Re: "A Train" whole tone scale

Bert Ligon ( BLigon@mozart.music.sc.edu )
Mon, 27 Oct 1997 11:49:09 -0400

I agree that the D Lydian dominant (the 4th mode of A melodic minor) is a
good and logical choice here. There are those who use the whole tone scale
for another color choice. Just last week I transcribed Harold Land's and
Clifford Brown's solos on "A" Train. Harold played only notes shared by
both scales, so one can't definitively say which he was using. Clifford
committed to the whole tone scale almost every time on the A sections while
playing a traditional D7 (V7 in the key of G) in the bridge.

-Bert Ligon

>The melody just has an E and an Ab. I don't see how that necessarily
>dictates a whole tone scale.
>
>A few months ago someone on this list pointed out to me that you can
>also use A melodic minor over this chord. I always hated that 2 bars
>of whole tone scale. I found it hard to come up with anything
>interesting. In fact I hated it so much that I used to use Ebm7 for
>soloing over those 2 bars (not for the melody though). The melodic
>minor is much better IMHO.
>
>Ian Dilley
>
>>
>> >if we're talking about the second chord in "Take the =
>> >*A* Train", which is D7(b5), this suggests a whole tone scale where BOTH =
>> >b5 AND #5 are included
>>
>> Isn't it really the melody that dictates the whole tone scale over this
>> chord in this tune?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Michael D. Temple
>> mdtemple@ix.netcom.com
>> Birmingham, Alabama USA
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>

_______________________________________
Bert Ligon
Director of Jazz Studies
_______________________________________
School of Music
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
Voice: (803) 777-6565
Fax: (803) 777-2151
http://www.music.sc.edu/Departments/Jazz/
bligon@mozart.sc.edu
_______________________________________