Month: July 2011

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Art Blakey with the Jazz Messengers

Art Blakey was a hard bop drummer who was most famous for his work in the Jazz Messengers.  Blakey played with several big names in the jazz scene, most notably Horace Silver who was a co-leader in the Jazz Messengers for the first year of the group.

I was looking around the SJSU Library when I came across some Horace Silver albums in the jazz section of CD’s. I picked up Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers because of the awesome cover and gave it a listen.

This is where I first discovered Art Blakey.  Right off the bat I enjoyed how interactive Blakey was with the rest of the band and I really liked his solos.

Here is a solo from the song Room 608.  It is a 32 bar solo which has a bunch of standard jazz drumming licks which can be a good addition to anyone’s vocabulary.  It may not be a complicated solo, but the tempo that it is played at makes it pretty challenging to sound good.  Blakey definitley takes something which is simple on paper and makes it complex with his phrasing and tempo.

Here is a link to a recording on the song

Keep in mind that the stickings are just suggestions there is no right or wrong way to play this transcription.

Click here for a PDF of the solo

Feel free to leave any comments or questions you have in the comment box or send me an e-mail at apfranceschi@gmail.net.

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Eight Bar Drum Solos by Philly Joe Jones

Philly Joe Jones is an American jazz drummer who is most known for his work with the Miles Davis Quintet.  Jones played with the who’s who of the bebop era after establishing himself in New York jazz scene as a house drummer for several clubs.  Unhappy with the music in New York he moved back to work in his hometown Philadelphia.   In 1955 he was hired by Miles Davis  touring and recording with him until 1958.  1958 onward he can he heard as a sideman and as a leader for several of the greats of jazz music like Sonny Rollins, Art Pepper, and even John Coltrane. (source: Drummerworld)

Here is a great example of Philly Joe’s playing from the Miles Davis release ‘Round About Midnight.  Through out each eight measures he plays a similar eight bar phrase but takes there is a slight variation on each solo.  If you listen closely in each eight bar phrase there is a base to the rhythmic structure.  Even though these solos can be repetitive, they are full of a bunch of signature Philly Joe Jones licks in each solo.

Click here to hear the recording this transcription is from.

Click the link below for a PDF of the solo above.

Philly Joe Jones Drum Solo From Ah-Leu-Cha.pdf

Feel free to leave any comments or questions you have in the comment box or send me an e-mail at apfranceschi@gmail.net.