Transcription: Todd Bishop — Black Monk

This week I was working on something really narcissistic: a transcription of one of my own performances. I was just listening to some of my old rehearsal/gig recordings and thought, hey, I'd like to figure out what the hell I'm playing. When I had the thing finished, it seemed like it was a good opportunity to talk about some organic, seemingly-semi-metered Elvin- or Dejohnette-like playing. It's a thing that basically never gets discussed in any detail, and this is one instance in which I can definitely speak with authority about what was going on in the player's mind with it. Also, I was curious hear my own playing with the same frame around it as these other people. It's an interesting exercise, and, if you do any transcribing, I recommend it.

The recording was made from the stage during a 2009 gig with the Dan Duval Sextet, and isn't some special piece of genius playing on any of the performers' part; it was just a routine, rather sloppy, original-music gig at the Tugboat Brewery in Portland— a little dump which for a long time hosted live creative music. The tune is an easy, triplety, medium waltz, and a local favorite: The Black Monk, by Duval. I've transcribed the drums from Dan's guitar solo. The piece is really in 3/4, but the stuff I was playing is easier for me to notate in Finale in 9/8. It's the same thing; a predominantly-triplet feel in 3.

Here's the audio— the transcription begins at 0:27:




If you'd care to download and print the pdf, there's an extended analysis after the break:

Tugboatism!

The Tugboat Brewery is a small venue in Portland which has for years been one of the primary places hosting consistently adventuresome music locally. The reason for this is strictly financial- basically, they didn't want to pay their ASCAP fees, so they require all performers to play original material- or at least non-ASCAP material. The room can be alternately empty or noisy, there's no pay other than food and beer, and musicians mostly love to hate it,  but keep playing there. Performances there can be a little rough, either from indifference or hostility towards the room and the audience. I've played there many times over the years, and found a few fun things while rooting through my mini-disc and digital recording archives.

First, with the Dan Duval Sextet, from 2010. Here's the free blowing portion and ending of Dan's tune The Texas of Canada:



The other is my group Lower Monumental, in this case performing as a duo with myself and Seattle saxophonist Saul Cline, in 2003. Normally this group played completely free, with no rehearsals and no prepared material; in this case Saul started playing the old Paul Whiteman hit Whispering, in open defiance of the ASCAP policy, if anyone gave a crap enough to notice:



More Lower Monumental and Dan Duval Sextet after the break: