n g e m e n t s  

Arra
fo r   t h e  
  G u i t a r i s t
Jaz z

By 
John W. Rieme
r 
 Jazz Guitar Arrangements Vol. 1
By John Riemer

Eight arrangements with chord diagrams, tabbed melodies, chord melodies, and
commentaries to help you navigate through tonal centers.

All Blues
All the Things You Are
Autumn Leaves
Four on Six

Georgia on My Mind
Killer Joe

Satin Doll

Take Five
 All Blues
This tune attributed to Miles Davis is a standard among jazzers,
sometimes overplayed. This version was inspired by Kenny Burrell
with a sparse harmony maintained as the melody is added as an
upper voice.
I have found some accompaniment variations to work well using
devices such as “sideslip harmony” and tritones. Because of the
workhorse nature of this tune, you will be looking for variations in
playing accompaniment because you will be certain to play 30
choruses as the sax player works out.
Following is a simple variation
G13 Ab13 G13 Ab13 G13 Ab13 G13 Db13
C13 Db13 C13 Gb13 G13 Ab13 G13 E13
D7#9 Eb7#9 D7#9 D7 G13 Ab13 G13 Ab13
 All the Things You Are
The classic by Hammerstein and Kern always provides a
challenge to the guitar player by virtue of its many tonal centers
and great melody. To bring these elements together requires
some fingerboard gymnastics and planning.
Improvising over the melody is easier when you have a good
grasp of what the tonal centers are and the use of transitions
from tonal center to tonal center.
In this phrase the tonal centers are determined by the dominant
7th chords. They “point” to the tonal center. ...

Tonal center=Ab Tonal Center is C

The Eb7 is the 5th of Ab Determined by the G7

I have found it works better to start the new tonal center (C) at the 5th measure, treating
the Db maj 7 as a substitute 2 chord (Dm7) in the key of C. The tension created by
playing the C tonal center over the Db maj7 is an interesting transition.
In the final analysis the tonal centers each occupy 4 measures as shown below.

Ab C

Following pages are lead sheet, analysis,and chord melody. Good luck!
 All the Things You Are: Analysis_Tonal Centers
First 8 measure phrase
Chord Fm7 Bbm7 Eb7 Abmaj7 Dbmaj7 G7 Cmaj7 Cmaj7
Changes
Chord 6 of 2 of 5 of 1 of 4 of Ab 5 of 1 of I of
relationship Ab Ab Ab Ab Lydian or C C C
(mode) of Aeolian Dorian Mixolydian Ionian Alternate Mixolydian Ionian Ionian
Tonal centers
Dorian 2 of
Use these
scales
C

Second 8 measure phrase

Chord Cm7 Fm7 Bb7 Eb maj7 Ab maj7 D7 G maj7 G maj7

Changes
Chord 6 of 2 of 5 of 1 of 4 of 5 of 1 of I of
relationship Eb Eb Eb Eb EbLydian or G G G
(mode) of Aeolian Dorian Mixolydian Ionian Alternate Mixolydian Ionian Ionian
Tonal centers Dorian 2 of
Use these
scales
G

Third 8 measure phrase

Chord Am7 D7 G maj7 G maj7 F# m7 B7 E maj7 C7#5
Changes
Chord 2 of 5 of 1 of 1 of 2 of E 5 of 1 of 5 of
relationship relative minor:
(mode) of Tonal
G G G G Dorian E E F minor (Ab is
centers Dorian Mixolydian Ionian Ionian Mixolydian Ionian parent key)
Use these scales Ab played from C
to C

Fourth 8 measure phrase

Chord Changes Fm7 Bbm7 Eb7 Abmaj7 Db maj7 Dbm7 Ab E7#9

maj7
Chord 6 of 2 of 5 of 1 of 4 of 2 of 1 of 5 of
relationship Ab Ab Ab Ab AbLydian or C Ab A
(mode) of Aeolian Dorian Mixolydian Ionian Alternate Mixolydian Ionian Ionian
Tonal centers or Alt 2 of Ab
Dorian 2 of
Use these
scales
C

Last 4 measures (This is what makes this tune different-extra 4

measures)
Chord Changes Bbm7 Eb7 Ab maj7 Ab maj7
Chord 2 of 5 of 1 of 1 of
relationship
(mode) of Tonal
Ab Ab Ab Ab
centers Dorian Mixolydian Ionian Ionian
Use these scales
 Autumn Leaves
This tune is considered by many as an overplayed standard.
It can be! I choose to look at it as a test for all of my guitar
students as it has all of the elements that should be known
and under control. The structure is pretty straight forward;
A-A-B-C. The tonal centers shift between G major and the
relative minor, E minor in which the D of the G major scale
is replaced with D# as the leading tone to Eminor.

Analysis
A section
Chords Am7 D7 Gmaj7 Cmaj7 F#m7 B7 Em E7

1 5 of A
2 chord 5 chord 4 chord 2 chord 5 chord 1 chord
chord minor
Analysis of G of G of G of E minor of E minor of E minor
of G Emphasis
major major major D# replaces D D# replaces D D# replaces D
major on G#

2nd A section
Chords Am7 D7 Gmaj7 Cmaj7 F#m7 B7 Em Em

1
2 chord 5 chord 4 chord 2 chord 5 chord 1 chord
chord
Analysis of G of G of G of E minor of E minor of E minor Em
of G
major major major D# replaces D D# replaces D D# replaces D
major

B section
Chords F#m7 B7 Em Em Am7 D7 G maj7 G maj7
Analysis 2 chord 5 chord 1 chord 1 chord
2 chord 5 chord 1 chord 1 chord
of of of of
of G of G of G of G
Eminor Eminor Eminor Eminor

A section
Chords F#m7 B7 Em/A7 Dm7/G7 Cmaj7 B9 Em Em
Analysis 2 chord 5 chord 2/5 of 2/5 of 1 of C 5 of 1 of 1 of
of of D C major Em Em Em
Eminor Eminor major
“Four on Six” by Wes Montgomery
This is a tabbed lead sheet version of one of Wes’
great tunes found on “The Incredible Jazz
Guitar of Wes Montgomery” Listen to it
before playing to get a feel of where the
chords are placed. I saw Wes play this tune
on several occasions and to the best of my
recollection I believe he played it where I
have it in the tablature. This tuned evolved
throughout his career and this is based on an
early version.
 Georgia on My Mind
Hoagy Carmichael wrote it, everybody from Ray Charles to Willie Nelson has sung it; it
is a standard that works well on guitar. This version is a medium difficulty chord melody.
The chords above the melody line are voiced to blend well in a combo situation. The
chord melody can be freely interpreted by play the upper note of any chord you find you
need to omit. Improvising over the changes is conventional, i.e.; determine the tonal
center by locating dominant 7th chords; these chords are the 5th of the tonal center (the
scale you use). Emphasizing the 3rds of the dominant 7th chords will help bring out some
of the more subtle harmony shifts.

Example; 1st four measures

F maj7 Em7-5 A7-9 Dm7 G7
Tonal center=F Tonal center=Dm Tonal Center C Tonal Center C
Dorian mode
Emphasis F-A-C-E Emphasis on C# Emphasis on Emphasis =B
D-F-A-C
 Take Five-Paul Desmond
A jazz standard, Take Five has a freshness that is still appealing to many players. It
presents challenges for guitarist both rhythmically and harmonically. Six flats is usually
not play frequently by most guitarists. Thinking in the Eb minor pentatonic mode is okay
for improvising up to a point but it doesn’t work well for the chromatically embellished
melody. I put the opening melody statement in the 8th position because it minimizes
movement and puts you on strings that speak well.
One of my favorite versions of this tune is done by George Benson with a fellow
Chicagoan on rhythm guitar, Phil Upchurch. For me, Phil’s rhythm is what makes this
tune come to life.

Following is an excerpt of what Phil might have been playing.

 “Killer Joe” by Benny Golson
This tune is often played minus the bridge by some players; it is easy to cover the A
section but it takes a little digging in to get the bridge right.
I was inspired to revisit this tune after watching a Tom Hank’s movie entitled
“Terminal”. The Hank’s character was on a mission to obtain the autograph of Benny
Golson. The final scene has Benny Golson playing this tune, a worthwhile wading
through a pretty entertaining movie to see Benny playing his tune.
The bridge has a melody made up of alternate half and whole steps. This scale is now
referred to as the “1+2” scale. Another reference is “Diminished scale” if you use the
whole step first and call it by the first note.
This is the scale with reference to C. It also could be called by any note that is followed
by a half step.
 Satin Doll
Duke Ellington

Duke’s timeless classic is a great tune to start out on because of the easy to groove
melody, the clearly stated tonal centers and it lays well on the guitar.
The structure is textbook A A B A. Each section is a six measure statement with a two
measure turnaround.
Here is the first 4 measure phrase:

Tonal centers for improv:

C major emphasis C major emphasis D major emphasis D major emphasis
on D (Dorian) on D (Dorian) on E (Dorian) on E (Dorian)
This is generally how tonal centers are determined; the Dominant 7th- (G7) is the 5th of
the tonal center.
G7 is the 5th of C, use C scale for source of scales, emphasize D to generate the Dorian
mode.

The analysis of the tune is as follows;

A section
Chords Dm/G7 Dm/G7 Em/A7 Em/A7 Am/D7 Abm/Db7 C C
Tonal C C D D G Gb C C
Centers

B section
Chords Gm/C7 Gm/C7 Fmaj7 Fmaj7 Am/D7 Am/D7 G G7+5
Tonal F F F F G G G C
Centers
Jazz Guitar Arrangements
Part 2
• Cherokee
• Chitlin's con Carne
• Giant Steps
• Goodbye Porkpie Hat
• Green Dolphin Street
• Impressions
• ‘Round Midnight
• Skydive

Eight arrangements with chord diagrams,

tabbed melodies, chord melodies,
commentaries to help you navigate
through tonal centers.
 Cherokee
This tune is usually played at breakneck speed or faster. The half and whole note melody
seems to bring out the tendency to play it fast. I am presenting it here as a moderate
tempo chord melody.
The tonal centers move in a challenging fashion

Here is the “A” section in tonal center notation.

Bb Bb Eb Eb Eb Eb Db Db
Bb Bb F F Bb C Bb F Whole tone

The “B” section”

B B B B A A A
G G G G F F Bb Bb

This tune is a good vehicle to practice “streaming scales” against the shifting tonal
centers. That is to say play scales with no regard to modes, accents, syncopation,
etc, just run even eighth note scales from the root as written on the following
example.

Scale streaming
 Chitlin’s Con Carne
This is one of Kenny Burrell’s understated blues heads that every guitarist should learn.
Stevie Ray Vaughn paid homage to Kenny by covering this tune in a virtually note for
note rendition.
It is basically a 12 bar blues using an interesting combination of C7#9 to F7 voicings in
two registers.
 Giant Steps
This masterwork by John Coltrane is an especially difficult tune for most guitarists
because of the unusual movements through its tonal centers. The phrasing presents an
additional challenge. Understanding the big picture of the tune will enable you to
approach many other tunes and incorporate some of the devices used in this tune.

It is generally rumored that Coltrane studied a book by Nicolas Slonimsky, “Thesaurus of

Scales and Patterns” (Macmillan Publishers). Included in the studies of the book are
patterns and harmonies that are created by dividing the octave or octaves into equal parts.
One such exercise Slonimsky calls a “Quadritone Progression” which is the equal
division of two octaves into three parts.

Here it is in the key that Giants Steps is in;

It seems Coltrane took these pitches as tonal centers and proceeded the I chords with V7
or II/V7. Following is an analysis of the tonal centers.
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat by Charles Mingus
Perhaps the most often played composition of Mingus; Goodbye Pork Pie Hat is a great
workout as a chord melody for guitar. This tribute to Lester Young is basically a blues
with the melody statement using the minor pentatonic scale. Originally written in Eb, it
is presented here in Ab allowing better voicing for guitar.

Below are the changes that are used for soloing

.
Tabbed version in first position on following page
 Green Dolphin Street
It would be safe to say that most jazz artists have played this tune more than once. It is a
jazz standard that has stood the test of time. Frequently the A section is played in a Latin
rhythm and the B and C sections are played in swing.
I have included a study using pentatonic scales against the chord changes as well as chord
melody and alternate (pedal tone changes) for the A section.
This version uses
accompaniment chords that
have a pedal tone "C" in the
bass for the first 8 measures
 Impressions

J ohn Coltrane

This tune is a good example of the modal approach that was spearheaded by Miles Davis
and John Coltrane. The difficulty for the guitarist is generally playing accompaniment.
Many players coming from the rock school of blowing pentatonic licks over the changes
have no difficulty when playing over this tune though it might be humdrum for the
listener. I feel the real skill in playing over modal changes is to make implied shifts in the
harmony. In other words, make it sound like there are many changes.
When playing chord accompaniment this is especially effective. Some of the devices that
may be used are;
™ Chord extensions
™ Chord alterations
™ Two/Five substitute
™ Tritone substitution
™ Sequences implied by super arpeggio

The following page addresses some of the typical alterations that might be used.
Chord Substitutions in Modal Songs

Songs in the modal style such as “Impressions”,

“So What”, and “Milestones” present a problem
in playing accompaniment. The sparse harmonic
structure leaves you searching for things to fill
the time.
Extended chords, the harmonized scale, and
chord series can provide some of the foundation
for a fuller accompaniment.

The extended chord series is simply adding the scale tones above the chord root as in
this series; Dm, Dm7, Dm9, Dm11, Dm13.

The harmonized scale series is founded on the major scale serving as roots to chords.
The chords are stacks of thirds that are unaltered scale tones. The simple way to view this
is as a scale with thirds stacked on each note (Every other note of the scale is a series of
thirds)
G A B C D E F G
E F G A B C D E
C D E F G A B C

This process forms these chords.

C major D minor Eminor F major G major A minor Bminor(b5) C major

This part of the order is a good start for substitution chords.

A chord series is any sequence of chords played in regular intervals such as fourths.
Playing a series is a powerful tool for substitution work. The above harmonized scale
substitution combined with a series of fourths makes an interesting substitution over a
one chord scenario.
Original chord progression is;
Dm Dm Dm Dm Dm Dm Dm Dm
Substitution is;
Dm7 Em7 Fmaj7 Bbmaj7 Ebmaj7 Abmaj7 Dbmaj7 Dmi7
 ‘Round Midnight

Thelonious Sphere Monk’s moody ballad makes a great vehicle for the jazz guitarist.
Plenty of two five changes, opportunities to play melodic octaves, well developed themes
in verse, chorus, bridge and coda. It is a great tune to showcase your talent. Included in
this version is the introduction as well as the coda.
The form;

Intro (8 measures)
A (8 measures)
A (8 measures)
B (8 measures)
A (8 measures)
Coda (8 measures)

The chord melody I have written was influenced by many sources while trying to keep it
simple. One of my favorite renditions is by Kenny Burrell on the album named “Round
Midnight”. He goes right to the head with no intro but does play the coda.
Wes Montgomery on the “Wes Montgomery Trio” album adds his own intro and coda.
He displays his dynamic approach to soloing by starting with single notes, moves to
octaves, and rounds out the solo with a beautiful chord solo. These are only two of the
many versions of this tune that bear close listening as you develop your own
interpretation.
 Sky Dive

F reddie Hubbard

This tune written by the trumpet great, Freddie Hubbard, is not the standard fair for most
guitarists but I find it a great vehicle for using pentatonics. Freddie is a great writer as
well as trumpet player. His use of pentatonics is a great study to help get the guitarist out
of the usual pentatonic ruts.
Following is an analysis in major pentatonic scales in relationship to some of the
accompaniment chords.
Chord Gmi9 Ab maj7 Bbm7/Eb9 Ami7/Cmaj7 Cmi7/F7

Major Bb major Abmajor Db Major C Major Eb Major

Pentatonic Pentatonic Pentatonic Pentatonic Pentatonic Pentatonic
Scale
Following is a review of pentatonic fingerings.

These are shown in F minor also referred to as Ab major

o
 Blue in Green
Attributed to Miles Davis and Bill Evans “Blue in Green” represents a harmonic
challenge for most guitarists. For me it is 10 of the most harmonically thought provoking
measures you might play. The rendition on “Kind of Blue” should stimulate your
thinking about slow tempos.

A possible analysis of first phrase is:

Bb = IV of Key (F) A7=III dominant Dm=VI Cm =II of next tonal

center

This is what might be assumed on first glance. It doesn’t help much when trying to
develop tension and release cycles.
Analysis continues:

Following is another view that prepares the rise and fall of tension a little better

Bb=alt II of Dm A7-V of Dm Dm=I of tonal Cm = acts asII of

center(D minor) Dm tonal center

Bb=alt II of A7-V of Dm Dm=I of tonal E7 Backcycle Am acting as Dm =I

Dm center(D of Am V of Dm
minor) (pseudo II)
 Norwegian Wood
A Beatles classic; now a jazz standard
Herbie Hancock’s Album entitled “The New Standard” had revisited this Beatle’s tune
and brought new life to it. This arrangement evolves through a few versions as inspired
by Herbie’s rendition. The harmonies are “dark” compared to what the Beatle’s had in
mind.
Especially appealing is the use of the Lydian chord, major7 with a flatted fifth.

Another effective device is the false resolution to the A major

This arrangement is not a literal interpretation; it has a few devices that I favor as well.
Have fun!
 West Coast Blues
This is one of Wes’ greatest tunes that is a must for all jazz guitarist. The form is a blues
and when played in 6/8 falls into the 12 measure format. The substitutions are similar to
what Charlie Parker used in “Blues for Alice” and Jean Thielmans’ “Bluesette” pays
homage to these substitution formulae.
Here is the more common variations as found in “Bluesette”.

This to help establish the relationship between so called west coast blues as in
“Bluesette” and Wes’ tune “West Coast Blues”.
Wes uses a beautiful intro and outro that reminds me of
John Coltrane’s harmonic sense.

Please notice the “Solo” changes. These are the chords that really make this tune fun to
play over. The head has fewer changes and lines up more with conventional changes.