Charlie Parker and Benny Harris, music · Written over the changes of How High the Moon · First recorded for Dial in Los Angeles
Ornithology
Ornithology is a bebop tune by Charlie Parker and Benny Harris on the chords of How High the Moon. It remains one of the most played bebop tunes, and players know two melodies for bars 13 to 16. You will hear it on records by Parker, Bud Powell, Sonny Stitt and Joshua Redman.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Hear the first recording Charlie Parker Septet✓
- 2 Hear the source of the changes Ella Fitzgerald with the Paul Smith Quartet✓
- 3 Hear Parker live Charlie Parker Quintet✓
- 4 Hear a pianist's version Bud Powell Trio✓
- 5 Hear a saxophone tribute Sonny Stitt✓
- 6 Hear a pianoless quartet Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker✓
- 7 Hear it on guitar Biréli Lagrène✓
- 8 Hear a modern reworking Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau✓
How the tune works
Thirty-two bars in four sections of eight, A B A B′, all in G. Each A opens with two bars of Gmaj7, then Gm7 to C7 leads into two bars of Fmaj7, and Fm7 to B♭7 leads into the B section. The first B opens on E♭7, passes through D7 to a Gm chord, and then moves Bm7, E7, Am7, D7 in bars 13 to 16. The last section starts like the first B, reaches Gmaj7 in bar 27, and comes home to Gmaj7 in bar 31.
The changes under Charlie Parker's alto solo on a 1946 recording, transcribed in the Weimar Jazz Database. Published sheets read bars 3 and 4 as Gm7, C7 and bars 29 and 30 as Bm7 E7, Am7 D7.
Use the key buttons to move the chart to the key you play in.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with Parker's 1946 Dial record and Ella Fitzgerald's version of the song that supplies the chords. It then moves through Parker live in 1948, Bud Powell's 1949 trio, a 1963 Sonny Stitt tribute, the 1957 Mulligan and Baker quartet, a 1992 guitar trio and a 2011 saxophone and piano duo.
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Step 1 · Hear the first recording Now playing
Charlie Parker Septet 1946
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- AllSolos lists solos by Parker on alto, Lucky Thompson on tenor and Miles Davis on trumpet, all between 223 and 226 beats per minute. Listen for the three solos in turn, and for Arvin Garrison's guitar in the rhythm section.
- Try this
- Play bars 5 to 8 of the chart (Fmaj7, Fmaj7, Fm7, B♭7) a few times at a slow tempo, then listen to the record and find where those bars fall in the first chorus. Smaller version: play only the root of each chord.
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Step 2 · Hear the source of the changes Now playing
Ella Fitzgerald with the Paul Smith Quartet 1960
“How High the Moon”, Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife
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- Listen for
- Fitzgerald scats over the same chords Ornithology uses. Wikipedia says singers who scat on this song often quote Parker's tune, so listen for it inside the scat.
- Try this
- Play bars 1 to 8 of the chart as chords, then hum or play the melody of How High the Moon over them. Smaller version: play only the first four bars.
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Step 3 · Hear Parker live Now playing
Charlie Parker Quintet 1948
“Ornithology (Live At The Royal Roost, 1948)”, The Complete Live Performances on Savoy
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- Listen for
- This version runs 5:43. Count the 32-bar choruses by listening for the B section each time it comes round. Miles Davis, the trumpeter on the 1946 Dial record, is in this lineup too.
- Try this
- Play along with the first minute of the record, one chord per bar from the chart, and stop at each B section to listen. Smaller version: play only the root on the first beat of each bar.
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Step 4 · Hear a pianist's version Now playing
Bud Powell Trio 1949
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- Listen for
- Learn Jazz Standards says players use two different melodies for bars 13 to 16 and the last four bars, and tells readers to compare Parker's original with Powell's version. Compare those bars here with the Dial record.
- Try this
- Play bars 13 to 16 of the chart (Bm7, E7, Am7, D7), one chord per bar, under this record. Smaller version: play only the roots.
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Step 5 · Hear a saxophone tribute Now playing
Sonny Stitt 1963
Stitt Plays Bird
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- Listen for
- The rhythm section is John Lewis on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, Richard Davis on bass and Connie Kay on drums. Listen for the guitar and piano together behind the alto.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords once through, one chord per bar, along with the record. Soloing over these changes needs more skill; a smaller version is to play one chord tone per bar over each chord.
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Step 6 · Hear a pianoless quartet Now playing
Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker 1957
Reunion with Chet Baker
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- Listen for
- The credited lineup is trumpet, baritone saxophone, bass and drums, with no piano or guitar. Listen for how the two horns and the bass outline the chords.
- Try this
- Play only the bass note of each chord from the chart, one per bar, and listen to how much of the harmony a bass line suggests. Smaller version: play just the A section.
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Step 7 · Hear it on guitar Now playing
Biréli Lagrène 1992
Standards
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- Listen for
- The lineup is guitar, bass and drums with no piano, so one guitar carries the harmony. Listen for how the guitar fills in the chords between the bass and the drums.
- Try this
- On guitar or piano, play bars 1 to 8 of the chart one chord per bar, then add the bass note on the first beat. Smaller version: play only the first chord of each bar.
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Step 8 · Hear a modern reworking Now playing
Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau 2011
Nearness
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- Listen for
- Wikipedia, quoting reviewers, says Redman's tenor follows the shape of the tune while Mehldau reworks the harmony and rhythm, with tempo shifts and quick changes of mood. Listen for the tempo shifts and for how the piano treats the chords.
- Try this
- Play bars 1 to 8 of the chart along with the opening of the record for as long as you can stay with it. Smaller version: play only the root of each chord, one per bar.
More great versions
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Charlie Parker Quintet 1949
“Ornithology (Live At The Royal Roost, 1949)”, The Complete Live Performances on Savoy
Parker plays the tune at the Royal Roost on January 1, 1949, with Kenny Dorham on trumpet and Joe Harris on drums.
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Les Paul and Mary Ford 1951
“How High the Moon”
Les Paul and Mary Ford recorded How High the Moon, the song Ornithology is built on, at home in Queens on January 4, 1951.
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Charlie Parker Quartet 1953
“Ornithology (Live)”, Charlie Parker at Storyville
Parker plays Ornithology in a quartet with Red Garland, Bernie Griggs and Roy Haynes on a radio broadcast from Storyville in Boston on March 10, 1953.
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Barry Harris Trio 1958
Breakin' It Up
Barry Harris recorded the tune in Chicago on July 31, 1958, with William Austin on bass and Frank Gant on drums.
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Dizzy Gillespie with Jackie McLean, Paquito D'Rivera and Bobby McFerrin 1992
“Ornithology (Live At The Blue Note, New York City, NY / January 25, 1992)”, Bird Songs: The Final Recordings
Dizzy Gillespie leads this live set at the Blue Note in New York in January 1992, with Jackie McLean and Paquito D'Rivera on alto saxophone and Bobby McFerrin on vocals.
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Madeleine Peyroux 2017
“Meet Charlie Parker (Chan's Overture) [Vocal Version of “Ornithology”]”, The Passion of Charlie Parker
Madeleine Peyroux sings a vocal version of the tune, released on Impulse!