Bud Powell - 1950
Bud Powell recorded Hallucinations’ as a solo in 1950. But before that, Miles Davis recorded the piece with a nonet under the title ‘Budo’. Later, the solo was released on the album ‘The Genius of Bud Powell’ and Budo was released on ‘The Birth of the Cool’.
Bars 1 to 4: Bud Powell uses a straightforward cycle of fifths pattern but each chord is made dominant, giving the progression more tension and propulsion.
Bars 5 to 8: He sneaks into the same cycle progression but with a whole new set of chord modifications!
The turnaround between the two cycle patterns is problematic because of the way the chords are named on lead sheets and how the chords “look” on paper. The passage has no functional logic (Example 1)
Try thinking of the passage as a series of temporary V-I changes. Play Example 1 and then Example 2 – it doesn’t change the sound at all. Sister chords make this possible as Example 3 shows.
How the two bars above are interpreted is important in Preparational Analysis – it is easier to do variations (improvise) on example 2 than example 1. Preparational Analysis involves making personal aural logic for yourself. Find your personal Aural Logic!