Oleo Walking Bass Line
Sonny Rollins wrote Oleo in 1954, and it was first recorded that June by Miles Davis with Rollins, Horace Silver, Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke. It's built on rhythm changes, the chord progression of Gershwin's I Got Rhythm, in B-flat, and its melody has become one of the standard rhythm changes heads. For a bassist, the A sections are fast two-chord bars and the bridge is a chain of dominant chords, so it's great practice for both. Below you'll find the changes bar by bar, a walking line in B-flat, and three recordings.
Turn the bass off and it's your gig: the piano and drums keep going and you walk the line. The band counts you in with one bar of hi-hat.
Recorded upright bass, grand piano and a jazz drum kit play the line. Tab is for 4-string bass in standard tuning.
The changes
Rhythm changes charts vary in the A sections, and Oleo's do too. The bridge (D7, G7, C7, F7, two bars each) is the same everywhere. Bar 1 is Bbmaj7 G7 in iReal Pro and Jazzadvice, Bbmaj7 Gm7 in Learn Jazz Standards. Bar 5 is Fm7 Bb7 in iReal Pro, a full bar of Bb7 in Jazzadvice, and Bbmaj7 Bb7 in Learn Jazz Standards; all three lead to the IV chord. Bar 6 is Ebmaj7 Ab7 in Jazzadvice, Eb7 Ab7 in iReal Pro, and Ebmaj7 Edim7 in Learn Jazz Standards. Bar 7 is Dm7 G7 in iReal Pro and Jazzadvice, Bbmaj7 Gm7 in Learn Jazz Standards. iReal Pro writes the last chord of the A sections as Bb6; Jazzadvice and Learn Jazz Standards write Bbmaj7, and Learn Jazz Standards ends the last A with a turnaround instead.
How this line works
- The root lands on beat 1 of 33 of the 54 chord changes, so the harmony is clear. The rest start on the 3rd or 5th, which keeps the line from sounding like a list of roots.
- 52 of the 53 chord changes are approached by a half step or a whole step, so every new chord arrives smoothly instead of by a jump.
- Non-chord tones sit on the weak beats: 31 on beat 2 and 8 on beat 4. That's where passing and chromatic notes sound intentional instead of wrong.
- No note repeats back to back. A repeated note is the quickest way to make a walking line sound stiff.
What Oleo teaches you
- Rhythm changes: Oleo uses the chord progression of George Gershwin's I Got Rhythm, in B-flat. Learn to walk it and you've learned a form, not just one tune.
- Two chords per bar: most A-section bars change chord every two beats (Bbmaj7 G7 | Cm7 F7 | Dm7 G7 | Cm7 F7), so you get two notes per chord. Land a chord tone on beats 1 and 3 and use beats 2 and 4 to approach the next one.
- A trip to the IV chord: in bars 5 and 6, Fm7 Bb7 is a ii-V into Ebmaj7, the IV chord of B-flat, then Ab7 leads into the turnaround in bars 7 and 8.
- The bridge is a chain of dominant chords, two bars each: D7, G7, C7, F7. Each root is a fourth above the last, and F7 is the V of B-flat, so the bridge drops you right back into the last A.
- At up tempos you don't have time to think about every note. A chromatic approach, a half step above or below the next chord's root on beat 2 or 4, is the quickest way to land each change.
How to practice it
- Hear the form first. Turn the bass off and play just the root of each chord along with the band until you never lose your place.
- Read the line slowly. Set the tempo around 80 and play the written line with the drums. Slow is the fast way here.
- Loop the hard spots. Turn on Loop, find the four bars that trip you up, and play them until they feel like the easy ones.
- Make it yours. Keep beat 1 of every bar, but change the approach note on beat 4. A half step above, a half step below, a whole step: each one changes the color of the arrival.
- Play it with the record. Put on one of the versions below and play along. That's where the time feel gets into your hands.
Want to build your own lines on these changes? Try the free Walking Line Builder and practice with the click on 2 and 4.
Recordings to hear
- Miles Davis, Bags' Groove (1957), with Percy Heath on bass.
- Miles Davis Quintet, Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (1958), with Paul Chambers on bass.
- Bill Evans, Everybody Digs Bill Evans (1959), with Sam Jones on bass.
Oleo: questions
What key is Oleo in?
B-flat major. It's rhythm changes in B-flat, the key on the iReal Pro, Jazzadvice and Learn Jazz Standards charts.
What are rhythm changes?
The chord progression of George Gershwin's I Got Rhythm. It's a 32-bar AABA form: the A sections cycle through quick ii-Vs in B-flat, and the bridge is four dominant chords, two bars each, each a fourth above the last (D7, G7, C7, F7).
What tempo is Oleo played at?
iReal Pro's chart marks it Up Tempo Swing, a style that starts at 220 bpm. That's fast for a walking line with two chords per bar, so learn it at a medium tempo first and push the metronome up as the changes get comfortable.
Your next step
This page gives you one line to study. These courses teach you to build your own, on the bass you play.
The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough
Cole DavisWalk through any jazz tune with lines that move, swing, and never repeat themselves.
- Walk through any ii-V-I, major or minor.
- Solve the two-bar problem on static modal tunes.
- Never repeat yourself two bars in a row.
Walking Basslines on Upright Bass from the Beginning
Cole DavisFive lessons from “my walking lines don't sound like the records” to professional-grade walking.
- The chord first: the 1-3-5-7, where every great bass line starts.
- The master move: changing the order of the notes, bar by bar, on an F blues.
- The three questions every bass line has to pass, then the whole method on Autumn Leaves.
Not sure which course fits? Answer a few questions and we'll point you to one.