Kelly Bucheger’s Saxophone Pages: Transcriptions

©1999 Kelly Bucheger.
All Rights Reserved.

Included here are the first couple of pages from my transcriptions of three classic tenor solos: Dexter Gordon on It’s You Or No One, Sonny Rollins on Striver’s Row, and John Coltrane on Satellite.
These pages have been optimized for display on the screen, rather than for printing.

Dexter Gordon
It’s You Or No One
From the Blue Note recording Doin’ Allright,
recorded May 6, 1961.
Doin’ Allright was a comeback album for Dexter Gordon, who’d more or less vanished from the scene for nearly a decade, a result of what the jazz press euphemistically called “personal problems.” It marked the beginning of a long and fruitful association with Blue Note, and although Dex was soon to leave the U.S. for what he hoped would be greener pastures in Europe, the Blue Note recordings quickly reaffirmed his place among the greatest hard bop saxophonists.
It’s You Or No One features all of Dexter’s strengths: his robust sound, his back-of-the-beat time feel, along with what might be considered to be totally “in the pocket,” perfect bop lines (sometimes nearly too perfect, perhaps: measures 31-34 and 63-66 are identical!).

Sonny Rollins
Striver’s Row
From the Blue Note recording A Night At The Village Vanguard,
recorded November 3, 1957.
Sonny Rollins is no friend of the recording studio. He’s often complained about that stressful, artificial environment stifling his creativity, and many fans and critics seem to agree: it’s often said that catching him live on a good night is an unsurpassed, amazing experience.
Rollins connoisseurs have long considered the pianoless trio to be the perfect Rollins unit: with no piano to dictate a harmonic direction, Sonny is free to explore every nook & cranny of a chord progression.
A Night At The Village Vanguard combines the best of both worlds: a live recording of a trio setting. And among an entire album of gems, Striver’s Row, an impromptu meandering through the changes of Confirmation, is a masterpiece. Rollins tosses off knotty, impossible lines with a casual virtuosity that should terrify other tenor players.

John Coltrane
Satellite
From the Atlantic recording Coltrane’s Sound,
recorded October 24, 1960.
By the time Satellite was recorded, Trane had nearly exhausted the possibilities of his unique and challenging chord substitution scheme, which took the vertical approach to improvisation to extremes. Kinder gentler chord progressions, like the changes to How High The Moon which form the basis for Satellite, were transformed into treacherous minefields.
I’ve always considered Satellite to be a sort of “missing link” between the Trane of Giant Steps and the “modal” (I use the word despite its shortcomings...) Trane of Impressions. That’s because each chorus of Satellite features an 8 bar stretch of B-7/E where Trane starts to reveal a new approach. Most striking is the lengthy tag that concludes the tune (not included here...) — over an extended vamp on the same chord mentioned above, Coltrane explores several ways to approach the static harmony, including the superimposition of his Cycle and some nearly outside playing. It’s a definite precursor to the approach he’d later use on tunes like Impressions.

Return to Part 1: Long Tones, or Part 2: Scale Studies of The Daily Grind; or visit my Writings About Jazz page.

Send your comments and suggestions about these Saxophone Pages to me at
kelly@jazztenor.com. I’d enjoy hearing from you.
Kelly Bucheger, Buffalo, New York

©1999 Kelly Bucheger. All Rights Reserved.	Included here are the first couple of pages from my transcriptions of three classic tenor solos: Dexter Gordon on It’s You Or No One, Sonny Rollins on Striver’s Row, and John Coltrane on Satellite. These pages have been optimized for display on the screen, rather than for printing.
	Dexter Gordon It’s You Or No One From the Blue Note recording Doin’ Allright, recorded May 6, 1961. Doin’ Allright was a comeback album for Dexter Gordon, who’d more or less vanished from the scene for nearly a decade, a result of what the jazz press euphemistically called “personal problems.” It marked the beginning of a long and fruitful association with Blue Note, and although Dex was soon to leave the U.S. for what he hoped would be greener pastures in Europe, the Blue Note recordings quickly reaffirmed his place among the greatest hard bop saxophonists. It’s You Or No One features all of Dexter’s strengths: his robust sound, his back-of-the-beat time feel, along with what might be considered to be totally “in the pocket,” perfect bop lines (sometimes nearly too perfect, perhaps: measures 31-34 and 63-66 are identical!).
	Sonny Rollins Striver’s Row From the Blue Note recording A Night At The Village Vanguard, recorded November 3, 1957. Sonny Rollins is no friend of the recording studio. He’s often complained about that stressful, artificial environment stifling his creativity, and many fans and critics seem to agree: it’s often said that catching him live on a good night is an unsurpassed, amazing experience. Rollins connoisseurs have long considered the pianoless trio to be the perfect Rollins unit: with no piano to dictate a harmonic direction, Sonny is free to explore every nook & cranny of a chord progression. A Night At The Village Vanguard combines the best of both worlds: a live recording of a trio setting. And among an entire album of gems, Striver’s Row, an impromptu meandering through the changes of Confirmation, is a masterpiece. Rollins tosses off knotty, impossible lines with a casual virtuosity that should terrify other tenor players.
	John Coltrane Satellite From the Atlantic recording Coltrane’s Sound, recorded October 24, 1960. By the time Satellite was recorded, Trane had nearly exhausted the possibilities of his unique and challenging chord substitution scheme, which took the vertical approach to improvisation to extremes. Kinder gentler chord progressions, like the changes to How High The Moon which form the basis for Satellite, were transformed into treacherous minefields. I’ve always considered Satellite to be a sort of “missing link” between the Trane of Giant Steps and the “modal” (I use the word despite its shortcomings...) Trane of Impressions. That’s because each chorus of Satellite features an 8 bar stretch of B-7/E where Trane starts to reveal a new approach. Most striking is the lengthy tag that concludes the tune (not included here...) — over an extended vamp on the same chord mentioned above, Coltrane explores several ways to approach the static harmony, including the superimposition of his Cycle and some nearly outside playing. It’s a definite precursor to the approach he’d later use on tunes like Impressions. Return to Part 1: Long Tones, or Part 2: Scale Studies of The Daily Grind; or visit my Writings About Jazz page. Send your comments and suggestions about these Saxophone Pages to me at kelly@jazztenor.com. I’d enjoy hearing from you. Kelly Bucheger, Buffalo, New York