Although so many players have adopted the “Cry Me a River” lick, none have made it more personal, or more of an identifiable staple in their vocabulary, than Bill Evans. As Bill no doubt realized, you can make your music go farther if you use each idea to its fullest. By sticking with a concept, then gradually morphing it via rhythmic or melodic embellishments, you can impart a sense of unity and development to your improvised solos.
While it’s most commonly used over sevenths (minor, dominant, and major), by tweaking various melodic and rhythmic components, you can shape the line to be playable over all manner of chords. Plus, you can surprise yourself (and your listeners) by plugging the line into unexpected spaces, or over unusual chords.
Ex. 1. The opening strains of “Cry Me a River,” which have become the source of inspiration for so many jazz musicians.
Ex. 2. In its most common applications, the “Cry Me a River” lick works well over a standard ii-V-I progression. Notice the rhythmic variation from the line as it originally appeared in the tune. Also, over the Cm7, we can use the seventh in place of the root as the second note. For the F7, the line moves up a minor third, and we plug in the b9 and #11. On the Bbmaj7, the line starts on the major seventh and ends on the sixth. The left-hand shell voicings enable you to hear how the line fits over the harmonies.
Ex. 3. What works in a major ii-V-I progression doesn’t necessarily apply to its melodic minor counterpart. While we could start the line on the ninth for the Cm7b5, and then simply adjust the fifth a half-step lower, starting on the 11th gives us a bit more color, and sets up the next chord quite nicely. By transposing the line up a minor third over the F7alt, we retain the shape and uptick the intensity. The major seventh in the Bbm(maj7) is our starting note, emphasizing the chord’s distinctive timbre. The introduction of eighth-note triplets and the offset syncopation add rhythmic interest.
Ex. 4. This versatile lick works over many types of chords. Plug it in over a Cmaj7#4 by outlining a Gmaj7. Notice the left-hand voicing is the same as a D7 rootlesss. The more unusual maj7#5 shown in 4b is an easy fix: Just raise the fifth of the chord a half-step. This is one of the few chords where a left-hand root position voicing works well. To use the lick over a 7sus4 chord, as in 4c, outline the major seventh chord a whole step below the root. This works well over a left-hand quartal voicing, as shown. Another unusual chord is 7sus4b9, shown in 4d. Darker in quality, it can be used as either a precursor to or substitute for a 7b9. In the right-hand part, the “Cry Me a River” lick is reversed. The G octave emphasizes the root, and the chord we’re outlining here is an Abmaj7#5, which is a half step above the root of the chord. The left-hand voicing is a permutation of a Bb7 rootless voicing. If we put a Bb below the voicing, we now have a strategy to play the lick on a 7#11.
Ex. 5. Here are changes similar to the first nine measures of “How Deep Is the Ocean,” one of the tunes I played on PBS TV’s The Piano Guy, with the “Cry Me a River” lick over each chord in the first six bars. In measures 7 and 8, the lick is played over the chords a beat before the harmonic rhythm reflects the changes. This melodic anticipation is one of the techniques Bill Evans was developing at the end of his career.
