Stardust - inspired by and dedicated to Ben Webster

Jimmy Heath about storytelling and Ben Webster

Jimmy Heath talks about storytelling in jazz, and in ballads especially. What a great storyteller himself...

"Storytelling is gathered information from life, the way you live and what's going on with your life - you try to tell that story. So, say if for example, if I tell a student, say, ok now you're playing Ram Ramirez' song called Lover man. And I say, ok, the lyric says 'I don't know why, but I'm feelilng so sad', so if you play that (sings just the notes), you're not saying anyting! But if you say 'I don't know why, but I'm feeling sooo sad...' (sings as if spoken), you're putting in the emotional part of the lyric - you're interpreting the lyric... for what it says.
Yeah, Ben Webster, the great saxophonist, said he never played a song if he didn't know the words - as far as ballad is concerned. So, he was one of the greatest ballad players of all times - he sang the song to the people..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9LmNNnwMJo

Happy Birthday, Charlie Parker.

Happy Birthday, Bird...

You would be 90 years old today...you flew high.

Thank you for everything. Please stay with us forever, through your music...

Charlie "Yardbird" Parker
(29.8.1920 - 12.3.1955)

Advice for young musicians

Interview with Sonny Rollins:

What advice do you have for young musicians?
"I would say that they have to love what they are doing. Never mind the material. A lot of people come to me — a lot of kids — "Gee, Sonny. What should I practice? How can I get to be a successful musician?"
You have to love what you are doing, and if you are not hurting anybody or harming anybody else, that's it. Just stay on that path. If you are looking for money for material success, I have no advice, because I don't want to think like that, I don't believe that's the meaning of life. I am not a materialist, I don't believe in consumerism."

The great Sonny Rollins! God bless him!

Sonny Rollins' solo on The Eternal Triangle

This is a first part of my marathon transcription of The Eternal Triangle from album Sonny Side Up (1957). For now, this document contains the head and Rollins' solo.
More is to come... I'm planning to transcribe the complete Stitt's solo and then the trading between the two giants of tenor saxophone...
Enjoy!


Sonny Rollins - The Eternal Triangle for Bb tenor    

Sonny Rollins + Sonny Stitt Transcription

Transcribing (and then of course practicing the solos) is just one of the greatest learning material available. Fortunately, there are many softwares which slow down the track, so everyone is able to get even the smallest nuances in every solo. Even though it is a slow and sometimes painful process, I love how much it helps!

Today, I decided to transcribe the legendary recording, called The Eternal Triangle, from Dizzy Gillespie's album Sonny Side Up (1957), namely the battle of the tenors there - Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt. Each of the players plays his solo, and then they trade fours and then eights. Altogether their playing takes almost 9 minutes, it ends at 8:54. That's going to be a lot of pages...
Wish me luck, it is going to be the longest and I guess also the hardest most difficult transcription that I have ever done.
And when it is done... it is time to practice.

Conn New Wonder

Today, at 4:45 pm, I became the proud owner of old tenor saxophone Conn "New Wonder" - this old guy was born in 1918.


I named him Benjamin.


And there is nothing more to say...