News

• You asked for it, we got it!

  The Feelin’s Good - Hank Mobley
  Recently I got a very nice email from one of our customers, Steve Christian: “I wanted to express my gratitude for the wonderful resource you have created …” He went on to say great things about Hank Mobley music, and asked: “I hope you have plans to release more of Hank’s treasures in the future. I would love to see The Feelin’s Good from “Straight No Filter.”

  This jogged my memory, and I remembered the session was recorded sometime in 1963. Lo and behold, I discovered the 50th anniversary was right around the corner. March 7, 1963. Today! A perfect time to make The Feelin’s Good available. That Mobley recording session produced three more gems that are already on jazzleadsheets.com. Instead of releasing that session on one LP, Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records put these four selections on three different recordings. Check out the others for more historical information:
  East Of The Village
  Old World New Imports
  Up A Step

  Happy 50th Anniversary! Hank Mobley’s music: it’s always feelin’ good.

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  Adding another great composer to jazzleadsheets.com: Freddie Redd - And Time Marches On
  Pianist Freddie Redd is a marvelous composer we’ve known since 1985 when I produced two albums for him for Uptown Records. The second trio album, where Freddie played this title, with bassist George Duvivier and drummer Ben Riley, is still unissued. However, you can hear this great track as Freddie played it with his International Jazz Connection. Freddie’s music is a delight to play. Listen to this one; more is on the way.

  = = =

  Joao - Tommy Turrentine
  A beautiful slow samba first recorded by tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, brother of Tommy. Take a look at the descriptive notes to learn about the brothers’ differing views on the song. Recorded on Stanley’s “Nightwings” album.

  = = =

  Fred’s Delight - Tadd Dameron
  We’ve also received some requests for more Tadd Dameron lead sheets. Plus, the long awaited Paul Combs book, The Life and Music of Tadd Dameron, has just been released. Paul Combs was instrumental in getting me a copy of Tadd’s big band score (in Tadd’s manuscript) for “Fred’s Delight,” and the big band arrangement (score and parts) is available from ejazzlines.com. Even without a big band, everyone should get a chance to play Dameron’s distinctive melody and harmonies and add it to their combo repertory.

  Thanks for visiting jazzleadsheets.com!

  Don Sickler (phone 212-741-1175, email don@secondfloormusic.com)

• New songs, old year: songs for late December

  Jodi - Dexter Gordon
  A gorgeous ballad by a master of ballad playing.

  Please, Let Me Share This With You - Dexter Gordon (music) / Rachel Gould (lyric)
  Lyrist/singer Rachel Gould’s touching lyric creates a new valuable addition to the singer’s repertory.

  Blue Wail - Kenny Drew
  A great addition to your blues repertory: an intriguing melody with lots of rhythmic variety.

  Minor Scene - Gene Roland
  Another great medium up swinger by an often overlooked great composer/arranger.

  Later For You - Elmo Hope
  A challenging head based on standard jazz changes.

  Now, news about next year. We’ll be making some additions to the “Features” column.

  One addition will be ETUDES, which doesn’t mean you have to have new specially written music. Some heads also make great etudes. For me, Later For You is a perfect example, and I’ll tell you how I think you can best use it to your benefit: follow Charlie Parker’s advice: “Be able to play every melody in any key.” Elmo Hope’s Later For You exercises both your ears and your technical chops. Here is what I suggest:

  B-flat instruments:
  (1) Play the melody in A-flat concert (use your regular instrumental lead sheet). Trumpet players will play the B-flat lead sheet melody down an octave, except for one measure before D.
  (2) Next play the melody from the E-flat lead sheet: you’ll be learning the melody in the key of F.
  (3) Next play the melody from the C treble clef lead sheet: now you’ll be playing it in the key of A-flat.

  After you have the melody together in those three keys, pick any other key. Using your “ear,” see if you can play it in that new key. If you’ve really disciplined yourself in three keys, the next key should be a lot easier,

  If you already play a concert key instrument, then you should learn the melody in B-flat (from the B-flat lead sheet) and in E-flat (from the E-flat lead sheet).

  E-flat instruments, learn the melody in the B-flat instrumental key and the concert version key.

  Another useful category I’m working on is SAME CHANGES, where we’ll list the standard changes titles are based on. For example, Later For You is based on the chord progression of “All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm.”

  And here’s a link I love to browse: the album covers, all on one page.

  Happy New Year!

  Don Sickler
  phone 212-741-1175
  email don@secondfloormusic.com

• new December lead sheets

  Here are some new titles:

  400 Years Ago Tomorrow - Walter Davis Jr.

  I was asked several months ago for this lead sheet, so first of all I apologize for the delay. Walter was such a great composer, always with his own distinctive voice. As I’m sure you can tell from the audio clip, this is a great one! Pianists, note that Geoff Keezer’s Solo Piano Arrangement is also available, along with a recording by Kenny Drew, Jr.

  Focus - James Williams

  The first recording of Focus, a duo recording with bassist Dennis Irwin, was made before James started recording as a Jazz Messenger with Art Blakey. I discuss the four recordings James made of this composition in my notes, and I’m now on a mission to see if I can get James’ last duo recording (in 2000) made available as a download.

  Pensive - Al Cohn

  This beautiful ballad is the first of many compositions by Al Cohn that we’ll be bringing to jazzleadsheets.com.

  Sadly, I attended trombonist and composer Eddie Bert’s memorial service at St. Peters Church in NYC on December 17, 2012. Eddie was a great musician and a good friend. I played and toured with him many times over the years, and of course heard great stories from him, and about him. As you can learn from his bio on jazzleadsheets, and from the notes on his composition Speedster, Eddie was an accomplished musician.

  Since we’re making Speedster available, I see it’s a perfect time to add a new and beautiful Gigi Gryce composition, In A Meditating Mood, because Eddie recorded it as well.

  If you read my notes for these lead sheets you’ll get the picture, and you’ll see there are some unanswered questions. Was Eddie on this Gryce session? If we could see Eddie’s “session cards” (he made notes of every session he was on), I’m sure we’d have answers.

  Another thing that’s confusing to many of us: this isn’t the album title we know! We know it as “Like Cool.”

  After trombonist/bandleader Art Baron’s rehearsal at my studio over this last weekend, he overheard me talking to saxophonist Jerry Dodgion about Eddie Bert, and he wanted to know if we wanted to hear one of his Eddie Bert stories? Of course we said yes. It turns out the very first jazz record Art was ever given was Eddie’s “Like Cool” album, a later reissue of the “Let’s Dig Bert” album. It was the beginning of Art’s passion for jazz. He showed me his album, which had a cover with icicles on it, when he played at the Memorial service.

  Like Art, I was introduced to Eddie’s recording from a “Like Cool” reissue. I forgot to show Art my copy, but I think mine (which had an image of ice cubes on the cover) was an even later reissue than his. Are there more reissues with different covers? I now know about four covers for the same album: “Let’s Dig Bert (Eddie, That Is)” with the steam shovel or a portrait of Eddie playing trombone; “Like Cool” with icicles in a forest or ice cubes with a trombone. I hope one of you might have, or know someone who has, the original Essex issue so I can confirm the first cover. Email me (don@secondfloormusic.com) what you know.

  --Don Sickler

• Five new composers for November, 2012

  We have the honor of representing many great jazz composers and we’re working to add more of these composers to jazzleadsheets.com. Take a look and a listen to these new ones.

  Old Ballad (Kenny Wheeler)
  Kenny Wheeler is very important composer and trumpet player who should not be overlooked. In addition to this beautiful ballad, you’ll see from his bio that we have several of his important larger works also available.

  Our Miss Brooks (Harold Vick)
  This is gifted composer and tenor saxophonist Harold Vick’s most well-known composition. It’s a classic groove blues with infectious musical additions.

  Three For The Festival (Rahsaan Roland Kirk)
  The classic Rahsaan Roland Kirk three-horn arrangement, as you’ll hear (and can see on Jazz Icons and on YouTube) was performed by Rahsaan alone with the rhythm section. Our Drum Corner will soon be offering a Charli Persip drum transcription edition.

  The Merry-Go-Round (Jonny King)
  This marvelous composer and pianist, who emerged near the end of the last century, is back with new and very interesting music. This is the first of many that we’ll explore from his new recording, “Above All.” Our Drum Corner will soon be offering a Victor Lewis drum transcription edition as well as a drummers’ “minus you” track.

  Dannielle’s Waltz (Steve Nelson)
  Steve Nelson’s performances and recordings as a vibraphonist are finally getting him the recognition he deserves. He’s also a great composer as this, his first recorded composition, will illustrate.

• Dexter Gordon, Tom McIntosh and more

  Clubhouse (Dexter Gordon)
  This is another Dexter Gordon gem, featuring horns and drums in the melody. Read about my personal experience with legendary drummer Billy Higgins, who was on the original recording, in the notes. Dexter’s transcribed tenor sax solo is also available in both B-flat and C concert editions. My transcriptions document the creative “fingerprints” of the artist: the notes he plays as well as the articulations, which account for so much of Dexter’s magic as a soloist.

  Cup Bearers (Tom McIntosh)
  This is an important and classic jazz composition by master composer/arranger/trombonist Tom McIntosh. It’s one of those compositions with great “changes” that can lead you into new ways of thinking and playing.
  Our lead sheet comes from the first recording in 1962 by James Moody. Soon after, in the same year, trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded his version, and in the following year Dizzy Gillespie recorded it. “Cup Bearers” became a required composition on the hip jazz scene. This year, 2012, is the 50th anniversary of the first recording, and it’s still hip!
  A couple of years ago, when I brought it to the attention of Jon Irabagon, the winner of the last Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition, he was quick to record it.

  Crazy (Elmo Hope)
  One more challenge from Elmo Hope! I’m thrilled to be able to bring more and more of Elmo’s great music to jazzleadsheets.com. This one will challenge anyone, but it’s well worth the musical effort.
  Take a listen to Bertha Hope, Elmo’s widow, as she talks about Elmo with saxophonist/composer Jerry Dodgion and bassist/composer Putter Smith:
  

  Outa Sight (Jack Wilson)
  A great example of “It doesn’t have to be hard to be good.” I’m always looking for material recorded by jazz artists that can also be recommended to inexperienced performers. This is a good one: simple, not a rangy melody, not a lot of solo changes to deal with. The solo section has some rhythm section hits that will help you add variety to your own solo.

  Bob T’s Blues (Julian Priester)
  Another nice blues to add to your repertoire.

  --Don Sickler

• new August 22, 2012

  New titles for vocalists and everyone else. Instrumentalists, don’t let these great compositions go by without trying them. The accompaniment-only tracks are wonderful to practice with. Great composers. Try a few!

  A Something In A Summer’s Day (Kirk Nurock and Emily Dickinson) [vocal]
  A classy, and classic, ballad (or bossa). Sensitive performance by composer Kirk Nurock and vocalist Janis Siegel.

  A Shot Of Blues Juice (Norman Simmons and Judy Niemack) [vocal]
  A great way to involve an audience - “Let’s start with a shot of Blues Juice!” Relax and learn to swing with Judy Niemack and Norman Simmons.

  If You Believe (Ray Bryant and Tina May) [vocal]
  A Ray Bryant composition with lyric by Tina May. Learn the Latin/calypso feeling with the master, Ray on piano with bass & drums. No better way to practice.

  Garden In The Sand (Hank Mobley and Bebe Herring) [vocal]
  A haunting Hank Mobley bossa with a lyric to intrigue.

  Try As I May (Meredith d’Ambrosio) [vocal]
  Listen to Meredith’s graceful and moving performance, then make your own version.

• new August 17, 2012

  Bel-Aire (Ray Bryant)
  Another great Ray Bryant head which challenges you to fly over your instrument. A must for any trumpet players who think they can play anything.

  Gayle’s Groove (Mickey Bass)
  An interesting ten-measure followed by fourteen-measure form. Originally recorded in a two horn quintet format so second part editions are also available.

  T.H.E. Blues (Steve Davis)
  An unusual form: 15 measure blues in a challenging key (A-flat minor).

  Ka-Link (Philly Joe Jones)
  It starts out as a cute Latin blues head and develops into a larger AABCAD format, with alternations from Latin to swing. Soloing on the record was just blues choruses. The expanded head format can open you up to exploring different soloist formats.

  Listen To Mister Jones (Philly Joe Jones / Rachel Gould) [vocal]
  If you’re a vocalist, and have a drummer you want to feature, this is for you. It’s the lyric version of Ka-Link, with Rachel’s complete track and an accompaniment-only track (MP3).

  other new vocal titles:

  Do You Feel What I Feel? (Rachel Gould) [vocal]
  A beautiful, evocative exploration recorded by a voice/bass duo.

  He’s A Man (Curtis Fuller / Judy Niemack) [vocal]
  Judy’s lyric to the Fuller instrumental Sagittarius explains what that Zodiac sign means in a delightful way. Judy’s own performance, as well as an accompaniment-only MP3, are available.
  Also, Judy’s new publication, Hear It and Sing It: Exploring the Blues is now in print and can be purchased from Hal Leonard and Amazon.com. Some really great new blues to sing! Hear It and Sing It! is a fun and effective method.

  I’ll Blame It On The Samba (Ray Bryant / Tina May) [vocal]
  Tina May’s lyric to Ray’s Samba Elegante, it’s a fun song to sing. Tina’s recording, with Ray Bryant himself on piano, and the accompaniment-only MP3 are available.

  Just A Little Boy (Sergio Mihanovich) [vocal]
  A beautiful ballad with a charming lyric. Simple and easy to customize to your own style. Gloria Cooper’s recording as well as an accompaniment-only version are available.

  Miracle Of Spring (Meredith d’Ambrosio) [vocal]
  A lyrical melody full of Meredith’s optimism. A vocal transcription of Meredith’s interpretation, plus an accompaniment-only MP3 track.

• new July 18, 2012

  Donnellon Square (Kenny Drew)
  We’ve already made available several of Kenny Drew’s wonderful compositions that he wrote and recorded when he was well established in Europe in the 1970s. Now, we’re returning to his first recording date, in 1950, when he was just 21 years of age. You’ll hear he was already well versed in the bebop vocabulary. Listening to his opening solo piano introduction and hearing the depth of his composition, it’s easy to understand why he was on so many recordings during his career (over 250).

  The Opener (Hank Mobley)
  Here’s another great Hank Mobley composition and arrangement that he contributed to the “Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers” legacy. It’s a sincere tribute to the jazz artist/composer when the leader keeps their music in the repertoire after the artist leaves the group (Wayne Shorter was the tenor saxophonist on this recording).

  Straight Ahead (Gigi Gryce)
  The Jazz Lab was an important Gigi Gryce/Donald Byrd group for which Gigi wrote and arranged many great compositions. This slow swinger is certainly one of them.

  Three For Two (Jeanfrancois Prins)
  A very serious European jazz artist (guitar) and composer with a true melodic gift. We’re honored to be able to make his music and recordings available on jazzleadsheets.com. Also check out his new CD, "El Gaucho."

  Old World, New Imports (Hank Mobley): Philly Joe Jones drum transcription
  We’ve had the lead sheet for this composition available for some time. Now we’re adding the inspiration for the composition, drummer Philly Joe Jones’ valuable contribution. This composition definitely was written to be recorded with Philly Joe, and as usual, he comes through with flying colors. Check this one out, drummers! Also, visit the Jazz Drum Corner Blog.

  --Don Sickler

   

• new December 28, 2011

  If You Could Love Me - Norman Simmons
  A beautiful Norman Simmons composition, with lyrics by Norman. Sung in a slow Latin tempo by Carmen McRae, later, at different tempos by other vocalists. You can also gain interesting insight into Carmen’s phasing from our vocal transcription of her performance, available separately. Email us (don@secondfloormusic.com) for different keys!

  Juliano - Julian Priester
  Lead sheets and his trombone solo are available from his first recording as a leader, the KEEP SWINGIN’ album on Riverside Records. An energetic ABCD form composition. The melody is constantly modulating as it evolves.

  Valse Robin - Dexter Gordon
  Dexter Gordon’s beautiful waltz for his daughter Robin, a 64-measure expanded AABA form. Recorded on THE PANTHER! album.

  Harbor Freeway 5 P.M. - Jack Wilson
  Two separate lead sheet treatments. First recorded as an uptempo sizzler to feature the drums, it later became a beautiful laid back composition. Compare Jack’s interpretations.

  Out Of Joe’s Bag (Hank Mobley) - Philly Joe Jones drum transcription
  Evan Hughes’ transcription of Philly Joe Jones’ performance on the ANOTHER WORKOUT album. Includes solo drum introduction, playing behind the in and out melodies, and Philly Joe’s solo. More valuable insight into this phenomenal drummer!

  Don Sickler
  jazzleadsheets.com & secondfloormusic.com
  phone 212-741-1175
  email don@secondfloormusic.com

• new December 16, 2011

  Chips - Elmo Hope
  Stars Over Marrakesh - Elmo Hope

  We had a fun Elmo Hope experience in my rehearsal studio a few nights ago. I told pianist/composer Bertha Hope, Elmo’s widow and definitely the leading authority on Elmo’s music, that we needed to get together to play Elmo’s music with two special musicians. Bassist Putter Smith would be in NYC (he lives in California) and he’d like to play some Elmo AGAIN. In the late 1950s, when he was still a teenager, he got to gig with Elmo for quite a few weeks over a six month period in the Los Angeles area. Alto saxophonist/composer Jerry Dodgion had been talking to me about playing, and when I mentioned Putter, and that he had played with Elmo, I found out that Jerry had also played with Elmo in some jam sessions in San Francisco in the 1950s. Jerry said he was also definitely up for playing some of Elmo’s quintet music, so that’s what we did the other night. Bertha hadn’t known that Putter and Jerry had played with Elmo, so she was delighted. After we finished playing and were trying to get some air back into our lungs, I told Bertha that we should talk about their experiences with Elmo. We rolled some video, which we’ll be putting up soon on our jazzleadsheets.com YouTube channel.

  In preparation for that evening rehearsal, I got busy and put together a bunch more of Elmo’s quintet arrangements so we could read them and get them ready for jazzleadsheets.com. Normally I only put up one title by a composer at a time, but, in honor of that fun occasion, I’m putting out two of the ones we played that night. More Elmo Hope will be put on jazzleadsheets.com over the next few months.

  Our editions of STARS OVER MARRAKESH require a little explanation. This composition was recorded twice by Elmo, both as trio recordings. Both recorded arrangements are different. To avoid confusion, we’ve labeled them first version and second version. We believe the first version is the primary version, so we’ve expanded only that version for our other instrumental editions. Elmo’s piano melody always has a harmony part, therefore it’s perfect for two horns, so we’re also providing second part editions.

  The second version is from Elmo’s second recording, eight years later than the first recording. It has melodic and harmonic differences, and the bridge is in a different key (see our details page for more explanation). Elmo’s wife, Bertha Hope, who is a fine pianist and composer herself, is also the authority for understanding Elmo’s music. Even Bertha doesn’t know why Elmo made the alterations he did for the second recording. Maybe he couldn’t find his original lead sheet or he didn’t go back to the original recording. I know if we didn’t have the first recording, the second one would be rewarding enough. The fact that we have both, and C treble clef editions of each are available, gives you a chance to examine these two recordings in detail, giving you further insight into this important composer.

  more editions of: A Night At Tony’s - Gigi Gryce
  Stupendous-Lee - Gigi Gryce

  The lead sheets and second parts for these two important Gigi Gryce compositions have been available for some time. We’ve had some general requests for more transcribed solos, so both Gigi’s and Art Farmer’s solos from these recordings are naturals to make available. Studying these two soloists is rewarding, especially examining and comparing their solos on the same recording, and even trading fours with each other on A NIGHT AT TONY’S. They’re both what I call real note players: their lines always have such clarity of thought. All their articulations are also notated, giving you the real fingerprints of these great artists. Full B-flat and C editions give everyone the opportunity to examine these solos on their own instruments.

  Workout - Hank Mobley (Philly Joe Jones drum transcription)

  Again, we’ve had the lead sheets for this one out for some time. This is a great drum feature composition, and now you can examine in detail the mastery of the legendary drummer Mobley wrote the composition for: Philly Joe Jones. You can see his eight-measure solo drum intro, followed by everything he plays on the head (full of two-measure exchanges between the horns and Philly Joe). Also, unique to our publications, you always see what the horns are playing (in a smaller staff, above the drum staff). For students or professional drummers, these transcriptions are amazing to study! Also check out Evan Hughes’ blog, the Jazz Drum Corner. See and hear Evan playing his transcription of Philly Joe’s fours with the soloists on NO ROOM FOR SQUARES, and you’ll see why he’s such an important part of our transcribing staff.

  Enjoy!
  Don Sickler
  Second Floor Music and jazzleadsheets.com
  don@secondfloormusic.com
  phone 212-741-1175

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