Did I hear that right?: 2010

I'd been slowly working the Barry Harris solo on Cherokee when I remembered Flanagan's solo on Oleo from his "Sea Changes" recording. I had transcribed about 32 measures last year and I misplaced it (old fashioned method of pencil and paper).

Transcription: Tommy Flanagan on Oleo

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Updates on two great solo transcriptions

I updated the chords on the first 16 measures of Barry Harris' solo and changed the font on Sonny's. No major changes...

By the way, "Ray's Idea" could be written in Db major but I wrote it in C with all the accidentals. I suppose I wanted to see the flats. Need to practice reading in Db major I suppose...

Transcription: Barry Harris solo on Ray's Idea

Transcription: Sonny Clark solo on Tadd's Delight

Sunday, August 8, 2010

About 90 measures in...

I decided to transcribe the 64 measures up front where Harris plays the head. Note: I may have included a couple of Christian McBride's bass notes in Barry's chords.

Transcription: Barry Harris' solo on Cherokee (performance live at "Dug" 1996)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Barry Harris solo on Cherokee

I'm about 25 measures into Barry Harris' solo on Cherokee from a live performance in 1997. At 67 his fingers aren't as nimble, but all the language and ideas are there!!!

Transcription: Barry Harris solo on Cherokee

Saturday, July 31, 2010

A Short but very sweet Barry Harris solo

"Sidemen" like Barry Harris got short-changed on their solos back in the day. He had to make the best of his "one time through the solo," and on this solo he certainly did!

Transcription: Barry Harris on Ray's Idea

First Draft Complete!

I've only checked the chords on the first 32 measures of the solo and the head, so there's some fine tuning left. But all the notes are in! I love this solo. Sonny Clark can really swing! The notes on the page don't do it justice...they're just a guide. What originally drew me to Sonny was how expressive his playing was. His timing and accents reminded me of a horn. The first line of his solo on "Softly as a Morning Sunrise" is a great example of this "horn-like expressiveness." It's also my sincere opinion that Sonny plays best at this medium swing tempo.

Transcription: Sonny Clark on Tadd's Delight (Complete First Draft)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Kam, Kam. Ruz bi ruz...Little by little, day by day.

I've edited some of the chords in the first 32 bars of the solo and transcribed another 32 bars. Such a beautiful bebop solo!!!! Sonny left us way before his time!

Transcription: Sonny Clark solo on Tadd's Delight

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Some "minor" changes

I changed some of the chords around for the first chorus of the solo to fit the solo more closely. I love this first chorus! It's perfection!!!

Transcription: Sonny Clark Solo on Tadd's Delight

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Another 32 Bars!

I'm working my way through this solo. Just one more time through the form I think.

Transcription: Sonny Clark Solo on Tadd's Delight

Monday, July 12, 2010

A little more work on Sonny's solo

Transcription: Sonny Clark on Tadd's Delight (update)

I chip away a little at a time. I have yet to really go back over it and play it through for accuracy. I feel fairly confident about the solo line, but I haven't really listened for the exact chords. I assume the standard form will do fine under the solo. I will work on that later.