Solo at a glance

Parker seems to have one of the most natural feels out of any soloist I know. Every note
he plays sounds like he planned on playing that single note under that exact rhythm
hundreds of years in advance. Charlie Parker has a deep understanding of the blues. This
form and Rhythm Changes contrafacts made up a huge portion of Charlie Parkers
recorded works. In this solo he employs many triplets and his typical strategy of starting
his phrases on the and of 1. The use of the common blue notes (#4, b3) also takes a huge
part in this solo. His tone is full and hard but at the same time sweet. It never seems to
Peirce the ear even though he played with such an edgy style. You can really feel his
confidence throughout the transcription.

Solo note for note

Measures 1-4
Parker starts off his solo with one of his most signature lines. It hits the 1 on the
downbeat and “blueses” its way up to the 5. In m.2 he plays on another extremely popular
line. This one takes over from the 5th interval and through a 6 chord triad makes his way
back to the 5 an octave down. The phrase then ends on a syncopated line on the 1st
interval.

Measures 5-8
The next phrase adds to Parkers rhythmic touch. Also common, he starts the phrase on
the 3rd beat of the measure. m.6-7 is a blues scale line that leads directly in the minor 2-5
lick in m.8. This lick arrpegiates the D7#5 chord.

Measures 9-12
After landing on the 1 of the ii chord parker throws in his signature flare to cap off the
first time through the form.

Measures 13-16
The first phrase of the second time through the form parker plays on the 1st and 5th
interval of the 1 chord. He then moves in to a series of triplets based on the 4th and 3rd
intervals that lands on the 5 again. Over the 2-5 to the 4 chord, Parker throws in another
blues scale lick.

Measures 17-20
Still playing off that blues scale he makes his way to the b7 of the 4 chord. He then
moves onto a minor 2-5 lick that begins on the and of 1 in m.19. This lick once again
employs the use of the augmented D7#5 arpeggio.

Measures- 21-24
In the final phrase he makes his way up to the M7 through a 1maj7 arpeggio that turns
itself around to a major 2-5-1 that utilizes that b9 of the 5 chord.
Solo at a glance
I tried my best to not compare the two solos in this analysis till the end but Sonny’s solo
is so full of Parker material that this analysis will include a comparison at the same time.
Sonny also seems to have a natural feel over the blues. However, I hear this as a little less
natural than Parker. It really does seem like this whole solo is ripped straight out of
Parkers horn. You can tell that Sonny directly shedded these Parker licks a lot. This is
what makes me feel like it is a little less natural than the Parker solo. He pretty much rips
off Parkers feeling the best he can. The arpegiations, the beginning and starting of
phrases, the exact same clichés, and even the same tone truly makes me believe sonny
should have paid Parker a royalty for this particular solo.

Solo note for note

Measures 1-4
The first phrase is totally Charlie Parker. It’s a variation of the exact lick that Parker
plays at that same time. It’s a walk up to from 1 to the 5 then arrpegiates down the 1
chord. Sonny ends the lick just like parker on the 5. He also skips the 2-5 to the 4 chord
just like in the first parker piece. I should also note that this phrase begins on the 3rd beat
of the first measure, just like many of Parkers phrases.

Measures 5-8
Sonny also throws in a super bluesy lick on this 4 chord before moving to the minor 2-5.
This 2-5 has a lot of variation and triplets thrown in but it does resemble many of the
same properties as the first minor 2-5 in Parkers solo. For example, in m.8 the arpeggio
build from the M3 of the D7#5.
Measures 9-12
The major 2-5 moving back to the 1 chord is extremely bebop. He then plays another
arpeggio over the 5 chord before ending the phrase on the 1 of the 1 chord.

Measures 13-16
Once again, Sonny employs another variation of the classic Bird blues lick walking from
the 1 to the 5. He then plays another major 2-5 including an arpeggio leading to the 1 of
the 4 chord.

Measures 17-20
For the 4 chord sonny, as previously, and just like bird, throws in a soulful yell. The
minor 2-5 includes sonny playing chord tones on the downbeats.

Measures- 21-24
The last major 2-5 includes many arpegiations of chord tones.