PRACTICE PORTAL

Takes 3 and 4 of “Exercise In Swing” from THE COMPLETE SAVOY RECORDINGS… Lester Young was such an amazing improviser. These takes and the ones in the previous post are the same in that they are pristine miniatures of his seemingly effortless melodicism. But each has a slightly different quality. Take note of the rhythmic variety between and within each take. How Young at times floats over, then at other times digs into the groove, sitting firmly in the bull’s eye center of the beat. His emphasis on certain parts of the beat has an incredible effect on the mood of the music…

LESTER YOUNG- EXERCISE IN SWING TAKE 3 (mp3)

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LESTER YOUNG- EXERCISE IN SWING TAKE 4 (mp3)

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These two solos are from a Lester Young compilation called THE COMPLETE SAVOY RECORDINGS. They are two takes of a variation on rhythm changes…

LESTER YOUNG- EXERCISE IN SWING TAKE 1 (mp3)

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LESTER YOUNG- EXERCISE IN SWING TAKE 2 (mp3)

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The song “FREEWAY” is from Ralph Moore’s 1989 Landmark recording, IMAGES. He gathered a group of fine musicians- Terence Blanchard on trumpet, Benny Green playing piano, Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on the drums. Moore contributed two originals and filled out the session with some well known and more obscure material (Joe Henderson’s “Punjab”, “One Second, Please” by Elmo Hope, “This I Dig Of You” by Hank Mobley, etc.). Moore’s playing is characterized by a strong, lean sound, inventive melodic ideas and an unwavering rhythmic drive…

RALPH MOORE- SOLO FROM FREEWAY (mp3)

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MILT JACKSON- DR. JACKLE (mp3)

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OLIVER NELSON- STOLEN MOMENTS (mp3)

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LESTER YOUNG- ALL OF ME (mp3)

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The two solos presented here are from saxophonist Ralph Bowen’s recording, SOUL PROPRIETOR. on it, he gathers a group of top notch players: Sam Yahel on B3 organ, drummer Brian Blade, Peter Bernstein on guitar and trumpeter John Swana. i remember first hearing Bowen’s playing when he was with the group OTB many, many moons ago. he’s always impressed me with his great sound and rock solid technique, displayed to great advantage on this record. however, i chose to transcribe the solos of two of the other members of the band. John Swana and Peter Berstein both deliver really nice solos on the Joe Henderson classic, “Inner Urge”.

JOHN SWANA AND PETER BERNSTEIN- INNER URGE (mp3)

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“EFFENDI” is a nice McCoy tune that was recorded on an Impulse date called INCEPTION during his tenure with Coltrane, this date features Tyner in a trio setting with Elvin Jones and Art Davis on drums and bass. “EFFENDI” features a simple harmonized melody line in the piano’s right hand which is answered by the left hand and the bass. the form is ABA and the same form is used for soloing…

MCCOY TYNER- EFFENDI (mp3)

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COLTRANE JAZZ, not as well known as other Coltrane records like GIANT STEPS or MY FAVORITE THINGS, is among my favorites of his Atlantic catalogue. it features along with the standard “My Shining Hour”,  great Trane originals like “Fifth House”, a revision of “What Is This Thing Called Love” as well as the sepentine line of “Like Sonny”. Trane plays driving eighth note phrases on solo below, with a pristine sound throughout the range of his horn- i love it when he pops out those high F#s and Gs. great accompaniment by Jimmy Cobb, Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers on drums, piano and bass respectively…

JOHN COLTRANE- MY SHINING HOUR (mp3)

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On his solo on “All The Things you Are” from a record called BEAN STALKIN’, Hawkins plays two great choruses. the first is a very loose statement of the melody. Hawkins surrounds the notes of the melody with generous embellishment, beginning and ending phrases in unusual places and alternating between triplets and sixteenth notes, giving the phrases a very elastic feeling. Hawkins seems to float over the rhythm section during his first chorus. he digs in more firmly in the second, relying more on sixteenth notes and demonstrating why he was considered to be one of the finest chordal improvisers of his time…

COLEMAN HAWKINS- ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE (mp3)

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