Modulation of Keys In Chet's Arrangemnts

[Doug Working]

I had never got to thinking about it before, until a couple days ago. I was working on Chet's arrangement of "It Never Hurts To Ask," from one of the Solid Gold albums. Either '68 or '69.

I know Chet used modulation in other tunes, but this arrangement was unique, because it starts out in good ol' C major, and during the course of the tune, he pretty much plays the same basic melody with some embellishments, but by the end, it he has modulated up like a good or five or six times. The tune just keeps going higher and higher. I'll have to go back and recount. I'm pretty sure that is the only tune where he did that to that extent. So it's kind of unique.

And a couple of the modulations he lets the band take over the melody, which breaks up the monotony.,

It's a fun tune to learn. Really a challenge to the left hand in playing melodies in various keys. We should be proficient in all keys. Chet does it so smooth, of course, without a hitch. So far I've only worked up to about the third change.

I'll get 'er, though.

[Doug Working]

I went back and re-counted. It modulates up eight times. A whole octave. That's a Chet record, I think.