Bb Blues

Blues is to jazz what yeast is to bread – without it, it’s flat.  – Carmen McRae
Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life’s difficulties.  – Martin Luther King Jr.

Blues is not only the most common tune type found in jazz; it is an underpinning of the jazz style. It is a vehicle that lends itself to expressing emotion. It is a form that is easy to recognize and relate to. Early Blues had a 4-bar melody that was repeated, followed by a 4-bar phrase to complete the melody and lyrics. The entire form evolved over time into a standardized 12 bar form.  Jazz Blues are sometimes simple and repetitive (Bags’ Groove, C Jam Blues, Sonnymoon for Two) and sometimes complex (Blues for Alice, Matrix). Musicians who are new to jazz can use 5 or 6 notes (from blues and/or pentatonic scales) and play solos that sound good without regard to the chord changes. Skilled players will combine bluesy sounding phrases with phrases that outline the harmony.

Blues progressions have many variations. These are some basic ones:

Jazz Blues (IV7 in bar 2; iim7 V7 bars 9 and 10)
||  I7  | IV7 |  I7  |  I7 ||  IV7  |  IV7 |  I7  |   I7   || iim7  |  V7 |  I7  |  I7 ||
||  I7  | IV7 |  I7  |  I7 ||  IV7  |  IV7 |  I7  |  VI7  || iim7  |  V7 |  I7  |  I7 ||

Rock, Pop and Traditional Blues (I7 for first 4 bars; V7 IV7 in bars 9 and 10)
|| I7   |  I7   |  I7  |  I7 ||  IV7  |  IV7 |  I7  |   I7   ||  V7   |  IV7 | I7  |  I7 ||

Note all of these versions are 12 bars in length and go to the IV7 chord in the 5th bar.

Frequently played jazz blues in the key of Bb include:

Clifford Brown - Blues Walk
Miles Davis - Blues by Five, Freddie Freeloader
Thelonious Monk - Blue Monk
Charlie Parker - Buzzy
Sonny Rollins - Blue Seven, Sonnymoon for Two, Tenor Madness
Lester Young - Jumping with Symphony Sid