What else can be said about Lester Young. Nicknamed “Prez” as in, “The President Of The Saxophone”, he blessed our vernaculars with the word “cool” and many other classic expressions.
Beyond the spoken word, Prez made a far greater contribution to the architecture of musical language. I have come to realize his influence on the saxophone is on par with Shakespeare’s impact on modern day English.
The past month, I’ve been busy getting my flute chops together and working on another new solo. I’m also starting to put together a collection of exercises that helped me develop as a younger player.
Anyways, as promised, I’m presenting my transcription for “Oh, Lady, Be Good”. As an added bonus, I also just added a chorus of Lester from Count Basie’s 1939 recording “Taxi War Dance“.
Oh, Lady, Be Good (1936)
This was the first Lester Young solo that I transcribed, and I keep coming back to it for inspiration. I was learning to play this solo about 5-6 years ago, before I began to write out transcriptions, revisited it 3 years ago to write it out, and now, today, digitally engraving it to share with the world.
For more on the history of this track, here’s some deeper reading if you’re interested.
The Solo
Without further adieu, the solo transcription is posted below. Remember, this is no substitute for learning to transcribe the solo on your own, it’s so you can compare your results with another person’s interpretation.
Parting Wisdom
We’ll be working on more transcriptions and they will always be posted on my site when they’re finished and uploaded. In the pursuit of quality, I will occasionally update and revise the solos when errors are discovered, or as I continue to hone my engraving skills.
I’m in the shed currently working on Sonny Rollin’s solo on “Oleo”, from Miles Davis Quintet’s 1954 album “Bag’s Groove”, and before that’s written out, I might begin on digitizing my transcription of Wardell Gray on “Bernie’s Tune” (Live at the Haig, 1953).
Stay tuned for that, and even more great saxophone content.
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If you find my work to provide a benefit to your musical studies, please consider making a donation so I can keep making these solos available.
Matt Mrozinski 