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<h1>Arranging Chord Melody for Blue Bossa</h1>
<p>"Blue Bossa" by Kenny Dorham (1963) is one of the most popular jazz standards for learning chord melody. The form is short (16 bars), the melody is singable with a comfortable pace, and the harmonic content is interesting without being overwhelming — it starts in C minor, modulates to D♭ major for four bars (a tritone away), then returns to C minor. That modulation is the key feature to navigate in a chord melody arrangement.</p>

<h2>The Changes</h2>
<pre>
A section (bars 1–8, C minor):
| Cm7   | Cm7   | Fm7   | Fm7   |
| Dm7♭5 | G7♭9  | Cm7   | Cm7   |

B section (bars 9–12, D♭ major):
| D♭maj7 | D♭maj7 | E♭m7 | A♭7 |

Return (bars 13–16, C minor):
| Dm7♭5 | G7♭9  | Cm7   | Cm7   |
</pre>

<h2>The Minor ii-V-i</h2>
<p>The Dm7♭5 → G7♭9 → Cm7 cadence is the heart of the tune and where the most harmonic interest lives:</p>

<table>
  <thead><tr><th>Chord</th><th>Role</th><th>Scale</th><th>Key voicing note</th></tr></thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>Dm7♭5</td><td>ii° of A minor / C minor</td><td>D Locrian or D Locrian ♮2</td><td>A♭ (the ♭5) in an inner voice</td></tr>
    <tr><td>G7♭9</td><td>V7 of C minor</td><td>G Phrygian dominant or G half-whole diminished</td><td>A♭ (♭9) — tension note</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Cm7</td><td>Tonic i in C minor</td><td>C Dorian or C Aeolian</td><td>E♭ (♭3) confirming minor quality</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

<pre>
G7♭9 → Cm7 voice leading:
  Top melody: sustains or moves by step
  Inner voice: A♭ → G  (♭9 resolves down to 5th of Cm7)
  Inner voice: B → C   (major 3rd of G7 resolves up to root of Cm7 — leading tone)
  Bass:        G → C   (V → i root motion)
</pre>

<h2>The D♭ Major Section — Key Challenge</h2>
<p>The modulation to D♭ major (bars 9–12) is a tritone away from G (the dominant of C). This makes it harmonically distant — the two keys share very few notes. The contrast is the musical moment: D♭ major sounds brighter after the C minor darkness. Don't underplay it.</p>
<pre>
D♭maj7 voicing suggestions (melody often sits on F or A♭):
  If melody = F (major 3rd of D♭):
    D♭  F  A♭  C  (root position, F on top — but F is a middle voice here)
    Better: use an inversion where F is clearly the top note
    A♭ — C — D♭ — F  (5th in bass, melody F on top)

  If melody = A♭ (5th of D♭):
    D♭ — F — C — A♭  (root, 3rd, 7th, 5th — A♭ on top)
    Or drop-2 variant

The E♭m7 → A♭7 is a ii-V in D♭ — treat it like any major ii-V,
but with D♭maj7 (not a Cm7) as the resolution target.
Note: A♭7 → Cm7 at bar 13 is actually an interrupted cadence —
the A♭7 dominant resolves to C minor, not D♭. This is the seam of the modulation.
</pre>

<h2>Melody Note Mapping</h2>

<table>
  <thead><tr><th>Bar</th><th>Chord</th><th>Typical melody note</th><th>Scale degree</th><th>Voicing approach</th></tr></thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>1</td><td>Cm7</td><td>G</td><td>5th</td><td>Cm7 with G on top — common, use E♭ or C in bass</td></tr>
    <tr><td>3</td><td>Fm7</td><td>C or E♭</td><td>5th or ♭7</td><td>Fm7 with melody note on top; F in bass</td></tr>
    <tr><td>5</td><td>Dm7♭5</td><td>D or F</td><td>root or 3rd</td><td>Include A♭ (♭5) somewhere in inner voice</td></tr>
    <tr><td>6</td><td>G7♭9</td><td>D or F</td><td>5th or ♭7</td><td>Include A♭ (♭9) — the tension note</td></tr>
    <tr><td>9</td><td>D♭maj7</td><td>F or A♭</td><td>3rd or 5th</td><td>D♭ Lydian colour optional; drop-2 voicing</td></tr>
    <tr><td>11</td><td>E♭m7</td><td>B♭ or G♭</td><td>5th or 3rd</td><td>E♭m7 — darker than D♭; prepare the A♭7 resolution</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

<h2>Reharmonisation Options</h2>
<pre>
Bar 1 (Cm7):
  → E♭maj7 (tonic substitute — same notes as Cm7, relative major)
  → A♭maj7 (♭VI major — dark subdominant colour)

Bar 5–6 (Dm7♭5 → G7♭9):
  → Tritone sub the G7♭9: D♭7♭9 resolves by half step to Cm7
    (D♭ → C bass motion is smoother than G → C fifth)
  → Or expand to Dm7♭5 → D♭7 → Cm7 (abbreviated tritone sub)

D♭ major section:
  Add a chromatic passing chord: D♭maj7 → Dmaj7 → D♭maj7
  (brief chromatic neighbour chord — creates inner voice movement)
</pre>

<h2>Practical Tips</h2>
<ul>
  <li><strong>Bossa nova feel:</strong> even in chord melody, the light offbeat bass feel of bossa suits the tune. Use soft touches on the bass strings, not heavy downstrokes.</li>
  <li><strong>Start with just melody + bass:</strong> two-voice first, add inner voices after the skeleton is solid.</li>
  <li><strong>The modulation is the highlight:</strong> make D♭maj7 voicings full and resonant — this is the moment of harmonic release after the minor key tension.</li>
  <li><strong>Use the ♭9 expressively over G7♭9:</strong> don't bury A♭ in the middle of the voicing — let it ring as a clear colour before resolving to Cm7.</li>
</ul>

<h2>References</h2>
<ul>
  <li>Levine — <em>The Jazz Theory Book</em></li>
  <li>Pass — <em>Virtuoso</em> recordings (model for chord melody approach)</li>
  <li><a href="https://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-0/bluebossa.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jazzstandards.com — Blue Bossa ↗</a></li>
</ul>
