Jazz Changes

Sonny Rollins, music · Recorded for Prestige at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey

Tenor Madness

Tenor Madness is a 12-bar blues in B♭ that Sonny Rollins recorded for Prestige in 1956. Its twelve bars repeat for as long as the soloists want, and the 1956 record runs over twelve minutes. On record you will hear it from Dexter Gordon, Emily Remler, Massimo Urbani and Rollins himself in 1986.

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

  1. 1 Learn the song Sonny Rollins Quartet, with John Coltrane
  2. 2 Hear where the tune came from Kenny Clarke and His 52nd Street Boys
  3. 3 Hear a long live reading Dexter Gordon Quartet
  4. 4 Hear it on alto saxophone Massimo Urbani
  5. 5 Hear it led by guitar Emily Remler
  6. 6 Hear Rollins thirty years on Sonny Rollins

How the tune works

B♭ majorusual key
12 barsA form
B♭key centers

Each chorus is 12 bars in B♭. Bars 1 to 4 sit on B♭7, and published sheets move to E♭7 for bar 2. Bars 5 and 6 sit on E♭7, with E°7 in bar 6 on the Learn Jazz Standards sheet. Bars 7 and 8 return to B♭7, and that sheet writes G7 in bar 8. Bars 9 and 10 play Cm7 and F7, the pair that leads back home. Bars 11 and 12 settle on B♭7, and the sheet adds G7 in bar 11 and Cm7 F7 in bar 12 to turn the chorus around. Every solo is one or more of these 12-bar choruses.

The changes under Sonny Rollins's tenor solo on Tenor Madness (1956), transcribed in the Weimar Jazz Database. Published sheets add more chords in bars 2, 6, 8, 11 and 12.

Key B♭ major
Abars 1–12
Bar 1: B♭7
Bar 2: B♭7
Bar 3: B♭7
Bar 4: B♭7
Bar 5: E♭7
Bar 6: E♭7
Bar 7: B♭7
Bar 8: B♭7
Bar 9: Cm7
Bar 10: F7
Bar 11: B♭7
Bar 12: B♭7

Use the key buttons to move the chart to the key you play in.

Source: Weimar Jazz Database: Sonny Rollins, Tenor Madness

Listen in this order

Play all 6 on YouTube ↗

The path starts with Rollins and Coltrane's 1956 record, then goes back to the 1946 record Wikipedia names as the first recording of the tune. After that come a long live tenor version, an alto version, a live guitar-led quartet and Rollins's own live version from 1986.

  1. Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing

    Sonny Rollins Quartet, with John Coltrane 1956

    Tenor Madness

    B♭ major · 4/4 · swing · 175 bpm

    Listen for
    Two tenor saxophones share this 12-minute track. Wikipedia describes Coltrane's sound as brighter than Rollins's smoother tone, so listen for which player is which. Red Garland on piano and Paul Chambers on bass also take solos.
    Try this
    Play the 12-bar chart on this page at your own speed, one chord per bar. Then start the record and say "one" aloud at the start of each chorus until you stay in step with it for a full minute.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  2. Step 2 · Hear where the tune came from Now playing

    Kenny Clarke and His 52nd Street Boys 1946

    “Royal Roost”

    Listen for
    This band has two trumpets, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, piano, guitar, bass and drums. Try to pick out the horns that play the theme, then compare that theme with the Rollins record.
    Try this
    Play the blues changes from step 1 and hum this record's theme over them. Then hum the Rollins theme over the same chords and decide how close the two are.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  3. Step 3 · Hear a long live reading Now playing

    Dexter Gordon Quartet 1975

    Swiss Nights, Vol. 1

    Listen for
    One tenor saxophone leads piano, bass and drums for nearly eleven minutes. Count how many 12-bar choruses Gordon plays in his first solo.
    Try this
    Play the chart on this page with the record for one chorus, rest for one chorus, then come back in on bar 1. If the tempo is too fast, play only the root of each chord, one note per bar.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  4. Step 4 · Hear it on alto saxophone Now playing

    Massimo Urbani 1981

    Go Max Go

    Listen for
    An alto saxophone leads this version, with piano, bass and drums behind it. Compare the alto's higher sound with the tenor on the Rollins record.
    Try this
    Play only the root of each chord on your instrument, one note per bar, along with the record. Once that feels steady, add a held note of your own in each bar. Soloing over the changes is the full version of this task.
    YouTube ↗

  5. Step 5 · Hear it led by guitar Now playing

    Emily Remler 1984

    Cookin' at the Queens: Live in Las Vegas 1984 & 1988

    Listen for
    A guitar leads a quartet with piano, bass and drums. At just under five minutes this is a short version, so you can count each 12-bar chorus.
    Try this
    Play the chart on this page with the record, one chord per bar, using whatever shapes you know for each seventh chord. Keep your place by counting bars aloud to twelve.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  6. Step 6 · Hear Rollins thirty years on Now playing

    Sonny Rollins 1986

    “Tenor Madness (Live)”, G-Man

    Listen for
    Rollins has a trombone beside him this time. This take runs 12:02 against 12:15 for the 1956 record, so count the 12-bar choruses of Rollins's solo and compare.
    Try this
    Listen to one chorus and write down the chord you hear in each of bars 9 to 12, then check your list against the chart on this page. If that is too hard, listen only for the moment the chord changes at bar 9.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

More great versions