Lullaby of the Leaves

gbart

Hiya folks! Been reading your posts, this is my first one here, don't let it go to your heads but you are all a great bunch of folks.
If anyone has any info or links to info on this song it would be very much appreciated.
I only heard this song for the first time this spring on a Connie Evingson CD titled "Gypsy in my Soul", if you haven't heard this CD it is very much a must have IMO. How can it not be with the likes of Pearl Django, Clearwater and Parasota hot club groups as back up. If anyone has friends that are having a hard time getting into this "old fashion music" as some of my friends call it, then this is the CD to break the ice. One thing I can say about Connie Evingson is that she is the only female vocalist that has ever given me actual goose bumps listening to her voice, in a real nice way(even gets the hair on my arms sticking up sometimes).
I realize GJ music is usually instrumental but as far as I'm concerned this womans voice was made for this. I only hope she does more of this type of music. She also has an excellent CD titled "Stockholm Sweetnin" that was actually the first I heard as well as a tribute to Peggy Lee and a very nice jazz version of the Beatles you might want to check out.
(I don't own stock in her records just happen to be a tad bit enthusiastic about her, can you tell;))
Till next time---

Stackabones

Very nice tune.

Here's some info ...
http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositio ... leaves.htm

It's in the Hal Leonard Real Book, Vol 3; and, with the lyrics, it's in the Hal Leonard Real Vocal Book, Vol 2.


Welcome to the forums, gbart!



8)

gbart

Thanks for the info Stackabones, went out and bought the real book so now I have the melody line but its going to take me awhile to figure out the right chords for this song. (wish Connie Evingson would just publish a songbook, would make life alot easier;) Some of the chords listed in the book just dont seem right but being as Im just getting started at this Im gonna figure it has more to do with my inexperience than the publisher.
Thanx again and remember---
Keep Cool But Dont Freeze!

Stackabones

gbart wrote:

Some of the chords listed in the book just dont seem right

Trust your ears. The Real Books take most of their changes from bebop era players ... and they tend to use all sorts of subs (tritone subs, maj7ths instead of 6ths, ii-V subs out the wazoo). Sometimes there are just too many chords--simplify them and make them sound right to your ears!!!!

If something sounds wrong to you, make it sound right. Even among jazzers, there are many disagreements about the changes. Most of the Real Book changes can be changed to suit your own tastes and needs.

A case in point ... My Favorite Things. Don't think for a minute that the changes that Coltrane/Tyner used are what you'll find in the Sound of Music. There may be some matches, but the differences will be wild.

Or check out "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)". Some gypsy jazzers use a much simpler verison of the chords than the Real Book does.

ghodaddyyo

A great instrumental version is from the Benny Goodman Sextet. It is a great song and was my launch pad into the world of jazz. Before I found this song, jazz sounded like complicated and disorganized noise to me. As a young rocker, this song helped me to find the musical qualities in jazz. It's still one of my favorite songs to play.

Try these changes:

A Section

Cm Ami7b5 / D7 G7#5 / Gm7 C7 / Fm7 Eb9

Dm7b5 Dm7b5 / G7#5 G7#5 / Cm Cm /Ab7 G7

Cm Ami7b5 / D7 G7#5 / Gm7 C7 / Fm7 Eb9

Dm7b5 Dm7b5 / G7#5 G7#5 / Cm Cm /Cm Cm

B Section

Ab7 Ab7 / Ab7 Ab7 / C6 G9 / C6 C7

Ab7 Ab7 / Ab7 Ab7 / C6 A7 / Dm7b5 G7#5

C Section

Cm Ami7b5 / D7 G7#5 / Gm7 C7 / Fm7 Eb9

Dm7b5 Dm7b5 / G7#5 G7#5 / Cm Cm / (Dm7b5 G7)

Now to explain my chart. Everything between slashes ( / ) is one bar or four beats. Many of the bars are divided between two chords and the bars that have the same chord in them twice means the chord is played for the whole bar.

The way I approach comping to this song is I like to play a bass note on beat one, then the chord on beat two, bass note on beat 3 and chord on beat 4. This helps me to get my fingers together and also gives it a basic walking bassline feel. I don't treat all the measures this way but mix it up with straight four to the floor style at the ends of measures and particularly the start of the bridge. I often treat the D7 as a D7#9 as I like the tension and how it flows into the G7#5.

This chart came from an established standards book and approved by my guitar teacher, so I assure you the changes are authentic and will get you through this song. Only thing missing is the melody, but hopefully you'll be able to pick that up with your chart or your ear. It's a beautiful song. Let me know if you have questions.

gbart

Wow, I said it before and it holds true, you all are great. I was in the middle of copying the info down(yep ye ole fashion pen & paper;) when I realized what a nice thing it was for someone to spend the time to relay this info to me. Had to stop and just plain say "Thanks".
Ill keep you posted how it all goes, but don't hold your breath, I just started learning the guitar this past summer (at 55;) and finding it a great experience, a lot of fun puzzling out songs that are so beautiful and learning about music at the same time.
Back to getting the chords down so again Thanks and remember---
Keep Cool But Don't Freeze!