Miles Davis, credited music · Chuck Wayne, same melody as “Sonny,” 1946 · Introduced on record by Miles Davis, Prestige, 1954
Solar
Solar is a twelve-bar tune in C minor, credited to Miles Davis, who recorded it in 1954. Teachers and learners like its short, rich changes, and Chuck Wayne's 1946 “Sonny” has the same melody. You hear it at jam sessions and on Bill Evans's 1961 Village Vanguard album.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Miles Davis Quintet✓
- 2 Hear another front line Phil Woods and Gene Quill✓
- 3 Hear a trio open it up Bill Evans Trio✓
- 4 Compare a second piano trio Keith Jarrett Trio✓
- 5 Hear a guitar trio Pat Metheny with Dave Holland and Roy Haynes✓
- 6 Hear an alto quartet Jackie McLean and Junko Onishi✓
- 7 Hear a long, unscripted version Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian✓
- 8 Hear a modern trio Brad Mehldau Trio✓
How the tune works
One twelve-bar chorus in C minor, repeated for the melody and every solo. Bars 1 and 2 sit on C minor, often with a major seventh on top. Bars 3 and 4 are a ii–V into F, Gm7 and C7, and bars 5 and 6 rest on F major. Bars 7 and 8 repeat that move one whole step lower, Fm7 and B♭7, and arrive on E♭ major in bar 9. Bar 10 fits the next step into one bar, E♭m7 and A♭7, and bar 11 lands on D♭ major. Bar 12 holds Dm7♭5 and G7, which turns the chorus back to C minor. Many listeners hear a blues, but Lewis Porter hears an abridged “How High the Moon,” and Wayne himself said the tune used those changes.
Read each line as four bars. Two chords in one bar share it equally. A key tag marks the first bar where a new key arrives. The twelve bars repeat for the melody and each solo, and bar 12 leads back to bar 1.
Wikipedia's chord structure, which cites Sher's New Real Book, writes bar 3 as Cm7 or Gm7 and shares bar 4 between Gm7 and C7. The Music Theory for Everyone analysis puts Gm7 in bar 3 and C7 in bar 4, and that is the version drawn here. It also says the opening chord can be a plain Cm and names the last chord G7♭9. Chuck Wayne's 1946 disc plays Sonny in D♭, and Davis changed the opening chord of Wayne's tune from major to minor. 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 Miles Davis's 1954 record, then moves through a two-alto quintet, two piano trios and Pat Metheny's guitar trio. It ends with two alto saxophone quartets and a modern trio, so you hear the same twelve bars in several settings.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Miles Davis Quintet 1954
Miles Davis Quintet
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- Listen for
- The take opens over a minor chord, which Davis changed from the major chord in Wayne's tune. Ethan Iverson hears the theme as impressionistic at the start and more abstract at the end.
- Try this
- Play Cm(maj7) for two bars, then Gm7, C7, Fmaj7 and Fmaj7, one chord per bar, and count along with the record. If the later bars move too fast, stop after bar 6 and wait for the next chorus.
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Step 2 · Hear another front line Now playing
Phil Woods and Gene Quill 1957
Bird Feathers
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Two alto saxophones share the front line over piano, bass and drums. The track runs 5:50, so the twelve-bar chorus comes around several times.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords with the record, one chord per bar. Bars 10 and 12 hold two chords each, so give each chord two beats.
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Step 3 · Hear a trio open it up Now playing
Bill Evans Trio 1961
Sunday at the Village Vanguard
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- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums share the tune. Ethan Iverson says Evans plays the theme in the same impressionistic way as Davis.
- Try this
- Play only the root of each chord in the chart, one per bar, and give bars 10 and 12 two roots each. The track runs just under nine minutes, so stop after a few choruses.
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Step 4 · Compare a second piano trio Now playing
Keith Jarrett Trio 1989
Tribute
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- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums again, this time at 9:32 and dedicated to Evans. Use the chart to hear each pass settle on F in bars 5 and 6 and on E♭ in bar 9.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords on the piano in a steady rhythm for one chorus, then play only the left-hand root of each chord for the next. If you lose count, wait for the next chorus.
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Step 5 · Hear a guitar trio Now playing
Pat Metheny with Dave Holland and Roy Haynes 1989
Question and Answer
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- Listen for
- Guitar, double bass and drums, with no piano. Use the chart to follow each pass through the keys of F, E♭ and D♭.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords one per bar with the record. Soloing over these changes takes more experience, so a smaller step is to play just the root of each chord and listen for what the guitar does next.
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Step 6 · Hear an alto quartet Now playing
Jackie McLean and Junko Onishi 1996
Hat Trick
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- One alto saxophone over piano, bass and drums, for 7:48. Count the twelve bars and listen for each chorus settling on F major in bars 5 and 6.
- Try this
- Play along with the chart's chords, one per bar, on any chord instrument. If you lose your place, wait for the next chorus and start again at Cm(maj7).
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Step 7 · Hear a long, unscripted version Now playing
Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian 2009
Live at Birdland
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The band used no set list, and Konitz or Mehldau would start a tune with the others joining in. Solar runs 11:39, so the twelve-bar chorus comes around many times.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords one per bar for a single chorus, then stop and listen. The record is long, so pick one stretch and play along with it.
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Step 8 · Hear a modern trio Now playing
Brad Mehldau Trio 1999
The Art of the Trio, Vol. 4: Back at the Vanguard
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums once more, now from a different decade in the same room. Use the chart to follow the move to F, E♭ and D♭ in each chorus.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords one per bar, then repeat with only the root of each chord. Compare the roots you hear here with the roots you played along with the Evans record.
More great versions
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David Liebman Quintet 1978
Pendulum: Live at the Village Vanguard
A 20-minute reading by a quintet with two horns, recorded at the Village Vanguard in February 1978.
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John Abercrombie and John Scofield 1982
Solar
Two guitarists, John Abercrombie and John Scofield, play Solar as a duet with no bass or drums.
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Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Paul Motian 1992
At the Deer Head Inn
Paul Motian, the drummer on the 1961 Evans record, plays Solar here with Keith Jarrett and Gary Peacock in a club in Pennsylvania.
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Bruce Hornsby with Christian McBride and Jack DeJohnette 2007
Camp Meeting
Pianist Bruce Hornsby plays Solar in a trio with Christian McBride and Jack DeJohnette, recorded in Virginia in April 2007.
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Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer 2019
But Who's Gonna Play the Melody?
Two acoustic bass players, Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer, play Solar as a duet on a 2024 album.