Post 558: THE CLASSIC MIDDLE EIGHT - MILTON AGER'S 'GLAD RAG DOLL'

Milton Ager, who lived from 1893 until 1979, was an important composer in the history of our music. He wrote dozens of well-known songs. Our bands still play Ain't She Sweet, I'm Nobody's Baby, Hard-Hearted Hannah, I Wonder What's Become of Sally, Big Bad Bill, and Happy Days are Here Again, to give just a few examples.

However, today I would like to highlight another of his tunes - Glad Rag Doll.

In its Chorus, Glad Rag Doll has a conventional Middle Eight, which offers a really good demonstration of the effectiveness of the 'Circle of Fifths'.

To begin with, the Middle Eight's first chord is III7 (for example E7th in the key of C). This happens in the Middle Eight of dozens of our tunes.

And over the eight bars, we find two bars on each of the 'Circle of Fifth' chords as we head towards the usual V7th.

To make clear what I am trying to explain, the result (in the key of C) is:

E7 | E7 | A7 | A7 | D7 | D7 | G7 | G7

How does it sound? Surprisingly effective, in this and a huge number of other tunes our bands play.

If you listen to this early Ted Lewis recording (CLICK ON HERE), you can sample the Middle Eight between 39 seconds and 52 seconds (where it is led by the trombone) and between 1 minute 40 seconds and 1 minute 51 seconds (with vocalist) and finally between 2 minutes 29 seconds and 2 minutes 41 seconds (led by the clarinet).

Post 554: THE MAGIC OF THE SONG 'YEARNING' BY JOSEPH BURKE AND BENNY DAVIS

We had just finished playing Yearning - the 1924 tune by Joseph Burke and Benny Davis. My good friend Al Harris, the string bass player, said: 'I love that tune. There's something really gorgeous about the Middle Eight.'

How right Al was! The tune is a standard aaba in structure. The 'a' sections are simple, catchy and, of course, repetitive. But that 'b' section - the middle eight - really does take the breath away. Quite apart from its emotional melody, can you think of any other middle eight in which the central four bars are based on the VII⁷ chord? The only one I can think of is Am I Blue?

This very unusual Middle Eight is:

III^m     III^m    VII⁷   VII⁷   VII⁷   VII⁷   III^m   V⁷

Lasse Collin, the great benefactor of jazz musicians the world over, has produced on his website [ http://cjam.lassecollin.se/ ] this excellent lead-sheet of the song. We must be grateful that Lasse includes even the Verse, which is all too rarely played:

You can hear a lovely relaxed performance of this tune played in 1961 by the great Jim Robinson band, including Slow Drag and George Guesnon, by CLICKING HERE.

Or, for a fine performance by one of the best bands in the world today, go to 27 minutes 18 seconds into this video. Better still, sit back and enjoy the entire video. It is one of the finest traditional jazz concerts of recent years: CLICK ON HERE TO WATCH IT.

Post 511: 'SIDE BY SIDE' AND THAT MOST COMMON OF MIDDLE EIGHTS

Yesterday I was playing Side by Side and I couldn't help noticing that its middle eight chord structure was just the same as the most common and simple structure found in so many other of our tunes. It offers a really good demonstration of the effectiveness of the 'Circle of Fifths'.

A few examples of other tunes with the same pattern are:
Do Your Duty
Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue
Girl of My Dreams
Give it Up
Hometown
I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me
Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall
Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
Stevedore Stomp

To begin with, the Middle Eight's first chord is III7 (for example A7th in the key of F). This happens in the Middle Eight of dozens of our tunes.

And over the eight bars, we find two bars on each of the 'Circle of Fifth' chords as we head towards the usual V7th.

To make clear what I am trying to explain, the result (in the key of F) is:

A7 | A7 | D7 | D7 | G7  | G7 | C7 | C7

How does it sound? Surprisingly effective, in this and a huge number of other tunes our bands play.

Side by Side was composed in 1927 by the great Harry Woods. Words were provided by Gus Kahn.

For an interesting performance of the tune, CLICK HERE.

The Middle Eight starts at 48 seconds.

Post 191: SIGNALLING THE BRIDGE

In many tunes, there is a section known to musicians as 'The Bridge'. Usually it comes right in the middle of the tune - for example starting at Bar No. 17 in a 32-bar tune. Where the tune has an a-a-b-a structure, the Bridge is section 'b' and is also known as 'The Middle Eight'.

Sometimes, when bringing a tune to an end - and often following a vocal - the bandleader does not want to go right back to the beginning to play the whole thing yet again; instead, he or she prefers to finish off by playing just the second half. This means going back the the Bridge.

To signal this, the band-leader makes the shape of a bridge, using the fingers or the whole hand. Here's an example:

Here is Marla doing it:

And here is a fine example of Shaye (using forefingers to create a bridge) letting Max and Greg know they are to go back to the Bridge at the end of the chorus that is just finishing:

You can also see Shaye giving exactly the same signal and message at 3 minutes 48 seconds during this lovely performance filmed by my friend James Sterling:
CLICK HERE.

Post 186: 'IT'S THE TALK OF THE TOWN'

My pianist friend Eddie told me he was hoping to introduce It's The Talk of the Town into his band's repertoire.

The music, published in 1933, is by Jerry Livingston with lyrics by Marty Symes and Al. J. Neiburg.

We both agreed that, although this tune was quite unlike most typical traditional jazz standards, it would be a very pleasant ballad to include in programmes, if only to provide some contrast.

(Privately, it occurred to me that it would probably be a difficult tune to master.)

When I arrived home and thought about it, I realized it is in fact fairly simple. It has a conventional 32-bar structure, using the familiar pattern:

 a  -  a  -  b  - c.

Not only that: the melody is one of those 'climbing up the stairs' types - both in the 'a' eight-bar blocks, and also in 'b' - the Middle Eight. So I'm going to get to work on it and I hope to be playing it well by bedtime tonight!

Post 181: IMPROVISING ON MIDDLE EIGHTS

Many of our tunes (such as 12-bar blues) do not have Middle Eights, of course. And 32-bar tunes frequently consist of two 16-bar blocks, where there is no conventional Middle Eight.

However, hundreds of tunes (especially 32-bar songs built on an a - a - b - a structure) do have a Middle Eight (the 'b' section).

We can easily be flummoxed by Middle Eights. If you're not sure of the melody or the chord sequence in those eight bars, you can find yourself in trouble.

And some tunes are notorious for their unusual and tricky Middle Eights. Think, for example, of Have You Met Miss Jones?, Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans? and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. Even I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket needs care (don't break the eggs!).

In many of the good old standards, it is possible to spot familiar chord progressions (with the famous 'circle of fifths' working its magic). But I'm sorry to say I have discovered no simple trick to help me master Middle Eights. You just have to work hard at them and learn them one by one.

Below are twenty Middle Eights (in their most simplified form) of some popular traditional jazz tunes. As you can see, there is much variety even among them. There are a few cases (e.g. the first three songs below) where you find two or more tunes using pretty much the same progression.

In my examples, I use the numerical system. So, in the Key of C:

1    27    4m    5

would mean:

C    D7      Fminor    G.
-------------------------------------------------------

Yes, Sir, That's My Baby

1   1   4   4   27   27   57   57

We'll Meet Again
17   17   4   4   27   27   57   57

On the Sunny Side of the Street

17   17   4   4   27   27   57   57

I Want a Little Girl to Call My Own

17   17   4   4   67   67   27   57

Egyptian Ella

2m   2m  6m  6m  2m   2m  77   37

(a typical minor key tune's Middle Eight)

Has Anybody Seen My Girl?

37   37  67   67   27   27   57   57

Fingering With Your Fingers

37   37  67   67   27   27   57   57

Girl of my Dreams

37   37   6m   6m   27   27   57   57   

Sweet Emmalina
37   37   67   67   27   27   57   57

I Got Rhythm

37   37  67   67   27   27   27   57

Ice Cream

4   4   1   1   27   27   57   57

Carolina Moon

4   4   1   1   27   27   57   57

When You and I Were Young, Maggie

4   4   1   1   5   27   57   57

I'm Sitting on Top of the World
4   77   1   1   6m   6m   27   57

Lady Be Good

4   57   1   1   6m   6m   2m7    57

My Blue Heaven

4   67   2m   2m   57   57   1   1

I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket

4   4  6b7  6b7  3b7  3b7   57   57  

(Note the tricky bit)

Beautiful Dreamer

57   57   1   1   27   27   57   57

Way Down Upon the Swanee River
57   57   1   17   4   4   1   57

When Somebody Thinks You're Wonderful

57   1   57   1   67   27   27   57

Post 179: 'CARAVAN'

'Caravan' - according to one of my busker's books - was composed by Duke Ellington, Irving Mills and Juan Tizol in 1937.

Traditional jazz bands rarely play it. Why is this? Possible reasons are these. It has a tricky melody (even the 'Middle Eight' melody notes add 9ths to their chords). It is considered to be a 'big band' number. Its structure - as written in 64 bars - deters players who like neat 32-bar packages.

However, I know there are a few traditional jazz bands who have attempted it with success, for example as a feature for the trombonist.

It is such a good and unusual haunting tune that I encourage more bands to try it. It would give variety to programmes, and as it's very distinctively in a minor key, it is useful as a contrast with the major key tunes that normally fill a programme.

Here's how to make it approachable.

Re-think it as a tune of 32 bars. Do this by halving the length of all the notes as printed. You then have a tune as follows:

a(1)   :  8 bars

a(2)   :  exactly the same as a(1)

b       :  middle eight

a(3)   : exactly the same as a(1)

So you really have to learn ONLY 16 bars. That should not be difficult.

It is all the easier because 'a' hovers for the entire first six bars round one chord, so improvising is easy.

For b, the melody needs to be learned (not too difficult) and improvising on these bars is easy because they have an intuitive chord progression. For example, if you play the tune in D minor, then the chords for the Middle 8 are:

 D7  |  D7  |  G7  |  G7  |  C7  |  C7  |  F  |  F:A7

Give it a try. I'm about to do so.

Post 171: 'WHAT IF WE DO?' - CLARENCE WILLIAMS, KATHERINE HENDERSON; AND TUBA SKINNY

In the beginning there was a Columbia recording made in New York in 1929 by The Seven Gallon Jug Band of a 32-bar tune (without vocals) called What if I do?. Who wrote it? 'Clarence Williams and Johnson' (presumably James P. Johnson, unless someone can provide me with further information). The Seven Gallon Jug Band was one of the musical groups led by Clarence Williams.

Then in 1930 came the recording What if we do?, (same melody) sung by the niece of Clarence Williams - Katherine Henderson (sometimes spelt Catherine Henderson) - accompanied by Clarence Williams and his Orchestra.

What if we do? is sung very prettily at a gentle tempo and the whole performance runs for just over 3 minutes 20 seconds. Thanks to the kindness of Nico Fournier, you can enjoy it on YouTube. You will find it addictive:

CLICK HERE.

As you will hear, after a short introduction, Katherine sings the 32-bar Chorus. It's a simple a-a-b-a structure typical of those times. There's a Georgia pattern chord structure in the 'a' sections. Harmonically the whole song is very similar to Five Foot Two and Please Don't Talk About Me. And like those songs, it has this familiar Middle Eight:

III7 |   III7  |  VI7  |  VI7  |   II7  |  II7  |  V7   |  V7

After the Chorus, Katherine Henderson sings the Verse (16 bars) before singing the Chorus again and, with that, the record ends. There are no instrumental interludes.

Katherine sings the song in the key of C, with which she is obviously comfortable.

I would not have known this song existed had it not been for its appearance in January 2015 as the latest addition to Tuba Skinny's impressive repertoire. It appeared on YouTube (thanks to the fine video-maker RaoulDuke 504):

Click here to view.

Goodness knows how Tuba Skinny constantly find these long-lost gems and then revive them for our pleasure.

As you see, Tuba Skinny have chosen to play What If We Do? entirely as an instrumental number. They take it rather more quickly than Katherine Henderson and Clarence Williams. They also choose to change the key to Bb. And they omit the Verse. In this Tuba Skinny street version, the Chorus (32-bars) is simply played through four times (128 bars in total), with no introduction or coda - no frills, in fact. Barnabus gives a lusty performance on trombone and Todd takes the lead on the second half of the third chorus. It is a typical workmanlike Tuba Skinny performance - thoroughly enjoyable and a lesson to us all.

Post 160: MIDDLE EIGHT OF 'MY BLUE HEAVEN'

Sometimes you come across a standard 32-bar tune in which the 'Middle Eight' follows a slightly uncommon pattern. I have noticed this can easily flummox jazz musicians - even very good ones  occasionally.

My Blue Heaven is a case in point. If you take it in the Key of Eb, then the Middle Eight - in simple terms - is:

one bar of Ab

one bar of C7th

two bars of F minor

two bars of Bb7th
one bar of Eb/Edim
one bar of Fm7/Bb7

The progression from the Ab chord to the C7th (it's the Georgia Progression) defies the usual 'circle of fifths' and that is what presents the challenge. So you have to be careful when improvising on this kind of tune and give it some thought while practising. This is the kind of improvisation that might result.

The music for My Blue Heaven was composed by the great Walter Donaldson in 1927.

He also wrote the music for - among others - My Little Bimbo, Oh Baby, Oh Sister Ain't That Hot, 'Taint No Sin To Take Off Your Skin, That Certain Party, Yes Sir That's My Baby, At Sundown, You're Driving Me Crazy, Carolina in the Morning, I Wonder Where My Baby is Tonight, Love Me Or Leave Me, Making Whoopee, and My Baby Just Cares for Me.

What a massive contribution to our music! Maybe one of these days I shall be able to persuade a band to give a concert entirely of Donaldson compositions.

Walter Donaldson was a New Yorker. He died in 1947 at the age of only 54.

Post 141: 'MOONGLOW' - A TEASINGLY BEAUTIFUL TUNE

At the request of a member of a little band in which I sometimes play, I added Moonglow to my repertoire.

This catchy tune was written in 1934 by Hudson, Delange and Mills.

As ever, I used a Mini Filofax page. I wrote it out in the Key of G. I kept the chord structure simple, though I am aware that more subtle changes would have been possible.

What strikes me about this tune is the way it cleverly teases the listener and thus achieves its striking effects. For example, the first bar of melody sounds like an anacrusis but in fact it really is the first bar proper. Also, the first two bars are based on the chords of C major and C minor respectively, even though the tune is actually in G.

In its principal 8-bar melody, Moonglow uses a simple two-bar theme three times. You could hardly devise anything less complex. But look at the changing harmonies and you find the first B natural is harmonised against C minor, the next one against A major (making in effect A9th) and the third B natural is played against a D major (making in effect a D6th). The final two bars of the eight (all on the melody note of G - again seemingly very simple) are played over the beautifully shifting harmonies of G, G diminished, A minor 7th and G again. What a super effect that achieves.

And what about the Middle Eight? They start with a G7. Fair enough. Surely that will lead smoothly into C major?

Oh no it doesn't. We descend exquisitely through F#7th and F7th to E7th! And the next four bars go (as we might expect) from A7th to D7th - but there is yet another surprise: we slide through C major 7th on the way!

Mastering this tune with the band should not be difficult. There are only 16 bars essentially to learn, even though you have to play 32. I'm already thinking of the pleasure those teasingly beautiful harmonic games will give.

Post 82: JUST A LITTLE HELP WITH MIDDLE EIGHTS

Hundreds of the songs (not counting the 12-bar blues) played by traditional jazz bands are structured in 32 bars. Sometimes there is a pattern of two sets of sixteen bars – each of the sixteen starting with similar notes.

But many tunes have a ‘middle eight’ – so-called but not really middle because they are actually the third of four sets set of eight bars. The tunes often have an A – A – B – A structure, in which the three A sections (each of eight bars) are very similar in melody and harmonic progression, while the B section (sometimes called the ‘release’ or ‘bridge’) has a contrasting melody and harmonic structure.

For the musicians, it is a tough job learning all these chord progressions and the middle eights can be particularly tricky and easily forgotten.

Fortunately there are some recurring patterns and it helps a little to familiarise yourself with these. Here are three of them. Please note: most tunes listed below have their own slight variations within these structures.

Suzie Middle Eight Pattern

Based on these chords of the Home Key:

 I   |   I^7th  |  IV   |   IV   |   II^7th   |    II^7th  |   V^7th |    V^7th 

Examples:

All Alone by the Telephone

Are You Lonesome Tonight?

Big Butter and Egg Man

Coquette

Darkness on the Delta

Honeysuckle Rose

I Had Someone Else Before I Had You

I’m Alone Because I Love You

I’m Confessin’ That I Love You

If You Knew Suzie

Just Squeeze Me

Move the Body Over

Some Day Sweetheart

That Certain Party

The Best Things in Life and Free

We’ll Meet Again

When I Leave the World Behind

You Always Hurt the One You Love

You’re the Cream in My Coffee

Girl of My Dreams Middle Eight Pattern

Based on these chords of the Home Key:

 III^7th  |  III^7th  | VI^7th |  VI^7th  |  II^7th  | II^7th  | V^7th |  V^7th 

Examples:

Do  Your Duty
Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue

Girl of My Dreams

Give it Up

Hometown

I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with Me

Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall

Kansas City Kitty
Love Letters in the Sand
Please Don’t Talk About Me

Side By Side

Stevedore Stomp

Ice Cream Middle Eight Pattern

Based on these chords of the Home Key:

 IV  |   IV  |   I   |    I  |    II^7th   |   II^7th   |   V^7th   |   V^7th 

Examples:

Blue Turning Grey

Don’t Sweetheart Me

Exactly Like You

I Like Bananas Because They Have No Bones

Ice Cream

Monday Date

Painting the Clouds with Sunshine

San Jacinto Stomp
Sentimental Journey

There’s an Old Mill By the Stream

When the Moon Comes over the Mountain

Post 38: FANCY A MIDDLE TEN? OR MIDDLE FOUR?

Playing traditional jazz, you quickly become accustomed to the pattern of 32 bars in which there are four 'eight's. It occurs in hundreds of the good old songs. We often think of these four groups of eight bars as

a   -  a   -   b   -  a

with 'a' being more or less the same musical phrase each time, while 'b' uses a different, contrasting melody and a different chord progression. The 'b' section is called 'the middle eight' or sometimes 'the release' or 'the bridge'. Think of Ice Cream or One Sweet Letter from You as examples.

This 32-bar routine comes very naturally to musicians and audiences because it fits in with our instinctive toe-tapping or hand-clapping patterns and also because the triple appearance of the 'a' section reinforces our perception of the melody and makes it easy to pick up.

But just occasionally you come across a tune that FEELS like a 32-bar  a  -  a  -  b  -  a structure but in fact throws in a surprise. I recently noticed a couple.

These Foolish Things fits the pattern except that the Middle Eight is actually a MIDDLE FOUR. (I am referring to the sheet music version. I note that jazz groups sometimes make the four bars into eight by playing all the notes at double the written length.) So the tune (in its correct form, at least) ends up with 28 bars instead of 32. Try it and you will see what I mean.

What Am I Living For? (made famous by the Kid Thomas Band) clearly has a Middle Four - not a Middle Eight.

Even more surprising is Top Hat, White Tie and Tails, where the Middle Eight becomes a Middle TEN! How does this happen? Well, at the end of the first four bars of the 'Middle Eight', the long note in the fourth bar is extended for another full bar. Then this happens again after four more bars. It sounds weird? But watch Fred Astaire dancing and singing (on You Tube) and you will see for yourself that this is exactly what happens. It's as if the extra two bars (which have the effect almost of pauses) give a chance for the performer to catch a breath.

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The book Playing Traditional Jazz by Pops Coffee is available from Amazon.