I always enjoy writing contra-facts over chord progressions I like to improvise on. This is an easy one that is based on the Gigi Gryce’s song Minority. Gigi writes great tunes; always melodic and fun to blow on harmonically. I put this one in 7/4 for fun and listened to and played over it for several days before sitting down at the piano to write this new melodic line. I tried to create a melody that wouldn’t remind my of Minority at first listen. This took me a few days and a lot of trashed attempts. In the end I found something I liked which I wrote first as a slow ballad in 7. I added a B section which is just a simple two chord vamp to break up the form a bit. I’ve been playing the B section every other chorus kind of like the song It’s You I’m Talking To. There’s a PDF and midi mp3 below. Feel free to print and play the song if you’d like to.
~ Enjoy!
You can purchase the album, “Alliance” here at Band Camp. https://mattotto.bandcamp.com/album/alliance
Basheer was Gigi’s Muslim name which he took once he quit his publishing company and music and started to teach in public schools. His story is somewhat tragic and worth reading about online.
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I put together a book of 52 contrafacts I’ve written over the years for anyone interested! Some tunes include: Countdown in 5/4, Woody and You, Serenity, I Didn’t Know What Time It Was, I Hear A Rhapsody, Nuages, Satellite in 7/4, Blues, Solar, Yardbird Suite, Like Someone In Love, Lazy Bird, Recorda Me, All The Things You Are, Four, Minority in 7/4, There Will Never Be Another You, Cyclic Episode, Alone Together, Is That So, I’ll Remember April in 3/4, All Of Me in 7/4, Well You Needn’t, Inner Urge in 7/4, What Is This Thing Called Love in 11/4, U.M.M.G., In Your Own Sweet Way, Beatrice in 6/4, Peace and more.