Lester Young influenced almost every saxophonist who came after him, yet at first he was told his saxophone tone was ‘wrong’. Some of his most famous work was with Billie Holliday including this on All of Me solo – a perfect example of how to solo when working with a vocalist.
In this lesson I give you an introduction to transcribing one of the most beautiful solos ever played on the saxophone by probably its most influential player.
This lesson is the second lesson on our ‘All of Me’ transcription project and focuses on Lester’s break into his solo. Like many of the great improvisers Lester Young is a master of ‘announcing’ himself to the audience. Others such as Stan Getz or perhaps the greatest improviser in jazz Louis Armstrong can be known by just two notes of a ‘break’.
In this lesson I take you through the solo outlining four important scale / chord combinations that Lester Young uses in his solo on All of Me.
So here are your responses to our transcription project on Lester Young and Billie Holliday’s recording of ‘All of Me’.
If I haven’t yet got your response then please email a link over NOW!!
I stumbled across this album of Mark’s on Apple Music when driving back from my parents after a family visit. I’ve been a fan of Mark’s playing for years and this rendition of ‘Skylark’ just blew me away.
In this course, we are going to transcribe Blues Walk by the legendary saxophonist, Lou Donaldson. It’s a real ‘Tour de Force’ of Blues playing that will really enhance not only your blues vocabulary but your phrasing, time feel, and much more!
In this transcription project we are going to be looking at one chorus of Duke Ellington’s ‘In A Mellow Tone’. The harmony is relatively simple, but really rich and you will get some fantastic Dominant 7th lines down if you give this course the application it deserves.