Art Farmer

• Chambers, Drew, Hargrove, Thompson: new titles

  Visitation - Paul Chambers
  March 2 marks the 60th anniversary of Paul Chambers' own recording of his classic bass feature composition, Visitation. Paul was a true "young lion" at age 20 when he recorded this on his first album as a leader (March 2, 1956). In addition to lead sheets, his transcribed bass solo is available from that recording. We also have two different exclusive audio recordings available; each of them have Minus You audio tracks as well. The bassist on both of our recordings is Daryl Johns (who was 13 years old at the time of both recordings). Both are quartet recordings, but very different: the first is a standard quartet (trumpet/piano/bass/drums}; the second quartet is multiple basses (four basses--all performed by Daryl Johns).

  Context - Kenny Drew
  This is a classic Kenny Drew composition, and we're giving you four different performances to explore. Two of the performances include trumpeter Art Farmer videos, so you can now see him play as well as check out his solos in our transcribed solo editions.

  Soppin' The Biscuit - Roy Hargrove
  A great groove head - this one will definitely put a smile on your face and get your head bobbin'. Fun to play. Roy originally recorded it with tenor great Stanley Turrentine.

  Tom-Kattin' - Lucky Thompson
  We're going to get more deeply into "rhythm changes" in the coming months, so this is a good one to get started with. You can also check out Lucky's transcribed tenor sax solo for more rhythm changes ideas.

• The Gigi Gryce Project and more

  

  Introducing The Gigi Gryce Project. We're excited to be releasing the first two tracks from The Gigi Gryce Project, Evening In Casablanca and Satellite. Lead sheets for ten of the Gryce compositions we recorded are already available on jazleadsheets.com, but now we'll be able to add minus you tracks for all twelve of these wonderful compositions. Plus, we're expanding our editions to cover other Gryce recordings of the compositions and adding transcribed solos, giving you the opportunity for further insight into these great compositions and great soloists.

  In 1960, when Gigi started recording again as a leader, his rhythm section was centered around pianist Richard Wyands. The Gigi Gryce Project was also centered around Richard, with Gryce devotee Kenny Washington on drums and bassist Peter Washington rounding out the rhythm section. I elected to change Gigi's basic quintet front line of trumpet/alto sax to alto sax/tenor sax, using two of my favorite musicians, Bobby Porcelli on alto and Ralph Moore on tenor.

  With minus you tracks for every instrument, all musicians can have the experience of being part of the session. Stay tuned: we'll be releasing new titles and minus you tracks every week or so.

  With the recent online and DVD release of "Jaco: The Film" bringing renewed and well deserved attention to the late bassist Jaco Pastorius, we want to introduce pianist Jon Davis's beautiful tribute to the great musician, titled Ballad for Jaco. Jon had the honor of playing and recording with Jaco. Jon writes, "It was a life altering experience in that Jaco's musical inspiration and influence was such a powerful force." To premiere the ballad as a piano/bass duo he chose young bassist Daryl Johns, who was just 15 at the time of the recording and video of the session. Lead sheets and Rudy Van Gelder's exclusive audio of the duo are available.

  Geoffrey Keezer wrote Personal Space the day before the session for "Waiting In The Wings," his first album as a leader, recorded when he was only 17. Some years later, Geoffrey was the pianist accompanist for the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Bass Competition, where another young musician, 13-year-old bassist Daryl Johns, was one of the semifinalists. I got the two musicians together in 2011 for a duo session at Rudy Van Gelder's Studio. Geoffrey revisited Personal Space with Daryl playing the melody rubato for the first chorus. Piano solos from both versions are available, along with exclusive audio and video of the duo session.

  Vocalist/lyricist/composer Judy Niemack has Something To Say, and we have a lovely video of her singing it in the jazzleadsheets.com studio with guitarist Jeanfrançois Prins. Judy's complete track and a minus you track without vocal are both available in C minor

  TIP: You can find minus you titles by clicking on FEATURES in the top menu bar of every page and scrolling down to Minus You, then choosing For Instrumentalists or For Vocalists. Or type minus you in the search box at the top of every page (instrumental titles only). We'll be adding more in the coming weeks.

  Thanks for keeping the music alive!
  Don Sickler and the jazzleadsheets.com team

• Transcriptions, vocals, and much more

  This diverse update has a bit of something for everyone. If you've been waiting for new vocal music, this is your week! We're excited to add new pieces by Sergio Mihanovich and Ruby Braff for voice this week. Instrumentalists can enjoy these pieces as well, of course -- as well as the other six new additions this week. With a solo transcription of Art Farmer, David Hazeltine's own solo piano arrangement, and new original quintet arrangements, these new titles have it all.

  SERGIO MIHANOVICH: Sometime Ago
  A wistful classic for singers and instrumentalists. Art Farmer's solo transcription available, as is a vocal lead sheet.

  AL COHN: Something For Lisa
  Medium swing in a cool jazz style. Chet Baker's quintet arrangement available.

  GIGI GRYCE: Exhibit A
  A rhythm changes head with a twist on the bridge. Try Gigi's own arrangement.

  DAVID HAZELTINE: Ann's Mood
  Tonal and beautiful with a cyclical form.

  DAVID HAZELTINE: Pentimento
  Charming post-bop bossa. Solo piano arrangement available.

  RUBY BRAFF: We're All Through
  A sultry medium swing with a lyric describing a relationship's end. Vocal lead sheet available.

  ERIC ALEXANDER: Little Lucas
  A modal composition with great flexibility.

  IDREES SULIEMAN: Tell Me What's Your Name 
  A thoughtful, tender ballad.

• New composers and new music all summer long

  We hope you're enjoying the new website. With our reboot behind us, we're back to focusing on what matters the most: the music. To start the summer off right, we're releasing new music every week. This week, we're proud to welcome composers Adriano Acea, Jon Gordon and John Webber to the site. We also have lead sheets and transcriptions of trumpeter Art Farmer, pianist Geoffrey Keezer and drummers Bill Stewart and Carl Allen to round out a selection that has something for everyone. Don't forget to check out our homepage for new videos and other featured content -- click the dots under the slider to see all the new material, updated weekly.

  Here's what's new on jazzleadsheets.com:

  Art Farmer - Flashback
  Get inside this medium swing, featuring Art Farmer's solo transcription, Geoff Keezer's piano solo and melody comping transcriptions, and Carl Allen's drum comping transcription

  Tom McIntosh - With Malice Toward None
  Appealing, adaptable with a touch of soul. Available in two different keys.

  Jon Gordon - Shape Up
  Intricate, contemporary and rhythmically complex. With Bill Stewart's drum comping and solo transcriptions and a video of Bill.

  Jon Webber - So Young
  An introspective and quirky ballad with second parts.

  Adriano Acea - Little Leona
  An enticing Latin/swing hybrid.

  Enjoy the music,
  Don Sickler and the jazzleadsheets.com team

• April celebrations: Birthdays and anniversaries from composers old and new

  We want to add more titles from composers who are already on jazzleadsheets.com, but we’re also trying to add more composers to the site. Looking at the calendar this month we found birthday anniversaries of two new-to-jazzleadsheets.com artist/composers, and we also found some recording anniversaries. We’re celebrating the middle week of April with these:

  April 16, 1923: Trombonist Bennie Green’s 90th birthday. Listen to his B.G.’s Groove Two.

  April 18, 1925: Celebrate baritone saxophonist Leo Parker’s 88th birthday with Glad Lad.

  April 19, 1958: Art Farmer recorded his end-of-session blues. Hear how he relaxes with Back In The Cage [trumpet solo only, B-flat and C editions].

  April 19, 2000: The 49th anniversary of Lucky Thompson’s 1964 recording of Prey Loot, being celebrated with violinist Regina Carter’s new recording.

  April 20, 1956: The first recording of pianist Barry Harris’s High Step, on a piano-less recording with John Coltrane, Pepper Adams, Curtis Fuller, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones.

  We’re also finishing up more drum transcriptions: check out Charli Persip’s drumming on his recording with Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Three For The Festival.

  In case you haven’t seen Charli talk about his experiences, check out our YouTube channel.

• 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

• New titles January 6, 2011

  For our first composition by tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, we’re bringing you Sweet Sucker, which he wrote for himself and trombonist Bennie Green to play on Bennie’s “Glidin’ Along” recording for Jazzland in 1961. Vocalist and lyricist Judy Niemack loved the instrumental, and wrote and recorded a lyric version which we’re also making available (Dancin’ Like We Did Before), as well as an accompaniment-only mp3 of that track.
  Sweet Sucker - Johnny Griffin
  Dancin’ Like We Did Before - Johnny Griffin & Judy Niemack

  News For Lulu - Sonny Clark
  This is from Sonny Clark’s sextet recording “Sonny’s Crib” which featured the front line of Donald Byrd (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor sax) and Curtis Fuller (trombone). The horns break into harmony in only a few places, so our lead sheet editions show just the melody, except for C treble clef. As usual, all the parts are indicated in the C treble clef lead sheet. If you would like to play this as originally recorded with your own sextet, the original Tenor Sax (2nd part) and Trombone (3rd part) are also available as well as the original detailed Bass part.

  Mox-Nix - Art Farmer [2 Art Farmer solos only]
  November Afternoon - Tom McIntosh [Art Farmer solo only]
  We want to present three more wonderful Art Farmer solos. The first solo on Mox-Nix is from a quintet recording, and is the earliest of the three solos. The next Mox-Nix solo and Art’s November Afternoon solo come from two different incarnations of The Jazztet. Most Jazztet arrangements are quite involved, and therefore not suitable to be represented by a lead sheet. They really require a full score and individual parts. Thanks to our new relationship with ejazzlines.com, these two Jazztet arrangements are available there, and we have Art’s solos here, at jazzleadsheets.com.

  The Jazztet arrived on the scene with their first album (“Meet The Jazztet”), recorded in February, 1960. This Art Farmer-Benny Golson sextet also featured Curtis Fuller on trombone, who told me that he actually gave the group its name. The rhythm section also featured a newcomer, pianist McCoy Tyner (on his second recording date). The composer and arranger of November Afternoon was also The Jazztet’s trombonist when “The Jazztet At Birdhouse” (Argo LP 688) was recorded, with Cedar Walton on piano.

  Try to celebrate the New Year with music. Jazz music.
  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!

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