All the Things You Are - Seresta, Django

Passacaglia

I have trouble transcribing harmony (well, transcribing everything - but harmony, I'm really lame), and I know this is an easy one...but looking for some charts on this tune. Specifically, the Rosenberg's off of Seresta, but also Tchan-Tchou's (Swinging Guitars) and Django's, off of Integrale 16.

I have it in triads, but don't like the choices I'm coming up with; and though I like it in minor and major 7ths, this doesn't sound quite right, either. Perhaps looking at a chart can help me otherwise as well. Thanks, for any help.

Paul

AmundLauritzen

Here are the chords as basic as they go. No fancy extensions. I'm a firm believer in first learning tunes with the very basic chords, then trying each chord sequence and experimenting with extensions until I arrive at something I like.
However, In the changes i will post, I make an exception and do alter the C7 to have a #5 because this sound is so much associated with this tune, it is in everybodys ears. Try it and you'll hear what I'm talking about.

I've been playing that tune for years in the bebop style, but not in the jazz manouche style, so that's why I'll provide the basic harmonic framework, then you can make accomodations. The basic harmonic movement is the same, though in gypsy jazz you'd often use major 6th chords instead of major 7ths. And for some minor chords(usually not II-chords), you'd use minor 6ths. Just try out the different variations until you arrive at something you like. Here is what I use:

|Fm7| Bbm7| Eb7| Abmaj7|
|Dbmaj7| Dm7 G7| Cmaj7 | |
|Cm7 | Fm7 | Bb7 | Ebmaj7 |
|Abmaj7 | Am7 D7 | Gmaj7| |
|Am7 | D7 | Gmaj7| |
|F#m7|B7 | Emaj7 | C7#5 |
| Fm7 |Bbm7| Eb7 | Abmaj7 |
| Dbmaj7| Dbm7 Gb7| Abmaj7 Bbm7| Cm7 Bdim |
| Bbm7 | Eb7 | Abmaj7| C7#5 |

What's really going on in the A-part of the tune is a bunch of VI-II-V-I's(first four bars and bars 9-12).
After each of these VI-II-V-Is, we need to set up for a II-V-I and this is approached with a major chord a half step above the II-chord. Compare bars 1-8 and bars 9-15. They're the same in different keys!
The bridge starts at bar 17(the standard 16-bar A-section i jazz is fulfilled).
Prior to that the tune modulated to the key of G major through a II-V-I.

The bridge simply repeats the same II-V-I in the key of G, then we have a II-V-I in the key of E.
Notice F#m7 is a half step below the Gmaj7 chord. This is why it sounds so logical. It's a beautiful transition.

After that is a C7#5 which sets us up for the final part, which starts out like the A part.
The first chord is Fm7. The C7#5 pulls perfectly towards that because we have a fourth movement from that chord to Fm7. Learn the cycle of fourths if you don't already know it

Now the difference between this last part and the A part is that we go to a new kind of progression.
Bar 29-32 takes us back to the key of Ab through the IV-minor cadence. Dbmaj7 is the IV chord in the key of Ab. Making it a minor chord pulls it back to the I-chord, you see this happen all the time in jazz, especially old swing tunes. Abmaj7 Bbm7 Cm7 Bdim is a "turnaround to II", it's a harmonic path to take the tune smoothly from the I-chord to the II-chord, Bbm which we find in bar 33. The tune is ended elegantly with a II-V-I in the key of Ab, then goes to the altered VI chord which sets it up beautifully to resolve to the Fm7 at the beginning of the chorus.

Most jazz tunes are 32 bars long, but this one is 36 bars. It's crafted with such genius that it seems to have the same length as a "regular" tune. It sounds very logical although 36 bars is a very unusual length of a tune.

I hope you can get some ideas from this. Again, for a jazz manouche style you'd want to substitute maj6 for maj7 and minor 6 for minor 7 chords, but there are no rules for this. Listen closely and try different things out.

Passacaglia

Wow, thank you, Amund, working on it now. I want to play and reflect on your post, but will say I'm with you on basics (I mean, very basic changes on a tune, first. Ted Gottsegen brought that home for me, in a recent lesson). I've gotten into some bad habits woodshedding, over the last several months, and one of those has been, not really thinking on why a chord voicing works "here," or not...so going back to very lean progressions, triads wherever possible, to just hear the changes, get them in my bones, more.

Additionally, because I could say, almost all my guitar learning has been in the "Manouche" style (and wrongly thinking, gj players eschew triads, and always go to 6ths, etc., when possible), I can say, triads feel new to me, again! So I'm going back to everything I know, simplifying, trying to stay in one position and finding triads as much as possible, as a kind of re-training my choices.

So, for this tune, I was doing just basic triads on the majors and minors, and in particular, using a Dm at fret 5 sounded very weird to me, even if doing only a half measure on the way to G7....so very tempted to just go to 6th voicings. Which felt like a bit of a cop-out, as I'm trying to really learn the fretboard, be able to play anything anywhere with a multitude of choices (something like what Denis has described about Fapy, or Christiaan has described about Stochelo; or Ted Gottsegen plays, and showed me, recently). And for now, trying to keep it to triads, as much as possible. Interestingly, the grille I was using (off the French Manouche site), had both an Am7b5 at meas. 14, and a C7#5. as you describe. I do like the sound, but will have to think on the theory you're talking about.

I think it was in a real book that I got the tune as you have it, with m7s and Maj7ths...which is lovely. Just wondered if this is a "modern" take, and if there was something fairly authoritative in the way of a grille from the earlier gj (Django) years, e.g., and additionally as Nous'che has it from the Seresta album....as I can't make out either, from listening (my ears need work).

Anyway, want to thank you, and after playing I want to come back and reflect on your post; especially appreciate the harmonic information, which I'm very weak on and trying to learn. Much appreciated!

Paul

Paul

AmundLauritzen

I did a screen capture of the changes I use in Band in a Box. I added some comments on how to think simply when soloing on the tune, maybe it can be of use.
I hope the image comes out right.

Either way it's a way more tidy representation of the changes that I use than the one in my previous post.

Passacaglia

Thank you for this as well, Amund! I wasn't aware you could write commentary in BiaB...this is wonderful, man, cheers!

Paul

AmundLauritzen

Passacaglia wrote:

Thank you for this as well, Amund! I wasn't aware you could write commentary in BiaB...this is wonderful, man, cheers!

Paul

Actually, you can't :P I took a screen capture and added the comments in MsPaint.

But I'm glad you can use it. "All the things you are" usually frightens people because of all the chords, especially for soloing. I believe in simplifying things, reducing everything down to the basic harmonic pull. Then, when that is mastered, it will be so much easier to hear the more advanced harmonic options rather than going all in and trying a very advanced approach at first.

I learned this approach from Jimmy Bruno, and it has allowed me to confidently approach learning and understanding harmonically complex tunes by reducing the harmony to the "skeleton" and then gradually adding on to that.

And as I said, when you can separate the elements of the tune into progressions, and catalog them, it becomes much easier to memorize.