the jazz guitar pages
transcriptions
in this section i plan to put up transcriptions of solos played by some of the greatest jazz guitar players, each representative of the individual style. i am going to put up new files infrequently, whenever i have the time or feel like it, however, be sure to visit again!
the transcriptions are 640 x 800 pixel gif files, about 15kByte each. though file size is not large, it may take some time to load full size. i decided not to
use midi file format because these tend to fu¢k up the triplets royally.
flying home 
charlie christian, (recorded live w. benny goodman orchestra)
charlie christian, a young genius, was the guy who reshaped jazz guitar playing in the short period between 1938 and 1941. up to this point jazz guitar players usually had been a member of the rhythm section only. the banjo was 'out', and most of the time, you did not actually hear the guitar except you noticed when it was missing. freddie green, count basie's guitarist, represents this type of player. except for the incredible european gypsy guitarist django reinhardt practically no jazz guitarist ever played a solo in any band larger than a duo. charlie christian and the electric guitar revolutionized the role of the jazz guitar.
christian's style defined electric guitar playing for many years to come, and his influence was not restricted to jazz players. considering the era, some of his lines sound surprisingly modern. for example the double stop in measure 9 is a trick rock and roll players such as chuck berry and scotty moore employed more than a decade after christian's death. note also the tritone substitution in measure 20 and the octaves in bars 25-26, which had occasionally been played by django reinhardt and which would become the signature of wes montgomery. the last two bars you will see a phrase fairly typical of charlie christian.
flying home
old folks
pat metheny, question and answer
pat metheny's version of this standard (on question and answer) is one of the most beautiful
pieces of jazz i ever heard, and pat's solo here is an almost textbook example of what to do in jazz.
consider, for example, motif development in measures 72-78, starting
one-measure motifs on 4 of measure 72. notice how rhythm, melodic range, and
structure gradually change from one bar to the next, while continuity is obvious. bar 75
shows an example of how to emphasize a note by not playing another note which is anticipated (the 2
of measure 75 - played in measures 73 and 74 - is
replaced by a rest, emphasizing the peak point, the note c in bar 75).
a remark on notation: guitar sounds one octave lower than it is written. use swing 8's unless otherwise
specified, and occasionally i was too lazy to write enharmonically, e.g. the g flat over D7 chord
(measure 88) should be f sharp, though on a guitar they sound the same. i have
not included dynamics, and the transcription is only one and a half choruses - so that leaves some work
for you to do ;o)
and just by the way, the composer's name is really robison, as far as i know...
softly, as in a morning sunrise
john scofield, live (1977)
a very challenging one. for many guitarists, scofield's first record still is an all-time favorite, the one record they'd take along to live on a lonely island...
and right, there is a lot to discover on the tracks of this record. gorgeous combo playing of all musicians (john scofield: electric guitar, richie beirach: piano, george mraz: bass, joe labarbera drums).
scofield's solo on the standard softly, as in a morning sunrise already shows most of the characteristics of his later playing: fluid legato lines, daring "outside" runs, large melodic leaps. from his playing around the changes and the few chords or double-stops he does you can tell that scofield treats the changes as rather modal harmony.
i guess i would like to hear some feedback on this... :)
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Last update Aug 20 1998
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