My Sentiments Exactly – Buddy Montgomery
A funky Buddy Montgomery classic. This song was originally recorded with an AABC form, but the form is different in Isaiah J. Thompson's tribute version. A solo piano arrangement is also available, with a still different form.
- Recording: Buddy Montgomery - So Why Not?
- Recorded on: July, 1988
- Label: Landmark (LLP 1518)
- Concert Key: B-flat
- Style: Even 8ths (funky)
- Tenor Sax - David "Fathead" Newman
- Guitar - Jim Nichols
- Electric Piano - Buddy Montgomery
- Bass - Jeff Chambers
- Drums - Ralph Penland
- Congas - Willie Colon
Video
- Isaiah J. Thompson at the jazzleadsheets.com studio, playing Buddy Montgomery's My Sentiments Exactly. May 8, 2015.
One of Buddy Montgomery's most fun songs, My Sentiments Exactly virtually guarantees a good time! Check out how Buddy plays the melody—this song is a great example of his effortless phrasing and flowing rhythmic feel. It's built on a funk groove, with a half-time back beat in the drums but also a lot of chord hits on the "ands" of beats 2 and 4.
The form on this original recording is 64-measure AABC. The A section starts with call-and-response phrases between the rhythm section figures and melody. The first three four-measure phrases of both the A section and bridge start on E♭7, getting to B♭7 in the fourth measure; the changes rise in the A section and descend in the bridge. The first ten measures of the bridge are open for soloing; on the recording there's a guitar line here in both in and out heads, which is written in our C treble clef lead sheet.
There's a 16-measure intro, unrelated to the head; it's full of stop-time breaks and piano right-hand fills, whose voicings are shown in all lead sheets. The coda tags the last four measures of the head twice more.
The melody is full of expressive grace notes for that classic funky sound. The downward arrows in our lead sheets indicate that these grace notes are played right on the beat, with the following note delayed. Many of these notes with grace-note embellishments are played in two-note piano right-hand voicings; these are shown in our C lead sheet.
A solo piano arrangement is available; click on Piano Corner for more details.
The form on this original recording is 64-measure AABC. The A section starts with call-and-response phrases between the rhythm section figures and melody. The first three four-measure phrases of both the A section and bridge start on E♭7, getting to B♭7 in the fourth measure; the changes rise in the A section and descend in the bridge. The first ten measures of the bridge are open for soloing; on the recording there's a guitar line here in both in and out heads, which is written in our C treble clef lead sheet.
There's a 16-measure intro, unrelated to the head; it's full of stop-time breaks and piano right-hand fills, whose voicings are shown in all lead sheets. The coda tags the last four measures of the head twice more.
The melody is full of expressive grace notes for that classic funky sound. The downward arrows in our lead sheets indicate that these grace notes are played right on the beat, with the following note delayed. Many of these notes with grace-note embellishments are played in two-note piano right-hand voicings; these are shown in our C lead sheet.
A solo piano arrangement is available; click on Piano Corner for more details.
"So Why Not?" was the second of Buddy Montgomery's two albums for the Landmark label. Other songs on this album feature Warren Gale on trumpet and Ron Carter on bass. Buddy's other Landmark album, "Ties Of Love", was recorded two years earlier and includes a session from the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, again featuring saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman. Bassist Jeff Chambers joined Buddy for his return to Van Gelder Studio in 1997, recording the trio album "Here Again."
A solo piano arrangement is available.
Don Sickler: Years ago, when Buddy would come to NYC, he'd come by our rehearsal studio in our office and play his songs for me on the piano, so I could make sure I got his music notated correctly. My sources were only his recordings. Buddy didn't read music, so he obviously never wrote anything down for me. He was such a creative artist—every time he played one of his melodies, he came up with something new. Obviously, to get others interested in performing his music, I needed at least a lead sheet. This time, we also have something else to offer.
On one of Buddy's visits, fortunately composer/pianist Pamela Baskin-Watson was doing some work for us in the office, which included writing some solo piano arrangements. I got Buddy to play and go over My Sentiments Exactly for her. She then gave me the arrangement we are now making available.
I want to talk to Pam to see what she can remember about her own personal Buddy Montgomery experience (going over his music with him) before I give you some text about her "transcribed" arrangement.
For now, Elijah Shiffer, our in-house transcriber/editor, compares Pam's transcription with Buddy original recorded performance:
A few chord qualities are different from the lead sheets. This arrangement gets rid of the bridge from the original recording, consisting only of the intro and two A sections. On this arrangement, we have chosen to notate the grace notes on the 3rd (for example at the end of the third measure of the intro) as D♭ to D♮ rather than C♯, because they are phrased right on the beat. They are always harmonized with at least two notes of a B♭ triad, which means that they really sound like a B♭ minor triad "sliding" to a B♭ major triad; the D♭ going to D♮ shows the chord qualities clearly.
Don Sickler: Years ago, when Buddy would come to NYC, he'd come by our rehearsal studio in our office and play his songs for me on the piano, so I could make sure I got his music notated correctly. My sources were only his recordings. Buddy didn't read music, so he obviously never wrote anything down for me. He was such a creative artist—every time he played one of his melodies, he came up with something new. Obviously, to get others interested in performing his music, I needed at least a lead sheet. This time, we also have something else to offer.
On one of Buddy's visits, fortunately composer/pianist Pamela Baskin-Watson was doing some work for us in the office, which included writing some solo piano arrangements. I got Buddy to play and go over My Sentiments Exactly for her. She then gave me the arrangement we are now making available.
I want to talk to Pam to see what she can remember about her own personal Buddy Montgomery experience (going over his music with him) before I give you some text about her "transcribed" arrangement.
For now, Elijah Shiffer, our in-house transcriber/editor, compares Pam's transcription with Buddy original recorded performance:
A few chord qualities are different from the lead sheets. This arrangement gets rid of the bridge from the original recording, consisting only of the intro and two A sections. On this arrangement, we have chosen to notate the grace notes on the 3rd (for example at the end of the third measure of the intro) as D♭ to D♮ rather than C♯, because they are phrased right on the beat. They are always harmonized with at least two notes of a B♭ triad, which means that they really sound like a B♭ minor triad "sliding" to a B♭ major triad; the D♭ going to D♮ shows the chord qualities clearly.
- Recording: Isaiah Thompson - Isaiah Thompson Plays The Music Of Buddy Montgomery
- Recorded on: August 28, 2019
- Label: WJ3 Records (WJ3 1025)
- Concert Key: B-flat
- Style: Even 8ths (funky)
- Piano - Isaiah Thompson
- Bass - Philip Norris
- Drums - Willie Jones, III
This tribute version is at about the same tempo as Buddy Montgomery's original recording (on "So Why Not?") but with a lighter groove in an acoustic trio setting. The form is different: after the intro, the head consists of only two A sections. The bridge here becomes a repeated solo section—but with some variations. The first two choruses of this section have the changes slightly different from the original: the third four-measure phrase is the same as the first two. The third chorus adds a modulation to G minor in the 11th measure as in the original bridge, while the fourth chorus ends with the last four measures of the A section. The intro is then played again, leading to the out head (two A sections) and tag, with an abrupt ending.
As with Isaiah's other arrangements on this album, this version of My Sentiments Exactly is a great example of how versatile Buddy Montgomery's songs are. These re-imaginings of the songs continue the thread that Buddy started in reworking his own material.
As with Isaiah's other arrangements on this album, this version of My Sentiments Exactly is a great example of how versatile Buddy Montgomery's songs are. These re-imaginings of the songs continue the thread that Buddy started in reworking his own material.
Isaiah J. Thompson spent a month at jazzleadsheets.com in May of 2014, as an intern for a school project. During that time we got to know and appreciate his talent, personality and dedication. And he got to know the music of a few of Second Floor Music's composers, one of whom was Buddy Montgomery. Isaiah was immediately attracted to Buddy's music; in 2019 he completed his "master thesis" on Buddy Montgomery, with "Isaiah Thompson Plays The Music Of Buddy Montgomery"
A solo piano arrangement is available. When Buddy was in New York, he would come by the jazzleadsheets.com studio to make sure we understood his compositions. Buddy would play his songs at our piano, with pianist/composer Pamela Baskin-Watson observing. We'd record Buddy, so that Pam could try to notate his interpretations. Buddy constantly revisited and reworked his compositions.
A few chord qualities are different from the lead sheets. This arrangement gets rid of the bridge from the original recording, consisting only of the intro and two A sections. On this arrangement, we have chosen to notate the grace notes on the 3rd (for example at the end of the third measure of the intro) as D♭ to D♮ rather than C♯, because they are phrased right on the beat. They are always harmonized with at least two notes of a B♭ triad, which means that they really sound like a B♭ minor triad "sliding" to a B♭ major triad; the D♭ going to D♮ shows the chord qualities clearly.
A few chord qualities are different from the lead sheets. This arrangement gets rid of the bridge from the original recording, consisting only of the intro and two A sections. On this arrangement, we have chosen to notate the grace notes on the 3rd (for example at the end of the third measure of the intro) as D♭ to D♮ rather than C♯, because they are phrased right on the beat. They are always harmonized with at least two notes of a B♭ triad, which means that they really sound like a B♭ minor triad "sliding" to a B♭ major triad; the D♭ going to D♮ shows the chord qualities clearly.
Buddy Montgomery
January 30, 1930 – May 14, 2009
Buddy Montgomery’s music was straight ahead bebop jazz. He played in many styles, but always with a bebop approach. With no formal training, he played entirely by ear in any key, choosing what he felt were the most beautiful and creative chord changes, making his compositions challenging and inventive. He infused lyrical ballads with warmth and swung hard as well. Though he never crossed over outside of jazz, his music is accessible to casual listeners but still prized by jazz fans. Read more...