Lazy Bird is a musical composition by John Coltrane, first appearing on his 1957 album Blue Train.
Its name is most likely a play on the title of the Tadd Dameron composition "Lady Bird": Coltrane biographer Lewis Porter has proposed a harmonic relationship between "Lady Bird" and the A section of "Lazy Bird". (The bridge of Coltrane's song is apparently a variation on the standard "Lover Man"). The chord progression of "Lady Bird" may be transformed into that of "Lazy Bird" through chord substitution using the backdoor progression and tritone substitution.[1]
The A section of "Lazy Bird" also features two tonal centers a major third apart, an idea that would later be expanded into what are known as Coltrane changes.
While the bridge may resemble that of "Loverman" it is also very, very close melodically and harmonically to the second strain of Sydney Bechet's "Petite Fleur". Coltrane revered Bechet and this could well be his homage to the great jazzman.