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