Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Billie's Bounce" (also known as "Bill's Bounce") is a bebop standard written by alto saxophonist Charlie Parker (1920–1955) in 1945. The title reportedly refers to Billy Shaw, Dizzy Gillespie's agent—or possibly Shaw's secretary, whose name was Billie. The original recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.

The composition is a 12-bar blues in the key of F, and one of Parker's most celebrated blues heads. The melody is built on the F major blues scale, enriched with chromatic approach notes, enclosures, and syncopated rhythms that exemplify the bebop vocabulary. Unlike riff-based blues heads such as "Now's the Time," "Billie's Bounce" employs continuous melodic motion that naturally highlights the harmonic transitions through the blues form—particularly the movement from I7 to IV7 and into the turnaround. This makes it both an essential jam session staple and an ideal study piece for musicians learning to phrase through the jazz blues.

The original recording was made on November 26, 1945, at Parker's historic first session as a leader for Savoy Records, featuring Miles Davis on trumpet, Dizzy Gillespie on piano, and Max Roach on drums. Later notable versions include recordings by Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, and Keith Jarrett.