Ugly Bones Ryan
16 posts
Dec 16, 2013
6:02 PM
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I heard a Count Basie tune where he plays the exact same lick as Little Walter does in the beginning of Juke just in a different key. Anyone know the name of it? I can't remember.
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Rhartt1234
112 posts
Dec 16, 2013
6:11 PM
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It's not Basie, it's Les Brown's "Leapfrog"
Check it out on YouTube.
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timeistight
1456 posts
Dec 16, 2013
6:15 PM
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Last Edited by timeistight on Dec 16, 2013 6:15 PM
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BigSteveNJ
35 posts
Dec 16, 2013
7:33 PM
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Actually, the lick is not QUITE the same.
Brown & co play (phonetically)
"Ba daba DA-da".
Juke actually has a semi-triplet feel with an extra note:
"Ba daba-da DA-DA".
That triplet lick from the fifth (B, in the key of E
that resolves on the tonic (E), is one of the most common blues harp licks on record, yet can be very tricky to swing well.
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WinslowYerxa
455 posts
Dec 17, 2013
1:21 AM
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If you slow Juke down, it's actually not a triplet after the first note:
Ba Yabba-Dabba Dee Deet
That riff is as old as the hills; variants of it are all through music of the swing, jump, and early R&B eras.
Here's Count Basie in 1950, using it to open the tune at about 0:12, then also casually throwing it in on the piano to set up a bass solo at about the 1:32 mark:
Conversation
Or, some very early Ray Charles, recorded in 1953:
It Should Have Been Me
And Walter was not the first harmonica player to adopt this riff. Snooky Pryor used a very similar riff to open his 1948 recording of a tune he called Boogie; he later claimed that Walter had taken it from him.
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Winslow
Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Dec 17, 2013 2:46 AM
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tmf714
2266 posts
Dec 17, 2013
6:01 AM
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The opening riff to "Juke" is actually 3 blow-3 draw bend-4 draw-5 blow-6 blow -6blow-
Some parts of "Juke" bear resemblance to Sunnyland Slim's "Get Up the Stairs Mademoiselle" .
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WinslowYerxa
456 posts
Dec 17, 2013
8:52 AM
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If you slow the Juke riff down you'll hear an additional note between the 3Db (3Draw bend) and the 4 Draw:
2Draw (yes, if you listen, you'll hear how smoothly he moves from that into the Draw 3 bend - there's no breath change).
2D - 3Db - 3D - 4D - 5B - 6B - 6B
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Winslow
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tmf714
2269 posts
Dec 17, 2013
9:19 AM
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"2Draw (yes, if you listen, you'll hear how smoothly he moves from that into the Draw 3 bend - there's no breath change)."
This is where a lot of people miss the nuances of Little Walters playing-here is an update to Glenn Weisers transcripton-"Note-The first note of the famous opening phrase ("Le Riff") should be played as a 3-blow rather than a 2-draw. It has since been changed in the book.- G.W. Also, the second note should be an F#: 3-draw, whole step bend."
I never slowed music down to learn it-it ruins the pace and timing. I learned "Juke" from Joe Filisko-guess you could take it up with Joe if you have a differing view-there are no additional notes-Glenn Weiser also has it tabbed incorrectly
Last Edited by tmf714 on Dec 17, 2013 9:27 AM
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tmf714
2270 posts
Dec 17, 2013
9:33 AM
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Here is the correct opening tab-
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timeistight
1459 posts
Dec 17, 2013
10:12 AM
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There was a raging debate on Harp-L a few years ago about the last note in the riff: whether it's a single note or an octave and, if it's an octave, whether it's a 3-6 octave or a 6-9 octave.
I don't think it ever got settled.
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tmf714
2271 posts
Dec 17, 2013
10:18 AM
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Joe has it tabbed as a 3-6-slightly. I play it as 6 blow.
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WinslowYerxa
457 posts
Dec 17, 2013
12:06 PM
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Here's Little Walter playing the opening lick, slowed down to half speed:
Juke opening riff slowed down
He's definitely playing a bent Draw 3 and then an unbent Draw 3 before moving on to Draw 4.
As to the initial note, it sounds like he's alternating between Draw 2 and Blow 3.
Arguing from authority, whether it's Joe or Glenn, is a logical fallacy. Look at the direct evidence.
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Winslow
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tmf714
2273 posts
Dec 17, 2013
12:32 PM
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All I here in that clip is a lot of slowed down slop-I sat with Dennis Gruenling for a few lessons on "Juke"-he plays it the way I described,and also teaches it that way.
I will be attending the Harmonica Masterclass in San Diego next April-it will be a great topic to bring up at Dennis' "The Two Walters" Little Walter/Big Walter Saturday class-see you there.
Last Edited by tmf714 on Dec 17, 2013 12:35 PM
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tmf714
2274 posts
Dec 17, 2013
1:08 PM
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WinslowYerxa
458 posts
Dec 17, 2013
9:37 PM
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Jerry is playing exactly what I'm talking about re that extra note. It's not slop. Its pitch may slide, but it has a defined rhythm - dividing the beat into four parts instead of three, and swinging the first two of those four notes, then moving more quickly through the last two.
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Winslow
Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Dec 17, 2013 10:27 PM
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