Miles Davis, music · Chord changes from Tadd Dameron's Lady Bird · First recorded by the Miles Davis All Stars, 1947
Half Nelson
Half Nelson is a Miles Davis tune built on the chord changes of Tadd Dameron's Lady Bird. It runs only 16 bars, so soloists return to the top quickly and the changes stick. Davis recorded it in 1947 with Charlie Parker on tenor, and again with John Coltrane in 1956.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Miles Davis All Stars✓
- 2 Hear it at full speed Miles Davis Quintet✓
- 3 Follow the form without a chord player Stan Getz - Chet Baker Quartet✓
- 4 Stay with one long take Jackie McLean - Dexter Gordon Quintet✓
- 5 Hear a baritone saxophone Jack Nimitz Quartet✓
- 6 Follow a modern bop quartet Frank Morgan✓
- 7 Hear two saxophones together Lee Konitz and Rich Perry✓
- 8 Hear a freer approach Anthony Braxton✓
How the tune works
The tune runs 16 bars in four phrases of four. The first phrase holds C major seventh for two bars, then plays Fm7 and B♭7, which point toward E♭. The second phrase repeats the opening, then plays Bm7 E7 and B♭m7 E♭7 to slide down into A♭. The third phrase holds A♭ major seventh for two bars, then plays Am7 and D7, which point toward G. The last phrase plays Dm7 and G7 back in C, then a turnaround of C, E♭, A♭ and D♭ major sevenths that leads to the top of the next chorus.
The 16-bar changes in C, one chord to the bar except in bars 7, 15 and 16. The shape follows Tadd Dameron's Lady Bird, with a different bar 7.
The chart is the Jazz Standard Repertoire chord image, which shows 16 bars in C marked up tempo swing; the page's text field says 24 bars, but the image has four lines of four bars. Wikipedia's analysis of Lady Bird gives the same plan (Cmaj7, Cmaj7, Fm7, B♭7; Cmaj7, Cmaj7, B♭m7, E♭7; A♭maj7, A♭maj7, Am7, D7; Dm7, G7, then a C, E♭, A♭, D♭ turnaround) and says Half Nelson matches it except in bars 7 and 8, which the chart fills with Bm7 E7 and B♭m7 E♭7. Wikipedia writes the turnaround chords as Cmaj7, E♭7, A♭maj7 and D♭7, while the Standard Repertoire chart writes all four as major sevenths. AllSolos also lists the tune as 16 bars in C. Recordings may vary the chord colors. Use the key buttons to move the chart to the key you play in.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with the 1947 original and Miles Davis's 1956 quintet, then follows the same 16 bars through a piano-less quartet, alto and tenor pairings, a baritone saxophone quartet and Anthony Braxton's freer 1974 take. Every version uses the Lady Bird changes, so one chart covers them all.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Miles Davis All Stars 1947
Half Nelson
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- Listen for
- The take runs under three minutes. Parker on tenor, Davis on trumpet and bassist Nelson Boyd each take a solo over the 16-bar changes.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords along with the recording, one chord per bar. If it moves too fast, play only the root of each chord and count four beats to the bar to keep your place.
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Step 2 · Hear it at full speed Now playing
Miles Davis Quintet 1956
Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet
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- Listen for
- Davis plays trumpet and John Coltrane plays tenor saxophone, each over the same 16 bars at about 255 beats a minute. Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones play behind them.
- Try this
- Tap four beats to the bar through one chorus. Then play one chord per bar from the chart; if 255 is too fast, slow the recording to half speed first.
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Step 3 · Follow the form without a chord player Now playing
Stan Getz - Chet Baker Quartet 1953
“Half Nelson (Live At The Haig, Los Angeles, CA., 1953)”, West Coast Live
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- Listen for
- This quartet has no chord instrument. Chet Baker plays trumpet and Stan Getz plays tenor saxophone over Carson Smith's bass and Larry Bunker's drums.
- Try this
- Follow Smith's bass and play only the root of each chord, one per bar, for a chorus. Then add the full chord on beat one of each bar.
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Step 4 · Stay with one long take Now playing
Jackie McLean - Dexter Gordon Quintet 1973
Jackie McLean Feat. Dexter Gordon Vol. 2: The Source
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- Listen for
- This take runs about 18 minutes. Jackie McLean plays alto saxophone and Dexter Gordon plays tenor, with Kenny Drew on piano.
- Try this
- Pick any one chorus and follow it on the chart with your finger. Every chorus is 16 bars, so you can drop in and out of the recording without losing your place.
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Step 5 · Hear a baritone saxophone Now playing
Jack Nimitz Quartet 1995
Confirmation
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- Listen for
- Jack Nimitz plays baritone saxophone, with Lou Levy on piano, Dave Carpenter on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords at the piano along with Levy, one chord per bar. For a smaller step, play only the first chord of each four-bar phrase (bars 1, 5, 9 and 13).
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Step 6 · Follow a modern bop quartet Now playing
Frank Morgan 1996
Bop!
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- Listen for
- Frank Morgan plays alto saxophone over Rodney Kendrick on piano, Curtis Lundy on bass and Leroy Williams on drums. With a take this long, count how many 16-bar choruses go by.
- Try this
- Keep the chart in front of you and count choruses, 16 bars each. If you lose your place, wait for the next chord on bar 1 and start counting again.
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Step 7 · Hear two saxophones together Now playing
Lee Konitz and Rich Perry 1997
RichLee!
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- Listen for
- Lee Konitz plays alto and Rich Perry plays tenor, with Harold Danko on piano, Jay Anderson on bass and Billy Drummond on drums. The take runs over eight minutes.
- Try this
- Play along on the chord roots, one per bar, and stop when you lose your place. The long take gives plenty of choruses to rejoin.
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Step 8 · Hear a freer approach Now playing
Anthony Braxton 1974
In the Tradition Volume 2
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- Listen for
- Tete Montoliu on piano, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass and Albert Heath on drums back Braxton. An AllMusic review of the album says the rhythm section mostly ignores what he plays, so follow the chart in the trio and hear his lines against it.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords with the piano on the recording and tune out the saxophone. At about four minutes, it is short enough to play from start to finish.
More great versions
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Miles Davis Sextet 1951
“Half Nelson (Live At Birdland)”, Birdland 1951
A radio broadcast from Birdland with trombonist J.J.
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Miles Davis Sextet 1951
“Half Nelson (Live At Birdland)”, Birdland 1951
The June broadcast from Birdland with the same sextet.
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Sacha Distel 1954
“Half Nelson (Eng 12/26 Mai 1954 Paris)”, Jazz Guitarist
A Paris session from May 1954 credited to the guitarist Sacha Distel and issued on the album Jazz Guitarist.