How to Play Centerpiece by Harry “Sweets” Edison

Harry “Sweets” Edison, trumpet player for the Count Basie Big Band, wrote and released Centerpiece on his “Sweetenings” album in 1958. You can’t find this album on streaming, but here it is on YouTube, below. Notice the tempo, nothing flashy about this version of the song!

This website his several resources for you on how to play this tune.

First and foremost, I encourage you to learn the melody from the recording. You can use a real book, but sometimes the chords are wrong, so I advise to use the recording first.

Once you’ve learned the melody and play along, I would advise you to start learning the chords.

After learning the chords, I would advise to learn the piano voicings. I have created piano voicings tutorials to help you.

Another way to help internalize the chords is to learn the bass line. Below you will find bass line resources for all instruments.

Hope this is helpful!

About a year or so after Mr. Edison released his “Sweetenings” album, Jon Hendricks wrote lyrics and released it on Lambert, Hendrick’s and Ross’s “Everybody’s Boppin” album in 1959. Notice their 3 part harmonies!

Centerpiece Chord Chart

Here is a rhythm chart for C instruments, Bb instruments, and Eb instruments for the 12 bar blues, Centerpiece, written by Harry “Sweets” Edison. Notice the ii V7 turnaround in the fourth measure, and the diminished chord at the end of the 6th measure. This is very common in jazz, and creates tension which is resolved up to the chord in measure 7. There is another ii V7 turnaround in the 8th measure which goes toward the 9th measure. Then, the 9th measure becomes a ii V7 back to tonic in measure 11. This is a great tune to learn the blues – it has a simple melody, and it has all the turnarounds you need to know to play the blues in a jam session.

Here is the original release from Mr. Edison’s album, Sweetening. This video has the entire album but the first song is Centerpiece.

Below are the chords for Centerpiece, as played by Harry “Sweets” Edison on his album, Sweetenings. This is the first iteration of this piece, so that’s why we use this recording to determine it’s chords.

Scroll down to find your instrument, and you can print only the pages you need. You can download this as a PDF to your computer using the download button below the chart.

Below is the chord chart with slash marks, you can scroll to find your instrument. Print only the page you need. You can also download the chord chart to your device using the Download button below the sheet music. Notice the first page is for Eb instruments – scroll down for a C instrument chart. Try to memorize this as these are very common chord changes in jazz!

About a year or so after Mr. Edison released his “Sweetenings” album, Jon Hendricks wrote lyrics and released it on Lambert, Hendrick’s and Ross’s “Everybody’s Boppin” album in 1959. Notice their 3 part harmonies!

Centerpiece Piano Voicings and Organ Sheet

Below you will find 2 note piano voicings for Centerpiece by Harry “Sweets” Edison. You can use this as a guide and it has not been designed for you to play it exactly as written. Two note voicings are constructed from the 3rd and 7th of the chord. Listen to the recording to hear how Jimmy Jones, the piano player, comped behind the horns. You can use this as a guide for guide tones as well.

Centerpiece 2 Note Voicings for Piano

Below you will find the sheet music for 2 note voicings for piano.

You can print directly from this page, or download it using the download button below the sheet music. Then you can put it on your computer or tablet in a PDF app of your choice.

Centerpiece Organ Part

Below you will find a piano part with voicings in the right hand and a walking bass line in the left hand. You don’t have to play it this way verbatim, but it’s a good exercise to work on independence of hands.

You can print directly from this page, or download it using the download button below the sheet music. Then you can put it on your computer or tablet in a PDF app of your choice.

Below you will see the video for the vocal version of this song, as released by Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross a year or so later than the original release. Jon Hendricks wrote the lyrics.

Centerpiece Bass Line

Here you will find sheet music on how to play a bass line for the Ab blues, namely, through the song Centerpiece by Harry “Sweets” Edison. Notice the diminished chord – this is common in jazz blues that came after the bebop era.

Below is a video of the recording as it was originally released on the album Sweetenings in 1958.

Below you will find an example bass line playable on any instrument.

Scroll down till you find the page that matches your instrument (Bb, C instrument, Eb instrument, or Guitar). You can print directly from this page, or download it using the download button below the sheet music. Then you can put it on your computer or tablet in a PDF app of your choice.

I am also providing the bass line with notes written in just in case that helps (but try to memorize the chords and notes without this resource, if you can.)

Scroll to find your instrument and use only that page. You can print directly from this web page, or download it using the download button below the sheet music. Then you can put it on your computer or tablet in a PDF app of your choice.

Below you will see the video for the vocal version of this song, as released by Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross a year or so later than the original release. Jon Hendricks wrote the lyrics.