News

• Three new composers

  Hello, music fans. For this week’s jazzleadsheets.com releases, I decided it would be fun to compare compositions by two gifted pianist/composers from Second Floor Music. The compositions start out with some definite similarities, but develop very differently.
  A Touching Affair by James Williams (first recorded in 1984)
  vs.
  Flamands by Don Friedman (first recorded in 1995)

  —- melodic similarities
  Both composers love the minor key, and they both started their compositions with a vamping piano/bass figure. Another striking similarity is the rhythmic shape and melodic contour of the opening phrase of each melody. This is where the similarity ends. Don’s opening G minor melodic phrase moves from the 5th up to the minor 7th then down to the 11th, while James’ opening F-sharp minor melodic phrase moves from the root up to the minor third then down to the minor 7th.
  —- melodic phrase development
  Don repeats the opening phrase melody, then keeps the melody almost intact, but in F minor. James develops his opening phrase over twelve measures.
  Interestingly, Don’s melody was originally spread over twelve measures when he first recorded it on his “Almost Everything” session. On his “Straight Ahead” session it’s developed over sixteen measures.

  You Never Leave My Mind by James Williams and Marc Ostrow
  This is the lyric version of A Touching Affair. It’s in a different, female friendly key. In addition to the vocal lead sheet, an accompaniment-only track is available, complete with full chorus (long form) solo section.
  Besides being a great composer and pianist, James Williams was also a champion for many other artists. He introduced me to Bobby Watson, Billy Pierce (and the other musicians on “Alter Ego”) and later, Donald Brown, Geoff Keezer and many other great artists.

  Horizon Reassembled by Bobby Watson
  The “Horizon Reassembled” CD reunites the exact same personnel that recorded together in 1991 and 1993. You can find more info about Horizon in the Historical Notes for this composition. Also, I want to mention that Second Floor Music has quite a few Bobby Watson “Horizon” combo arrangements available. Search by Recording Leader for "Bobby Watson & Horizon" on SecondFloorMusic.com. I’ve always loved Bobby’s music. He definitely has a strong compositional voice that is easy to recognize. Look for more of his compositions on jazzleadsheets.com soon.

  Sunset by Kenny Drew
  Kenny Drew is probably most known as one of the great rhythm section pianists. It’s hard to find artists that he didn’t record with. He’s also a gifted composer, and we’re introducing him on jazzleadsheets.com with one of his beautiful ballads. Kenny Drew is also the father of another exceptional pianist/composer, Kenny Drew, Jr., who is already represented in jazzleadsheets.com. Obviously, two Kenny Drew’s can be confusing, but we’ll try to make that confusion worthwhile as we bring you more of their great music.

  Thanks for visiting jazzleadsheets.com
  Don Sickler

• pre-Thanksgiving jazzleadsheets.com additions

  The Breakdown - Hank Mobley
  Last Saturday (November 13), I was trying to decide what to put on jazzleadsheets.com next. We have so many great Hank Mobley titles to choose from. Then I realized it was the 50th anniversary of Hank’s “Roll Call” album (recorded November 13, 1960), so it was easy for me to pick “The Breakdown” (lead sheets and Hank’s transcribed tenor solo are available). Previously we posted “My Groove, Your Move” from this same album. Second Floor Music has printed charts of “Roll Call” (quintet) and “Take Your Pick” (octet) available on Music Dispatch. Now there’s only one title left from this classic album: Hank’s original “The Baptist Beat.” Coming soon.

  Cranky Spanky - Bill Hardman
  I get many requests for more Jazz Messengers arrangements. This group, with the front line of Bill Hardman (trumpet) and Jackie McLean (alto sax), was the first band known as “Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers.” Before this recording (December, 1956), “The Jazz Messengers” was a co-operative group, with a trumpet and tenor sax front line.

  The Dream Is You - Tadd Dameron
  This is our first Tadd Dameron lead sheet, but there’ll be more. Melodies are very important—I feel everyone should learn the melody, first. That’s the main goal of jazzleadsheets.com, to make available correct melodies and chord changes to great jazz compositions. Dameron’s compositions are often recorded in beautifully orchestrated formats, like this medium slow swing gem: perfect to play along with. When learning a new song, I always recommend to start by playing along with the recording. I’m a trumpet player, and, once again, I’ve just enjoyed playing “The Dream Is You” with Tadd’s beautiful arrangement for Milt Jackson.

  Bobbie Pin - J.R. Monterose
  J.R.’s lovely ballad Alone Again has been available on jazzleadsheets.com as a vocal leadsheet. If you’re not familiar with J.R Monterose, this new addition, from his first album as a leader, is a great introduction. We’ll be making more of J.R.’s compositions available soon, plus other compositions on this album, like Philly Joe Jones’ original “Ka-Link.”
  Philly Joe was the first one who told me about J.R. In fact, it makes for a pretty unbelievable story. I was in the dressing room with Philly Joe on one of his gigs many years ago. I don’t remember the exact conversation, but Joe started talking about J.R (I think it probably had something to do with “Ka-link”). Anyway, I told Joe that I didn’t know much about J.R., so he went into great and fascinating detail, telling me about this fantastic musician that he’d been involved with. After ranting and raving about J.R. for quite some time, just before Philly Joe was ready to go back to the bandstand, there was a knock on the dressing room door. The door opened to reveal J.R., whom Philly Joe hadn’t seen in years. I remember Joe astonishing J.R. by saying something like: "J.R.! We were just talking about you! Say hello to Don Sickler. You’ll want to talk at length with him." That started my personal, and beautiful, relationship with J.R.

  Minor Bertha - Elmo Hope
  Again, I have Philly Joe Jones to thank for my in-depth discovery of Elmo Hope. Philly Joe (like Thelonious Monk) thought Elmo was one of the great composers. After discussing and playing for me many of Elmo’s recordings, Joe told me that I should talk to Elmo’s widow, Bertha Hope. He said Bertha was also a great pianist and really knew Elmo’s music. So that’s what I did, and Bertha and I have been cataloging and notating Elmo’s music for years.
  Elmo dedicated quite a few of his compositions to Bertha. When Bertha and I played “Minor Bertha” together at the Jazz Standard, I kidded her about how Elmo really captured some of her complex personality in that composition.

  Play the music!
  Don Sickler

• New titles and composers at jazzleadsheets.com!

  Enjoy the music of two new composers, both pianists and well-known jazz artists.

  Composer and pianist Don Friedman and a trio composition, Almost Everything, based on the changes of the standard “All The Things You Are.” C treble clef, B-flat, E-flat and C bass clef editions are available, as well as Friedman’s own solo piano arrangement.

  Richard Wyands, also a composer and pianist, with another trio feature, Half And Half. A great rhythm section feature, with the rhythm hits shown in the C treble clef edition. In addition to the standard C treble, B-flat, E-flat and C bass lead sheets, Richard Wyands’ solo piano arrangement is available along with an MP3 of pianist Kenny Drew, Jr., performing it, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder.

  We also have new compositions by composers familiar to jazzleadsheets.com visitors:
  -One new composition by Gigi Gryce, with first and second parts and Gigi’s transcribed alto sax solo in E-flat, B-flat and C editions. Transfiguration was recorded by Mal Waldron on Mal 1, with Gryce and Idrees Sulieman on trumpet.

  -Two new Ray Bryant offerings: I Don’t Care, originally recorded by the Cannonball Adderley Orchestra on "In The Land Of Hi-Fi," with Junior Mance on piano. And Talk To Me, the lyric version of I Don't Care from singer Tina May. Tina's version, which she recorded with Ray himself, is in G minor. The result is a delightful vocal. In addition to the lead sheet, we’ve made MP3 files available, both with the vocal and without the vocal (accompaniment only). Great for learning and playing both songs.

• Jazzleadsheets is back! March 3, 2010

  Thanks for being patient with our absence from the scene. Unfortunately, due to problems beyond our control, we had to shut down during the last month to solve some technical problems. Now we’re back on the web bigger (by 5 new titles) and better! We have new additions this week and we’re preparing to add several more important compositions next week.

  The Waiting Game (Tina Brooks): Tina Brooks was a gifted artist and composer (check out our audio excerpt). It’s a shame that we lost him at an early age. One of his older brothers, David “Bubba” Brooks, survived much longer and went on to be quite a well-known swing and R&B tenor sax player. The rhythm section for this arrangement is too involved to make clear in a lead sheet, so we’ve made individual parts and a full score available (a full quintet arrangement—as recorded, trumpet and tenor front line). This is the second of our “as recorded” combos available, and there are many more complete arrangements like this in preparation, to be posted soon. The other arrangement currently available is Gerkin For Perkin by Clifford Brown.

  High Modes (Hank Mobley): Definitely one of the “groove” masters, the Messengers (with Wayne Shorter) recorded this minor key gem live at Birdland.

  Vaun-Ex (Elmo Hope): Elmo moved to LA in 1957 and hooked up with some great West Coast musicians for this date, including Harold Land and Frank Butler, both of whom went on to record some of Elmo’s landmark challenging compositions (coming soon, only on jazzleadsheets.com). Since this was recorded as a quintet, second parts are also available.

  Jean-Marie (Ronnie Mathews): In addition to the lead sheets (and quintet second parts) for this great Mathews’ composition, we’re offering Ronnie’s own Solo Piano arrangement, perfect for launching our Solo Piano editions. As well as being a superb recital feature for solo piano, it’s actually what Ronnie played during performance, regardless of the size of the ensemble. Jean-Marie was Ronnie’s wife and the mother of Ronnie’s pride and joy, his daugher Salima.

  Serial Blues (Kenny Drew, Jr.): Another interesting and challenging composition from the pen of this great second generation pianist and composer. An opportunity to widen your knowledge and your “tone row” experience. Look for some of his father’s compositions coming soon.

  Thank you for playing this music.
  --Don & Maureen Sickler

• 50th anniversary titles & more

  This week marks the 50th anniversary of two great recording sessions for Riverside Records. On January 11, 1960, Julian Priester recorded his “Keep Swingin’” album, and on January 13 and 14, Bobby Timmons recorded his trio date “This Here Is Bobby Timmons.” These 50th anniversary sessions were also each artist’s first album as leaders.

  From Julian Priester:
  The End (plus Julian’s trombone solo)
  Under The Surface (plus Julian’s trombone solo)
  I proofread the two Julian Priester arrangements with one of my combos at Columbia University this last semester, then performed both at the winter concert. The combo used the same instrumentation as the recording, except tenor sax played the melody and trombone played the second part. During the semester I had to sub for both tenor and trombone, on trumpet, so we also got to hear Trumpet/Tenor-2nd part and Trumpet/Trombone-2nd part. The arrangements work great with any instrumentation, or with just the melody part in a quartet format.

  I get a lot of requests from trombonists for transcribed solos. Julian Priester is not only a great composer, he’s also a great trombone soloist. As I mention in my description notes, Julian’s The End composition is a challenging form, as the rhythm switches between Latin and swing at initially unpredictable times. As you’ll see and hear, when Julian solos the transitions really make sense.

  From Bobby Timmons:
  Joy Ride
  Bobby Timmons was a very versatile composer at age 24, when he recorded the album “This Here Is Bobby Timmons.” He’d already written and recorded his two major hits in his own fully developed funky-churchy language, at 23. This trio date, his first as a leader, comes approximately one year and three months after Bobby first recorded Moanin’ with Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, and a little less than three months after he recorded his second hit, This Here, as a member of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. Jazzleadsheets.com will post This Here shortly, but for now, Joy Ride shows you Bobby is very much at home writing challenging boppish compositions.

  Additionally, the print arrangement of Moanin’ is available from Second Floor Music with full score and alternate parts. Order online at MusicDispatch.com.

  On top of these anniversary titles, we also have more Carl Perkins, from the Curtis Counce album “Carl’s Blues”: Carl is another “groove master,” and Carl’s Blues is in a great tempo (medium slow) and key (A-flat) that we all need to practice.

  In December 2009, we posted two arrangements of Gerald Wiggins’s A Fifth For Frank. One was from a Cal Tjader recording, with Gerald on piano. Gerald’s A Light Groove also comes from this album, it and gives you a different kind of “groove.”

  Let’s all Keep Swingin’!
  --Don Sickler

• 5 new titles, with alto sax, trumpet and piano solos

  Nica’s Tempo is a significant Gigi Gryce composition that he revisited several times during his career. We’ve posted lead sheets for two different quintet arrangements by Gigi that were recorded almost 5 years apart, and I’ve explained some important differences between the two. Melody and second parts are available for both. Also, Gryce’s and Farmer’s solos are available, both great studies in improvisation. Trumpet players, especially newer players, should get a lot out of studying both the Art Farmer and Gigi Gryce (B-flat edition) solos. Alto solos transposed to B-flat generally don’t go too high, giving trumpet soloists who haven’t yet developed their high range new ideas in a lower register.

  Elmo Hope was one of Monk’s favorite composers. It’s fascinating to follow his compositional history since his style of writing changed over the years. I feel it’s important to start with his earlier works, like Happy Hour. We’ll post a few more over the next weeks, then get into the later period.

  January 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of Bobby Timmons’s recording career as a leader. Although we’re starting with a 1961 session here, with Easy Does It, we’ll get to his 1960 gems to commemorate their 50th anniversary later this year. Check out our first transcribed piano solo, Bobby’s six piano choruses on five pages. Timmons’ solos should be available for study. He’s always so full of energy, movement and swing. We’ve really made an attempt to indicate his articulations, which are so much a part of his playing. He can create a great funky feel, or just swing like hell. Either way, he doesn’t hold back, he’s always generating his own type of energy. He exhibits the qualities of a true artist: he always sounds like “Bobby Timmons.”

  We’ve already given you two of Ray Bryant’s Latin-jazz classics: Cubano Chant and Cuban Fantasy, but we also want you to hear Reflection. We’ve posted two different recordings, one by Ray himself, and one by his friend, pianist Phineas Newborn. Fun to compare the two approaches.

  Tina Brooks had the soulful trumpeter Johnny Coles at his side for “The Waiting Game” session, and I’m sure Johnny Coles loved this one. Dhyana is soulful and definitely swinging.

  Thanks for visiting jazzleadsheets.com!
  --Don Sickler

• 2 solos and a new Harold Land composition

  In the week before Christmas, check out two new transcribed solos for one of Gigi Gryce’s most popular compositions, Social Call. Learn Art Farmer’s trumpet solo and Gigi’s alto sax solo. C treble clef editions for both, as well as E-flat and B-flat for Gigi’s solo, and B-flat for Art’s. This is the first Gigi Gryce solo on jazzleadsheets.com. More coming soon. The lead sheets for Social Call are also available.

  Also, Harold Land’s Landslide, from the Curtis Counce album of the same name. Now three tracks from that album are available on jazzleadsheets.com, including Mia by Carl Perkins and A Fifth For Frank by Gerald Wiggins. Great trumpet/tenor charts. Make your fingers work for the holidays!

• West Coast and East Coast

  West Coast bassist Curtis Counce’s album “Landslide” is represented by two compositions, one by pianist Carl Perkins, Mia, and one by pianist Gerald Wiggins, A Fifth For Frank. The album, if you don’t have it, is available from the Concord Music Group (also individual tracks). Plus, we’ve posted a second version of the Wiggins title, as recorded by Cal Tjader (also available from Concord). As Don points out in the description, comparing and playing the two versions is very instructive. Landslide by Harold Land, from the same album, will be up next.

  Also new to jazzleadsheets.com is composer/pianist Michael Cochrane from the NY/NJ area. Michael has played and recorded with Tom Harrell, Jack Walrath, Michael Brecker and many others. His composition Waltz No. 1 was recorded in a quintet format with Tom Harrell and Bob Malach. Flutist/lyricist Cheryl Pyle added a lyric, resulting in the beautiful Two Reflect As One, recorded by vocalist Gloria Cooper.

• Two new composers plus one new Kenny Drew Jr. ballad

  Composer/pianist Kirk Nurock’s first contribution is a vocal ballad set to poetry by Emily Dickinson, Will There Really Be A Morning? The first released recording, by Nurock’s Quartet and vocalist Theo Bleckmann, is available only on jazzleadsheets.com.

  Austrian pianist and composer Fritz Pauer and his first composition here, Passos, recorded by Art Farmer on his Mirage album. Art Farmer’s transcribed trumpet solo is also available, and the complete track is on iTunes. What a pleasure to hear and see how Art navigates the changes!

  And one beautiful new ballad by Kenny Drew, Jr., Dedication. Its theme is taken from the first three notes of Serenity, his father’s composition.

• Two new composers this week

  Pianist Kenny Drew, Jr., an inventive virtuoso with a modern sound and style, joins the site with Third Phase, and trumpeter Bill Hardman, one of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the 1950s and ’60s, offers a groovy Latin piece, Jo-B.

  Two more great Ronnie Mathews titles from his Doin’ The Thang recording, Orient and Let's Get Down.

  Another addition in our two versions series (like Filide last week): Capers, a Tom McIntosh composition with two versions, recorded by two different trumpet players in the same year. Bill Hardman with Sonny Red on alto sax recorded it first, then Blue Mitchell with Junior Cook on tenor.

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