About

I am a professional Jazz Musician and drummer and I believe that transcribing is the key to success in learning the language of Jazz. 

During my first year of jazzstudies I started to transcribe solos from the great jazz drummers that made up the language of this music and found that it helped my playing a lot. I then started to transcribe comping to really learn how to fulfill the role of a drummer in a small group. 

I share all of my transcriptions here so that you hopefully can learn something and benefit from my transcriptions.

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Philly Joe Jones on "Temperance"

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This is Philly Joe Jones playing on the tune "Temperance" from the great Wynton Kelly record "Kelly at midnight" (1960). Philly takes a total of 10 trades in his own very swingin' well known style.  If you want to dive deeper into the playing of Philly Joe Jones i suggest you listen to all the great records and remember that this is just my humble transcription.  There is also the Philly Joe Jones solo book written by Joerg Eckel that you should check out if you're a Philly Joe Jones fan.  Thank you for checking out this transcription!
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Joe Farnsworth on "A Beautiful Friendship"

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This is a transcription of the song "A Beautiful Friendship" by the master Joe Farnsworth.  The song is on the record "Blue Gardenia" by saxophonist Charles Davis with the Cedar Walton Trio. Farnsworth takes a smoking hot chorus over the tune in a medium up tempo and this is the result.  Bear in mind that this is my humble transcription of the solo and if you really want to deep dive in to Farnsworths playing you should do so with your own ears and not just simply trust my notation.  Thank you for checking out this transcription!  
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Billy Higgins Comping on "Bolivia"

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This is a transcription of Billy Higgins on the famous Cedar Walton tune "Bolivia" . The notation starts 2 minutes and 10 seconds into the track with the last 4 bars from the previous B-Section.  Higgins plays a lot of smooth buzzrolls with his left hand on the snare and with either his left, right or both hands buzzed on the ride cymbals during the following A-Section. The Transcription ends with 4 bars from the following B-Section. This is my humble take on notating what Billy played during this part of the song and I recommend you listen to the records and transcribe a lot of Higgins yourself to dive deeper into the beat, comping and feeling of the great Billy Higgins! Thank you for checking out this transcription!
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Joe Farnsworth on Max Roach's old drums

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This is from Joe Farnsworth playing on Max Roach old Hollywood drums shared on Instragram. He plays a solo in the style of Max Roach himself.  Remember that if you want to dive deeper in the playing of Farnsworth or Roach that the key is to listen yourself and that this is just my humble transcription. Here is the solo: Here is a link to the video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ0rWbaAd88/ Thanks for checking out this transcription.
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Joe Farnsworth on "I'm Old Fashioned"

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This is Joe Farnsworth's drum trades on the tune "I'm Old Fashioned" (Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer 1942) from David Hazeltine's album Close To You (2004). The Album features David Hazeltine on Piano, Peter Washington on bass and Joe Farnsworth on the drums. Joe takes 8's and 12's over the form and plays excellent ideas with pure swing, this solo is a masterclass in trading over a form on the drums.  Bear in mind that this is my humble transcription of the trades on this tune and if you really want to deep dive into Joe's playing you should go a head and listen to his records and transcribe yourself. Here is a link to my transcription with the song Here is a link to my YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuLGI1XPWhoJr-Ev3rZ13-Q Here is a link to the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8v70sHR-N4 Thank you for checking out this transcription!
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All Philly Joe Jones brush solos ever recorded!

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 All the recorded solos that Philly Joe Jones played brushes on! There are only 18 recorded songs that include a brush solo from the master Philly Joe Jones. Philly was a great soloist but his weapon of choice seemed to be the drumsticks even though he was just as good at soloing with the brushes. Here is the list of all the tracks with a Philly Joe Jones brush solo on, have fun! 1: What is this thing called love, "Meet Betty Carter and Ray Bryant" (1955) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl__PZI3sXk 2: Threesome, "Meet Betty Carter and Ray Bryant" (1955) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO9FFFfM_ps 3: Sneakin' Around, "Meet Betty Carter and Ray Bryant" (1955) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf1vRMFzEKU 4: Paul's Pal, Sonny Rollins "Tenor Madness" (1956) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNEwSRXrVXE 5: Neat Foot, Johan Graas "Westlake Bounce" (1957) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VQCSMuYiJs 6: The Loop, Dick Johnson "Most Like...
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Philly Joe Jones on "Temperance" Youtube

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Here is the link to my Philly Joe Jones transcription edited with audio. If you like this type of content consider following my youtube channel where I plan to do this with most of my transcriptions. My Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuLGI1XPWhoJr-Ev3rZ13-Q Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfAKlpl9ceI Here is the sheet music only: Thank you for checking out my transcription!
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Joe Farnsworth amazing A Section on "Bolivia"

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This is Joe Farnsworth over the Cedar Walton tune "Bolivia" .  Here he is soloing over the first A Section of the second chorus, the form is AABA with every A Section being 12 bars. He has an incredible way of using buzzrolls in his soloing, sounds a lot like how Billy Higgins used to do it.  Here is the YouTube video: Here is the link to the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyxnLfEFrc4&t=14s Thank you for checking out this transcription.
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Evan Sherman Drum Intro on "The Sherman Stroll"

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Here is Evan Sherman's drum intro on the tune "The Sherman Stroll" composed by pianist Anthony Wonsey . This is an amazing drum intro and be sure to check their whole video to enjoy all the great solos on this take. Remember that this is just my humble transcription of this solo so be sure to listen to this solo yourself a couple of hundred times to really understand the sound, swing and rhythm of this drum solo. Here is the solo: Here is the link to the original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhIn6cPr0Uk Thank you for checking out this transcription!
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Evan Sherman Drum Solo on "The Sherman Stroll"

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Here is the drum solo from "The Sherman Stroll" written by Anthony Wonsey and recorded on "Sidewalkin'" in the Rudy Van Gelder Studio.  Evan Sherman takes a clean 12 bars after Jerry Weldon's great solo and he gives a lot of great ideas to study.  Remember that this is my humble take on what was being played and that you should check out the video of Evan to really get a feel for the swing and the phrasing. Here is the transcription: Here is a link to the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhIn6cPr0Uk Here is the last transcription of the drum intro from the same recording: Here is that transcription together with the video: Thank you for checking out this Transcription!
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