Adam Roberts Music

Bob Brookmeyer hipped me to Lester Young. A few lessons into my studies with Bob, he pointed out that my improvised lines were chordal, jumpy and relatively undeveloped – another way of saying vertical and disconnected. He prescribed a steady diet of Lester Young as an antidote, serving up tracks like “Shoe Shine Boy,” “Taxi War Dance,” and “Lester Leaps In.” Within two weeks of the daily Lester sessions, I found a sweeter sound, a straighter 8th feel and less obsession with harmonic “tricks” over strong melodies. I found myself concentrating more on the larger harmonic areas of the tune and less chord to chord. Bob noticed the difference at the very next lesson. “You took my advice,” he said with a hint of a smile. Yes Bob, I did. And I haven’t stopped since.

“Lester Leaps In” is a Count Basie head arrangement over rhythm changes designed to feature Young over tons of blowing space. There are several versions floating around, featuring Pres (Billy Holiday’s nickname for Young) doing his thing at high speed – lots of bluesy lines, simple chromatic movements around the I-chord, and lots of lyrical ideas, delivered with immaculate groove and his sonorous tone.

This transcription is from 1939 with Count Basie’s band, The Kansas City Seven.

• Lester Young plays “Lester Leaps In” (Bb)
• Lester Young plays “Lester Leaps In” (Concert)

A little analysis

Lester’s style is nearly always “horizontal,” sounding the bigger key-areas of a tune rather than each chord. This was a big contrast to the other great tenor man of the time, Coleman Hawkins. Lester would take elaborate progressions like I vi ii V, which would lead to Hawk unleashing a flurry of notes, and instead see the whole thing as being in the key of I and simply play off the key center. That meant less cliches, more time to work, and a less busy style. Not having to worry about rapidly moving chords means time to emphasize subtle key center colors and the Blues.

Notice letter (B)? Its just an ornamented I chord, even though there’s a lot of chords in the same space. But what a hip, rhythmically swinging idea! And Basie’s comping shows this sensibility too. He’s barely playing anything back there, but the bass is really going at it.

This is not to say Pres didn’t have moments of harmonic surprise and detail. He is a jazz musician, right? But since his horizontal orientation to the chords doesn’t worry about each change, he reacts to the key centers instead of each change in sound. Check out this moment from the trading-4s section as an example:

Another great moment like this is the twisting line in chorus (B) measures 73 to 76.

Some practice thoughts

Playing horizontally in a hip manner requires a lot of intuition and a great musical ear. You have to develop a sensitivity for key regions and be adept at melodic development, as harmony will be less of a crutch. Here’s a few suggestions to get you started:

• Identify key areas of a tune…think big picture. “Tune Up,” for example, is just a bunch of ii-V-Is…there’s only 3 keys to deal with in the whole tune.
• Play ideas that center around the key rather than the chords. This doesn’t mean you have to discard all of those cool guide tones and enclosures and the like. You’re just orienting them around the bigger picture.
• Now that you have more space to play off of, use it. Leave rests in interesting places. Space is a great ally in developing pacing and helping the audience find organization and phrasing in your ideas.
• And possibly most important, transcribe lots of horizontal players like Pres, Bix Beiderbecke, Miles Davis and Bill Frisell!

Good luck and happy shedding!

It’s my birthday today, but you get the present! Here’s a Phil Woods transcription from Oliver Nelson’s More Blues and the Abstract Truth.

Phil Woods is possibly the greatest living bebop saxophonist, and the definitive disciple of Charlie Parker in my book. He has the licks no doubt, but what really matters is that his sense of phrasing is so elastic and deeply informed by the blues.

Many players, in an effort to embed bebop into their psyche, run countless patterns and drills ultimately sounding like a band-in-the-box solo. They’re missing that Bird was so loose and more than a little abstract in his sounding of the changes. It wasn’t merely about “insert lick A into slot B”…there was a natural flowing of ideas that floated over the chords.

Phil Woods found a way to emulate this aspect of Bird above all else. Woods has the sheer virtuosity and the gigantic bebop vocabulary, but its the phrasing and playfulness that give Woods the reckless abandon admired by those lucky ones who saw Bird at the height of his powers.

Today’s solo transcription paints a broader picture of Woods’ skill and musicianship. Here, we have him playing the blues…and not just any blues, but a slow 12/8 groover with lots of space and time to play around the edges. The changes are about as typical a blues you can find. The classic Blues form opens the door wide for Woods to break out the gutbucket growls, 40s R&B licks and smeary bends giving his performance that classic sense of soul drenched in the blues of Kansas City. You won’t find many of the dazzling bebop lines Woods is more famous for (though he sneaks in a few), but you’ll find tons of fresh-but-familar blues licks, delivered with fire and passion.

• Phil Woods plays “Goin’ to Chicago Blues” (Eb instruments)

A little analysis

The third chorus (C) is the part that led me to grab the solo. It begins with a hip, textbook use of sounding 3rds and 7ths. You could give it to students as a demonstration that those intervals alone are all it takes to sound a chord, as its driving and soulful, but at the same time, simple and developed. If that wasn’t enough, it all comes together in bar 43 (the D7 in the 7th bar) as he develops the 2-note intervallic idea by expanding it to a major 7th, hitting all the money notes on each change. I mean, dig that Bb to A on E-7, followed by the C# to C on the A7, and then grinding out that deliciously modern sounding #9 in the 11th bar! Its nonstop ear-candy…you know…the kind with the creamy filling.

Measure 54 in chorus (D) is the other highlight for me. Its a classic theory trick used all the way back in Louis Armstrong’s day…instead of playing the IV chord for bars 5 and 6, play the IV for bar 5 and then play a IV-7 in bar 6. It gives you an extra chromatic guide tone that sounds very slick. Here, Woods pushes that idea about as far as it can go by sounding a double-time run over what looks like a G-7 C7b9 progression. It gives you a really juicy new pathway back to D7.

There’s lots of other gems in here, but you can discover those for yourself. Just make sure to line it up with Woods’ original performance so you can catch the nuances that are impossible to put on paper…and there are a ton in a performance like this.

Today’s transcription is the modern tenor giant Chris Potter’s tribute to 60s tenor giant John Coltrane. “The Source” comes from his album Gratitude, which is loaded with dedications to Potter’s heroes. This is the first of a few tracks I plan to pick from this record.

Its a blues, more or less…though cleverly modified in a distinctively bright style. The head shows demonstrates all the quirks of Potter’s writing:

• He doesn’t have chord symbols in his lead sheet…just voicings
• Modern, slash-chord progressions: like the G/Bb chord
• Different Head, Interlude and blowing sections lending a lot of variety

The head is a simple, riff-based tune like the classic blues heads of Coltrane’s era. Coltrane Plays the Blues has a lot of tunes that must’ve influenced this track. In particular, the track “Mr. Day” is very similar…the 11 chords and the 4, b3 turnaround are pretty much identical to the blowing section of Potter’s tune.

The Solo

• Chris Potter plays “The Source” (Bb instruments)
• Chris Potter plays “The Source” (Concert instruments)

I was drawn to Chris Potter’s playing instantly for his clarity of sound and the seemingly impossible lines he throws off with ease. But beyond his chops, there’s a profound logic in each and every line he plays. The lines naturally evolve from each other. The rhythmic motifs are carefully explored. No note ever feels wasted. And then there’s his HUGE ears…in every performance I’ve heard, there’s always a moment when the interaction with the band will go way beyond just listening. An almost psychic response…

Man…can you hear the jealously pouring out of your monitor?

As Potter is one of the most virtuosic modern saxophonists, its little surprise that the technique required to perform this solo is high. He pops out altissimo C#’s with seemingly little effort, and runs bebop-inspired licks in and out of that range with a fluidity you don’t often hear up there. Then there’s the tremendous grace every line is executed with. To truly get the flavor of this solo, play it while matching his time precisely. You’re not going to find a cleaner performance anywhere – one of Potter’s hallmarks.

Stealing is Flattery

Ok…so let’s look at some of the best parts.

Early on in the solo, starting bar 65, there’s a 5ths lick that Potter develops for the next chorus, and then keeps coming back mutated into 4ths or rhythmically evolved. The most interesting developments begin and end (F). A nice side-effect of these 5ths stacks is the somewhat triadic sound against the chords with it…a light polytonality, or at least a strong emphasis of the 11 flavor of the progression. It also lends a really fresh, intervallic openness to his line.

In bars 89 to 92, you’ll find my favorite moment of the whole performance…an enclosure lick from hell. Its one of those lines that’s just so slick, it all but requires close analysis and 12-key practice.

Notice how each strong beat finds a chord tone wrapped in chromatics? I love the twisty sequence at the end as well…in fact, that moment is the reason I selected this solo. Sometimes it’s just not fair.

In the late 40s and 50s, Jazz was going through a bit of an identity crisis. The Big Band Era was over and Bebop hadn’t caught on in the mainstream despite the best efforts of Dizzy Gillespie. Older musicians seemed conflicted as to what to make of it. Louis Armstrong famously called out Dizzy at the Hollywood Bowl, and it was common among the Beboppers to refer to the previous generations as “moldy figs”…out of touch, out of fashion.

Cool Jazz Enters

But 1949 saw the emergence of a new style of Jazz – an art-conscious but highly listenable style, embracing subtlety, grace and an almost Classical intellectualness. It came to be known as Cool Jazz, for the record Birth of the Cool, released by Miles Davis in 1951. This is a landmark in and of itself, but as with most landmarks, it served primarily to expose this new genre and all its many players to a wider group of listeners.

A major player in this “new” style was Lennie Tristano and his various ensembles made up of his students. Their Jazz was a highly technical, very cerebral brand, loaded with intricate harmonies and surprising melodies. In the 50s, he garnered a small but loyal following, but then receded into the background as Hard Bop and Miles’ further experiments retook mainstream audiences. Today, with giants like Mark Turner, reinvigorating the sound, Tristano and his students are seeing a resurgence of popularity.

Lee Konitz

Alto saxophonist Lee Konitz is one of the greats of this period of Jazz (and has had an interesting career beyond Cool as well). While I wont claim to be an expert in all things Cool, he clearly understood the teachings of Tristano, as his improvisations contained much of the same precision, harmonic surprise and rhythmic character. Another frequent practice of Tristano’s was the use of contrafact – a new melody written to famous chord changes. Think “Donna Lee” and “Ko Ko”, which were new heads to “Indiana” and “Cherokee” respectively.

“Subconscious Lee” is a Konitz contrafact based on the changes to “What Is This Thing Called Love?”, a classic 1929 Cole Porter tune. The head is complex and really showcases the sonorities Tristano’s students were exploring – mostly “modern” colors on conventional chords, like maj 7′s on minor chords, #11′s on Majors, melodic minor modes…etc. Its also a highly rhythmic head with several displacements and an emphasis on jarring syncopations. Check out the last [A] (bars 25 to 32) of the head to get the full effect. And dig those #5′s on the last chord!

The Solo

• Lee Konitz plays “Subconscious Lee” (Eb Instruments)
• Lee Konitz plays “Subconscious Lee” (Concert Instruments)

On all these early recordings, the solos are short and loaded with ideas. Lee’s solo is precise and unadorned, but rhythmically and harmonically very sophisticated. For me, there are really 3 standout elements:

1. The prominent use of Diminished Scale-like ideas
2. That super-cool sequence kicking off the second [A] (bars 102 to 104)
3. The rhythmic idea in bars 121 and 122

First up, the diminished ideas. Full disclosure…there’s never a “perfect” moment when the whole scale is fully spelled out, so it’s hard to be sure exactly what Konitz was hearing/thinking, but there’s enough of the scale there to make some assumptions. He really leans on the b9 and #9 and the line starting at m. 101 gives that #11 flavor. Notice how his usage tends to ignore the ii-7b5 chords? It seems to me that he’s reducing ii-Vs to just Vs, giving him longer time to sound that altered V color.

Next up…the sequence. Go dig bars 102 to 104. Meditate on the hipness. I don’t think I need to tell you any more about it. Om…om…om…

Ok…so I’ll say one thing…does this remind you of the 90s fusion tenor players (Brecker, Mintzer, Berg…etc.)? This is one of those perfect sequences where the idea is note-for-note transposed. The first bar treats the ii chord as a Major or maybe a Dominant chord, second bar is a tritone sub, and the third is warped a bit to fit the minor chord. Ok…now go back to digging!!!

The rhythmic idea in 121 and 122 does this great job of representing the character of Lee’s 50s phrasing. Precise. Energetic. Driving.

I’m in the weeds right now, so here’s an oldie! I picked this solo back at NAU in 2000. It comes from Bob Mintzer’s tribute record to the Tenor Sax, Twin Tenors. This is a killer 90s record that showcases Mintzer performing some of his most creative solos. And to add to the treat, he’s being backed by Don Grolnick, Michael Formanek and Peter Erskine with Michael Brecker as a guest soloist on a few tracks (two of which I’ve picked and plan to post). Unfortunately, I think its out of print now, but hey, this is the age of the internet…I’m sure you know what to do about it.

“Giant Steps” is often built up as one of those looming hurdles in the development of a jazz musician that everyone must eventually clear. It was always getting called at the jam sessions – usually as a joke or a dare. It has challenging changes built of chords moving in 3rds and 4ths while the keys descend in Major 3rds. And those key changes happen on beat 3, rather than on any rhythmic landmarks. The melody is odd and intervallic, and while simple, is not particularly catchy except to the legions of jazzers who’ve dutifully committed it to memory. And to top it off, it usually moves at ludicrous speed when performed. Really, its a very odd duck. But despite this, John Coltrane’s tune has become a test of a modern player’s mettle…for better or for worse.

It comes as no surprise then that Mintzer, looking to pay homage to the legacy of the Tenor Sax, included this tune not once but twice on Twin Tenors. I’ve transcribed “Version 1″ which features a blazing, pattern-oriented solo by Michael Brecker bearing a strong resemblance to the original Coltrane performance, and a more abstract, highly rhythmic solo by Bob Mintzer that demonstrates a more conceptual approach to the tune. The contrast between the two interpretations is really remarkable.

• Brecker & Mintzer play Giant Steps

Comparing Notes

Michael Brecker’s solo is built from the same “digital patterns” found all over Coltrane’s solo. The 1-2-3-5 pattern is here. 5-3-1-5 is here. Lots of fragments of the bebop scale show up. And a wide variety of arpeggios and passing bebop vocabulary saturates the rest. Its a remarkable feat of dexterity, even though it stays pretty close to the traditional approach to “Giant Steps” Coltrane gave to us in 1959.

Its also notable that Brecker, who is renowned for his incredible harmonic vocabulary and rich palette of substitutions, keeps it pretty inside. This is a true testament to the difficulty of the song. The only consistent alteration can be seen over the C7 chords, where he is most likely using C Super Locrian (C Db D# E F# G# Bb). This isn’t surprising, as tunes with exotic chords like these often seem muddled when you push the harmonies too far. In fact, a bit of wisdom can be drawn from this – don’t alter alterations! At least, tread lightly.

Altering already-dissonant chords and substitutions can actually reduce tension, weakening the line. In this tune’s case, its more like, altering chords that are already complex makes the line less clear and can fool the listener into hearing the wrong portion of the tune. Notice how close C Super Locrian is to Db Major? Using this sound too much can actually rob your line of the intricacy of the progression.

Here’s a few tips for those trying Brecker or Coltrane’s approach to “Giant Steps”:

1. Practice 1-2-3-5 patterns and other number-derived ideas. Work a variety of these through the progression until you can switch between them with relative ease. Beware though…this can lead to lots of senseless repetition. You’ll have to maintain focus and not let the tempo take control. And even if you do, this formulaic approach will often come across contrived. Strive for variety and always let your ear and instinct prevail over formulas.
2. A more free approach to this same concept would be to take the shapes of the idea and practice manipulating it through chords. An example might be the same 1-2-3-5. But now play it from all scale tones, getting used to the subtle change in intervals occurring on each step. Then move according to inspiration rather than simply recreating the exact pattern’s structure on the next chord. So 6-7-8-3 or 3-4-5-7…6-#4-3-2 anyone?

Mintzer’s solo seems to come from a more original place. While still nailing the changes, he spends much of the time abstracting the rhythms of the tune. He almost seems to play like a drummer…percussive rhythms, over-the-bar phrasing and hints of hemiola sneak in throughout.

I love the strength of his themes. Take the opening 4 bars for instance. The quarter-note phrase endings in bars 1, 2 & 4 give a sense that each chunk is part of a bigger idea. Often, on a tune this challenging and this fast, pre-fabricated ideas take over leaving little room for inspiration. Mintzer has avoided that here by using simple ideas that can be easily moved around. And then he executes flawlessly!

One more particularly interesting moment is the second half of chorus O. Notice the pentatonic bit beginning on F∆7 in measure 330? He then begins shifting the idea up more-or-less in half steps to finish out the chorus. This is a great example of letting the idea lead the way. Even when its not completely “inside”, it still comes across because of the strength of the line and the repeated shapes and rhythms.

Closing thoughts

There’s so much great stuff in this one! It was a blast comparing the two different approaches to this tune. And that’s not even counting the incredible Don Gronick piano solo that I didn’t pick here. Hopefully this gives you some new insights into how to attack this beast.

Happy shedding!