I am in the middle of a transcription project inspired by NYC pianist/educator David Hazeltine. His method of solo transcription and analysis has intrigued me for a while, but I have never had the time to dive into it until now. I keep a very busy performance schedule and find most of my practice time devoted to keeping up with that. So when this quarantine hit and found myself with extra time, I decided to adopt his method. The basic idea is that you transcribe 3-5 solos of 2 artists, then compose an etude based on the ideas from each artist.
So I have chosen to to lift Cannonball Adderley solos first, and then Sonny Stitt's after. Getting back to the basics :)
I chose these two Saxophonists because of their effervescent and sunlit tones, soulful and optimistic melodic lines, impeccable time feel, and sheer mastery of their instruments. I will blog my way through this journey and upload videos of the solos as I go. I am also making available, for free download, the transcriptions at the "store" page of this website.
Hope you enjoy!
James
Here is what I have thus far: