seventh measure of the bridge the horns play contrary motion as in the Chuck Wayne arrangement, but with the ascending melody landing on D♭ (C♯) instead of the usual D♮ the chord here is still E7. The head again ends with a solo break.

In the last chorus the horns improvise together for the A and B sections, occasionally referencing the melody; the tenor plays the same fill at the end of the first A as on the in head, so this fill may be a written part of the arrangement. They take the melody out from C, with a coda (written in our Condensed Score) that has a cadenza for the horns together before the last chord. Our score has both horn parts written an octave above where they sound.

For lead sheets, septet parts, alternate parts and full score, click on the Miles Davis album cover.

Chet Baker brings the key down to B♭ minor for a very simple, somber version without drums. The bass plays with a 2-feel for the A section which makes the phrasing particularly laid back. The horns are in unison throughout the A section. On the bridge the call and response figures are again consolidated into the same register, starting with the trumpet and answered by tenor sax in a simplified version of the original arrangement's "response." The last measure of the bridge has a regular II-V7 instead of the tritone sub V chord typically played here. Similarly to the Stan Getz version, the last chorus has the horns improvising together based on the melody, taking the melody out at the C section. They finish on a minor second, B♭ and A♮, with the piano answering the last melody phrase in the low register.

Our condensed score is written in the sounding octave throughout.

For lead sheets, septet parts, alternate parts and full score, click on the Miles Davis album cover. That version is in the key of E♭ minor.

Two more modern recordings of Tasty Pudding are in the key of C minor. Dave Frishberg's version is in the middle of a medley of five Al Cohn songs, and is one chorus in length with no solos—though the arrangement could be opened up for solos. This arrangement takes the song in a very different direction from the four previous recordings. Specifically, it accentuates the blues qualities of the song, with trumpet and trombone using plungers, funky piano fills around the melody, and a 2-feel with the drums playing a classic conga-esque groove with cross stick and toms. The horns are voiced in thirds at the beginning of the head, with a little counterpoint in the fourth measure like the Stan Getz version, and finishing the A section in fourths. On the bridge, the piano begins the melody in octaves with the horns responding in a lower octave; the last measure again has the V chord instead of its tritone sub. The C section begins with the rhythmic variation heard in the shout chorus of the original Miles Davis version, but returning to the melody of the head at the fifth measure. The ending vamps the last melody phrase, passed back and forth between the two horns and concluding with solo piano.

For lead sheets, septet parts, alternate parts and full score, click on the Miles Davis album cover. That version is in the key of E♭ minor.

Another C minor version, this one with a quartet and at a rather faster tempo than the other recordings. The rhythm section again uses a 2-feel on the A sections, but with syncopated figures that line up with the melody. The changes are a bit different, featuring a II-V7 to the relative major in the third and fourth measures. On the bridge, the melody is similar to the Chuck Wayne version with the "call" and "response" figures consolidated into one line, but concluding with B♭ rather than B♮ in the last measure—over A♭7 to G7 (tritone sub V of regular V). The out melody starts with the bridge (written out separately in our condensed score), followed by a shout C section with almost the same melody as the C section of Dave Frishberg's version. The ending is yet again different, repeating one melody phrase with descending changes which start out implying a resolution toward E♭ major, then moves toward C minor and finishes on F7.

For lead sheets, septet parts, alternate parts and full score, click on the Miles Davis album cover. That version is in the key of E♭ minor.