Clark Terry - 1957

‘Serenade to a Bus Seat’ is the title track of Clark Terry’s third album as leader. It has a straightforward harmonic structure with a tight, horn-line head.

Serenade to a Bus Seat
Serenade to a Bus Seat
Serenade to a Bus Seat
Serenade to a Bus Seat

Consider the whole piece to be in the key of ‘F’ with a liberal serving of accidentals.  There are a few different suggestions for accompanying the head here.

Some of the tight little chromatic horn-line passages can be challenging on the keyboard. It’s good to get them under your fingers because they are pretty common in bebop.