Jazz · ballad · 4/4 swing

Ballad comping (brushes, bass in two)

66 bpm
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triplets

Ballad comping — a slow standard, I–VI–ii–V in F. The pianist holds rootless two-hand voicings (3rd and 7th in the left hand, 9ths, 13ths and 5ths in the right) as whole and half notes and lets them ring; the only motion is a gentle anticipation — the right hand re-strikes on the swung and of 2 (1.667) in the dominant bars, leaning toward beat 3.

The bass plays in two — root on 1, a fifth or step-wise approach on 3 — and the drummer is on brushes: the right brush taps the swing-ride rhythm on the snare (ding, ding-a ding, ding-a), the left would be sweeping circles under it, the hi-hat foot closes on 2 and 4.

Listen for the voice-leading: each voicing moves to the next by a step or less. Practice: play the voicings as written with the sustain pedal changed on each chord, then try placing one re-strike per bar in different spots — on 3, on the and of 4 — and hear how much one push changes the feel. Compare two-feel at medium tempo.

References & listening

How this pattern was made

  • standard practice (ballad trio practice, e.g. Bill Evans / Hank Jones; brushes); no transcribed source