(“Lewis Nash In Montreal” by Professor Bop is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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.
[Thanks to Spencer Ritchie for this post! Check out more of Spencer’s transcriptions on his blog spencertranscriptions]
Check out Lewis Nash’s chorus on his arrangement of “Monk’s Dream” off his 1989 Album “Rhythm Is My Business”. This whole solo is accompanied by Ron Carter’s steady walking bassline, so when trying this solo, lock in with the walking, but keep an ear open for Nash’s phrasing and attempt to mimic it.
This AABA tune is phrased very much more like AABB with the first half consisting of largely straight 16th note based ideas, and the latter half of largely more swing 8th note and triplet ideas, so keep that phrasing in mind as you execute the solo. Although it may seem relatively simple on paper, the challenge of this excerpt is matching Nash’s sound, feel and articulation. Once you have the rhythms down, listen hard and think melodically!