Category Archives: Original Composition

Stephane Grappelli, Minor Swing

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This Thursday sokillingman.com broke 1,000 views, so thank you!  We’re really excited to have so many people interested in this project and we have all sorts of plans for development.  Here’s a little bonus post in celebration:

 

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

Minor Swing, music written by Django Rienhardt and performed by: The Quintette du Hot Club de France, featuring Django Rienhardt and Stéphane Grappelli.  From Djangology, recorded in 1949 and released by RCA Bluebird.

 

This tune is absolutely classic, and very well could have been the first tune I heard that convinced me that I understood what Gypsy Jazz sounds like.  It’s just that kind of recording.  While it’s not the whole picture by any means, this tune exemplifies a lot of the rules and conventions of the genre and has a very balanced ratio of variety to continuity.  So I figured this would be a great study tool for said reasons, and I love the solo, so it was a no-brainer. Continue reading →

Greg Cohen and Dave Douglas, Charms of the Night Sky

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Download the PDF: concert pitch, Bb, Eb

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.

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

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 →