My First Post!/Richie Powell Solo Intro
The other day I decided to transcribe Richie Powell's piano intro to What Am I Here For? , the seventh track from Clifford Brown + Max Roach , one of my favorite jazz albums of all time. Now I'm no transcription or theory expert, but from my limited knowledge I wanted to talk about this transcription a bit. Based on nothing but my slightly trained ear, the whole song seems to be Rhythm Changes, and the solo only supports this. Quick nerd out about Rhythm Changes This tune is in the key of C . The typical chords for the first phrase of Rhythm Changes in the key of C are Cmaj7-A7-Dm7-G7 . But, in this song it, the progression is Cmaj7-C#dim7-Dm7-G7. Chord Symbols for the first 4 bars of the solo Now an explanation of the second chord being changed to a C#dim7 is best explained by Mark Levine in The Jazz Theory Book . He states how "Diminished chords are usually played in place of V7b9 chords to create a chromatic bass line" ( Levine, 1995, Pg. 8...