The ii-V-I is everywhere in jazz. Pretty much every tune in the Real Book has one. If you can walk through it, you can play 90% of what’s in the Real Book. Maybe you already walk through it in a way that feels solid and functional, and you might think that’s what people want to hear. Unfortunately, it’s not.
Quick answer
Pick your destination first: on D minor 7, G7, C major 7, aim for the third of the G7. Think in cadences from beat four to beat one: a half step, a whole step or 5-1. Then try three styles: chromatic like Paul Chambers, spread out like Israel Crosby, or simple like Ray Brown.
People actually want to hear something interesting. If you think of jazz as collective improvisation, everybody’s in motion at the same time. Everybody has a part, but everybody has to inspire each other in some way. Think about Elvin, Tony, the great drummers who knew how to create drama in the way they played. The way you motivate the band is by being clear and functional, but also melodic or soloistic.
So here are three walking lines over a ii-V-I in C, D minor 7 to G7 to C major 7. Each one is built the way a jazz legend built theirs. First, though, you need somewhere to go.
Where should a ii-V-I walking line go?
A lot of people mistake walking bass for a continuous string of notes. It’s not. Walking bass is a series of destinations. On a ii-V-I, pick your starting point and then your destination. For example, start on the D minor 7, land on the third of the G7, and then land on the third of the C major 7. Then try it starting on the root every single time.
These target notes are really just establishing a direction. A lot of the time you freeze up, not because you don’t know the information, but because you don’t know where you’re going.
Then think in cadences. A cadence is a complicated music theory way of saying a destination. There are three kinds of cadences in a walking bass line, all from beat four to beat one: a half step, a whole step, or 5-1. The 5-1 is the most common kind.
Line 1: play it like a soloist, the Paul Chambers way
I have a rule with my bass lines.
I want my bass lines to sound like a solo or a melody.
Cole Davis
We often think of bass lines as these stock, meat and potatoes, almost boring phrases. We don’t realize how melodic or soloistic our bass lines really are.
The first line comes from Paul Chambers, and what was incredible about him is that he played like a soloist. He got a lot of his lines from Bird, and he didn’t just use them in his solos. He used them in his bass lines. Play this line in a solo and it has a soloistic quality. That’s a bebop lick. The genius of Paul Chambers is that he was able to use those licks in his bass lines, so it’s a functional, clear, beautiful walking bass line, and at the same time it’s a solo.
This one is chromatic. You can use it in all 12 keys, and you can use it over pretty much any tune, because pretty much all tunes in the Real Book have ii-V-Is. Just plug and play it wherever.
Line 2: spread out the intervals, the Israel Crosby way
Line two is the same chord progression, many of the same notes and the same bass function, with a completely different character. It comes from Israel Crosby, who played in the Ahmad Jamal Trio. His signature was playing bass lines that sound like melodies.
You could say anything could be a melody, and that’s fair. It’s all about how you respond to it. The genius of Israel Crosby is that he created melodic bass lines by spreading out the intervals. A lot of the great architects of bass playing, like John Kirby, Jimmie Blanton and Walter Page, played in a chromatic way: very straight down the middle, very easy to follow. Crosby broke it up.
His line has a unique approach with the 9. Everything’s spread out, so it sounds like it’s reaching for something, like it’s taking you on a journey, which is the whole point of a great melody. Play it out of time and it sounds like the beginning of a melody.
On the dominant chord, the line has a tritone. The tritone is the cornerstone of a dominant chord. It’s saying, move me. The dominant chord is the most powerful of all chords because it gives you a call to action, and that’s also why it’s the most difficult: it gives you so much responsibility. Crosby often started his bass lines with a tritone to convey the dominant chord, not just a root and a third. And he resolves in the bar, so beat four is actually the resolution preparing you for the next chord. You can hear more of that in Israel Crosby’s bass lines and his beat four cadence. On the C major 7, it’s just 3, 5, 7, 9. That’s all you need.
Line 3: simple on the surface, the Ray Brown way
Line three is a Ray Brown line. What made Ray Brown so great is that he could be functional and play bass lines that sounded like meat and potatoes bass lines, but actually had a lot of poetry. They sound so obvious and so simple, and when you break them down, they’re poetic and beautiful.
This one sounds melodic because of the way the intervals are spaced out, and because on the second bar, where you’d think he’d resolve to a G, he resolves to the third. Those are very subtle things, and they separate his line from the pedestrian, boring bass line we all default to.
When I analyzed a bunch of Ray Brown bass lines, the one thing I found in common is that every two bars, no matter what, has a cadence. He creates structure and form the same way Bach or Mozart did, by playing the simplest bass lines in the most logical and beautiful way. More of what I found is in the Ray Brown walking bass line formula.
You don’t have to choose one. You can use multiple concepts even in the same chorus. I often space out my bass line so some of it is more intervallic and spread out, and some is more chromatic like line one. That’s the beauty of the ii-V-I. You don’t only have to play it one way.
Try this today: one ii-V-I, three ways
- Pick a destination. Walk D minor 7 to G7 to C major 7 and land on the third of the G7. Then walk it again starting on the root of every chord.
- Cadence from beat four. Get into the next chord from beat four to beat one by a half step, a whole step, or 5-1.
- Play it like Chambers. Make the line chromatic, and try it as a solo phrase too, so you hear the bebop lick inside it.
- Play it like Crosby. Spread out the intervals. Add a 9, put a tritone on the G7, and play 3, 5, 7, 9 on the C major 7.
- Play it like Ray Brown. Keep it simple, and on the G7, land on the third instead of the G.
- Mix them in one chorus. Some ii-V-Is chromatic, some intervallic.
If you play electric, The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough (Electric) is a seven-day method for walking through ii-V-Is, stepwise progressions and static modal chords.
Pick the line you like best tonight and take it through all 12 keys.
Go deeper
The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough (Electric)
A seven-day method for electric bass that walks you through ii-V-Is, stepwise progressions and static modal chords with lines that move.
FAQ
What note should you aim for on the V chord of a ii-V-I?
Try the third. On D minor 7 to G7 to C major 7, start on the D minor 7 and land on the third of the G7. In Ray Brown’s line, you’d think he’d resolve to a G on the second bar, but he resolves to the third. Target notes like that establish a direction, so you know where you’re going.
What are the three kinds of cadences in a walking bass line?
All three go from beat four to beat one: a half step, a whole step, or 5-1. The 5-1 is the most common kind. A cadence is a complicated music theory way of saying a destination.
How did Israel Crosby make his walking lines sound like melodies?
By spreading out the intervals. A lot of the great architects of bass playing, like John Kirby, Jimmie Blanton and Walter Page, played in a chromatic way, very straight down the middle. Crosby’s line has a unique approach with the 9, he often started his lines with a tritone to convey the dominant chord, and he resolves in the bar so beat four prepares the next chord.
Can you use bebop licks in a walking bass line?
Yes. That’s what Paul Chambers did. He got a lot of his lines from Bird and used them in his bass lines, not just his solos. His ii-V-I line is a bebop lick, and at the same time it’s a functional, clear, beautiful walking bass line.
Should I play a ii-V-I the same way every time?
No. You can use multiple concepts even in the same chorus. I often space out my bass line so some of it is more intervallic and spread out, and some is more chromatic. That’s the beauty of the ii-V-I. You don’t only have to play it one way.
