Oleo — Chord Changes & Harmonic Analysis
- Composer:
- Sonny Rollins
- Year:
- 1954
- Key:
- Bb major
- Form:
- AABA (32 bars)
- Style:
- Bebop
- Tempo:
- 180–280 BPM
Sonny Rollins's bebop composition over rhythm changes. Features a memorable melody and is a favorite among jazz musicians for blowing sessions.
About This Standard
Composed by Sonny Rollins and recorded in 1954 on the Miles Davis album Bags' Groove, Oleo is a bebop contrafact built on the chord changes of George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm" — making it a "Rhythm changes" tune in Bb major. Rollins's melodic invention over this ubiquitous form helped establish him as one of the foremost post-bop saxophonists.
Notable recordings:
- Miles Davis — Bags' Groove (1954, with Sonny Rollins)
- Sonny Rollins — (various recordings)
- Widely played — (Rhythm changes vehicle)
Chord Changes
Notation
Harmonic Analysis
Oleo uses the standard Rhythm changes form in Bb major: a 32-bar AABA with the I-vi-ii-V turnaround (Bbmaj7→Gm7→Cm7→F7) in the A sections and the cycling dominant 7th bridge (D7→G7→C7→F7). Like all Rhythm changes tunes, the A section's four-bar turnaround pattern and the bridge's four-dominant-chord cycle are the core harmonic features. At up-tempo, Oleo tests fluency in rapid ii-V-I and turnaround vocabulary. Its catchy, angular bebop melody makes it a favorite vehicle for demonstrating bebop style.