Take it to the Bridge IN PAST COLUMNS, IVE TALKED ABOUT THE intimate relationship between the blues and

jazz, but another perspective on this connection was shared with me many years ago by the great bluesman Robert Junior ockwood! " prot#g# o$ the legendary Robert Johnson, $ormer traveling partner o$ Johnny %hines, session player $or &hess Records, sideman $or ittle 'alter, and a genuine blues artist in his own right, Robert Junior was the real deal! (ne night on a break, he e)plained the di$$erence between jazz and blues very simply* +$ it ,the songdoesn.t have a bridge ,B section-, it.s blues! +$ it has a bridge, then it.s jazz! The logic behind this statement is somewhat convoluted, and doesn.t really hold up to close e)amination, but who am + to argue with a man who learned to play guitar $rom Robert Johnson/ %o in that spirit, let.s take a look at some blues bridges! Bridge is a musical term that has a $ew di$$erent meanings, but the simplest de$inition is a section o$ music that di$$ers $rom the main body o$ the tune! +n an ""B" song $orm, the B section is the bridge! +n a verse0chorus pop song structure, the bridge is o$ten a third section that creates a di$$erent vibe $rom the rest o$ the tune! +n blues, a bridge is usually an eight1bar section that gets played in between a set number o$ " sections, o$ten $ollowing the ""B" $ormat ,the " section being a 231bar blues $orm, typically-! The $ollowing e)amples give only the numerical chord changes, as the speci$ic bass lines will vary depending on the tune! Example 1 is a classic bridge that goes to the +4 chord5while there are several possible choices, when someone yells take it to the bridge, most likely you.ll go to the +4 chord! This particular variant can be $ound in azy ester.s blues classic + 6ear 7ou 8nocking ,not to be con$used with tunes o$ the same name by 9ats :omino or ;uicksilver <essenger %ervice-! This bridge gets a little twist when applied to Jimmy Reed.s Take (ut %ome +nsurance5 the ++ major chord shows up in bar = to create a longer resolution back to the + chord, as shown in Ex. 2! +n ouis Jordan.s Blue ight Boogie, the ++ chord occurs in the >th bar o$ the bridge, as shown in Ex. 3! Example 4 is another common bridge that goes to the +4, and can be heard in 9reddie 8ing.s %idetracked! +t bounces $rom the +4 back to the + three times, then adds a 4+1++4 movement at the end o$ the phrase to seal the deal when returning to the + chord in the " section! The previous e)amples represent the most common bridge $orms in the blues genre, but certainly anything is possible! ?nless you know $or a $act that a tune does not have a bridge, it.s a good idea to keep your eyes open $or a cue at the end o$ the second chorus o$ the 231bar $orm! +$ a bridge is part o$ the song, it will most likely happen then! ?ntil ne)t month, y.all keep it down low and in the groove@