Author Archives: Guest Contributor

Guest post – Jorge Lima: Eric Alexander, On the Marc

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Download the transcription: Bb

This a really amazing solo that will probably keep you busy for a long time if, like me, you decide to study it in depth. It is 17 choruses long and you can find it in David Hazeltine’s CD Autumn in Manhattan. This C7 blues solo is played at a very fast tempo. My recommendation is that you start playing it at about half the original speed and then gradually increase it as you begin to technically master the solo.

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Guest Post by John Raymond: Miles Davis, Walkin’ (4 Versions)

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Photo by Peter Buitelaar

Today’s awesome guest post, which looks at four different Miles Davis solos over the same tune, comes from trumpeter John Raymond. John has a new album coming out so be sure to check it out on his website!

A little bit ago I did a transcription research project on Miles Davis doing the tune “Walkin” four different times over the course of the first part of his career. The recordings I transcribed were:

The original recording – Walkin’ (1954): Download the transcription

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Live at the Black Hawk – Friday Set II (1961): Download the transcription

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Complete Concert/Four & More (1964): Download the transcription

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A bootlegged performance of the same band occurring in the early 1960s: Download the transcription

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These recordings give such a vivid display of Miles’ growth throughout the first few decades of his career. They also serve as a vivid display of Miles’ constant search for spontaneous and uninhibited improvisation, as well as his prowess, maturity and evolution in the three primary spheres of improvising: melody, harmony and rhythm.

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Guest Post by Brad Colfax: Eric Clapton, Born Under a Bad Sign

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Photo by Jun Sato

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Download the transcription: C, Bass Clef, Bb, Eb

“Born Under a Bad Sign”, written by Albert King and performed by: Cream (Eric Clapton; Guitar, Jack Bruce; Bass Guitar, Ginger Baker; Drums). From the Album ‘Royal Albert Hall: London, May 2-3-5-6 2005,’ released 2005 by Reprise Records.

I had always grown up listening to Eric Clapton, but I first came to know his music through the more mellow later stuff like MTV’s “Unplugged” from the early 90s. I also listened to compilation albums that treated the beginning of his career as having started in the 70’s with “Derek and the Dominos,” but it wasn’t until fairly recently that I really even knew about what even came before that: Cream. Clapton’s sheer virtuosity and extended soloing with his late 60’s British blues-rock supergroup forced many critics of rock music to stop dismissing it as noise, and start taking the medium seriously. All 3 members of the band were dedicated musicians who saw no draw in hopping around the stage, coordinating outfits, or smashing equipment to create a spectacle. Their pure devotion to the music made for stunning results on the 4 albums they released, each one seeming to push an already high bar progressively higher. After only 2 years together, Cream played their final live concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall in November of 1968 to a packed house in mourning.

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Guest Post by Todd Clouser: Peter Bernstein, Played Twice

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(Peter Bernstein – Photo by Carlo Pecoraro)

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Download the PDF: Concert, Bb, Eb, Bass Clef

Peter Bernstein plays jazz guitar the way I love to hear it played. Even with the wealth and density of harmonic and rhythmic concepts he employs, its all feel. Nothing takes precedence over feel, and its uniquely his own.

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Guest Post: Bryan Lynch, Freehands

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Thanks to Ricardo Uziel Badillo Romero for today’s guest post!

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Download the transcription: Bb, Eb, C

FREEHANDS written by Brian Lynch & Eddie Palmieri, trumpet solo by Brian Lynch, from “Simpatico” album Recorded in 2005

I had heard about him, about his particular way to put the trumpet on and play with all those colors, I heard him in different type of recordings, including jazz, bop, salsa styles… when I meet him in person then I understood everything I heard about him….
management of bop chops with latin jazz, very clean sound and perfect understandable phrases make him one of my top favorites… I choose this tune because it’s my personal favorite of the whole album…

Really he is one of the most versatile trumpet players of our times

IN SPANISH

Había escuchado acerca de él, de su forma de tocar la trompeta y manejar todos esos colores, lo escuché en diferentes tipos de grabaciones, jazz, bop, y salsa, cuando lo conozco en persona entonces comprendí todo lo que me contaron acerca de Brian, el manejo de las frases de bop cuando toca latin jazz, un sonido muy limpio y frases perfectamente entendibles hacen de él uno de mis favoritos,… elegí este tema porque es mi favorito de todo el álbum…

Realmente él es uno de los más versátiles trompetistas de nuestros tiempos.

Guest Post by Reid Kennedy – Lewis Nash, Sea Changes

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Lewis Nash - Photo by Professor Bop

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Download the transcription: Drums

Sea Changes is an original composition from pianist Tommy Flanagan and serves as the title track from Flanagan’s 1997 trio date featuring bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash.  The tune itself is a simple 12-bar form that evolves from a bouncy island groove on the in head to a straight-ahead swing feel for a majority of the soloing.  Prior to the out-head, Nash trades two choruses with Flanagan, both of which are transcribed here.

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Guest Post by Ari Nahum – Brad Mehldau, Wonderwall

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Photo courtesy of Brad Mehldau

Wonderwall, written by Noel Gallagher (Oasis) and performed by: Brad Mehldau, piano; Larry Grenadier, bass; Jeff Ballard, drums.  From Brad Mehldau Trio Live, Nonesuch Records 2008.

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Download the transcription: Concert Pitch

I remember the first time I heard this song.  I was in the kitchen cooking and I turned on the radio to Jazz 88 FM.  Brad was about a third of the way into his solo when I first tuned in.  I remember that almost instantaneously I knew it was him.  This was somewhat expected as once you come to know a great player’s voice it is as easily recognizable as your Mom’s.  But after listening for about 10-15 seconds or so, something else happened, something that perhaps speaks more uniquely to Brad’s playing – I knew he was playing the tune “Wonderwall”.  I had never ever heard this tune in a jazz context before, and the last time I heard it was probably in high school.  Furthermore all of the harmonies had been thoroughly changed.  But I knew, without a doubt that he was improvising on the tune Wonderwall.  And when his solo ended and he came back in on the bridge I just smiled, shook my head and chuckled to myself.

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Guest Post by Andrew Green: Eric Harland, Byus

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Byus, written by Walter Smith III and performed by: Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet; Walter Smith III, tenor saxophone; Jason Moran, piano; Joe Sanders, bass; Eric Harland, drums.  From the album III, released 2010 on the Criss Cross label.

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Download the PDF: Solo, Drumset Notation Guide

I initially transcribed this because I was playing it in a jazz group at Lawrence University (Appleton, WI).  The solo really shows off Harland’s technical virtuosity and fluidity around the kit and is a prime example of why he is one of the most in-demand drummers right now.  This introduction is in 7 throughout and I chose to notate the 7 as alternating bars of 4/4 and 3/4 for ease of breaking down the beats when reading.  This intro sets up the tune beautifully, introducing the 7/4 feel that returns throughout the disjointed and angular melodies and hits.  Many of the individual licks are simple in conception but difficult to pull off at such breakneck speeds, one right after the other. Continue reading →