Piano Transcription – John Groves Music

November 28, 2010

Sonny Clark on McSplivens

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. 😉

February 19, 2009

This I Dig of You – Wynton Kelley

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.

This I Dig of You – WyntonKelley.mus_

February 2, 2009

Alone Together – David Hazeltine

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

Continue reading “Alone Together – David Hazeltine”

June 17, 2008

Dig Dis – Wynton Kelley

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).

Dig Dis – Wynton Kelley

February 24, 2008

Cherokee – Al Haig

Actually this is a Cherokee contrafact called Parker ’51…

This with Stan Getz, Live at Storyville, in 1952. I’ve been meaning to work up some mojo for Cherokee, and it’s an interesting problem. My mid-tempo vocabulary doesn’t work on Cherokee because of the fast tempo, not to mention the difficult key centers on the bridge. I like Al Haig’s vocabulary on this solo (one chorus only), but it’s also an interesting solo to listen to because he was having difficulty getting the eighth notes out fast enough. At the end of the bridge, you can hear Getz start snapping his fingers because Haig kept getting behind (by which I mean he couldn’t seem to play his ii-V patterns quite fast enough, so he’d finish late and need a couple of bars to “regroup”). I had to “rationalize” the timing of some of this, since certain licks dragged so much. I suspect Al had been drinking…

Parker 51 (Cherokee) – Al Haig

February 24, 2008

Ascension – Barry Harris

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.

Ascension – Barry Harris

November 20, 2007

All The Things You Are – Lennie Tristano

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)

All The Things You Are – Tristano

August 7, 2007

I Could Write a Book – Red Garland

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

I Could Write A Book – Red Garland

And here is the intro he played: Intro – I Could Write A Book – Red Garland

July 16, 2007

Anthropology – Bud Powell

I bought a live performance DVD from Jamey Aebersold, and was really captivated by this performance of Anthropology. It’s in Copenhagen, with “NIHOP” on bass. Lots of great “Bud” vocabulary here.

Anthropology – Bud Powell

Here is the actual performance, from 1962 in Copenhagen: