Court – Curtis Fuller
This minor swing is as regal as the name suggests with a richly lyrical melody. Curtis Fuller's trombone solo from his first recording is available. We now have two Minus You versions, in different keys, where you can play this song at a ballad tempo, as Curtis originally conceived it.
- Recording: Curtis Fuller - Boss Of The Soul-Stream Trombone
- Recorded on: December, 1960
- Label: Warwick (W 2038)
- Concert Key: F minor
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Trombone - Curtis Fuller
- Trumpet - Freddie Hubbard
- Tenor Sax - Yusef Lateef
- Piano - Walter Bishop, Jr.
- Bass - Buddy Catlett
- Drums - Stu Martin
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- Nick Finzer Quartet: Nick Finzer (tb), Jake Nalangan (p), August Bish (b), Josh Farrell (d). 5/14/21.
- Nick Finzer Four Trombone Arrangment.
The recording starts with an eight-measure drum solo, but our audio excerpt starts at the melody. This is an interesting 28-measure melody and solo form. The melody starts out quite normally: two 8-measure phases, A and B with an eight-measure rhythm section pedal figure under the A section. Curtis takes some liberties with his own melody, so the lead sheets show the melody as Curtis would write it, not play it. Then the A section returns, but swinging, without the rhythm section pedal. Then it's back to the B section, but for only four measures before the first soloist starts and the 28-measure form begins again (eight-measure rhythm section pedal figure, etc.) and continues throughout the recording. After the last soloist, the melody is restated before the Coda, where Curtis solos over a four-measure rhythm section vamp and fade. The vamp is really the first four measures of the A section, except the piano treats it differently (shown in the C treble clef lead sheet), playing whole chords instead of just bass pedals.
Check out the other two versions of this title!
Check out the other two versions of this title!
About the session: "Boss Of The Soul-Stream Trombone" was a Curtis Fuller (leader) date, although it's been released many times under other leaders/titles. It is an interesting sextet front line that features Yusef Lateef, whom Curtis had played with since his early days in Detroit, and Freddie Hubbard, whom Curtis had just recorded with for the first time several months before when both recorded with Quincy Jones and his Orchestra. It wouldn't be long until both Curtis and Freddie would join Art Blakey helping to create a legendary Jazz Messengers sextet.
Hubbard and Lateef solo on this track, but Curtis plays the melody by himself.
Don Sickler says, "Curtis came up with this treatment of the melody for the recording date in 1960. Actually, he originally wrote it as a ballad. I didn't know this myself, until a vocalist (Fleurine) told me she wanted to write some lyrics to it after listening to Curtis's recording. She said she heard the melody as a ballad. This really took me by surprise, so I told her I would have to ask Curtis before she could start working on a ballad lyric. When I talked to Curtis, we were both blown away. Curtis, because he first wrote it as a ballad, and me, because I love his medium up tempo recording so much and never thought of it as a ballad.
"Fleurine wrote her lyric, Curtis loved it, she recorded it, and the ballad One Dream Gone was born."
The lyric version of The Court, One Dream Gone can be found in our Sing JAZZ! songbook, a collection of stunning, lesser-known vocal selections from the Second Floor Music repertoire (Sing JAZZ! contents). Hear it on iTunes.
Hubbard and Lateef solo on this track, but Curtis plays the melody by himself.
Don Sickler says, "Curtis came up with this treatment of the melody for the recording date in 1960. Actually, he originally wrote it as a ballad. I didn't know this myself, until a vocalist (Fleurine) told me she wanted to write some lyrics to it after listening to Curtis's recording. She said she heard the melody as a ballad. This really took me by surprise, so I told her I would have to ask Curtis before she could start working on a ballad lyric. When I talked to Curtis, we were both blown away. Curtis, because he first wrote it as a ballad, and me, because I love his medium up tempo recording so much and never thought of it as a ballad.
"Fleurine wrote her lyric, Curtis loved it, she recorded it, and the ballad One Dream Gone was born."
The lyric version of The Court, One Dream Gone can be found in our Sing JAZZ! songbook, a collection of stunning, lesser-known vocal selections from the Second Floor Music repertoire (Sing JAZZ! contents). Hear it on iTunes.
Transcribed Trombone Solo: As we described, the lead sheet melody is written the way that Curtis would write the melody. On the recording, he adds some great different twists and turns on both the opening melody chorus and the melody chorus after the solos. We have transcribed both melody choruses as well, and they are part of this Solo Transcription edition. Our audio excerpt for the transcribed solo starts with Curtis's first chorus trombone.
- Recording: Don Sickler - Further Explorations Vol. 1
- Recorded on: September 13, 1997
- Label: jazzleadsheets.com (JLS 1034)
- Concert Key: B-flat minor
- Style: Ballad
- Flugelhorn & muted trumpet - Don Sickler
- Piano - Norman Simmons
- Bass - Ron McClure
- Drums - Billy Drummond
Our Minus You versions present The Court the way Curtis Fuller originally conceived it: as a ballad. The melody and changes move twice as fast relative to the slow tempo, resulting in a 14-measure chorus as opposed to the 28-measure form of the uptempo recording. Our version in B♭ minor (Volume 1) is four choruses long. The first chorus has only piano accompanying the melody, slightly rubato; the bass and drums come in in time for the second chorus. The ending of the second chorus resolves the melody; our lead sheets show the piano fills here.
On the recording, Don Sickler improvises the first chorus and plays the melody on the second chorus (flugelhorn, the audio clip starts just before the melody), then Don takes another look on muted trumpet, again improvising the first chorus, then playing the melody CLIP. Click on the Minus You tab for more details and an audio clip.
On the recording, Don Sickler improvises the first chorus and plays the melody on the second chorus (flugelhorn, the audio clip starts just before the melody), then Don takes another look on muted trumpet, again improvising the first chorus, then playing the melody CLIP. Click on the Minus You tab for more details and an audio clip.
"Further Explorations" was recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs.
We are lucky to have two ballad performances of this amazing title, this first one by legendary pianist Norman Simmons. His accompaniment is fresh, inventive, just right for the song. Get the Minus You (minus melody) versions and treat yourself to ballad heaven. Norman's longevity with vocalists Carmen McRae and Joe Williams is evidence of his mastery.
We are lucky to have two ballad performances of this amazing title, this first one by legendary pianist Norman Simmons. His accompaniment is fresh, inventive, just right for the song. Get the Minus You (minus melody) versions and treat yourself to ballad heaven. Norman's longevity with vocalists Carmen McRae and Joe Williams is evidence of his mastery.
Our Minus Melody track is two choruses long. The first chorus is slightly rubato, accompanied only by piano CLIP; the second is in tempo, with bass and drums added. This is a good song for practicing rubato ballad playing, as the melody does not begin right on the beat; there's no count off, so the first piano chord sets up the melody. On the recording, Don Sickler improvises for the entire first chorus and then plays the melody on the second chorus; however, soloists playing with this track have other options such as playing the melody on the first chorus, improvising for the first half of the second chorus, and playing the melody again for the second half.
- Recording: Don Sickler - Further Explorations Vol. 2
- Recorded on: October 23, 2004
- Label: jazzleadsheets.com (JLS 1035)
- Concert Key: A-flat minor
- Style: Ballad
- Flugelhorn & muted trumpet - Don Sickler
- Piano - Cecilia Coleman
- Bass - Tim Givens
This version is four choruses long, created by combining two different two-chorus takes into one track. It's in the key of A♭ minor. The first chorus begins rubato, with only piano accompaniment for the melody; the bass enters in tempo on the seventh measure. The second chorus is in tempo and resolves the end of the melody for one extra measure; the third chorus goes back to rubato, and this and the fourth chorus have largely the same format as the first two choruses. The piano fills at the end of the second and fourth choruses are notated in the lead sheets; the end of the fourth chorus is extended a measure longer than the second.
Don Sickler improvises the first chorus and plays the melody on the second chorus, on flugelhorn, and then investigates the form with muted trumpet CLIP for the third and fourth choruses. Click on Minus You for more details.
Don Sickler improvises the first chorus and plays the melody on the second chorus, on flugelhorn, and then investigates the form with muted trumpet CLIP for the third and fourth choruses. Click on Minus You for more details.
"Further Explorations Vol.2" was recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs.
Pianist Cecilia Coleman adds her marvelous melodic sense to this version.
Pianist Cecilia Coleman adds her marvelous melodic sense to this version.
Our Minus Melody track is four choruses long CLIP. The first chorus begins rubato, with piano accompaniment; the bass enters in tempo on the seventh measure. The second and fourth choruses are in tempo, but the third chorus returns to the same format as the first. On the recording, Don Sickler improvises on the first and third choruses and plays the melody in the second and fourth, but there are many other possibilities; this format can be reversed, or the melody could be played at the beginning and end.
Curtis Fuller
December 15, 1934 – May 8, 2021
After J.J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller is likely the most influential modern jazz trombonist. Born in Detroit and raised in an orphanage, he was a relatively late starter: he did not take up the trombone until age 16. But it was not long until he was cutting his teeth with saxophonists in the area like Pepper Adams and Yusef Lateef and guitarist Kenny Burrell, eventually building up his skills enough to move to New York in 1957. Curtis' first recording session, however, was in the previous year, with Pepper and also Detroit's Paul Chambers. This was also Curtis' first session with John Coltrane and Philly Joe Jones (check out High Step). Read more...