Practice loop: Stolen Moments

Finished my taxes and I am exhausted, so here's something for you to practice with: Freddie Hubbard's solo on Stolen Moments, from Oliver Nelson's Blues And The Abstract Truth. At 111 bpm, it's a good introductory tempo for that jazz drill I posted a few weeks ago. 

Roy Haynes intro - Alto-itis

I'm being very slovenly about posting as things continue being politically crazy. It's a little distracting. So here's something easy: a four bar drum intro played by Roy Haynes on Oliver Nelson's tune Alto-itis, from his record Screamin' the Blues.

It's very straightforward. Roy Haynes accents aggressively, in unusual ways, which gives his playing a lot of energy, and makes him sound non-obvious. I would probably stick the 16th note figures RLRLR or RRLLR— both of them starting with the right hand. Note the presence of our little Philly Joe Jones connective lick in the third measure.

This whole thing is actually just a trick to get you to listen to the SUPER-HIP way he plays on the horn riff that happens several times during the solos— after 1:30 and 3:15:

It's hard to believe it has an age.

Via Larry Appelbaum @ Let's Cool One: today is the 50th birthday of one of the greatest albums in jazz, Oliver Nelson's Blues and the Abstract Truth. Like a lot of other people, the first jazz tune I learned was Stolen Moments (at least that I can put a title to- the first thing I ever played was a Sammy Nestico chart).

Unfortunately my favorite track, Hoe Down, isn't available on YouTube, but here's the opening from MySpace Music.


Audio after the break.