Jazz Changes

Thelonious Monk, music · First recorded for Blue Note, New York, 1951

Straight, No Chaser

Straight, No Chaser is a twelve-bar blues by Thelonious Monk, first recorded for Blue Note in 1951. Players like it because a short riff lands on a different beat each time over ordinary blues changes. Monk recorded it many times, and Miles Davis played it in F on Milestones in 1958.

▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.

  1. 1 Learn the song Thelonious Monk Quintet
  2. 2 Hear the F version Miles Davis
  3. 3 Hear Monk with his quartet Thelonious Monk Quartet
  4. 4 Hear it live Thelonious Monk Quartet
  5. 5 Hear it with words Carmen McRae
  6. 6 Hear it as a piano trio Kenny Barron Trio
  7. 7 Hear it on guitar Wes Montgomery
  8. 8 Hear it today Joey Alexander

How the tune works

F majorusual key
12 barsBlues chorus form
Fkey centers

The tune is a single twelve-bar blues chorus that the melody and every solo repeat. Bars 1 to 4 move from F to B♭ and back to F. Bars 5 and 6 sit on B♭, bar 7 returns to F, and bar 8 turns to D7. Bars 9 to 12 run through Gm7, C7, F7 and C7, so the last bar leads back to the top. Monk first recorded it in B♭, and Miles Davis's 1958 record helped make F the usual key. Published charts differ in the last bars.

One chorus of the twelve-bar blues in F, in three lines of four bars. The melody and every solo play these twelve bars again and again.

Key F major
Bluesbars 1–12
Bar 1: F majorF7
Bar 2: B♭7
Bar 3: F7
Bar 4: F7
Bar 5: B♭7
Bar 6: B♭7
Bar 7: F7
Bar 8: D7
Bar 9: Gm7
Bar 10: C7
Bar 11: F7
Bar 12: C7

Written from a one-line degree summary on a teacher's lead-sheet page (I IV I I, IV IV I VI, ii V I V), put into F with the usual seventh chords. The page says Monk adds touches around the turnaround that it does not spell out, and published charts differ in the last bars, so compare this with the chart you play from. Monk's 1951 record is in B♭.

Source: SaxTeacher UK: Straight No Chaser lead-sheet page (degree summary of the changes)

Listen in this order

Play all 8 on YouTube ↗

Start with Monk's own 1951 record, then Miles Davis's F version and two Monk quartet records with Charlie Rouse. Then hear the tune sung, as a piano trio, on guitar and in a recent live set.

  1. Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing

    Thelonious Monk Quintet 1951

    “Straight No Chaser”, Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 2

    B♭ major

    Listen for
    Count the twelve-bar choruses and listen for the short riff that comes back on a different beat each time. This one is in B♭, while most later versions are in F.
    Try this
    Play the chart's twelve bars in B♭ with one chord root per bar: B♭, E♭, B♭, B♭, E♭, E♭, B♭, G, C, F, B♭, F. Start with the first four bars, then add the rest. The last bars are the least certain, so follow the record where they differ.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  2. Step 2 · Hear the F version Now playing

    Miles Davis 1958

    Milestones

    F major

    Listen for
    The track runs over ten minutes, so you hear the form many times. Listen to the bass through one chorus and notice when the chords move from F to B♭ and back.
    Try this
    Play the chart's roots in F, one per bar: F, B♭, F, F, B♭, B♭, F, D, G, C, F, C. Play four bars with the record, then eight, then a whole chorus.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  3. Step 3 · Hear Monk with his quartet Now playing

    Thelonious Monk Quartet 1967

    Straight, No Chaser

    F major

    Listen for
    Tenor sax, piano, bass and drums take the twelve bars around for more than eleven minutes. Pick one player per chorus and follow only that part.
    Try this
    Play the melody from a lead sheet one four-bar line at a time, slowly, until you can play all twelve bars. The short riff lands on a different beat in each line, so mark where each line starts.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  4. Step 4 · Hear it live Now playing

    Thelonious Monk Quartet 1964

    “Straight, No Chaser (Live at the "It" Club)”, Live at the It Club

    Listen for
    Compare it with step 3, which has the same four players. Listen to how the group opens the track and how it ends.
    Try this
    Tap your foot on every beat and count the bars from 1 to 12 out loud for one chorus. Count the next chorus silently and check that you land on bar 1 with the music.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  5. Step 5 · Hear it with words Now playing

    Carmen McRae 1988

    “Get It Straight”, Carmen Sings Monk

    Listen for
    Follow the singer through one chorus and count the twelve bars by her phrases. Charlie Rouse, from Monk's quartet in steps 3 and 4, plays tenor sax on this track.
    Try this
    Sing or hum the melody on one syllable along with the record for one chorus. If it moves too fast, sing only the first four bars of each chorus and rest for the other eight.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  6. Step 6 · Hear it as a piano trio Now playing

    Kenny Barron Trio 1983

    Green Chimneys

    Listen for
    Piano, bass and drums share the twelve bars. Follow the bass through one chorus, then listen to the same chorus again for the drums.
    Try this
    At the piano, play the chart with your left hand on the roots and your right hand on a seventh chord, one per bar, in any key. Play one slow chorus, then listen to the trio and compare how Barron fills the same twelve bars.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  7. Step 7 · Hear it on guitar Now playing

    Wes Montgomery 1957

    “Straight No Chaser”, Echoes of Indiana Avenue

    up tempo

    Listen for
    Guitar, bass and piano, with no drummer credited for this track. Follow the guitar through a solo chorus and listen to how the piano and bass mark the changes under it.
    Try this
    On guitar or keyboard, play the chart with one chord per bar and a slow metronome. Raise the metronome a few clicks at a time toward the fast pace of this record.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  8. Step 8 · Hear it today Now playing

    Joey Alexander 2017

    “Straight No Chaser (Live)”, Joey.Monk.Live!

    Listen for
    Another piano trio, this time in front of an audience. It runs more than four minutes longer than the Barron trio in step 6.
    Try this
    Play the chart's roots with the record for two choruses. Then keep counting twelve-bar choruses by ear for a few more and see if you stay with the band.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

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