Blues for Alice
Encyclopedia
"Blues for Alice" is a 1956 jazz standard
, composed by Charlie Parker
. The standard is noted for its rapid bebop
blues-style chord voicings and complex harmonic scheme which is a fine example of what is known as "Bird Blues". It is written in the key of F major
and usually begins with a F major seventh or F sixth chord.
Parker's first recording of the piece is from August 1951 for Verve Records
. The lineup consisted of Parker, Red Rodney
(trumpet), John Lewis
(piano), Ray Brown
(bass) and Kenny Clarke
(drums).
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
, composed by Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
. The standard is noted for its rapid bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
blues-style chord voicings and complex harmonic scheme which is a fine example of what is known as "Bird Blues". It is written in the key of F major
F major
F major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...
and usually begins with a F major seventh or F sixth chord.
Parker's first recording of the piece is from August 1951 for Verve Records
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
. The lineup consisted of Parker, Red Rodney
Red Rodney
Robert Roland Chudnick , who performed by the stage name Red Rodney, was an American bop and hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
(trumpet), John Lewis
John Lewis (pianist)
John Aaron Lewis was an American jazz pianist and composer best known as the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.- Early life:...
(piano), Ray Brown
Ray Brown (musician)
Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
(bass) and Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...
(drums).
Structure
The composition is a modified twelve-bar blues in F major with heavy use of the ii-V-I progression.| F6 | E A7(9) | Dm7 G7 | Cm7 F7 |
| B7 | Bm7 E7 | Am7 Dm7 | Am7 D7 |
| Gm7 | C7 | Am7 D7 | Gm7 C7 |