I’m sure you all know the jazz standard, Take 5. This one’s like that, but in 3/4 time. And while it may seem they have nothing more in common than a number in their title, they share a similar rhythmic foundation. Take 5’s underlying rhythm is:
| eighth, quarter, eighth, quarter | quarter, quarter | = 3+2
and mine is:
| eighth, quarter, eighth, quarter | quarter, quarter, quarter | =3+3
I wrote this a month ago and gave it a try at my Euro Bistro gig. It went…okay. I decided the lackluster performance was not the fault of the players, but of the song itself. Back to the drawing board. I moved things around and began to feel a little better about it, but still, it was just…okay. Back to the drawing board again. The third time, as they say, is the charm. Indeed, version 3.0 was a keeper. The form felt more satisfying and the harmonic movement pushed forward with vigor and vim. You can hear it in this rough live performance. Even though the trio was sight-reading the song, there was a naturalness to their playing and improvising.
