Transcription: Philly Joe Jones – Stablemates – intro

A little drum solo intro played by Philly Joe Jones on Stablesmates, from Milt Jackson’s record Bags Meets Wes!. It’s 16 bars long, even though there are no 16 bar phrases in the tune— the form is ABA, with the sections 14, 8, and 14 bars long. The tempo is bright, in the high 240s. 

I volunteered possible stickings for the triplet passages. It’s tempting to put another 6-stroke roll sticking in bar 11, but what I’ve written sounds like what he’s playing. Listening closely, you can hear which notes are taps and which are double strokes. 

Read more about playing this odd tune— on which someone will try to test you, at some point. 

Read more about Philly Joe in a “key players” post I wrote early this year, which already seems like a lifetime ago.

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