Night Days Pt. 2

In this week’s installment of Our Man On The Ground we’ll be continuing our study over Cole Porter’s tune “Night and Day” by taking a look at Kenny Kirkland’s solo over “Day and Night.” As you’ll recall from last week’s post, “Day and Night” is Dave Liebman’s contafact off of Elvin Jones’s 1982 album Earth Jones. […]

Night Days Pt. 1

With this post I’m beyond excited to announce the grand return of Our Man On The Ground! I took a bit of a hiatus due to some personal reasons but I’m now back and couldn’t be more stoked. I’ve got some exciting ideas for this blog planned and I seriously couldn’t be more motivated to make […]

Lead Sheet: “Jingles” by Wes Montgomery

I have to start off by apologizing to all those who managed to catch an unfinished version of this post that was published this morning. As you all have hopefully noticed, I’ve been working hard to publish cool music stuff on a more consistent basis and I’m still getting the hang of this blogging thing. […]

Transcription: Wes Montgomery’s Solo on “S.K.J.”

Below you’ll find a transcription to Wes Montgomery’s great octave solo on “S.K.J.” off the album Bags meets Wes. There are really some great moments in the course of this solo. For example, check out “Joy Spring” quote in mm. 10-11. Another thing that always amazes me when I check out Wes is his ability to […]

The View From The Back Of The Band

When I first arrived at The University of Northern Colorado drummer Chris Smith was my combo director. At the time, he was taking over teaching duties for Jim White who was on sabbatical and, as I quickly discovered, Chris was (and still is) an amazing drummer and an even better person. More recently, I got […]

Lead Sheet: “Miyako” by Wayne Shorter

I’m not one to get overly emotional when I listen to music. But all that changed when one of my roommates played me Wayne Shorter’s recording of “Miyako” off his Blue Note album Schizophrenia. There was this sort of beauty in both the performance and composition that really resonated with something deep inside me. I started […]

Transcription: Woody Shaw’s Solo on “You And The Night And The Music”

I think in the continuum of trumpet players that begins with Louis Armstrong, Woody Shaw really was the last great harmonic innovator. Now, how’s that for an opening statement? Maybe I’m just revealing my own ignorance, but I do think that Woody was the last trumpet player that really contributed a unique harmonic language that was […]

Transcription: Red Garland’s Solo on “If I Were A Bell”

In honor of my first day of school I give you one of my first transcriptions, Red Garland’s great solo on “If I Were A Bell,” by Frank Loesser. The version I learned is not off the Prestige recording with Miles Davis’s group, but off of Red Garland’s trio record, Red Garland’s Piano, with Paul Chambers […]

Lead Sheet: “Solid” by Sonny Rollins

This lead sheet is for a great Sonny Rollins tune titled “Solid.” It’s just a Bb blues, but it’s a nice melody that doesn’t get played too often. I would highly recommend that you check out a couple of different versions of this tune because it can be played a little bit differently. I notated the […]

Lead Sheet: “Minor League” by Duke Pearson

This is a cool little minor blues by Duke Pearson that’s on Grant Green’s amazing Blue Note recording, Solid. I played this with a group not too long ago and its a lot of fun to play. I feel like the head gives off that really hip, quartal harmony that really rose to prominence in […]