Joe Henderson, music · Kelley Johnson, English lyrics · First released on Page One, Blue Note, 1963
Recorda Me
Recorda Me is a 16-bar bossa nova by saxophonist Joe Henderson, first released on Page One in 1963. It pairs modal ideas in the first half with moving ii V changes in the second. It is a common jam session tune, and Henderson himself recorded it live and with a big band.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Joe Henderson Quintet✓
- 2 Hear it live Joe Henderson Quintet✓
- 3 Hear the first pianist again McCoy Tyner Quartet✓
- 4 Hear a different horn Art Farmer Quartet✓
- 5 Hear it sung Tierney Sutton✓
- 6 Hear it arranged Joe Henderson Big Band✓
- 7 Hear it without a horn Gustav Lundgren, Jorge Rossy & Doug Weiss✓
- 8 Hear it stretched out Joe Henderson Quartet✓
How the tune works
Sixteen bars in A minor, in four blocks of four bars with no repeat. Bars 1 to 4 stay on A minor seventh. Bars 5 to 8 move up a minor third to C minor seventh, and the last bar adds F7, a ii V that points at B♭. Bars 9 to 12 are a chain of ii V changes, each a whole step lower than the one before: B♭ major seventh in bar 9 with B♭ minor seventh and E♭7 in bar 10, then A♭ major seventh in bar 11 with A♭ minor seventh and D♭7 in bar 12. Bar 13 is G♭ major seventh. Bar 14 is G minor seventh and C7, a ii V that falls a half step to F major seventh in bar 15. The second half of bar 15 and all of bar 16 sit on E7♭9, the dominant that pulls the music back to A minor at the top.
Read each line as four bars. A bar with two chords splits evenly between them. A key tag marks the first bar where a new key area arrives. The chart is in A minor, the common key on the Jazz Advice page for the tune.
Taken from the chord changes on Wikipedia, which write the minor chords as A–7 and C–7; this chart writes them Am7 and Cm7. Jazz Advice (jazzadvice.com/jazz-standards/recorda-me/ and its Joe Henderson lesson) describes the same progression in words: A minor, then C minor a minor third higher, then ii V changes that step down by whole steps to G♭, one ii V that falls a half step to F, and a V chord that returns to A minor. Wikipedia splits bar 15 between Fmaj7 and E7♭9; Jazz Advice does not give the split. Learn Jazz Standards notes that the original recording has an intro that counts as part of the tune. This chart covers the 16-bar chorus only. Compare it with the chart you play from.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with Henderson's 1963 recording, then hears him live in 1970 and again with the pianist from the first session in 1991. It moves on to a flumpet quartet, a singer, Henderson's big band and a guitar trio, and ends with a 23-minute club set from 1978.
-
Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Joe Henderson Quintet 1963
“Recorda-Me”, Page One
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Count the 16 bars as four blocks of four. The first eight sit on two minor chords, and the last eight move through ii V changes that step down.
- Try this
- Play Am7 for four bars, then Cm7 for four bars, and notice how long the two chords stay put. Then play the second half from the chart, one bar at a time.
-
Step 2 · Hear it live Now playing
Joe Henderson Quintet 1970
“Recorda-Me (Remember Me)”, At the Lighthouse
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- George Cables plays electric piano here. Count the 16-bar choruses under the solos and notice where the four-bar blocks begin.
- Try this
- Tap the pulse and count each 16-bar chorus as four blocks of four. When that feels steady, say the first chord of each block out loud from the chart.
-
Step 3 · Hear the first pianist again Now playing
McCoy Tyner Quartet 1991
“Recorda Me (Remember Me)”, New York Reunion
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Tyner played on the first session. The track runs just under ten minutes, so follow how many choruses the quartet plays and listen to Ron Carter's bass under the changes.
- Try this
- Play one root note per bar from the chart on bass or piano, using the first chord in a bar that has two. Hear how the roots fall through the second half.
-
Step 4 · Hear a different horn Now playing
Art Farmer Quartet 1991
“Recorda Me (Live)”, Soul Eyes: Live at the Blue Note
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Compare the sound of Art Farmer's flumpet with the tenor saxophone on the earlier steps. Piano, bass and drums back him, with no second horn.
- Try this
- Play or hum the first four bars of the tune over a held Am7, then the next four over a held Cm7. A trumpet or any other horn works well for this.
-
Step 5 · Hear it sung Now playing
Tierney Sutton 1999
“Remember Me (Recordame)”, Unsung Heroes
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A singer has to land each four-bar block. Follow the voice and notice where the harmony starts to move every bar or two in the second half of the form.
- Try this
- Hum the tune on one syllable over a held Am7 for four bars and a held Cm7 for four bars. Then carry on into the second half with the chart in front of you.
-
Step 6 · Hear it arranged Now playing
Joe Henderson Big Band 1996
“Recordame (Recuerdame)”, Big Band
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The band is far larger than the quartets and quintets earlier on the path. Follow the 16-bar form and listen for which blocks use the full band.
- Try this
- Write the four blocks on a card: Am7, Cm7, the ii V changes down to G♭, and the F and E7 turnaround. Point to each block as you hear it.
-
Step 7 · Hear it without a horn Now playing
Gustav Lundgren, Jorge Rossy & Doug Weiss 2020
“Recorda Me (Live)”, Live at Fasching
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- With no horn and no piano in the lineup, guitar, bass and drums cover everything. Listen for the point where the harmony starts to move faster in the second half.
- Try this
- Play the 16-bar chart on guitar or piano at a slow tempo, treating each four-bar block as one unit. Chord-melody or soloing over these changes asks for more skill, so start with the chords alone.
-
Step 8 · Hear it stretched out Now playing
Joe Henderson Quartet 1978
“Recorda Me (Live at the Jazz Showcase, February 1978)”, Consonance: Live at the Jazz Showcase
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The track runs about 23 minutes, so the 16-bar form comes around many times. Pick one chorus and follow the four-bar blocks, then do the same with a later chorus.
- Try this
- Set a timer for the first three minutes of the track. Count how many times the 16 bars come around, tapping the first beat of every fourth bar.
More great versions
-
Kelley Johnson 1998
Make Someone Happy
Kelley Johnson recorded the tune on her 1998 album Make Someone Happy.
-
Brownman Electryc Trio 2013
Gravitation
The Brownman Electryc Trio recorded the tune for its 2013 album Gravitation, which Wikipedia lists among the covers.
-
Chick Corea Trio 2013
Trilogy
Chick Corea's trio with Christian McBride and Brian Blade plays the tune live on the three-disc set Trilogy, as track 2 of disc one.
-
Lori Bell Quartet 2024
Recorda Me: Remembering Joe Henderson
Flutist Lori Bell named her 2024 tribute album after this tune, and plays it with Josh Nelson, David Robaire and Dan Schnelle.