Jazz Changes

Thelonious Monk, music · Jon Hendricks, lyrics · First recorded for Blue Note in New York, 1947

In Walked Bud

In Walked Bud is a 1947 Monk tune, a tribute to his friend the pianist Bud Powell. Players like its plain, familiar changes, which leave plenty of room for long solos. You will hear it on Monk's own records and on versions by Art Blakey, Kenny Barron and Joshua Redman.

▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.

  1. 1 Learn the song Thelonious Monk Quintet
  2. 2 Hear it with a horn band Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk
  3. 3 Hear it live and long Thelonious Monk Quartet with Johnny Griffin
  4. 4 Hear two tenors The Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Quintet
  5. 5 Hear it sung Thelonious Monk with Jon Hendricks
  6. 6 Hear a piano trio Ray Bryant Trio
  7. 7 Hear it on guitar Bobby Broom, Dennis Carroll and Kobie Watkins
  8. 8 Hear it with only piano and bass Kenny Barron and Dave Holland

How the tune works

F minorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
F m · A♭keys it moves between

Thirty-two bars in four sections of eight, A A B A, in F minor. Each A opens with three bars of F minor, with no seventh in bar 1, a major seventh in bar 2 and a minor seventh in bar 3. Bar 4 slides from B♭7 to A7 and lands on A♭ in bar 5. A♭, F7, B♭m7 and E♭7 turn around in bars 5 and 6, A♭ holds bar 7, and Gm7♭5 with C7♭9 leads back to F minor in bar 8. The bridge uses two chords, Fm7 for two bars and D♭7 for two bars, and plays the pair twice. Monk took the chord changes of the A sections from Irving Berlin's Blue Skies and wrote a new bridge.

The usual changes in F minor: 32 bars in four sections of eight, A A B A. Two chords in one bar are shown together.

Key F minor
Abars 1–8
Bar 1: F minorFm
Bar 2: Fm(maj7)
Bar 3: Fm7
Bar 4: B♭7A7
Bar 5: A♭ majorA♭F7
Bar 6: B♭m7E♭7
Bar 7: A♭
Bar 8: F minorGm7♭5C7♭9
A²bars 9–16
Bar 9: Fm
Bar 10: Fm(maj7)
Bar 11: Fm7
Bar 12: B♭7A7
Bar 13: A♭ majorA♭F7
Bar 14: B♭m7E♭7
Bar 15: A♭
Bar 16: F minorGm7♭5C7♭9
Bbars 17–24 · bridge
Bar 17: Fm7
Bar 18: Fm7
Bar 19: D♭7
Bar 20: D♭7
Bar 21: Fm7
Bar 22: Fm7
Bar 23: D♭7
Bar 24: D♭7
A³bars 25–32
Bar 25: Fm
Bar 26: Fm(maj7)
Bar 27: Fm7
Bar 28: B♭7A7
Bar 29: A♭ majorA♭F7
Bar 30: B♭m7E♭7
Bar 31: A♭
Bar 32: F minorGm7♭5C7♭9

Taken from a lead sheet written for E♭ instruments in D minor and moved up three half steps to concert F minor. That lead sheet writes bar 1 as a plain minor chord, adds a major seventh in bar 2 and a minor seventh in bar 3, and writes the A♭ chords as plain triads. Bar 4 reads B♭7 then A7, and A7 sits a half step above A♭. The bridge is Fm7 for two bars and D♭7 for two bars, played twice, which matches Jazz Guitar Comprehensive's note that the bridge has only two chords and a jazzguitar.be player's account of Fm7 and D♭7 in an A♭ major setting. Jazz Guitar Comprehensive gives the key as A♭ major, and the A section outline there (a minor chord that moves through a major seventh to a minor seventh, a II–V into the tonic, then I–VI–II–V and a minor II–V back to the relative minor) fits this chart. Musicnotes writes its lead sheet in F minor, the key used here. The lead sheet carries no intro or tag. Recordings may reharmonize some bars, so compare the chart with the one you play from and with the recording. Use the key buttons to move the chart to the key you play in.

Source: Gisement Jazz lead sheet for In Walked Bud (E♭ instruments), moved to concert F minor, checked against Jazz Guitar Comprehensive's harmonic overview, a jazzguitar.be thread on the bridge and Musicnotes' F minor lead sheet

Listen in this order

Play all 8 on YouTube ↗

You hear Monk's first recording, then a horn band and a long club set with Johnny Griffin. Two tenors, Jon Hendricks's vocal, a piano trio, a guitar trio and a piano and bass duo follow.

  1. Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing

    Thelonious Monk Quintet 1947

    Blue Note 78 rpm single, In Walked Bud / Epistrophy

    Listen for
    Count eight bars at a time: A, A, bridge, A. The bridge is the middle section and has only two chords. One chorus of the record is split between the trumpet and the alto saxophone.
    Try this
    Play the chart's chords with the record, one chord per bar and two where the chart shows two. If you lose count, wait for the next A and rejoin. A smaller version is to play only the root of each chord.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  2. Step 2 · Hear it with a horn band Now playing

    Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk 1957

    Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk

    Listen for
    Pick out the trumpet and the tenor saxophone, then count the A A B A form through the 6:35. The track is more than twice as long as the 1947 record.
    Try this
    Play the chart's chords through one full chorus with the record, then sit out a chorus and listen for where the next one starts.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  3. Step 3 · Hear it live and long Now playing

    Thelonious Monk Quartet with Johnny Griffin 1958

    Misterioso

    Runs over ten minutes

    Listen for
    Griffin plays a long tenor saxophone solo, and Monk comes back in on piano after it. Count the A A B A chorus through the 11:22 and see how many times the bridge comes round.
    Try this
    Tap the first beat of each A section while you listen and count how many choruses Griffin takes. A harder version is to play the chart's bridge, Fm7 for two bars and D♭7 for two bars, each time it comes round.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  4. Step 4 · Hear two tenors Now playing

    The Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Quintet 1961

    Lookin' at Monk!

    Two tenor saxophones

    Listen for
    Two tenor saxophones, Davis and Griffin, share the front line, with Junior Mance on piano. Try to tell the two players apart as the track goes on.
    Try this
    Play the roots of the chart's chords along with the record. Once that feels steady, add the chord quality (minor, major or seventh) bar by bar.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  5. Step 5 · Hear it sung Now playing

    Thelonious Monk with Jon Hendricks 1968

    Underground

    Sung with Jon Hendricks's lyric

    Listen for
    Hendricks sings the tune with a lyric he wrote. The lyric names Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Pettiford and Don Byas, along with Monk and Bud Powell. Piano, bass and drums play behind him.
    Try this
    Play the chart's chords under the record, one or two per bar. A smaller version is to sing the root of each chord instead of playing it.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  6. Step 6 · Hear a piano trio Now playing

    Ray Bryant Trio 1980

    Potpourri

    Listen for
    Only piano, bass and drums play, so the changes are easy to follow bar by bar. Count the A A B A form and try to name the chord at the start of each A.
    Try this
    Comp the chart's chords with the record, one or two per bar, on any instrument that plays chords. A smaller version is to play only the chord roots.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  7. Step 7 · Hear it on guitar Now playing

    Bobby Broom, Dennis Carroll and Kobie Watkins 2009

    Bobby Broom Plays for Monk

    Guitar trio

    Listen for
    The guitar leads a trio with bass and drums. Compare how the changes sound here with the trio recording before it, and count the A A B A form through the 5:53.
    Try this
    On guitar, play the chart's chords with the record, one or two per bar. A smaller version for any instrument is to play only the root of each chord.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  8. Step 8 · Hear it with only piano and bass Now playing

    Kenny Barron and Dave Holland 2014

    The Art of Conversation

    Piano and bass duo

    Listen for
    Only piano and bass play, so each chord change is easy to hear. Follow the bass against the chart, one chord per bar.
    Try this
    Follow the chart and say each chord name aloud as it passes. A smaller version is to tap the first beat of each bar. A fuller version is to play the chords on piano with the record.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

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