Elmo Hope – 1953
Elmo Hope recorded ‘Bellarosa’ with Lou Donaldson and Clifford Brown in 1953. This would have been a fresh new sound back then and is an early example of what would later be called “Hard Bop”.
Difficulty = Straightforward
‘Bellarosa’ is straightforward harmonically; moving away from the key of Eb just once at bar 26. When working up your own left hand try to create smooth voice leading between chords.