Donna Lee
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Donna Lee is a bebop jazz standard itself based on the chord changes of the traditional jazz standard "(Back Home Again in) Indiana". It is named after the now-obscure bassist Donna Lee.
While officially credited to saxophonist Charlie Parker, Miles Davis always maintained that he composed the tune, and indeed the scholarly consensus is that he did. Taking credit for other people's compositions was far from a rare occurrence in the jazz world; indeed, Davis later became wrongly credited for writing the standards "Four" and "Tune Up" (written by Eddie Vinson), "Solar" (by Chuck Wayne) and "Blue In Green" (written by Bill Evans).
Another claim for accreditation is bass player Curly Russell, naming it after his daughter, Donna Lee Russell.
One of the most famous "Donna Lee" interpretations is the solo fretless electric bass rendition by virtuoso jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius (also featuring Don Alias in conga drums) on his self-titled debut album. The tune is also a particular favourite of avant-garde saxophonist Anthony Braxton, who has recorded it many times.
[edit] Samples
- "Charlie Parker" (1947) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Charlie Parker's 1947 version (with Miles Davis). This is the second take.
- "Jaco Pastorius" (1976) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Jaco Pastorius' version of Donna Lee.
- Problems playing the files? See media help.
