Archive for the ‘Jazz Transcriptions’ Category

If I Should Lose You – Grant Green

Sunday, July 3rd, 2011

This is the first guitar transcription I’ve posted here, but I don’t think it will be the last.  Although I work more on piano than guitar, I’ve played guitar most of my life.

Of course there are a lot of great jazz guitarists.  At his best, I absolutely love Grant Green.  His tone is creamy, his lines are clear and musical, and he draws strongly from the common Bebop vocabulary.  I decided to transcribe this particular track because I thought the solo was a great jazz guitar study piece – very musical and mostly harmonically specific. (more…)

Grandfather’s Waltz – Making sense of the form

Friday, June 24th, 2011

Grandfather’s Waltz is a wonderful song recorded by Bill Evans and Stan Getz in 1964 (the Stan Getz & Bill Evans album) and again live in 1974 (on But Beautiful, recorded on a live date in Holland).  I transcribed Bill Evans’ piano solo from the 1974 live album – which I think is quite a little masterpiece.  The form of the song was strange, though.

Some time later, I heard from Dan Loschen, who was trying to make sense of the form. I’ve recently listened to all the recorded versions (that I know of), and come up with this rationale for the form. (more…)

Sonny Clark on McSplivens

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

I haven’t done much new transcription work lately, though I’ve been wanting to get it going again.  This is a transcription that I started a long time ago but never posted.

McSplivens is a Bb blues on Dexter Gordons’ “A Swingin’ Affair” with the always-interesting Sonny Clark on piano.  This transcription includes Sonny’s first three choruses (there are two more not transcribed here).

McSplivens – Sonny Clark

It hasn’t been long since I converted the site to a blog format.  I’m hoping to cross-link with other jazz-related blogs, and to start getting comments that are not from spammers.

So please leave comments that do not have links to Viagra merchants, etc.  ;-)

This I Dig of You – Wynton Kelley

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

This is absolutely one of my favorite jazz tunes.  This solo is jam packed with classic Wynton Kelly vocabulary.  I believe the reason that this song isn’t played more is that the chart in the original Real Book 2 is un-usable — a hopelessly bad chart.

(more…)

Alone Together – David Hazeltine

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

From his excellent trio CD “Manhattan” with George Mraz and Billy Drummond.

(more…)

Dig Dis – Wynton Kelley

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

I don’t think of myself is a particularly good blues player, and I was looking for some blues vocabulary from the master. This is classic Wynton Kelley, playing on one of my all time favorite jazz albums (Hank Mobley’s Soul Station).

(more…)

Cherokee – Al Haig

Sunday, February 24th, 2008

Actually this is a Cherokee contrafact called Parker ’51…

(more…)

Ascension – Barry Harris

Sunday, February 24th, 2008

This is a Barry Harris original from his 1962 solo piano album “Listen to Barry Harris – Solo Piano”. I highly recommend this album for study. The tune is similar to Rhythm in F, but with a different bridge. It’s also similar to Parisian Thoroughfare. This is great classic Barry Harris vocabulary, and I’m using it as a practice exercise.

(more…)

All The Things You Are – Lennie Tristano

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

This is from Tristano’s 1955 quartet album for Atlantic. It seemed like a good choice to learn about Lennie’s vocabulary. My favorite single device is the (almost) Hit the Road Jack turnaround at the end of the first B secion (bars 23-24)

(more…)

I Could Write a Book – Red Garland

Tuesday, August 7th, 2007

This is from Miles Davis’ album Relaxin’. Good solid snapshot of Red’s bop vocabulary.

(more…)