A hard-bop blues with 2 bari’s, a tenor 🎷 and a rhythm section 🥁.

Reader,

We’ve been on a deep dive on the blues the last couple of months in the classes I’m teaching over at Open Studio. Last week, one of my students suggested I look at this track, Mary’s Blues. It is incredible.

In 1958, the Prestige All Stars band released an LP titled Baritones and French Horns. One side of that LP featured baritone sax, and the other (wait for it) french horns. Later, in 1963, the Baritones side of that LP was reissued as Dakar, under John Coltrane’s name. Which is interesting to me, because at the time of recording Coltrane was young and a sideman to Pepper Adams who was in his prime.

Mary’s Blues, the 2nd track on that album, was written by Pepper Adams, and featured him on bari sax. Cecil Payne was ALSO featured on bari sax, and of course John Coltrane on tenor.

So that’s right, a rhythm section + 3 sax. Amazing.

Upcoming Free Live Workshops

As a quick aside, I've arranged to host weekly live workshops for everyone who's enrolled in my 7-day soloing challenge on Zoom (no cost). On these sessions we'll dive into more detail about each of the lessons from the challenge, pick up some new tips, practice writing solos and give you a chance to get some personal feedback from me.

In order to get the most of that you need to sign up for the challenge. (If you've signed up in the past, you are already in...) So, come join us, and start getting your holiday tunes ready.

The times for these workshops will be announced in the Jazz Lounge, so come say hello if you haven't stopped by recently.

Today's 2-5-1

Each week I share 2 transcribed phrases, 5 ideas observed from 1 featured jazz recording.

Here's a summary of what I loved about this track and why I think you should care.

1. Coltrane recorded this in the early part of his career as a sideman to Pepper Adams. To my ear, the jazz vocabulary he used to solo with reminds me of other players of the time, not the innovative and provocative sounds Coltrane would later become known for in his headlining days.
2. The blues follows the standard 12 bar blues pattern, with common bebop/hardbop variations. Tritone subs and 2-5’s used consistently throughout.
3. Listen to how the rhythm section follows Coltrane’s energy into a double time feel at 2:35, and then comes back out of it before Cecil takes his solo.
4. The line from the first transcription is just so diatonic. Sometimes I hear a fast moving flurry of notes and assume its something wild and complicated, but really he’s just arpeggiating and outlining the scale.
5. That said, in the 2nd example, look at the notes Coltrane decides to resolve to. Eb on the Am7, and then C on the Gm7, followed by C again, but this time over F#m7? Those are some very colorful choices.

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(I usually try to get these newsletters out on Monday morning, but it turns out transcribing Coltrane’s flurry of notes took a lot longer than I planned for…)

Submit a Recording - Have a suggestion for a track I should include in a future 2-5-1? Send it over by replying to this email.