Category Archives: All Transcriptions

Guest Post by Ryan Seward: Jorge Rossy, Monk’s Dream

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Download the PDF: Drums

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Group:
Brad Mehldau Trio – Brad Mehldau, piano; Larry Grenadier, bass; Jorge
Rossy, drums

Album:
The Art of the Trio, Vol. 2: Live at the Village Vanguard

This transcription of the Brad Mehldau Trio’s reworking of the Monk
classic, “Monk’s Dream”, features the highly idiosyncratic,
interactive and linear time-keeping/soloing concept of Spanish
drummer, Jorge Rossy.  Pay close attention to such devices as rhythmic
density/sparsity, unorthodox phrasing, eighth-note quantization (swung
vs. straight), repetition, dynamic contour, use of polyrhythms, and
orchestration.  The transcription begins after Mehldau’s solo where
Mehldau and Rossy begin trading 8s for three choruses before the head
out.  The extended improvisation after the head out is not included.

Guest Post: Blue Mitchell, Bluesville

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Download the Transcription: Bb, C

Blue Mitchell’s Solo on “Bluesville” from the album Step Lightly (1963). Players on album: Blue Mitchell (trumpet), Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone), Herbie Hancock (piano), Gene Taylor (bass), Roy Brooks (drum set). Transcribed by Lukas Skrove, Spring 2012. Solo begins 0’38’’

With transcribing the jazz language I’ve always been fascinated with the process of figuring out what the great players of the 50’s and the 60’s played. With such ease and flow their language of be-bop, and blues just feeds the ears of our generation with so much substance that I feel we sometimes miss out on. I’m a young musician trying to study this music and hopefully begin to understand it a little bit more with everyday that goes by. At school I try to transcribe as many solos as I can. This semester my trumpet teacher Adam Rossmiller came across this solo of Blue Mitchell’s and told me to check it out and transcribe it. So I did!

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Chet Baker, My Little Suede Shoes

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

Melody!

If there is one thing no one can deny about Chet Baker, it is that he was a master of melody (and that he was a massive drug addict). These early 1954 live recordings show too that Chet was well-versed in the bebop language and had been listening to and even playing with Charlie Parker. It’s this early playing that I think is Chet’s most potent as an improvisor. Continue reading →

John Scofield, Hottentot

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Hottentot - A Go Go

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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.

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Bennie Wallace, Straight No Chaser

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(Clip starts at mm 36 of the transcription which is the start of the solo)

Download the Transcription: Bb

*I can’t seem to find my original Finale file for this transcription.  I’m in the process of creating a new one so that I can provide Eb, Concert pitch and bass clef versions of the solo; hopefully in the next few days.

This Bennie Wallace solo from the album Bennie Wallace Plays Monk is quite a unique approach to the blues form.  Quite honestly I don’t even know where to begin analyzing this solo in terms of harmonic language; this solo is far different from anything other I’ve looked at.  Bennie is clearly influenced by Monk in his use of harmony, interval jumps and even phrasing. In a few spots he is definitely basing his lines (or at least parts of his phrases) around certain intervals – typically starting low on the horn and jumping up by 6ths, 7ths, 8ths or 9ths.  A lot of the solo is “out” with respect to the chord changes which has a great tension building effect.  Bennie eases the tension a few times by hinting at a resolution to the 3rd of the I7 chord (see mm 83, 107-108, 217).

Starting around mm 145 the bass drops out making it a drum/sax duet.  This section builds to a frenzy with more frequent octave leaps (mm 151, 158, 163, 165, 173 etc…) and  more 16th note lines and flurries of notes up until the bass comes back in at mm 205.  Bennie counterbalances the frantic nature of the duet section by holding out a nice long G for three beats in mm 205 which brings the tension back down and leads to the end of Bennie’s solo.

I really wish I could provide the full solo for you to listen to because it is insanely awesome. Please check out Bennie’s website and pick up this track on Amazon or iTunes.  Definitely worth it to get some different ideas on the blues.

Ingrid Jensen, Transit

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***Download the PDF: Bb, Concert, Alto, Bass Clef


(Ingrid’s solo starts at 2:48)

First of all, I’d like to send a quick shout-out to Darcy James Argue, who wrote this award winning (Charlie Parker Composition Award, 2004) piece, and is the leader of currently my favorite big band record, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Infernal Machines, on which this Ingrid solo is lifted. I am constantly inspired by Darcy’s music, and he is a big influence on my own big band writing.

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Ben Goldberg, Blind Paper Dragon

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Ben Goldberg–photo by John Rudoff

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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 →

Ben Webster, Cottontail

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

Today’s post is a short and sweet Ben Webster solo over Duke Ellington’s rhythm changes tune “Cottontail.” Ben uses a fair amount of repetition to develop his ideas through the solo. In mm. 1-4 he repeats the rhythm while stepping down chromatically each repetition. Each bridge has an idea that he repeats throughout each chord change (mm. 17-23 and 49-56).

Measures 33-40 act almost like an interlude between choruses even though the form doesn’t change. This is also a great example repetition. Each time he repeats the motiv he moves up higher in the register which, along with the diminished sound, creates a ton of tension and a very nice peak to the solo.

This was a slightly challenging solo to transcribe because it is such an old recording and some parts of the solo are very hard to hear because they get covered up by the brass hits. I think the transcription is pretty accurate, but I might be off in some of those spots.

Joe Locke, The Lost Lenore

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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).

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Bob Reynolds, Vultures (Live)

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Download the transcription: Bb, Eb, C, Bass

I’ve always been more of a straight ahead/bebop kind of player and since my main gig is with a pop band I’ve been looking towards some more pop oriented influences to help myself feel more comfortable soloing in that style.  The real lesson in this transcription is in the inflections, articulation and use of grace notes; I think that is really what makes this style come alive so to speak.  I tried my best to notate some of the more distinct articulations and grace notes, but you really are going to have to spend a lot of time just listening and following along with the transcription to pick up on these things.

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