“The biggest thrill I got when I was playing in Chicago was the time Coltrane came to town. It was at a place called McKee’s Lounge. I used to go down there to play in […]
Category: John Coltrane
Cousin Mary
Working with the John Coltrane tune Cousin Mary. I feel about some of his tunes the way Jon Krakauer felt about Mt. Everest— too chunky, too broad of beam, too crudely hewn— and almost as […]
Transcription: Elvin Jones – Chasin’ the Trane – 09
Continuing this project, here are the 49th-54th choruses of Elvin Jones’s playing on Chasin’ the Trane, from John Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard. Transcription begins at 9:20 in the recording. I see there’s a […]
Transcription: Elvin Jones – Chasin’ the Trane – 08
When in doubt, keep doing what you’re doing. Let’s actually continue and complete my beginning of the year project, transcribing all of Elvin Jones’s playing on John Coltrane’s Chasin’ the Train, from the Live At […]
Transcription: Elvin Jones – Chasin’ the Trane – 07
I’m finally half done with this. This project is definitely streamlining my transcription methods. I use the program Transcribe, and loop two measures at a time, usually starting with the playback speed at 75%. Everything […]
Transcription: Elvin Jones – Chasin’ the Trane – 06
Part 6 of the Chasin’ the Trane transcription project. Elvin Jones playing on that eternal classic track from John Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard. My head isn’t fully back into this series, so I […]
Transcription: Elvin Jones – Chasin’ the Trane – 05
Here is part 5 of this transcription— the 25th-30th choruses of Elvin Jones playing Chasin’ the Trane, from John Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard. The transcription begins at 4:38 in the track. We’re nearing […]
Transcription: Elvin Jones – Chasin’ the Trane – 04
Happy actual new year, everyone. Here are the 19th-24th choruses of the ongoing Elvin Jones / Chasin’ the Trane transcription project. We’re about 25% of the way through. Not a lot new to report— there’s […]
Transcription: Elvin Jones – Chasin’ the Trane – 03
Third minute of Elvin Jones playing Chasin’ the Trane, from John Coltrane Live at The Village Vanguard. The 13th-18th 12-bar choruses. I just noticed that the tempo— around quarter note = 235— is about the […]
Transcription: Elvin Jones – Chasin’ the Trane – 02
Happy Saturnalia everyone— although it seems a shame to call it that, with everyone celebrating in isolation. Nevertheless, here is the second minute of Elvin Jones playing Chasin’ the Trane— 1:13 to 2:13— from John […]
Transcription: Elvin Jones – Chasin’ the Trane – 01
Ending a truly bleak, shameful year— and four years— in United States history, with an ambitious transcribing project. A little act of penance, devotion, purging, re-centering. I’m hoping to clean myself a little with this. […]
Very occasional quote of the day: you figure it out
“I hired you because of who you are & what you do, so DO it. I’m having a hard enough time playing my instrument, so you figure out how to play your own.” — Reggie […]