Bilbo

A head only bass part, this is the Robert Hurst part to the head of 'A Foggy Day (in London Town)'. the Wynton Marsalis tune I posted a couple of weeks ago. I tried to do the whole line but was defeated by the technology. One of the problems with Sibelius software that I cannot seem to get around is that it will not allow you to write a triplet across a bar line. This is rarely an issue but it becomes problematic when a player plays 3 against 4 across a bar line or, in this case, 4 against 3 across a bar line. I have managed this in the past by changing one bar to 5:4 and the next to 3:4 but, in this case, during the trumpet solo, Hurst is doing something I have never heard before in all my years; playing 4 against 3 whilst the rest of the band continues playing in 4. In short, Sibelius says he can’t do that! Well, get this, he did. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/a-foggy-day-in-london-town-wynton-marsalis/

Something a little lighter today but beautiful nevertheless. Mike Rutherford's bass part for the tune 'Many Too Many' from the 1978 Genesis album, 'And Then There Were Three'. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/many-too-many-genesis/

552 hits yesterday. 119 today. The averages are up though.

The last of the Patitucci/Grusin charts, this is the tune 'Something's Coming' from the 1997 Grusin recording 'West Side Story'. That was a heavy couple of days but I really enjoy this recording and playing these parts gives me such a buzz. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/somethings-coming-dave-grusin/

'The Jet Song' from that same recording. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/the-jet-song-dave-grusin/

I loved that track. The octave divider was THE Pino sound of that era. Pino comes from Cardiff where I started my Jazz playing but I am pretty sure he had already left when I started playing there. I ate at his family's restaurant once but never met or saw him play. Laurence Cottle and Percy Jones were fairly local to there also (Swansea and Llandrindod Wells, I believe).

61. I struggle to find people interested and able to play the kinds of music I love but, even so, I love the gigs, large or small. I don't see the point of playing without performing live with other people. I know musicians who never gig. Doesn't make sense to me at all. There is the social aspect of the playing that is welcome part of it but, mostly, I just want to play music as much as I can. Money is not really a consideration. The music is what matters

Nothing much else to do at the moment, my friend. Here is the complete bass part for 'Somewhere' from that Grusin album. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/somewhere-dave-grusin/

Bloody hell. Over 500 views today.

Nearly there. Patitucci's bass part on 'One Hand, One Heart' from the same 'West Side Story' recording. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/one-hand-one-heart-dave-grusin/

Only five more to go. This is the tune 'Maria' from the Dave Grusin 'West Side Story' recording - I love the transition from ballad to swing but watch the tempos as they are clearly directed in the studio by someone conducting. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/maria-dave-grusin/

And here we have Patitucci's complete bass part for the tune 'Tonight' from the same album. Listen to Gloria Estafan's phrasing and then go back and listen to Patitucci's. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/tonight-dave-grusin/

An easy win from the 'West Side Story', the tune 'I Feel Pretty' is essentially a duet between Grusin and flautist, Dave Valentin but there is a 90 second montuno groove in 6:4 at the 1:34 mark that is fun. Not massively difficult to play but, as with the 7:8 sections in 'America', you need to internalise the count and then it makes sense. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/i-feel-pretty-dave-grusin/

Great fun. Some nice stuff going on there.

Everyone everywhere speaks English because we can't speak anything else. I can't even speak Welsh and I am a Welshman.

I post everything on there already, Dave, so they should know about it already. Maybe the Russians or Chinese have discovered it!!

I am so excited to get this one down at last. This is the complete John Patitucci performance of the Leonard Bernstein tune 'America' as performed by Dave Grusin for the 1997 'West Side Story' album. A stunning recording that I hope to get to transcribe in its entirety (this is the longest piece so the rest should be easy enough). Coming in ay 8:20, there is a lot to take in but, stick with it. The bulk of the piece is in 7:8 but, once you get inside the groove, the reading gets easier. The logic seems to present itself as you internalise the rhythm. Great stuff. The fact that the harmony is relatively stable helps massively too. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/america-dave-grusin/

Yeah - but they aren't allowed the internet in prison.

Something weird has happened today. My website has averaged around 130-150 hits a day from about 40-50 people but today it has had 400+ hits from 330 people. Did someone mention it on TV somewhere 😆

A brilliantly fresh arrangement of Tito Puente's #Oye Como Va, this Hans Glawischnig bass part comer from the 2004 album by percussionist Paolo Meijas, 'Mi Tambor'. Some really creative ideas in here showing us what great musicians can do with 'standards' by completely reworking them. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/oye-como-va-paolo-meijas/

Just came across this genius AI generated biography of a friend of mine, Paul Ford. 'In the progressive rock scene, he was a member of the band Multi-Story, known for their neo-prog style. Multi-Story was formed in the early 1980s, featuring Paul Ford on vocals and guitar along with Rob Wilsher on keyboards. They reunited after a brief period apart, inspired by their meeting in a multi-story car park, hence the band's name. Multi-Story released their debut album, "East West," and later returned to the scene in the 2010s with new material and a reformed lineup. In the meantime, Paul Ford also had a successful career on Broadway as a music director and pianist, working with legendary composers like Stephen Sondheim'. I think the Sondheim connection (and the previously unknown pianistic acumen) will be news to Paul.

He certainly ain't.

Another Bob Mintzer chart, this is the complete Will Lee bass performance of the Wayne Shorter tune 'Elegant People' from the 2015 Mintzer Big Band recording, 'Get It'. Lot of gaps between the notes so a challenging read until you 'get it' (see what I did there?). PS that's 600 charts up there now! https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/elegant-people-bob-mintzer-big-band/

Another special request, this is the complete John Mole performance of the tune 'Castles' from the 1977 Colosseum II album, 'Wardance'. Standard Rock-ballad fare but a lovely tune (I love these ballads Gary Moore wrote during this period - much better that that Blues stuff he gravitated towards later in his career. I guess he had to go where the money was, like most of us). https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/castles-colosseum-ii/

Steve Rodby's complete bass part for the tune 'Every Summer Night' from the 1989 Pat Metheny Group album, 'Letter From Home'. A nice chart evidencing Rodby's profound musicality. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/every-summer-night-pat-metheny-group/