[Dixielandjazz] Chords Again. James P Johnson to Dizzy Gillespie

[John Farrell]

Steve Barbone is stirring the pot again, he said :

"If the notes to Em7b5 are the same as Gm6 with the E in the base; E, G, Bb,
D, doesn't it follow that in Charleston", 1924, JPJ was really
 flatting the 5th? I don't claim to be the chord maven, and probably I am
missing something so you chord guys, help me out will you? Otherwise I'll
have to think either that JPJ was among the harmonic grandfathers of bebop,
or that Monk played Dixieland. ;-)"

In the 12th bar of The Charleston JPJ plays Gm6 (or more correctly Gm6/E),
an extension of the relative minor of Bb major - the key in which the tune
was written.

Em7b5 is an extension of the relative minor of G major and bears no logical
relationship to Bb major.

While it is true that James P. wrote some pretty weird material stuffed with
strange harmonies, The Charleston is one of his comparatively simple
compositions with orthodox progressions. It is difficult to believe that at
the 12th bar he said to himself, "I would like to harmonise this as Em7b5
but because of the flatted 5th I might be perceived as being a modernist, so
instead I will make it Gm6/E". He would have had no reason to introduce such
pointless complication.

John Farrell
stridepiano@tesco.net
http://homepages.tesco.net/~stridepiano/midifiles.htm