The Jazz Sax & Improvisation Blog of Saxophonist Bobby Stern - bobbysternjazz.com

Have You Met Miss Jones? - She awaits you on the bridge!

3/28/2025

Have You Met Miss Jones?
She awaits you... on "the bridge"!

Have you met Miss Jones? If not - well, allow me to introduce you.

"Have You Met Miss Jones?" - a Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart song classic - was first introduced in 1937 as part of the Broadway musical / political satire, "I'd Rather be Right".

Having been recorded by artists as diverse - in style and era - as Louis Armstrong and Robbie Williams, "Have You Met Miss Jones?" has since become a Jazz Standard, making its way onto the exalted list of 20th Century songs known as the "Great American Songbook".

What sets "Miss Jones" apart from the rest of the pack is her unique bridge in which the key centers modulate in descending Major 3rds (a song's bridge being the eight-bar "B" section - bars #17 thru #24 - of the 32-bar, AABA "standard American popular song" form).

John Coltrane's Tenor Solo on "I Love You" - A Transcription

12/22/2024

John Coltrane's Tenor Solo on "I Love You" - A Transcription

In the holiday spirit, I'm merrily posting a transcription of John Coltrane's tenor saxophone solo on Cole Porter's “I Love You” (in Bb tenor key only, at this point). It was recorded on August 16th 1957 for the Prestige label, during the early part of 'Trane's famed gig with Thelonious Monk's quartet at the legendary Five Spot that summer and fall.

It was also part of a session that included a ballad version of “Like Someone in Love” as well as two takes of 'Trane's Slow Blues”, which made up side-one of the LP “Lush Life” and wasn't released by Prestige until 1961.

Bassist Earl May and drummer Art Taylor round out the piano-less trio.

These sax/ bass and drums trio (known as “strolling”) recordings are some of my favorite Coltrane, as well as those recorded in Oct. 1960, which included “Satellite”, among others.

'Tis the Season - A "Sleigh Ride" at 250 BPM

12/17/2022

'Tis the Season
A "Sleigh Ride" at 250 BPM

'Tis once again "The Season" of hopefully fun and enjoyable times for you and yours. It´s also the season of non-stop holiday shopping music; which - thankfully, for the most part - comes but once a year.

Most of these holiday songs have been around for a while for the simple reason that they're popular and familiar to most of us - with the added and possibly unconscious realization that after New Year's Day, we likely won't be hearing them for another year.

One of those tunes was actually composed as a light orchestral piece during the heatwave of July, 1948 and makes no reference to the December holiday season.

"Coming on the Hudson" - A Johnny Griffin Tenor Saxophone Solo Transcription

9/28/2022

"Coming on the Hudson" - A Johnny Griffin Tenor Saxophone Solo Transcription

This month's post features a transcription / analysis of Johnny Griffin's tenor saxophone solo on Thelonious Monk's "Coming on the Hudson", recorded live at the legendary Five Spot Cafe in NYC on August 7, 1958. It was released as one of the tracks on the album "Thelonious in Action!". In addition to Monk and Griffin, the quartet was rounded out by bassist Ahmed Abdul Malik and the great Roy Haynes, on drums.

I've been wanting to do a transcription of Griffin's tenor solo on "Coming on the Hudson" for a long time. The tune - which is perhaps one of Monk's most "Monkish" - seemed somewhat challenging to grasp, as far as its form, rhythms and resolutions were concerned. At the same time, it ebbs and flows steadily - kind of like the Hudson River itself - whirlpools and all!

"Nutville" - Joe Henderson's Tenor Saxophone Solo Transcribed

6/25/2022

"Nutville"
Joe Henderson's Tenor Saxophone Solo Transcribed

© Maurice Stern. All Rights Reserved

Drawing courtesy of mauricestern.org. Click pic for more info.

Horace Silver's classic, "Nutville" was recorded on Oct. 22nd, 1965 and released as part of his Blue Note album, "The Cape Verdean Blues".

Along with Silver on piano, the hall-of-fame lineup included Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Woody Shaw - trumpet, J. J. Johnson - trombone, with Bob Cranshaw and Roger Humphries - bass and drums, respectively.

While the solos by Shaw and Johnson have often been the subject of study, Henderson's brief 4-chorus improvisation is the focus here. Being a tenor player myself, I guess I've always been a little nuts on the subject of Joe.

Get an Angle on "The Eternal Triangle" Bridge

2/24/2022

Take it to the Bridge...
Getting an Angle on "The Eternal Triangle"

Ok, folks! Are you ready to take it to the bridge? Brooklyn? GW? Golden Gate? London Bridge?

Nope. I'm talking about the "The Eternal Triangle" bridge - from the classic Dizzy Gillespie album "Sonny Side Up" - featuring both Theodore "Sonny" Rollins and Edward "Sonny" Stitt (the tune's composer). Two Samurai swordsmen battling it out on the bridge (the whole tune actually) with tenor saxophones as their musical swords of choice. And then, of course - there's Dizzy! Not to be forsaken!

Despite the high winds created by the tune's rapid tempo, crossing this bridge might not be as treacherous as it might initially seem.

Joe Henderson's Tenor Solo on "You Know I Care" - A Transcription

11/25/2021

Joe Henderson's Tenor Solo
"You Know I Care" - A Jazz Ballad Transcription

"You Know I Care", is a masterpiece of a composition by the prolific composer / pianist / arranger, Columbus Calvin "Duke" Pearson, jr and is possibly the most representative original ballad of the 1960s Blue Note period.

As the ballad feature on Joe Henderson's classic "Inner Urge" album, it was recorded on November 30, 1964 - nine days before John Coltrane recorded "A Love Supreme" - with pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones (each a member of Coltrane's classic quartet and icons themselves) on both sessions.

Almost six months later, Pearson recorded his own version of "You Know I Care" as a 6-horn arrangement, but Henderson's quartet recording is the definitive version, as his tenor solo as well as the rhythm section, breathes additional life, dimension and drama into an already singular ballad composition.

A Jug Full of Ammons - Gene Ammons' "Exactly Like You" Tenor Saxophone Transcription

7/20/2021

A Jug Full of Ammons - Gene Ammons' "Exactly Like You"
Tenor Saxophone Solo Transcription

Tenor saxophone giant Gene Ammons, aka "Jug", was one of the seminal figures at the crossroads between the earlier tenor saxophone styles of Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster - and the BeBop evolution / revolution of the mid to late 1940s, sparked by the innovative genius of Charlie Parker.

Add to that the blues influences of his native Chicago - as well as that of his celebrated pianist father, "Boogie Woogie" innovator Albert Ammons - and you've got one of the "phatest", most distinct, expressive and soulful tenor saxophone sounds ever heard.

Ammons recorded for several record labels from the late 1940s until his passing in 1974, but the bulk of his recorded output was for Bob Weinstock's Prestige Records label.

It's from one of these Prestige recordings that the subject of this post - a transcription of Jug's solo on the popular show tune "Exactly Like You" - is taken.

Monk's Time Again - "Bye-Ya": A Self Transcription

2/25/2021

Toot My Own Horn Dept.
VAYA! Monk's Time Again - "Bye-Ya": A Self-Transcription

Since I really enjoyed doing last month's post - recording a tenor solo on Thelonious Monk's “Bemsha Swing” then transcribing it and posting them both here - I thought I'd try an encore with another Monk classic - “Bye-Ya”

“Bye-Ya” was originally recorded on October 15th, 1952 and, as with the aforementioned "Bemsha Swing", was initially released as part of the album “Thelonious Monk Trio”. The title given was actually “Vaya”, which remains an expression of positive affirmation in many Spanish speaking cultures – and was anglicized into “Bye-Ya”.

Subsequent versions were recorded featuring tenor greats Johnny Griffin and long time quartet member Charlie Rouse, as well as Steve Lacey's recording on soprano saxophone, but the definitive version - for me - is the 1957 Carnegie Hall concert featuring the immortal John Coltrane. 'Trane knew this tune so well that he was able to deliver his then patented “sheets of sound” - cascades of sixteenth-notes – for almost the entirety of his solo.

Monk's Bemsha Swing - A Self-Transcription

1/28/2021

Toot My Own Horn Dept.
Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing": A Self-Transcription

This post features a self-recorded and transcribed tenor saxophone solo on Thelonious Monk's well known classic. “Bemsha Swing”.

As I hadn't recorded myself in quite a while, I was anxious to turn this into a project. Fortunately, the results passed quality control and I can happily share them here.

The backing track used here is from “Thelonious Monk Favorites – 10 Classic Tunes” (Hal Leonard Jazz Play-Along, Vol. 91). It features the great Ronnie Mathews on piano, Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass, and Monk's former drummer - Ben Riley. It was recorded, mixed and mastered by the legendary RVG – Rudy Van Gelder – at his studio, where so many iconic recordings where made. Don Sickler, a name associated with many such projects, produced the session. What more could one ask for in a backing track?

An Etude for a Brighter Day - John Coltrane's "Mr. Day"

8/28/2020

An Etude for a Brighter Day! - John Coltrane's "Mr. Day"

On numerous levels, John Coltrane's original 12-bar blues “Mr. Day” has always been an inspirational favorite of mine.

Recorded during an evening session on Oct. 24th, 1960, it became part of the classic Atlantic LP “Coltrane Plays the Blues”, which was released in July 1962, after Coltrane had moved to the Impulse! record label.

This session was part of several which took place that same week and which produced all the material for the Coltrane albums “My Favorite Things” - released March, 1961 - and “Coltrane's Sound”, not released until June, 1964 a well a the rest of "Coltrane Plays the Blues".

A previous version, slower in tempo and more deliberate, listed as “Mr. Day (aka One and Four)”, was recorded in Los Angeles about a month and a half earlier as part of a compilation for the Roulette label. Coltrane was touring the West Coast with his new quartet, which did not yet include Elvin Jones on drums, who joined the group a few weeks later. Instead Billy Higgins, an LA native, known for his work with Ornette Coleman and subsequently everyone else, was the drummer.

There Ain't No Cure for the "FUNKADOSIS!"

3/16/2018

There Ain't No Cure for the "FUNKADOSIS!"

El yambu no se vacuna

Recently, while paying a visit to the office of Dr. Fredonious P. Funkenbutta, my family doctor, for my bi-centennial checkup, I was greeted with some rather alarming news.

Son,” he informed me, “according to our diagnosis, you've got an acute case of ...the Funkadosis!”

As this came totally unexpected, I was naturally in somewhat of a state of shock; especially since he had called me “son” - he was young enough to be my son.

"You can relax!" he ordered. "It won't kill ya! You should be aware, however, that unlike neurosis, psychosis, halitosis or B.Osis, ...there ain't no cure for the Funkadosis!”

RetroSpective: Ten to 2 - 25th Anniversary Reissue - EWI CD

2/8/2018

RetroSpective: "Ten to 2"
25th Anniversary Reissue

A collection of original music featuring the first Akai EWI

As the title suggests, this is the 25th Anniversary (actually, the 26th... but who's counting?) reissue of the self produced and recorded, completely electronic EWI production entitled "Ten to 2", which I began in 1988 and completed in 1992.

It featured myself on the then newly distributed Akai EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) controller and synthesizer - as well as everything else - from which I eventually pressed 1000 CD copies.

The complete collection of the seven original tunes are presented here as high quality (320 kbps) mp3s, which are available for immediate download as a 120mb .zip file.

With the passage of time, regardless of what its stylistic label or commercial value might or might not be or have been, I feel that from an artistic, production and possibly historical standpoint, it's relevance as a creative entity justifies a renewal of its availability in the present.

In other words, I think it's definitely worth a listen!

Some History

In 1986 when I first heard Michael Brecker’s famed recorded solo on “In a Sentimental Mood” with Steps Ahead, my reaction, like just about everyone else's, was “WTF is that?!” The back of the CD, as I recall, listed him as playing a “Steinerphone”.

A What?!

Yellin on Henderson: A Candid Interview With Saxophonist Pete Yellin

6/20/2017

Yellin on Henderson:
A candid interview with saxophonist Pete Yellin

Pete 'n' Joe

I feel very fortunate to have come across this interview, conducted in 2001, with the late alto saxophonist and long time fixture on the New York scene, Pete Yellin; courtesy of Canadian saxophonist / educator, Sundar Viswanathan, who is currently an Associate Professor of Jazz at York University in Toronto, and posted here with his permission.

Sundar, then a doctoral candidate at NYU, interviewed Pete as part of his 540 page dissertation, bearing the title "An Analysis of the Jazz Improvisation and Composition in Selected Works From the Blue Note Records Period of Tenor Saxophonist Joe Henderson from 1963-1966", leaving no doubt as to who, what and when, and which he was most generous to have shared with me recently.

The main subject and focus of the interview is, of course, none other than tenor saxophone titan Joe Henderson, with whom Yellin had a long friendship and musical relationship, dating back to the early 1960's.

JoHen Tunes Up "Night & Day" - Joe Henderson's Reharm & Solo Transcription

2/10/2016

JoHen Tunes Up "Night & Day"
Joe Henderson's Reharmonization and Solo Transcription

Joe Henderson w/ Horace Silver in France- July, 1964

Joe Henderson's tenor saxophone solo on his reharmonized version of Cole Porter's "Night & Day" (downloadable transcription below), was recorded for the Blue Note label at Rudy Van Gelder's studio (where else!) in Engewood Cliffs, NJ on Nov. 30th, 1964, ten days before John Coltrane recorded "A Love Supreme" in the same studio.

"Night & Day" would be the final track on the "B" side of the original vinyl LP "Inner Urge", Henderson's fourth as a leader for Blue Note; and featured then current Coltrane Quartet members McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones on piano and drums respectively; as well as Bob Cranshaw, who was pretty much Blue Note's house bassist at the time.

The album "Inner Urge" was titled after the now classic Henderson original and the subject of an earlier post. Both the tune and the album are iconic examples of '60's compositional, harmonic and improvisational innovations.

Back to the Future 'Trane - Transcription of John Coltrane's 1954 Solo on "In a Mellow Tone"

11/16/2015

Back to the Future 'Trane
Transcription of John Coltrane's 1954 Solo on "In a Mellow Tone"

This transcription of the first chorus of John Coltrane's tenor solo on Duke Ellington's "In a Mellow Tone", was taken from a live (possibly radio) recording from sometime in mid 1954, when 'Trane was on the road with Johnny Hodges' septet. The band included Hodges' fellow Ellingtonians, Harold "Shorty" Baker - trumpet, and Lawrence Brown on trombone.

This version of "Mellotone" was originally released, to my knowledge, in on a "bootleg" vinyl in the 1970's on the "Enigma" label. A friend of mine had it and I promptly copied it to cassette (remember those?.....OK, maybe not).

Then as now, 'Trane's solo here blew me away for several reasons.

First of all, through this recording, we get a glimpse of a 27 year old John Coltrane, who was still a little more than a year away from the start of his historical association with trumpeter Miles Davis. In the second chorus of this solo, which is not transcribed here, we hear a portent of things to come; i.e. sixteenth note scalar runs, which he seemed to be hearing as if from a distance, but didn't quite have the concept, which we would later know as "sheets of sound", under his complete control yet.

NOT Peanut But Uhhh... - Thelonious Monk's "Skippy"

8/27/2015

NOT Peanut But Uhhh...
Thelonious Monk's "Skippy"

"Skippy", which was originally recorded by Thelonious Monk for Blue Note on May 30th, 1952, might be considered (no, is!) one of his most challenging compositions.

The melody alone, which is uncharacteristically dense by Monk standards, is a workout in and of itself.

Harmonically, the descending cycle of 5ths and chromatic tritone subs require considerable "'shedding" in order to confidently negotiate improvised lines through the changes.

In this post, we'll just concentrate on the head, with the rest to follow.

"Skippy" is 32 bars long with what appears to be an A1-B-A2-C song form. The tune is Monk's reharmonization and abstraction of Vincent Youmans' well known standard, "Tea for Two", which due to the melodic consistency between the sections, comes off more like an A1-A2-A3-B form.

Granted! - A Joe Henderson Solo Transcription

12/2/2014

Granted! - A Joe Henderson Solo Transcription

It's Joe Henderson time again, ladies and gents!

"Happiness is Just a Thing Called (hearing a guy named) Joe"

Joe, as you should know, was one of the music's more stylistically unique and influential tenor saxophonists and improvisers, as well as the composer of a healthy number of classic originals.

His influence and legacy live on in his many recordings, made both as leader and sideman, during a career which spanned nearly four decades.

Henderson's tenor saxophone solo on one of those original compositions, an uptempo C Minor Blues entitled "Granted" (dedicated to the renowned NYC Jazz Radio personality and promoter, Alan Grant, who recently passed away at 93), is the subject of this post and downloadable transcription.

"Granted" was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder on January 27th, 1966 (which happened to be the 25th birthday of the session's vibraphonist, Bobby Hutcherson) and was part of the session that produced Henderson's fifth and last studio album as a leader for the Blue Note label, "Mode for Joe".

At the time of the recording, Joe Henderson was a member of pianist Horace Silver's quintet, which also included a young Woody Shaw on trumpet. Henderson had joined Silver's group in June, 1964 and would remain with the pianist for just another two-plus months.

'Trane Fare for Slonimsky - A Diminished Scale Sequence

6/12/2014

'Trane Fare for Slonimsky - A Diminished
Scale Sequence

A Beautiful (Musical) Mind - Times 2

Here's another symmetrical scale exercise.

This time, it's 2 minor 7th chords a tritone apart, a pair of 4 note patterns, which reveal all 8 notes of a diminished scale.

I was sure this pattern, which has its descending version in retrograde of its ascending form (second two measures), was contained somewhere in the depths of Nicolas Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns".

But it wasn't!

Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge" - The Last Eight

5/1/2014

Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge" - The Last Eight

Smokin' Joseph

I've been wanting to post something on the subject of Joe Henderson for a while now.

Joe Henderson, as quiet as it's been kept, is not only one of the greatest tenor saxophonists of the musical genre we know and love as "Jazz", but one of it's most prolific composers, as well as one of it's truly unique and creative improvisational voices.

Sonny Stitt Redux: Was he the "Stinkmeaner" of the Saxophone?

4/17/2014

Updated 1/2022

Sonny Stitt Redux:
Was He the "Stinkmeaner" of the Saxophone?

Sonny Sti.......nkmeaner!?

I recently received a comment on one of my posts from 2013 entitled "Sonny Stitt - "How Many Keys on the Saxophone?" from a seemingly informed gentleman by the name of Leo Cluesmann.

In my post, I detailed the experience of my encounter in 1980 with the jazz legend, saxophonist Sonny Stitt, believing, correctly as I found out, that many people who are still around had their own Stitt stories.

It's obvious, using Mr. Cluesmann's comment as an example, that even almost forty years after his death, Stitt still elicits some strong emotions from some folks.

I'll include Leo's comment here in full; for which I wish to thank him.

Sonny Stitt - "How Many Keys on the Saxophone?"

8/7/2013

Sonny Stitt - How Many Keys on the Saxophone?

From the mid 1970's until the early '80's I lived in Munich, Germany. Aside from being a beautiful, culturally oriented city lying at the foothills of the Alps, Munich hosted (somewhat unceremoniously, it seems in retrospect) one of Europe's premier jazz venues at the time, known as the "Domicile"

The "Domicile" was on par with Ronnie Scott's in London, the Montmartre in Copenhagen, and several other major European clubs. It was part of "the circuit", so one got to see all the major jazz legends who came over from the States (plus some of the top European musicians), on a consistent basis, with the usual length of engagement being 5 or 6 nights. Eventually, even I had the opportunity to play there with some frequency. I got to see people like Dizzy, Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Joe Henderson, Johnny Griffin, Woody Shaw, Archie Shepp, etc. I took a lesson from George Coleman and sat in with Freddie Hubbard.

The Domicile was also, in the Summer of 1980, where I got to experience the likes of none other than one Edward "Sonny" Stitt.

Marvin Gaye Sessions #3 - Tomorrow's Gone

7/20/2013

Part 1 Part 2
When "Midnight Love" finally hit the streets in the autumn of 1982, it marked the triumphant return of Marvin Gaye. I first got wind of it when, half asleep in the back seat of a car riding through Belgium on a November afternoon, en route to a gig in Luxembourg, I heard this tenor saxophone coming over the radio and, in my half conscious state, thought it sounded like Michael Brecker on one of his top forty disco type solos of that era. But when I heard the unmistakably familiar voice of Marvin Gaye as well as the vague familiarity of the tune itself, I suddenly realized, "Holy shit! That's me!" The tune was "Joy", one of the album cuts I played on. When we got to Luxembourg, I found the nearest record store and bought the album (Vinyl LPs were still the main medium for recorded music).

Marvin Gaye Sessions #2 - Tomorrow Comes

6/26/2013

After seemingly scoring some points with Marvin (Gaye) and Harvey (Fuqua) with a brief tenor solo on "'Til Tomorrow" (see Part 1), I talked my way into having them invite me back for some more fun the next day.

When I found out they were going to be recording in Munich for a few more days, before Marvin headed back over to Ostend, Belgium, I had to try to convince them I could still be useful; and while I don't consider myself one of those individuals born with the gift of gab, whatever I told them worked.

Marvin Gaye Sessions - 'Til Tomorrow, Pt 1

6/20/2013

Marvin Penz Gaye

It was a typical Munich summer's afternoon in 1982 when I got back to my apartment and found a message, that I was to call Arco Studios back about a "Marvin Gaye Session".

I had been doing a modest amount of studio work in those days, mostly as a tenor saxophone soloist, as saxophone solos were common on many pop recordings of the '70's & '80's.

Munich, as far as Europe went, was a pretty major recording town. It was a center of the "Disco" boom of the '70's, and the city boasted several film music recording studios, hosting rooms large enough to hold entire orchestras. Arco was one of those places.

I called the number which was left with the message and a guy with a deep, resonant Barry White type voice answers. I gave him my name and that I was contacted about a session.