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Greetings. I tried to do a simple arrangement where the bass notes were always on 1 and 3 and the interior of the chord was on 2 and 4. Then the simple melody sits on top. There’s not a lot of syncopation, but it really makes you play like a metronome….your thumb especially.

…the infallible Linux was having some issues

Not much going on…I’ve gotten some requests lately that I’ve been playing around with.  A few of them are ballads, which I always seem to have a tough time with.  Playing a ballad with a rubato feel is one thing, but having it quantized(?) on a program like Powertab is another.  Obviously, any arrangement can be interpreted, but it would be nice if they didn’t sound so choppy on the midi playback.

I’m also still really digging that Earl Klugh album that is mentioned below.  I bought Martin Taylor In Concert at the same time and it’s very good, although I tend to gravitate towards Sketches: A Tribute to Art Tatum.  Sketches is one of Martin’s earliest solo albums.  His fingerstyle playing is more refined now, but he is really going for it on some of the songs on this.  Check out Blues for Mr. T and Don’t Get Around Much Anymore for some great off-the-cuff playing.

I downloaded this album from iTunes and I’m really impressed by it.  I never realized what an artist this guy is.  Some standouts are I’m Confessin’, Any Old Time of Day and Embraceable You.  If anyone has heard his second solo album, Naked Guitar, please let me know how it compares.  Thanks!

Just finished Cantaloupe Island by Herbie Hancock.  I’m not quite sure if I harmonized the melody right, but it sounds pretty close.  The groove is there, at least.  If you have a better way, please let me know and I’ll put it in the “guest transcriptions”.  Thanks!

This guy is a jazz pianist who has a bunch of great material on his site.  He has a breakdown of Coltrane’s famous “substitution” tunes: Moment’s Notice, Lazy Bird, Giant Steps, and Countdown. There are also articles on pentatonics, fourth voicings, etc. There are two books for sale, too. The one about hexatonics sounds quite interesting…check it out!

I’ve got quite a few tabs in progress that I’m not very happy with.  Here’s a list of some that might be done in the next few months:

African Flower by Duke Ellington
Moment’s Notice by John Coltrane
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy by Joe Zawinul
Canteloupe Island by Herbie Hancock
Juicy Lucy by Horace Silver
Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel
I’ve Got It Bad, and That Ain’t Good by Duke Ellington

Also, I might start revising some old tabs, too.  Stay tuned!

This is a book by Hal Galper that I’ve been getting into lately. The subtitle is: From Bach to Bebop - A Corrective Approach to Jazz Phrasing. I really feel my jazz lines have improved since reading this and working on some of the exercises. The book concentrates on the importance of chord tones, tension and release, how to treat the “one”, etc., etc. There’s also a lot of philosophy on hearing, practicing, rhythm, swing, etc. Highly recommended…check it out!

I just discovered this song. There’s a cool vocalese version that Al Jarreau sings on. Please check the tab pages for my arrangement. The parts that say “D Lydian” and “Eb Lydian” can obviously be improvised on with various modal chords. Check it out!

I haven’t had time to do many arrangements lately…but I did finish this tune. Please check the appropriate pages. I need to transcribe more blues heads like this. It’s nice to be able to play a riff/melody over the blues instead of just improv. I think it keeps the listener more interested, too. I’ve got some more tabs on the backburner and I’ll try to get to them soon.