Joshua Redman Ending on On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Joshua Redman and Christian McBride play this ending on the tune “On The Sunny Side Of The Street” from Redman’s self-titled 1993 debut album.

Joshua Redman and Christian McBride on “On The Sunny Side Of The Street” (concert pitch)

Bars 1 and 2 have clear elements of the common bebop language:

  • syncopated rhythm with a pickup beat
  • eighth note lines that outline the harmony
  • chromatic passing tones and enclosures that lead to harmonic tones on strong beats

The second half (starting with the C on bar 3) quotes the classic Strayhorn/Ellington ending on “Take The “A” Train” (originally recorded in 1941)

The final bit of vocabulary (beat 3 on bar 4) I first heard on the tune “Four” from Miles Davis’ Blue Haze (1954). I don’t know for sure whether that is the earliest recorded use of the phrase, but I’ve heard it used often. I particularly like the surprise harmonic substitution by the bass moving down a tritone from C to F#.

 

Listening
  • Joshua Redman, “On The Sunny Side Of The Street,” Joshua Redman, 1993
  • Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, “Take The “A” Train,” Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1941
  • Miles Davis, “Four,” Blue Haze, 1954