“Au Privave” is a blues composed by Charlie Parker and recorded in 1951. Like “Blues for Alice,” it uses a reharmonized “Bird blues” approach, and its twisting bebop head is a favorite of saxophonists and jam session players.
The form is a 12-bar blues in F, with jazz blues changes that include ii-Vs and secondary dominants. The head is a dense, syncopated bebop line.
Section by section: in bars one to four, combine the F blues scale with chord tones and bebop enclosures. In bars five and six, outline Bb7 with D and Ab. In bars seven to ten, follow the ii-V movement with guide tones. In bars eleven and twelve, use a turnaround lick. Borrow phrases from the head, which is packed with Parker’s vocabulary.
Practice the head slowly in small chunks, then improvise with a blues play-along.
Transposing tip: Bb instruments read it in G, Eb instruments in D.
Arrangement idea: play the head twice in unison, then trade choruses between horns before trading fours with the drummer. End with the head played twice and a sharp final hit.
How to use this Au Privave Lead Sheet PDF: print it or keep it on a tablet, mark the form sections and key centers in pencil, and write the guide tones you want to target above the tricky bars. Revisit those notes after each practice session so the tune gets easier every week.
Getting the most from the Au Privave Lead Sheet PDF: start by reading the chord symbols without your instrument and humming the roots. Then circle any chord you can’t yet voice or arpeggiate, and make those your warm-up for the week before you play the whole form.
Is it hard to play? It’s intermediate. Recordings to study: Parker’s 1951 recording. Learn more about the composer on Charlie Parker’s Wikipedia page, and find more bebop blues lead sheets on Minedit.