Jaco Pastorius’s break on “Donna Lee” is unusually simple for Jaco. He’s literally just playing the A-flat major scale. If you want a Donna Lee bass lick you can work on today, this is the one.
Quick answer
Jaco Pastorius’s break on “Donna Lee” is unusually simple: he’s riffing on the A-flat major scale, playing all the notes in it, with a lot of bebop phrasing. If it’s too daunting, play it down the octave. Then use it over any major chord and take it through all 12 keys, or a few keys up the fingerboard.
What does Jaco play in the Donna Lee break?
If you don’t know what that break is from, then you have some listening to do. It’s Jaco Pastorius on “Donna Lee,” perhaps the most important recording in the history of electric bass, and definitely in the history of jazz electric bass. This is so simple, but it sounds so good.
The break isn’t over any fancy change. It’s literally just A-flat major. That’s all he’s doing: riffing on the A-flat major scale, playing all the notes in that scale.
Of course, this is a bebop tune. “Donna Lee” was reportedly written by Miles Davis, even though it’s credited to Charlie Parker. It’s a staple in the bass lexicon, whether you play electric or upright, and Jaco’s version is the quintessential version.
The bebop phrasing in Jaco’s break
He’s using a lot of bebop phrasing, which I love. Bebop phrasing is when you accent certain notes to give the phrase rhythm, and it sounds amazing on electric bass.
In my bebop lessons I put it this way: bebop phrasing is accenting certain notes to give the sense of forward motion, and forward motion is what swing feels like. Take a Paul Chambers line I teach there. Without the phrasing, it would maybe be too similar to a bass line. It just sounds like a G minor 7 arpeggio. Add the bebop phrasing and it sounds so much better. In Jaco’s break, the notes are just the A-flat major scale, and he’s using a lot of bebop phrasing.
Once again, I don’t know why that sounds so good. I’m just here to tell you what sounds good, break it down and show you how to play it. If we knew why things sounded good, we’d all be musical geniuses. I’m sure Jaco Pastorius knew why that sounded good.
If we knew why everything sounded good, we would all be Jaco Pastorius, and we’re not.
Cole Davis
What we do know is that this sounds great, and it’s literally just the notes in the A-flat major scale.
How to play Jaco’s Donna Lee break
If the break is too daunting for you, just play it down the octave. It literally sounds like Bach. In the lesson I shift up the G string to play it, and I also show another place on the neck where you can play it.
You can play it in any key, too. It’s a great lick that you can use over any major chord progression, any major chord or any major scale. You can even use it as an exercise: take it through all 12 keys, or just a few keys up the fingerboard.
How does Jaco walk on Donna Lee?
Jaco is the architect of the electric bass. If you play the instrument, you’ve got to deal with him at some point: his language, his songs, his solos. What doesn’t get discussed is his walking. His walking bass lines sing and elevate the song the same way Paul Chambers or Sam Jones did, and “Donna Lee” is one of five I break down in my lesson on his walking.
On that one, I skip the head and go straight to the bass line. He’s moving upward, like a Paul Chambers thing. It’s very simple chromatic forward motion with lots of tritones, and chromatic forward motion works on electric too. Each phrase ends with a tritone.
These are licks you should take with you, because they’re standard chromatic movement licks. Creating chromatic movement, I’d say, is the most important skill a bass player can have, more than technique and more than time, because it influences your time. If you can create chromatic movement, you’ll have good time. You’ll notice it’s impossible to play that bass line without it swinging.
For more Jaco, I break down how to play Teen Town on upright at the speed of the record.
Practice the Donna Lee lick this week
- Start down the octave. If the break feels daunting, learn it an octave lower first.
- Move it through the keys. Take it through all 12 keys, or just a few keys up the fingerboard.
- Put it over a major chord. Use it as a lick over any major chord or major chord progression you play.
- Take the chromatic licks with you. When you walk, use simple chromatic forward motion and end a phrase with a tritone, the way Jaco does on “Donna Lee.”
Learn the break down the octave tonight, then move it up the fingerboard one key at a time. And if you can walk a line but freeze when it’s your turn to solo, start Jazz Soloing on Electric Bass.
Go deeper
Jaco Pastorius: Havona, Transcribed in Real Time
Watch Cole transcribe Jaco’s solo on Havona from scratch, in real time, plus the finished transcription.
FAQ
What scale does Jaco play in the Donna Lee break?
The A-flat major scale. The break isn’t over any fancy change. It’s literally just A-flat major, and he’s riffing on it, playing all the notes in the scale. It’s unusually simple for Jaco Pastorius, and it sounds so good.
Who wrote Donna Lee?
It’s credited to Charlie Parker, but it was reportedly written by Miles Davis. It’s a bebop tune and a staple in the bass lexicon, whether you play electric or upright, and Jaco Pastorius’s version is the quintessential version.
What is bebop phrasing?
Bebop phrasing is when you accent certain notes to give the phrase rhythm, or a sense of forward motion, and forward motion is what swing feels like. Jaco uses a lot of it in the Donna Lee break. In a Paul Chambers line I teach, the notes are just a G minor 7 arpeggio. Without the phrasing, that’s all it sounds like. With bebop phrasing, it sounds so much better.
How do you practice Jaco’s Donna Lee lick?
If it’s too daunting, play it down the octave first. You can play it in any key. Use it over any major chord progression, any major chord or any major scale, and use it as an exercise: take it through all 12 keys, or just a few keys up the fingerboard.
Did Jaco Pastorius play walking bass?
Yes, and it doesn’t get discussed much. His walking bass lines sing and elevate the song the same way Paul Chambers or Sam Jones did. On “Donna Lee” he walks with very simple chromatic forward motion and lots of tritones, and each phrase ends with a tritone. Those are standard chromatic movement licks you should take with you.
