We all know about Charlie Parker the revolutionary soloist, but we often overlook Charlie Parker “the composer.” Bird wrote a number of songs over popular song forms that quickly became jazz standards, especially these 10 heads he wrote over the Blues…
And like his many mind-blowing solos, Charlie Parker’s compositions can give us a unique insight into his musical concepts, language, and approach.
Studying these tunes are an effective entry point into Bird’s music for any aspiring improviser. Rather than trying to navigate the complexity of his solos right away, these compositions are a clear-cut and simple entry into his musical genius…
In this series, we’re going to focus specifically on Bird’s compositions over the blues, collecting them in one place, so you can get a clear picture of his approach and an effective resource for your practice.
Charlie Parker’s Approach to the Blues in 3 parts
- Part I: 10 Charlie Parker Blues Heads Everyone Should Know
- Part II: Bird Blues (coming soon)
- Part III: 10 Lesser Known Parker Blues Compositions (coming soon)
In the first installment today, we’ll look at 10 Charlie Parker Blues heads that are often played by musicians, building improvisation and melodic skills through the study of melody.
Some of these tunes are often viewed as “easy,” yet contain sophisticated rhythmic and phrasing ideas, along with Bird’s innovative harmonic approach and musical shapes.
Remember, these tunes are much more than notes to quickly memorize and should be studied and ingrained patiently. If learned completely, they contain the fundamentals of many musical skills you need to excel as a player.
10 Charlie Parker Blues Heads
Each of the 10 melodies below shed some light onto Parker’s approach in terms of melody, rhythm, harmony, and phrasing – Bird’s innovative musical ideas paired with his Kansas City roots.
Blues is jazz. If it wasn’t blues, it sounds like other music…You listen to Charlie Parker. He plays Kansas City blues, and then he plays “Cherokee,” and you hear the blues in that. It’s just the way he phrases it, the way he plays it.
Along with different musical tactics for the specific chords and progressions, you’ll also find different approaches to playing the blues – slow blues, blues language, rhythmic ideas, bebop tactics, riff melodies – it’s all in there.
As you take these tunes into the practice room, strive to:
- Listen to each recording until you can sing the melody
- Learn by ear – it’s more time & effort, but will yield the most benefits
- Slowly ingrain each melody with the recording until you have it down
- Eventually make it a goal to play in new keys
If you learn the 10 Charlie Parker Blues heads below, you’ll have enough language, harmonic concepts, phrasing examples, and rhythmic tactics to build a solid vocabulary and framework for playing the blues. Let’s jump in…
1. Now’s the time
First recorded in 1945, Parker’s Now’s the Time is written in the tradition of common blues “riff” tunes. Think of C Jam Blues, Blue ‘n Boogie, Tenor Madness, Sonnymoon for Two, and many others.
In each of these compositions, a short melodic idea is stated and then repeated throughout the song form with slight variations.
The repeated riff in Now’s the Time is a simple six note theme using the root, 5th, and 9th:
Note that there is a common variation in which a B natural is played in the 6th bar as well as on the last note of the melody:
This short riff or melodic cell gives us a starting point, centering the tune or improvisation around a simple melodic idea rather than trying to frantically trying to piece together theory or scales for each chord.
And this is a good tune to learn in all keys, gradually becoming familiar with playing the blues in any key. Start by playing the motif in the opening 4 bars while visualizing the movement from I to IV:
Take this slowly through all keys, moving by steps or even around the cycle. Use this as a simple exercise to start thinking/hearing/playing in new keys.
2. Cool Blues
Parker’s instantly recognizable Cool Blues is another riff based blues tune with a 4 bar phrase…
The central phrase features major diatonic material, utilizing the major 7th and emphasizing the sound of the 9th:
You’ve probably heard this phrase quoted by musicians and it likely arose from a musical idea that Bird played in his own solos.
The theme repeats over the three larger sections of the blues, the I chord, IV chord, and the final ii-V-I:
Like Now’s the Time, this tune is also a good vehicle for working on the blues in all keys – taking the initial melodic idea or riff and then play it in a new key while visualizing the underlying progression.
Rather than just memorizing notes or chords, here you have a melodic anchor that will guide you through each new key.
3. Billie’s Bounce
Each of Parker’s blues tunes serve as a rhythmic and phrasing study as much as they do a melodic or harmonic one, and Billie’s Bounce is no exception.
As you listen and learn this tune, note where Parker starts the phrases, which beats he emphasizes, and where he places his ideas in the form, ingraining these rhythmic concepts along with the notes of the melody.
Check out this lesson for more info on Billie’s Bounce.
4. Au Privave
Bird’s Au Privave demonstrates that melodic ideas don’t have to be complex or contain a ton of fancy techniques to be effective.
Here Parker simply uses the major triad paired with chromaticism and interesting rhythms to create a compelling melody…
Check out this lesson for more info on Au Privave
5. Cheryl
Parker first recorded Cheryl in 1947, and since then it has been played by scores of iconic musicians.
This tune opens with a quick figure outlining the tritone substitution (Ab- Db7 resolving to C major):
In many of Parker’s melodies we hear him emphasizing the “upper structure” of basic V7 chord – highlighting the 6th and 9ths, while also including the basic triad:
…and you can hear this is the initial melodic phrase in Cheryl
This melody is a little more harmonically and melodically complex than other tunes on this list and will take a some extra practice to ingrain.
6. Relaxin’ at Camarillo
Relaxin’ at Camarillo is a blues head that features a simple melodic sequence paired with an intriguing rhythm and bebop techniques like altering the V7 chords in the 4th and 8th bars…
For more on Relaxin’ at Camarillo, check out this lesson.
7. Big Foot
Also known as Air Conditioning or Driftin’ on a Reed, Big Foot is another 12 bar blues that features a largely diatonic melody in Bb with Bird’s innovative phrasing…
Once again the motif of diatonic material emphasizing the 13th and alternating between the 3rd and 4th on the I chord (like Relaxin’ at Camarillo) show up here:
This simple but direct approach can be a model for developing your own playing – rather than starting too complex or with vague scales, choose a specific melodic shape to start your improvisation.
8. Bloomdido
Bloomdido is a surprisingly complex and melodically clever blues, this melody contains a window into Parker’s approach to harmony…
You can look at this tune within the framework of creating phrases over the three big “sections” of the blues – the I chord, IV chord, and ii-V back to I – a useful format to start developing your own lines:
Also take a closer look at each individual phrase, starting with the first one…
You have an initial statement, a melodic and rhythmic idea, an answer and a transition to the upcoming IV chord.
Also notice how he utilizes the Major triad paired with 6th and 9th and ends the first statement on the b7 leading to the IV chord.
Do the same with the other two phrases, breaking them down and using them as a blueprint or starting point for navigating these spots in the blues.
9. K.C. Blues
A slow blues that gets to the core of what playing this music is about, not theory or scales, or even hiding behind licks, but playing with feeling, conviction and musical meaning…
10. Parker’s Mood
Finally, Parker’s Mood is another slow blues that encapsulates Bird’s musical approach within one chorus…
10 Blues Heads that have it all
These 10 Blues heads composed by Charlie Parker give you a musical framework for playing the blues – harmonically, rhythmically, and in terms of musical phrasing.
Take your time and focus on each one in the practice room, listening, ingraining, and working them out on your instrument.
Gradually you will build skills that will transform your playing on the blues and will set you up as you move to more modern approaches to this form.
…and watch for Part II of this series coming soon!
