Tadd Dameron, music · Count Basie, co-credit · First recorded by Dizzy Gillespie's sextet, 1945
Good Bait
Tadd Dameron wrote Good Bait, and Count Basie shares the credit for a tune from 1944. Dizzy Gillespie's sextet made the first record in January 1945, with Trummy Young on trombone. Hear it from Gillespie's big band, Miles Davis with Dameron, John Coltrane, Johnny Griffin and Joe Lovano.
Listen in this order
The path begins with Dizzy Gillespie's first record in 1945, then hears his big band, Tadd Dameron at the piano in Paris, and long saxophone versions by John Coltrane and Johnny Griffin. It closes with a piano trio, Max Roach's quartet and a large live band in 2002.
Manor 1042 78 rpm single, I Can't Get Started / Good Bait
Dizzy Gillespie's sextet recorded Good Bait in New York on January 9, 1945, for the Manor label. According to JazzStandards.com, Gillespie is credited with introducing the tune on record.
First record: Dizzy Gillespie's sextet, 1945
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Listen for
A small band of trumpet, trombone and tenor saxophone plays the tune over piano, bass and drums. The record runs 3:01.
Try it on your instrument
Play 1 to 4 of the A part as , two to a bar: and , and , then the same again. A smaller version: play only the lowest note of each chord, B♭, G, C, F, B♭, G, C, F, and hum the tune over them.
RCA Victor 20-2878 78 rpm single, Good Bait / Ool-Ya-Koo
Gillespie's big band recorded Good Bait for RCA Victor in New York on December 30, 1947, in an arrangement by Tadd Dameron. RCA issued it on a single with Ool-Ya-Koo.
Dameron's arrangement for Gillespie's big band
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Listen for
The brass section punches in around the tune, and Chano Pozo's congas add a Latin rhythm under a steady beat. The record runs 2:47.
Try it on your instrument
Play 5 to 8 of the A part as : and , and , then , , and in bar 7 with one chord to a beat, and with F7alt in bar 8. A smaller version: play only the lowest note of each chord, B♭, E♭, D, D♭, C, B, B♭, F.
The Miles Davis / Tadd Dameron Quintet in Paris Festival International de Jazz, May 1949
Tadd Dameron led this quintet at the Festival International de Jazz in Paris on May 8, 1949, with Miles Davis on trumpet. Columbia first issued the concert on LP in 1977.
Tadd Dameron on piano · Live recording
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Listen for
This is a live concert in Paris, with Miles Davis on trumpet, James Moody on tenor saxophone and Dameron himself at the piano. It runs 5:48, nearly twice as long as the 1945 record.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four of the as , two to a bar: and , and , then the same again. This is the A part's opening pattern moved up to E♭. A smaller version: play only the lowest note of each chord, E♭, C, F, B♭.
Coltrane recorded Good Bait with the Red Garland trio at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, on February 7, 1958, for the album Soultrane. Prestige also issued it as a two-part 45 rpm single in 1959.
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Coltrane's tenor saxophone leads, with Red Garland's piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums. At about twelve minutes it runs much longer than the earlier records.
Try it on your instrument
Play 5 to 8 of the as : and , and , then , , and in bar 7 with one chord to a beat, and with . Soloing over these changes takes more practice; a smaller version is to play only the lowest note of each chord, E♭, A♭, G, G♭, F, E, E♭, F, and hum the tune over them.
Johnny Griffin led a studio session at Plaza Sound in New York on September 27, 1960, with Dave Burns on trumpet. Riverside issued it as Johnny Griffin's Studio Jazz Party in 1961, and the session credits Babs Gonzales as commentator.
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Listen for
Johnny Griffin's tenor saxophone and Dave Burns's trumpet lead a group with piano, bass and drums. The record runs 12:35, and the session credits a commentator, Babs Gonzales.
Try it on your instrument
Play the two endings of the first A part: and F7alt in the first ending, which leads back to the top, and B♭6 and in the second, which leads into the . A smaller version: play B♭ and then F for the first ending, B♭ and then for the second.
Tommy Flanagan recorded Good Bait with bassist Keter Betts and drummer Jimmie Smith at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, on January 30, 1978. It is on his Galaxy album Something Borrowed, Something Blue.
Piano trio
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Listen for
This is a piano trio: Flanagan's piano leads, with Keter Betts on bass and Jimmie Smith on drums. The record runs 4:07.
Try it on your instrument
Play one full of from the chart, two to a where the chart shows two: A, A, , A, 32 bars. A smaller version: play one chord a bar, the first chord of each bar.
Drummer Max Roach led a quartet of trumpet, tenor saxophone, bass and drums in Milan on July 22 and 23, 1982. The Italian label Soul Note issued the session as In the Light.
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Listen for
Trumpet and tenor saxophone play with a bass and Max Roach's drums, so four players fill the whole record. It runs 7:42.
Try it on your instrument
Play only the lowest note of each through all 32 , two to a bar where the chart shows two, at a steady pace, as a bass player would. A smaller version: play just the first eight bars.
Joe Lovano's nonet played Good Bait live at the Village Vanguard in New York on September 29, 2002. Blue Note issued the set in 2003 as On This Day...At the Vanguard.
Live recording
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Listen for
A band of saxophones, trumpet and trombone with piano, bass and drums plays live at the Village Vanguard. At 14:14 it is the longest record on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Count the as the record plays. Each chorus is 32 : A, A, , A, eight bars each. A smaller version: count only the bridges, and play the first four bars of the bridge as , and , and , twice, when one arrives.
Tadd Dameron's tune dates from 1944, with Count Basie sharing the credit. Dizzy Gillespie's sextet makes the first record in 1945, and Dameron himself plays it with Miles Davis in Paris in 1949.
1950s
Nina Simone records it as an instrumental with a bass and drums trio in late 1957. John Coltrane plays it for about twelve minutes with the Red Garland trio in February 1958 on Soultrane.
1960s
Johnny Griffin leads a studio jazz party for Riverside in 1960. Don Byas and Bud Powell record it in Paris in December 1961.
1970s
Art Pepper plays it for almost fifteen minutes at a California concert in 1975. Tommy Flanagan records it with his trio in Berkeley in 1978.
1980s
Max Roach leads a quartet without piano in Milan in 1982. Bobby Hutcherson records it with Branford Marsalis in 1984 and names his album after it.
2000s
Joe Lovano's nonet plays it at the Village Vanguard on September 29, 2002, and Blue Note issues the set in 2003.
More great versions
5 more, from 1948 to 1975. Tap a cover to play it here.
1940sFats Navarro with the Tadd Dameron Band1948
Tadd Dameron's Big Ten1949
1950sNina Simone1957 · Soul jazz
1960sDon Byas / Bud Powell Quintet1961 · Bebop
1970sArt Pepper1975 · Bebop
Fats Navarro with the Tadd Dameron Band
1948
“Good Bait (No. 1)”, The Tadd Dameron Band
Fats Navarro played Good Bait with Tadd Dameron's band on radio broadcasts from the Royal Roost in New York in 1948. Jazzland issued the broadcasts on LP in 1961 and 1962.
B♭ major · 4/4 · swing · 146 bpm (medium up) · Live recording
Cool Boppin'. Historic Broadcasts from the Royal Roost 1948-1949
Tadd Dameron led a ten-piece band on radio broadcasts from the Royal Roost in New York, with Miles Davis on trumpet. This Good Bait is from February 19, 1949, and Fresh Sound issued it in 1991.
Nina Simone recorded Good Bait as an instrumental in New York in late 1957 with Jimmy Bond on bass and Tootie Heath on drums. Bethlehem issued it on her debut album, Little Girl Blue, in 1959.
Tenor saxophonist Don Byas and pianist Bud Powell recorded Good Bait in Paris on December 15, 1961, with Idrees Sulieman on trumpet. Columbia issued the session in 1979 as A Tribute to Cannonball.
Art Pepper played Good Bait live at the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society in Half Moon Bay, California, on September 28, 1975, with Ed Kelly, Kenny Jenkins and Brad Bilhorn. It is on the live album Renascence.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
B♭ majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
B♭ major → E♭ major → B♭ majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
B♭
E♭
B♭
The iReal Pro chart runs 32 in , in form with eight bars to each part. Each A part has two to most bars: and , and , the same again, then and , and , then , , and in the seventh bar, and B♭6 with F7alt in the eighth. The first ending (F7alt) returns to the top of A; the second ending (B♭6 and ) leads into the . The bridge opens with the A part's pattern moved up to E♭: and Cm7, and B♭7, twice. Its second half runs E♭maj7 and , and D♭7, then , , and in one bar, and E♭6 with F7, which lead back to B♭ for the last A. According to Wikipedia, the bridge uses of I Got Rhythm moved up a fourth.