Chords for Breaking Down Ramsey Lewis' SUMMER BREEZE (1973)

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Summer is finally here and I have a few rituals that I need to do for it to really be summer.
_ Like listen to Summer Breeze by Seals and [Em] Crofts. _ _ _ _
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_ _ Released in 1972, [D#] _
it's one of the greatest melodies ever and it really captures the vibe
of the season for me.
However, I cannot listen to it between September and May and it seems like summer doesn't officially
start until I've heard that song.
Which brings us to one of my favorite videos on YouTube.
_ Pianist Ramsey Lewis gave us his rendition of Summer Breeze on the 1974 album Solar Wind.
But before he [G#] recorded it, he performed it live on German television in [G] 1973.
Let's check out that version and talk about why it's just _ so good.
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_ [E] _ _ [B] _ _ _ _ [F#m] _
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_ _ [E] Check this out.
They start with a bridge. _ _ _ _ _
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It's a nice change from the toy piano melody that we eventually hear.
And they don't do this on the studio recording.
They start right at that melody.
Pay attention to how involved the bass is playing melodies.
It gives the bass a huge voice in the trio when it does that.
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_ _ [Em] _ If you read [N] the comments on this video, you're going to read one thing over and over again.
How amazing the bass sounds.
This was near the beginning _ of the piezo pickup being the standard way to amplify the bass
as opposed to a microphone.
That meant bass players could plug into amplifiers and compete with amplified guitars, _ keyboards,
and drums.
You can actually see the Fender Bassman amp he's running through behind him in several shots.
The bass sound is very indicative of that time with a lot of mid-range frequency, but
you can also hear all of the nuance in his playing.
The rakes, the pull-offs, the ghost notes, _ even through a TV speaker.
And he is crystal clear with his time and space _ and the groove.
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_ _ _ [E] _ _ If you listen hard, you can also hear the [B] reharmonization they do here.
Instead of going from [E] an E major _ [Am] to an A minor chord like in the original version, the trio
plays [F#] E _ to [E] _ _ _ _ [Em] _ A7. _
_ _ [B] That second dominant chord opens up the blues sound and allows Ramsey Lewis to really get
funky over these [E] changes. _ _ _ _
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[B] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ [Em] _ [A] _ _ _
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So this is [N] another _ reharmonization.
On the original, there's kind of a G pedal that goes through a couple [G] of chord changes. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ But _
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_ [C] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ Ramsey Lewis strips it all down and just plays G7 to C7, _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ allowing those dominant chords
to set up a much more bluesy and soulful sound.
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[G] _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
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[B] _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ [G] _
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[Bm] _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [G] _
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_ _ [N] Awesome solo.
Like I said, those two chords just are accommodating _ his language.
I also need to mention we're listening to the great Cleveland Eaton on bass.
He spent 10 years with this trio and made 30 _ records with Ramsey.
He also recorded with Frank Sinatra, Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, and he was Count Basie's
bassist for the last 15 years of his life.
And on drums is the incomparable Morris Jennings, who recorded 12 records with Ramsey and is
on tons of records, _ [Gm] including Curtis Mayfield's Superfly.
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_ _ Have you noticed the very subtle, [N] kind of over-the-shoulder _ nonverbal communication
that's been happening during this song?
This is a way that Ramsey is letting the other members of the trio know we're going on to
another section or we're staying in another section.
And this tells me that the song can be performed a variety of different ways.
And this is the way we're hearing it on this day.
It's really _ jazz at work and really cool to see.
Also, _ that shirt is amazing.
[Am] _ _ _
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_ Check this out.
Cleveland Eaton, eyes directly on Ramsey.
What is happening next?
Nonverbal communication.
They open up that G7 to C7 and Ramsey rides it out. _ _
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_ _ _ That's a Ramsey Lewis trademark.
In [N] this sea of kind of bluesy language, he gives you this flourish of extremely outside-sounding notes.
Also, _ that bass line is just [G] _ stupid. _
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[G] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _ [Gm] _
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[N] While the original ends on that main melody fading out, here Ramsey re-harmonizes that
melody and then ends on a giant E major chord.
This is a technique that comes from classical music called a Picardy third. _
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_ _ I love this video.
This is in the great tradition of jazz, taking popular song and telling your version of that story.
[D#] Clearly it's the same song, it's in the same key, it's almost the same tempo, but there
are a few subtle differences _ that allow the trio's _ personality to come through the music.
This just goes to prove that a great song is a great song.
You want to hear another great version of this song?
Check out the Isley brothers doing Summer [Am] Breeze. _ _ _
_ [Dm] _ _ _ [Am] _ _ _ _
[Dm] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ Iconic.
Last count, there were some _ [D] 50 versions of this [Em] song and it's not hard to see why.
_ _ [Am] Bring on the summer.
_ [Bm] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _ [F#m] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _