Where The Wind Blows – Ray Bryant

Our audio excerpt starts with the intro (four horns alone) which sets up the flugelhorn melody. The rhythm section and weaving horn lines accompany the melody. The horn intro returns for the last four measures of the melody; it also becomes the start of the coda after the final melody chorus. Ray Bryant is the first soloist on the recording, playing two choruses, followed by one chorus of flugelhorn.

This 3/4 song has Ray's classic melodic touch. Though it has a key center, this song is far from diatonic. The A section begins in G major and works its way around to B♭, where B♭7 feels like a tonic based on the melodic direction—but ultimately resolves back to G major. The B section of the 40-measure AABCD form alternates between minor 7th chords a whole step apart, starting on G minor and then E♭ minor. C begins similar to A, but leads to an eight-measure D section where the melody and changes are more diatonic to return to G major.

Our Minus You parts show the horn parts for the intro and the end of the coda; the rhythms of the backgrounds are notated under the staff everywhere else. For more details click on the Minus You tab. Of course, the Minus You parts work as basic lead sheets, too.