Virtual Jam Session - "Gregory is Here"

Jam to "Gregory is Here"

---

Here is a very cool song that Horace Silver wrote on the occasion of the birth of his son. 

The song form is not very complicated.  It is AABA form with the A sections being identical, and 16 bars each.  The bridge (B section) is only 8 bars, yielding a chorus of 56 bars.

The harmonies may sound a bit angular at first.  This is mainly because of the first chord in each of the A sections is a strange one: B13(#11).  And the progression in the first 8 bars of the A sections doesn't really progress, per se.  It is B13(#11)   Cm11   B13(#11)   Cm11.    That makes for a really mysterious and tense sound at the beginning of each A section.  Once you get to bar 9 of the A section, you find a series of ii-V pairs giving that stretch a comfortable feel.  Think of it as 8 bars of tension, 8 bars of release, 8 bars of tension, 8 bars of release, then on to the bridge.

And the bridge is even more melodic and welcoming.  So the challenge of this song really lies in the first 8 bars of each A section, and specifically that darned B13(#11) which begins the song.  That is a very dense chord that doesn't really match the scales we normally practice.  As a starting point, you might try a C# Major scale.  That actually works pretty well with that chord.  From there you can branch out as you get more comfortable with that sound.