Dig Dis – Hank Mobley
This blues alternates between minor and major and has some stop time thrown in. Hank Mobley tenor sax solo transcription also available: B-flat and C editions.
- Recording: Hank Mobley - Soul Station
- Recorded on: February 7, 1960
- Label: Blue Note (BLP 4031)
- Concert Key: B-flat minor
- Style: Swing (medium)
- Tenor Sax - Hank Mobley
- Piano - Wynton Kelly
- Bass - Paul Chambers
- Drums - Art Blakey
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A chance to groove on a minor blues head, shift to two choruses of stop time B-flat major blues, then continue soloing in B-flat major. On the recording, Wynton Kelly solos after Hank and just continues straight ahead soloing. Don Sickler says, "When I perform Dig Dis I like to use Hank's original idea of two choruses of stop time to start the next soloist."
"Soul Station" was recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs.
Dig Dis continues the tradition of a medium swinging blues on Hank Mobley albums. The "Soul Station" album is the second of only three featuring this rhythm section, all from 1960; the others are Lee Morgan's first Vee Jay album, "Here's Lee Morgan", and Mobley's own "Roll Call." Between the recording of "Soul Station" (February 1960) and "Roll Call" (November 1960), Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers toured Europe in Miles Davis' quintet. Hank Mobley joined Miles the following year; the saxophonist on the 1960 tour was Sonny Stitt, his only time as a sideman with Miles.
Dig Dis continues the tradition of a medium swinging blues on Hank Mobley albums. The "Soul Station" album is the second of only three featuring this rhythm section, all from 1960; the others are Lee Morgan's first Vee Jay album, "Here's Lee Morgan", and Mobley's own "Roll Call." Between the recording of "Soul Station" (February 1960) and "Roll Call" (November 1960), Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers toured Europe in Miles Davis' quintet. Hank Mobley joined Miles the following year; the saxophonist on the 1960 tour was Sonny Stitt, his only time as a sideman with Miles.
Transcribed Tenor Sax Solo: Our audio teaser lets you hear a little of Hank's tenor first stop time chorus and then a little bit of his solo when it switches to "time." Eight-chorus solo: B-flat and C treble clef concert editions available.
Basic Bass [LEVEL 1]
This composition is great for bassists of all levels to play, so we've made a "basic bass" part available. With only a limited amount of bass-playing experience, you should be able to tackle this part. The first goal is the get the notes together and be able to play this part with Paul and the recording, feeling his pulse. After you've mastered the part and feel comfortable playing it along with Paul, you should spend some time listening for the nuances and alterations that Paul comes up with on the recording. Your next step would be to check out Paul's Bass Lines edition, where all of these nuances are notated, and see how many of them you can add to your performance.
Bass Lines (Paul Chambers) [LEVEL 2]
Paul Chambers is one of the musicians bassists like to study for examples of perfect walking lines. We've transcribed his lines for the melody and stop time sections. In addition to the walking lines, Paul plays 2-feel for the intro and head. Just as important as his lines are the nuances in his playing: which notes he decides to play long vs. short, where he adds quarter note pulses and syncopation, where he decides to place slip notes and ghosted notes. In addition to choosing all the right notes, Chambers was a master of style; all those stylistic choices are indicated in this transcription of his playing behind the intro (Piano soloing) and the in and out melodies.
Dig Dis is a classic medium tempo swinger from the great tenor saxophonist and composer Hank Mobley. It's from Hank's classic recording "Soul Station," which features the indestructible rhythm section of Wynton Kelly (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Art Blakey (drums).
This composition is great for bassists of all levels to play, so we've made a "basic bass" part available. With only a limited amount of bass-playing experience, you should be able to tackle this part. The first goal is the get the notes together and be able to play this part with Paul and the recording, feeling his pulse. After you've mastered the part and feel comfortable playing it along with Paul, you should spend some time listening for the nuances and alterations that Paul comes up with on the recording. Your next step would be to check out Paul's Bass Lines edition, where all of these nuances are notated, and see how many of them you can add to your performance.
Bass Lines (Paul Chambers) [LEVEL 2]
Paul Chambers is one of the musicians bassists like to study for examples of perfect walking lines. We've transcribed his lines for the melody and stop time sections. In addition to the walking lines, Paul plays 2-feel for the intro and head. Just as important as his lines are the nuances in his playing: which notes he decides to play long vs. short, where he adds quarter note pulses and syncopation, where he decides to place slip notes and ghosted notes. In addition to choosing all the right notes, Chambers was a master of style; all those stylistic choices are indicated in this transcription of his playing behind the intro (Piano soloing) and the in and out melodies.
Dig Dis is a classic medium tempo swinger from the great tenor saxophonist and composer Hank Mobley. It's from Hank's classic recording "Soul Station," which features the indestructible rhythm section of Wynton Kelly (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Art Blakey (drums).
Hank Mobley
July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986
Hank Mobley is one of the most acclaimed tenor saxophonists in modern jazz history. He is recognized by musicians and critics alike as one of the most important and eloquent jazz instrumentalists of all time. He recorded well over 100 of his own original compositions and left an indelible mark on the post-bop jazz scene. Read more...