Clifford Brown and Harold Land, The Blues Walk

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This album is pretty special to me because it was one of the first jazz albums I ever really got into.  Harold Land and Clifford Brown are probably the first two jazz musicians that I really studied and tried to emulate and have had quite an influence on me.  This selection in particular has stuck with me a) because it’s just really fun to listen to Clifford and Harold trading all the way down to 1/2 measures and b) it demonstrates a high level of communication between these musicians.

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Mark Feldman, Charms of the Night Sky

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Mark Feldman – violinist (photograph by Valerie Trucchia)

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Charms of the Night Sky, written by Dave Douglas and performed by: Dave Douglas, trumpet; Greg Cohen, acoustic bass; Mark Feldman, violin; Guy Klucevsek: accordion.  From Charms of the Night Sky, recorded 1998 and released on the Winter & Winter label.

 

I’ve been drawn to this solo (the whole album, really) since the first time I heard it.  I love the combined timbres of accordion+violin and accordion+trumpet, and so many beautiful textures and combinations are explored on this album.  Even just during the violin solo.  One thing that really turned me onto this solo in particular is the subtly nebulous nature of the rhythm which seems to fight the underlying rhythm, but without sounding ‘wrong’ in any sense of the word.  (I first noticed this kind of rhythmic stretching/contracting listening to Miles Davis, such as his solos on Sweet Pea and the title track of the album Water Babies – it’s really inspiring how Miles goes in and out of the groove without disrupting it.) Continue reading →

Chet Baker, Zing! Went the Strings of my Heart

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“Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart,” solo by Chet Baker, From Quartet Live Vol. 3 (Aug 1954).

What I love about this solo is how surprised I was when I found out this was Chet Baker. The tempo is absolutely blazing fast and Chet just rips this tune apart playing a mix of beautiful melodies and chromatic eighth notes. Chet is known for slow songs, and his eerie singing, but this track shows why Charlie Parker was so excited to play with Chet with Parker got stuck in LA. This recording is part of a set of nights in LA with Chet’s quartet, right after Chet gets back from touring with Bird. I have all three nights (Quartet Live Vol1, 2 & 3) and they’re all phenomenal. It’s clear that this early playing by Chet is the reason Bird warned Miles and Dizzy of a this guy out on the West Coast.

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Chris Potter, All the Things You Are

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To anyone that knows me it’s no secret that Chris Potter is one of my favorite musicians and this recording is a prime example of why.  I’ve heard a number of criticisms about this recording citing that it is too technical and not very musical.  While I patently disagree (true it is very technical, but I find it to be extremely musical as well) I think given the context of the recording, a masterclass at Youngstown University, it makes perfect sense that Chris would emphasize his virtuosic ability as a way of demonstrating what is possible as a saxophonist and as an improvising musician.

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Curtis Fuller, Blues March

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Blues March, written by Benny Golson and performed by the Jazztet: Art Farmer, trumpet; Benny Golson, tenor sax; Curtis Fuller, trombone; McCoy Tyner, piano; Addison Farmer, bass; Lex Humphries, drums.  From Meet the Jazztet (LP), recorded 1960, re-released (CD) 1991 by Geffen Records.

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Roy Hargrove, Yardbird Suite

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Since this is my first transcription going up on this blog, I’d like to take a second and talk about why I chose this solo, and subsequently why I choose every solo I transcribe. There is always some intangible that sticks out to me about something I pick to transcribe. When I listen to a particular solo over and over again, it’s these solos that really stick with me, and that’s when I decide “you know what, I should transcribe this.” I start by playing along with the solo (usually), and then I sit down and write it out. This solo stuck out to me (this whole record, actually) because it’s a bebop record tribute to Charlie Parker, but the instrumentation is just bass (Christian McBride), Piano (Stephen Scott) and Trumpet (Roy Hargrove). The instrumentation alone had me interested, and then I heard how tight and swinging the grooves were without drums and I was blown away. This track is just a piano/trumpet duo, and the interplay between Stephen Scott and Roy Hargrove is just ridiculous. I was attracted to this particular solo for that reason.

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Chris Potter, Boogie Stop Shuffle

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General Thoughts

This is a short and sweet little Chris Potter solo at about 3 minutes and 30 seconds.  I chose to transcribe this recording for several reasons:

  • I like the melody a lot and wanted to learn it
  • As a saxophonist, this is a challenging yet accessible solo with some great language
  • It just sounded like it would be a lot of fun to play!

This solo was recorded early in Chris’ career and while it is still clearly a ‘Chris Potter solo’ it is vastly different from the complexity in which you would find on his later works such as Lift, Follow the Red Line, or Underground.  Chris also recorded “Boogie Stop Shuffle” almost 10 years later on his album Lift and I think it will be very interesting to compare the differences between the two.

I think this solo is a really great example of using themes, motives and variations to develop a well thought out solo…one that ‘tells a story’ as it were.

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