<font color='black' size='2' face='arial'>
<div>Can't answer the original question about very early jazz musicians, but I love dim7 chords so I'll take a moment to talk about them. ;-)</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Very common in 1920s and 30s music -- I'd say more so in tunes borrowed from Tin Pan Alley and show/popular music than original jazz tunes.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Usage is most often chromatic movement, often toward or away from a dom7 chord. A dim7 chord is identical to the dom7 chord a half step lower, except for the root. For instance, the upper 3 notes of a cdim7 chord are the same as a C#7 chord.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>It also accommodates chromatic movement of the melody or "blue notes" when the melody sits on the 3rd or 5th of a chord.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>An interesting side note: 4-stringed instruments (tenor/plec banjo, uke, mando, etc.), typically play dim7 chords in place of b9 (dominant flat nine) chords, but a 3rd up. The reason why: for most fretted strings, you usually modify a dom7 chord to create upper extensions. Easiest way for a b9 or 9 chord is to move the root up because that's much easier in most cases (shape-wise) than throwing away the 5th.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>So for b9, you shift the root up a 1/2 step. So if you extend a C7 to a C7b9, that changes the C7 </div>
<div>From: C E G Bb</div>
<div>To: Db E G Bb (inverted, E G Bb Db)</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Or in other words, your C7 becomes an Edim7 chord. On a piano, it's inverted -- but on a 4-string fretted instrument, you can't worry much about inversions since you're constrained by string order.</div>
<div> </div>
<div style="clear: both;">
<div>Aaron Minnick<br>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Louis Lince <louis.lince@pobroadband.co.uk><br>
To: Aaron Minnick <go4baroquemusic@aol.com><br>
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com><br>
Sent: Thu, Feb 1, 2018 1:35 pm<br>
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Diminished chord question<br>
<br>
<div id="AOLMsgPart_1.2_8112da03-c602-42ab-9a20-2c817df3ff79">
<div class="aolReplacedBody" bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><font face="Bookman Old Style" size="2">Hi Ken,</font></div>
<div><font face="Bookman Old Style" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Bookman Old Style" size="2">The second theme of "Blame it on the
Blues" is based on a diminished run</font></div>
<div><font face="Bookman Old Style" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Bookman Old Style" size="2">best</font></div>
<div><font face="Bookman Old Style" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Bookman Old Style" size="2">Louis</font></div>
<blockquote style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 5px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-width: 2px; border-left-style: solid;">
<div style="font: 10pt/normal arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">----- Original Message ----- </div>
<div style="background: rgb(228, 228, 228); font: 10pt/normal arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-color: black;"><b>From:</b>
<a title="kwg915@gmail.com" href="mailto:kwg915@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ken Gates</a> </div>
<div style="font: 10pt/normal arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>To:</b> <a title="louis.lince@pobroadband.co.uk" href="mailto:louis.lince@pobroadband.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">louis.lince@pobroadband.co.uk</a>
</div>
<div style="font: 10pt/normal arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>Cc:</b> <a title="dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com" href="mailto:dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dixieland Jazz Mailing List</a>
</div>
<div style="font: 10pt/normal arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, February 01, 2018 4:03
PM</div>
<div style="font: 10pt/normal arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>Subject:</b> [Dixielandjazz] Diminished chord
question</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="aolmail_gmail_default" style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif;">Does anyone
have an example of a jazz tune constructed upon a series of diminished 7
chords?</div>
<div class="aolmail_gmail_default" style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif;"><br>
</div>
<div class="aolmail_gmail_default" style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif;">Did the very
early jazz musicians use diminished 7 chords in their play?</div>
<div class="aolmail_gmail_default" style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif;"><br>
</div>
<div class="aolmail_gmail_default" style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif;">I do remember
reading that Bunk Johnson and George Lewis had difference of opinion</div>
<div class="aolmail_gmail_default" style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif;">about
diminished chords. Bunk for, George opposed.</div>
<div class="aolmail_gmail_default" style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif;"><br>
</div>
<div class="aolmail_gmail_default" style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif;">Ken
Gates</div>
</div>
</blockquote></div>
</div>
</div>
</font>