Category Archives: Original Composition

Guest Post by Marc Adler: Autumn Smiles

Posted on by
Reply

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download the PDF: Concert

This post was very generously provided by Marc Adler, a fantastic flutist and pedagogue out of PA. The above track is off the album Autumn Smiles played by Marc Adler, flute; Jim Ridl, piano; Darryl Hall, bass; Butch Reed, drums; and John Swana, trumpet. Marc sent along a “brief” analysis of the tune (below) which may not look brief on first glance, but compared to the subtlety of the recording it’s just the tip of the iceberg. And since we’re already getting the inside scoop on the music theory behind this tune–the skeleton of the music–I took the opportunity to ask Marc about the soft/squishy side of the music. Continue reading →

Park Evans, Could you be Deceived?

Posted on by
Reply

Satori for a Hungry Ghost - Parker Paisley

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download PDF: Concert, Bass Clef, Bb, Eb

This is another track off the album Sartori for a Hungry Ghost by local (Twin Cities) jazz/reggae group Parker Paisley (Park Evans, Guitar; Adam Wozniak, Bass; Brandon Wozniak, Tenor Sax; Pete Hennig, Drums), released April 2012 and recorded by Greg Schutte at Bathtub Shrine Studios in NE Minneapolis.  I love listening to this entire album so definitely check it out–and if you like this solo then you’ll want to see/hear Adam Wozniak’s bass solo on the tune Third Persona, which I posted a month and a half ago. One of the really cool things about Park’s solos on this album is that they’re all different–in style and tone.

Continue reading →

Adam Wozniak, Third Persona

Posted on by
1

Satori for a Hungry Ghost - Parker Paisley

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download the PDF: Bass, Treble, Bb, Eb

This track is off the album Sartori for a Hungry Ghost by local jazz/reggae group Parker Paisley (Park Evans, Guitar; Adam Wozniak, Bass; Brandon Wozniak, Tenor Sax; Pete Hennig, Drums), released April 2012 and recorded by Greg Schutte at Bathtub Shrine Studios in NE Minneapolis.  You should definitely check out the rest of this tune, and the whole album, and know that all four of Parker Paisley’s members (not to mention engineer/drummer, Greg Schutte) are hard-hitting Minneapolis locals who play with many other amazing Mpls bands such as: the Atlantis Quartet (Brandon and Pete), the New Primitives (Park), Dark Dark Dark (Adam), the Fantastic Merlins (Pete), Dave King’s Trucking Company (Brandon), and Firebell (Park).  I actually know Adam from back in highschool when we used to hang out and jam in our friend Tony’s basement, so it’s really cool to be reconnecting with him and doing what I can to promote his music.

Continue reading →

John Scofield, Hottentot

Posted on by
Reply

Hottentot - A Go Go

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Hottentot, written by John Scofield and performed by John Scofield with Medeski Martin and Wood: John Medeski, Keys; John Scofield, Guitar; Billy Martin, Drums; and Chris Wood, Bass. From the Album A Go Go, released 1997 by the Verve Music Group.

John Scofield sounds like no other guitarist I’ve ever heard, and the guy’s got some badass chops.  This solo is a testament to his seemingly endless creativity and flare for holding a listener’s attention, so we’re talking about the whole deal right here.  The entirety of this album is 200% listenable from start to finish so I recommend checking it out–it’s a collaboration between Scofield and “wide open” improvisers Medeski Martin and Wood.

Continue reading →

Ben Goldberg, Blind Paper Dragon

Posted on by
Reply

Ben Goldberg–photo by John Rudoff

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Blind Paper Dragon, written by Carla Kihlstedt and performed by: Tin Hat (Ara Anderson, Trumpet; Ben Goldberg, Clarinet; Carla Kihlstedt, Violin; Mark Orton, Dobro; Zeena Parkins, Harp).  From the album ‘The Sad Machinery of Spring,’ released 2012 by Hannibal/Ryodisk.

 

So I love listening to and transcribing solos that break lots of rules–and although rule-breaking isn’t a new concept in music (or any other creative activity for that matter), I like to think that it’s largely responsible for the generation of new musical material and original ideas in general.  Ben Goldberg breaks lots of rules in this solo, but for as far out as he goes there’s always a strong indication that he knows where the key center/next downbeat is.  It’s uncanny, really.  And as musically aware Ben must have been to play these killer lines, in an email Ben told me: “I took a nap in the studio and then just walked out in a daze and played that — I didn’t want to be thinking about it too much.” Continue reading →

Joe Locke, The Lost Lenore

Posted on by
Reply

Download the PDF: concert pitch, Bb, Eb, Bass Clef

“The Lost Lenore“, written by Joe Locke and performed by The Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group featuring: Joe Locke (vibes), Geoffrey Keezer (piano), Mike Pope (bass), and Terreon Gully (drums).  From the album Signing released April 2012 by Motéma Music.

 

This is a really, really cool tune, and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to transcribe a solo that also has video, which we can include in full on the site.  So cool of Joe to let us share this with all of you, and congratulations to him on the release of his new album (click the image to navigate to his online store).

Continue reading →

Rob Burger and Carla Kihlstedt, Fear of the South

Posted on by
Reply

(Mark Orton, Carla Kihlstedt, Rob Burger)

(accordion solo begins at 1:20, violin at 2:22)

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

Fear of the South, written by Mark Orton and performed by: Tin Hat Trio (Mark Orton, Dobro; Carla Kihlstedt, violin; Rob Burger, Accordion).  From the album ‘The Rodeo Eroded,’ released 2002 by Ropeadope Digital.

 

This is one of my favorite tunes on the album for its cleverness, lopsided time signature, and killer solos!  Rob Burger absolutely tears it up and Carla Kihlstedt swoops in and picks right up where he leaves off, both of them navigating 5/4 time like it’s their respective jobs.  Which it is.  So there you go.  This tune has a very simple chord progression and A/B form which balances out the quirky time signature–and the tuba does a very clever hemiola bassline in the B sections (mm. 17-18, 21-22, 49-54) that’s just charming as hell, and really caught me off guard ten times I listened to it.  The combination of simplicity, innovative quirks and killer playing epitomizes the impression I get from this whole album, so if you like this track I STRONGLY suggest buying the whole album.

Continue reading →

Eugene Friesen, Citric Motion

Posted on by
1

(Eugene Friesen, courtesy of celloman.com)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Citric Motion, written by Glen Velez and performed by: Trio Globo (Eugene Friesen, cello; Howard Levy, piano; and Glen Velez, percussion). From the album ‘Carnival of Souls,’ released 1995 by SilverWave Records.

I’m FINALLY posting a cello solo, and since I’m an improvising cellist, it’s about time. There are actually quite a few fabulous cello-playing improvisers out there, and Eugene Friesen is a leader in the field.  This whole album, Carnival of Souls, is full of cello techniques and tone colors that you’ve probably never heard, some of them pulled from the acoustic bass, or even guitar lexicons.  As a trio member, Friesen excels at holding down the rhythmic accompaniment with arpeggiations and intricate basslines, as well as soaring, lyrical melodies when Howard Levy takes over the accompanimental role.
Continue reading →

Reid Anderson, Keep the Bugs off your Glass and the Bears off your Ass

Posted on by
Reply

(Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson and David King – courtesy of bighassle.com)

Keep the Bugs off your Glass and the Bears off your Ass, written by David King and performed by: The Bad Plus (Reid Anderson, Acoustic Bass; Ethan Iverson, Piano; and David King, Drums).  From the album ‘These are the Vistas,’ released 2003 by Columbia Records.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Hearing the Bad Plus for the first time marked a major development in my musical development; it was my junior year of high school and the coolest thing I’d habitually listened to prior to this was along the lines of Sugar Ray.  That’s an exaggeration, but not as much as I’d like to think.  I started really listening to bass lines and beat placement, and just ate it all up–we’re talkin’ Bootsy Collins/Fred Thomas/Tim Drummond/etc. (James Brown), Chris Wood (MMW), Ron Carter (Miles Davis/Herbie Hancock/Freddie Hubbard/A Tribe Called Quest), Larry Grenadier (Brad Mehldau), James Jamerson…and the list goes on.

Continue reading →

Matt Moran, This Too Shall Pass

Posted on by
Reply 

Matt Moran, photo courtesy of downtownmusic.net

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This Too Shall Pass, music written by John Hollenbeck and performed by: The Claudia Quintet (Chris Speed; clarinet, Matt Moran; vibraphone, Ted Reichman; accordion, Drew Gress; acoustic bass, John Hollenbeck; drums).  From the album ‘For‘, released 2007 by Cuneiform Records.

This track grooves so hard I can’t possibly sit still while I listen.  It’s the way Hollenbeck employs distinctly different snare drum timbres and perfectly compliments the utterly simple descending bassline, and then Moran’s vibes solo floats effortlessly over the top and constantly subverts the swung 4/4 feel with 12/8 and straight 4/4 references.  This tune is incredibly special because it is a hard-grooving lament in memory of Matt Moran’s late father, Tom; have you ever heard of a hard-grooving lament?  No, me neither.

Continue reading →