• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Website of Steve Neff

  • BLOG
  • SHOP
  • MY ACCOUNT
  • RAVES
  • CONTACT

Search Neffmusic

You are here: Home / Transcriptions / Rick Margitza Solo-“What is this thing called love?”

Rick Margitza Solo-“What is this thing called love?”

September 18, 2009 by Steve 8 Comments

Here is a great tenor sax solo that I transcribed a couple of years ago.  It’s from Jeff Hellmer’s album “Peak Moments”. The tune is a standard called “What is this thing called love?” and features Rick Margitza on the tenor saxophone.

“What is This Thing Called Love” a great standard by Cole Porter that all jazz players should know. It’s a 32 bar AABA form and is pretty easy to learn.  It has some cool minor ii-V sequences in the chord progression and I think it was the first tune I learned as a kid that had minor ii-V chords in it.  Rick Margitza takes a killer solo in it.  When I first heard it I knew I had to transcribe it.  Rick plays a bunch of lines in it that really intrigued me and I wanted to see  what he was playing and maybe get an idea of how he thinks.

I would really suggest listening to it so you get the sound in your ear. Just reading it off the page won’t give you the big picture. What really attracted me to this solo were the flowing lines and the way that he uses tension and release. Check it out!

What is This Thing Called Love Margitza Solo

*If you would like to support me here at neffmusic.com, you can do so on the support page of my store by debit or credit card.   Any support is appreciated and will go towards keeping this site running, saxophone reeds, mouthpiece patches, coffee, and towards justifying the many hours I spend on providing free transcriptions to the saxophone community!  Thanks,   Steve

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: Jeff Hellmer, peak moments, Rick Margitza, what is this thing called love

Steve

About Steve

Steve Neff has been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the New England area for over 30 years. He is the author of many best selling jazz improvisation methods as well as founding the popular jazz video lesson site Neffmusic.com.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarPaul Maine says

    September 19, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    Steve

    Thank you for the transcription! I am also really glad that you have a link to the source song. You have made it very convenient to purchase the song you transcribed.

    It is virtually impossible to transcibe every nuance in a solo, so listening to the the original song while reading your transcription provides maximum benefit.

    Reply
  2. AvatarMichael Mullan says

    December 23, 2012 at 11:50 pm

    How exactly do you download or purchase the transcriptions…thanks

    FYI. I’m doing this on my iPad and don’t see a link for it

    Mike

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      December 26, 2012 at 2:06 pm

      Sorry, The download plugin wasn’t working. I fixed it so it should work now. Steve

      Reply
  3. AvatarMichael J. Smith says

    July 17, 2013 at 3:04 pm

    Steve,

    I don’t see a link. How can I get the transcription?

    Thanks,
    Michael

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      July 18, 2013 at 10:06 pm

      Hi Michael, Sorry about that. My download plugin broke. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I think I fixed it. If you go back to the page you should be able to click on the transcription and download it.

      Reply
  4. AvatarCam says

    June 20, 2021 at 12:17 am

    Hi. I’ve looked up the Steve Hellmer album Peak Moments and the Rick Margitza solo is definitely not this one!!! Is there an alternate take or something?

    Reply
    • SteveSteve says

      June 20, 2021 at 8:15 am

      Hi Cam, It is Jeff Hellmer. Here’s is a link to it on Youtube. https://youtu.be/keGVJ_EZk2s

      Reply
  5. AvatarCam McAllister says

    June 20, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    Thanks Steve.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to steve Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Cart

Subscribe to the Neffmusic Newsletter for the latest reviews and best deals delivered straight to your inbox every month. Join now and you will also receive my 40 Ultimate Michael Brecker Licks free!

Select list(s) to subscribe to


Thanks for joining!


NEFFMUSIC PRINTED BOOKS

Testimonials

You can follow the discussion on Vintage Selmer Soloist Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece without having to leave a comment. Cool, huh? Just enter your email address in the form here below and you’re all set.

… Read more

Manage subscriptions

Featured Video Lessons

  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $19.99 Original price was: $19.99.$14.99Current price is: $14.99.
  • The Secret to Modern Outside Jazz Lines Lesson-Minor The Secret to Modern Outside Jazz Lines Lesson-Minor $9.99
  • Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson
    Rated 4.91 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Secret to Altissimo (no one has ever told you about before) Lesson The Secret to Altissimo (no one has ever told you about before) Lesson
    Rated 4.75 out of 5
    $9.99

Now over 600 video and audio lessons to choose from!

Free Lessons

  • Free Lesson on The New Ultimate II-V-I Primer-Major Keys
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering Altered Pentatonics
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering the Blues Scale Volume 1 & 2
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale and Language Book 1 & 2
  • Free Video Lesson on Approach Note Velocity Book

Recent reviews

  • Bebop Scale-Altered Scale II-V-I Practice Lesson Bebop Scale-Altered Scale II-V-I Practice Lesson by Noah
  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) by Andy
  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Russ
  • Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Timothy
  • The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Ray Holland

Footer

Recent Comments

  • Giuseppe C. on Les Becs d’Autan Florida Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Paul Fessenden on Otto Link LA Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Steve on Theo Wanne Gaia 2 Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Steve on Les Becs d’Autan Florida Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Pablo Lopez on 40 Michael Brecker Licks

Top rated products

  • Mastering the Major Bebop Scale & Sound (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Major Bebop Scale & Sound (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Tune of the Week-Softly as a Morning Sunrise Lesson Tune of the Week-Softly as a Morning Sunrise Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Style of Dexter Gordon-Lady Bird Lesson 1 The Style of Dexter Gordon-Lady Bird Lesson 1
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Tune of the Week-Days of Wine and Roses Lesson Tune of the Week-Days of Wine and Roses Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Tune of the Week-Invitation Tune of the Week-Invitation
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99

Product tags

alto sax alto saxophone approach notes audio lesson bebop scale beginner beginner saxophone blues blues licks blues patterns blues scale blues scales diminished scale dominant chords ear training fundamentals II-V-I improvisation jazz improvisation jazz lines jazz patterns jazz sax jazz saxophone jazz standard jazz standards licks Mastering the Blues Scale Michael Brecker modern improv modern improvisation online lesson patterns playing outside practice habits reading music sax basics sax lessons saxophone scales smooth jazz steve neff tenor sax tenor saxophone video lesson video lessons
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • SUPPORT

Neffmusic © 2005–2025