Jan 25, 2018

Phil Woods "Cherokee" transcriptions from Jeff Rzepiela

Jeff Rzepiela has posted transcriptions of eight Phil Woods "Cherokee" solos on his website, scooby-sax.com. The solos date from 1955 through 2001. Jeff did the transcriptions for a presentation at the 2018 Jazz Education Network Conference. You can access the transcriptions, as well as notes for the presentation, at http://scooby-sax.com/JEN_Presentations.html (scroll down a little). It's an educational kick to play through these Phil solos, and get a closer look at what one of the great bop players could do with one of the great bop vehicles.

Here's one of the recordings, from the 1979 album "Crazy Horse." The track, which is really Cherokee changes, is entitled "Smoke From Medicine Lodge." Phil plays ferocious solos on both alto and soprano; Jeff posted transcriptions of both:




Scooby-sax.com also features dozens more of Jeff's solo transcriptions, mostly of saxophonists, including Bb, Eb, and concert key transpositions for each solo. Jeff has also contributed 20 transcriptions to Phil Woods' website. Those transcriptions, and others, are available for free at http://www.philwoods.com/Store/category/22-solo-transcriptions.