Clifford Brown, music · Jon Hendricks, lyrics (1985, as Sing Joy Spring) · First recorded in Los Angeles, 1954
Joy Spring
Joy Spring is a Clifford Brown tune from 1954, named for his wife Larue. Its chords slide a half step up to G♭, pass through G and E♭, then come home to F. Brown recorded it twice in 1954, and singers, guitarists and pianists have played it since.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Clifford Brown & Max Roach Quintet✓
- 2 Hear a different band and key Clifford Brown Ensemble✓
- 3 Follow the form without drums Oscar Peterson Trio✓
- 4 Hear it with vibraphone Gary Burton Trio✓
- 5 Hear it led by a guitar Joe Pass✓
- 6 Hear the two-horn sound again Freddie Hubbard✓
- 7 Hear a singer take it Helen Merrill✓
- 8 Hear two pianos, no rhythm section Kenny Barron & Mulgrew Miller✓
How the tune works
Thirty-two bars in four sections of eight, A A B A, with the second A a half step higher. Bars 1 to 8 sit in F: Fmaj7, Gm7 C7, Fmaj7 and B♭m7 E♭7, then E♭7 D7 (most sheets write Am7 A♭7), Gm7 C7 and Fmaj7, ending on A♭m7 D♭7, the ii–V that leads to G♭. Bars 9 to 16 repeat the same chords a half step higher in G♭, with Bm7 E7 and B♭m7 A7 in bars 12 and 13 and Am7 D7 at the end to reach the bridge. The bridge starts on Gmaj7, returns to F with Gm7 C7 and Fmaj7, then visits E♭ and G♭ with a ii–V each time before Gm7 C7 sends it home. The last section repeats bars 1 to 8 and ends on Gm7 C7, so the next chorus can begin.
The changes under Clifford Brown's trumpet solo on the 1954 quintet recording, transcribed in the Weimar Jazz Database. Published charts differ in bars 5 and 29.
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 Clifford Brown's own quintet and his seven-piece arrangement in E♭. It then moves through a piano, guitar and bass trio, a vibraphone trio, a guitar quartet, a trumpet and tenor version, a singer and two pianos.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Clifford Brown & Max Roach Quintet 1954
Clifford Brown & Max Roach
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The band is trumpet, tenor saxophone, piano, bass and drums. Brown's solo runs two choruses, from about 1:42 to 3:17 on this take, and the chords of bars 9 to 16 repeat bars 1 to 8 a half step higher.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords along with the recording, one chord per bar, and listen for the move up a half step at bar 9. If the tempo is too quick, play only bars 1 to 8 and sit out the rest.
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Step 2 · Hear a different band and key Now playing
Clifford Brown Ensemble 1954
Clifford Brown Ensemble
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- Listen for
- Valve trombone and baritone saxophone join trumpet and tenor saxophone, with piano, bass and drums behind them. The arrangement is in E♭, where the quintet version is in F.
- Try this
- Set the chart to E♭ with the key buttons and play the chords of bars 1 to 8 along with the recording. A smaller version is to play only the first chord of each bar.
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Step 3 · Follow the form without drums Now playing
Oscar Peterson Trio 1958
“Joy Spring (Live Town Tavern Club, Toronto)”, On the Town with the Oscar Peterson Trio
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The trio is piano, guitar and bass with no drummer. The take runs a little over nine minutes, so try to count the 32-bar choruses as they pass.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords along with the recording, one chord per bar. Check your first chord against the track before you start, because the key of this take is not confirmed. A smaller version is to count the choruses without playing.
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Step 4 · Hear it with vibraphone Now playing
Gary Burton Trio 1961
New Vibe Man in Town
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The trio has no piano or horn, only vibraphone, bass and drums. The track runs about 3:40.
- Try this
- Play the first 16 bars of the chart, one chord per bar, and stop there. Then listen to the rest of the track and follow the chart's bridge by ear.
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Step 5 · Hear it led by a guitar Now playing
Joe Pass 1964
“Joy Spring (Live)”, Joy Spring
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Pass plays with piano, bass and drums. The track runs 8:46, so count the choruses as they go by.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords along with the recording, one chord per bar, for the first chorus only. Check your first chord against the track first, because the key of this take is not confirmed.
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Step 6 · Hear the two-horn sound again Now playing
Freddie Hubbard 1981
Born to Be Blue
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Trumpet and tenor saxophone are the two horns, as on Brown's quintet record, and Buck Clarke adds percussion to the rhythm section.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords with the track, one chord per bar. Check your first chord against the track first, because the key of this take is not confirmed. A smaller version is to play bars 1 to 8 and then listen.
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Step 7 · Hear a singer take it Now playing
Helen Merrill 1994
Brownie: Homage to Clifford Brown
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A voice takes the lead on a tune written for trumpet. Tom Harrell is credited on this track, and at about four minutes it goes by quickly.
- Try this
- Play the chart's first eight bars, one chord per bar, and hum the root of each chord along with the recording. A smaller version is to hum only the root of the first chord in each bar.
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Step 8 · Hear two pianos, no rhythm section Now playing
Kenny Barron & Mulgrew Miller 2011
“Joy Spring (Live in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 14, 2011)”, The Art of Piano Duo – Live
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Only two pianos play, with no bass or drums. This track closes the Zurich concert.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords at the piano with the recording, one chord per bar, and follow the move up a half step at bar 9. Check your first chord against the track first, because the key of this take is not confirmed.
More great versions
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Joe Pass 1976
Virtuoso No. 2
Joe Pass alone on guitar, recorded in Los Angeles in 1976 for his Virtuoso No.
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The Manhattan Transfer 1985
“Sing Joy Spring”, Vocalese
Jon Hendricks wrote words for Brown's tune in 1985, and the Manhattan Transfer sing them on Vocalese, with Dizzy Gillespie playing trumpet.
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McCoy Tyner Duo (with John Scofield) 1989
“Joy Spring (Live At Merkin Hall, NYC / 1989)”, Things Ain't What They Used to Be
A live duo of piano and guitar, McCoy Tyner and John Scofield, from Merkin Hall in New York in November 1989.
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Arturo Sandoval 1992
I Remember Clifford
A trumpeter's tribute album to Brown, with Ed Calle on tenor saxophone on this track and Kenny Kirkland on piano.
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Karrin Allyson 1996
Collage
Karrin Allyson sings Brown's tune on her 1996 Concord album Collage, recorded in Kansas City.