Woody Shaw's solo on There Will Never Be Another You

Merry Christmas! It's been a while but I must say school had been taking most of my time. Here is Woody Shaw's solo on There Will Never Be Another You. It is standard Woody; short solo but to the point. I love the way he builds the turn arounds, he has the great ability to go out and come back in no problem. This is off his album SOLID! with Kenny Garrett on alto sax, Kenny Barron on piano, Neil Swainson on bass and Victor Jones on drums. Guitarist Peter Leitch is also on this album but not on this track. This is a great solo to get some great vocab and work on the swing feel. Enjoy!

There Will Never Be Another You - Woody Shaw

Bill Evans' solo on Minority

This is my second Evans' solo and I am real excited about it. This one comes from his classic album Everybody Digs Bill Evans, definitely an album everyone should have. "Minority" is a 16-bar standard in F minor with a great amount of inconclusive II-Vs; this is a great solo to steal some of Bill's II - V's ideas but that is not my favorite thing about it.

 Evans ideas go beyond a single chorus, he starts phrases at the end of a chorus and end them in the middle. He does this so flawlessly that sometimes it is not easy to know where the beginning  of the form is. It is such a great study on how to go beyond a chorus and have a more organically developed solo.

Also, his rhythmic figures are incredible. He creates tension in measures 95 through 102 with the dotted eight figures and then resolves it with a great swinging line. He does something similar in measures 63 - 66.  Enjoy this solo and also enjoy Bill Evans!

Bill Evans - Minority

Lage Lund's solo on How Deep is the Ocean

More Lage! This one from his debut album Romantic Latino for Ladies. A very laid back version of Irving Berlin's standard, "How Deep is the Ocean" with some great swing and a beautiful solo. 

Really well balanced linear solo; some blues, some bebop, some harmonic minor and some diatonic lines. This one was also a bit of work but definitely worth it. Enjoy!


How Deep is the Ocean - Lage Lund

Lage Lund's solo and melody comping on From This Moment On

This solo comes from the great album OWL trio. This is a project Lage Lund embarked on with Will Vinson (alto sax) and Orlando le Fleming (bass). They approach some unconventional standards with a very modern touch. This is a great album for guitarists because you can easily hear Lage's comping and his approach to improvisation without a drummer.

 Lage is easily one of my favorite guitarists out there. His ideas are unique, his triadic approach to improvisation is very interesting. I have transcribed some more stuff of his; I'll post it when it's ready to go. Enjoy!

                 From This Moment On - Lage Lund

Bill Evans' solo on Invitation

I finally got around to transcribing a Bill Evans solo. The man is a genius. This is his take on the great standard "Invitation" by Bronislau Kaper from his beautiful album with Eddie Gomez "Intutition". He adds an 4 bar extension at the end of every chorus (including the melody) to bring it back to C minor more smoothly.

 The main thing I got out of this solo, aside from his great swing and incredible lines, is his use of  a bII chord on a dominant chord (G7 = G#-7). This gives the chord a darker sound, the main tones now being b9 - 3 - b13. He does this a lot in this solo, check most II-V-Is and you'll probably find it. Enjoy!

Bill Evans - Invitation

Charlie Parker's Solo on Cheryl

More bop!! I'll switch it up soon. I do think bebop language is very important so continue working on this vocab. Enjoy!

Charlie Parker - Cheryl

New album and website!

Hi guys, I am excited to announce the release of my first album "Uno". It is a mix of my own compositions and arranged standards in a trio and quartet setting. You can listen to it and buy it directly from my new website www.gabrieldavila.com! Go check it out. It has my transcriptions there along with videos, and other artists music. I will go back to posting transcriptions real soon. Thanks for reading!

www.gabrieldavila.com

Miles Davis' solo on "Half-Nelson"

More bebop! Miles' solo on Half Nelson from the same recording "The Birth of Bop". I'll keep uploading more bop, this is fun. 

Miles Davis - Half-Nelson   

Charlie Parker's solo on "Half-Nelson"

Let's continue with the Bebop trend. Another great short solo from Charlie Parker, this is from Miles' album "The Birth of Bop". The title says it all, bebop all around. This is an F blues with some different changes (and a great turn around) so it is a great workout. I'll post Miles' solo in a little while. This short solos are great to steal some lines and work them out.

Great rhythm section:
John Lewis - Piano 
Nelson Boyd - Bass 
Max Roach - Drums

Charlie Parker - Half Nelson

John Lewis' solo on "Sippin' at Bells"

This is the last of the set from the Miles Davis Savoy sessions. I call it the "Miles Davis All Star 1947" but I might be making that up. Here is the link to the video again Sippin' at Bells. I adapted John Lewis' solo to guitar, at least the way it worked for me. Adding guitar voicings and only when I had some space to place them. The range of this solo is perfect for guitar, it covers almost the whole neck. I also like the way he takes the same ideas in both choruses but plays with them a bit. I'll try to make a video of me playing it at some point.
    

John Lewis - Sippin' at Bells

Miles Davis' solo on "Sippin' at Bells"

Just to keep things rolling from the same album "Miles Davis All Star 1947", Miles two chorus solo. This is an interesting blues chord progression so I might do a couple of more solos. I have some bigger things in the works but I'll keep throwing this short ones. They are a great read and a quick learn. Besides, learning bebop is always fun and beneficial.

Miles Davis - Sippin' at Bells

Charlie Parker's solo on "Sippin' at Bells"

Some good old beBop for your enjoyment. This is from the album "Miles Davis All Star 1947" or something like that. It is definitely from his Savoy recording sessions. Here is a link to the tune on youtube:  Sippin' at Bells.

 This is Charlie on tenor! a rarity but still very enjoyable. It seems a bit more manageable for guitar when he plays tenor, at least the lines seem more guitar friendly. I also added the melody, at least the way I heard it. Hope you enjoy it, try playing it with the recording.

Charlie Parker - Sippin' at Bells

Clifford Brown's solo on "Kiss and Run"

This is the first transcription I am posting of the great Clifford Brown, there will be many more with due time. "Kiss and Run" is a Sam Coslow standard that has not been often recorded but Sonny Rollins album Sonny Rollins Plus 4 gives it a great rendition. With Max Roach on drums, bassist George Morrow and Richie Powell on piano this power house recording is a true statement of bebop. This is a fast tune and Clifford's playing is incredible, just pure bop. Some great lines can be taken out of this solo. Enjoy!

Clifford Brown - Kiss and Run