Here’s another transcription that I worked on this week. This is from a video that Bob Malach put out on Youtube about Ishimori products. Bob talks for the first part of the video about his Ishimori ligature, neck, screws and thumbrest. On the second half of the video he plays a nice funky solo over a Blues in C which I have transcribed for you.
Bob Malach has been one of my favorite tenor player’s for years now. I remember first hearing him years ago and thinking he had that perfect blend of “funky bluesy” sax player mixed with cool modern jazz lines. His tone leans to the brighter side of the spectrum in my opinion but it still has that Otto Link core sound in my opinion. Bob’s lines are sophisticated harmonically and rhythmically yet he conveys a lot of emotion and feeling in his playing which is a rare combination.
I hope you enjoy this and please check out any or all of Bob Malach’s recordings if you get a chance……….
Let me know what you think in the comments below………
Bob Malach-Ishimori Demo Solo Transcription
If you like the lines in this solo or love other tenor players like Michael Brecker or Bob Berg, check out my book “Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing”. It contains 100 killer modern 16th note lines in the styles of these players in all 12 keys………You can hear samples and read reviews by clicking on the link below. Thanks, Steve
Nice, I first heard of him waaaaay back on the first couple Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes albums.
Love his solo on Love on the Wrong Side of Town from back then, one of the first I learned.
Bill, I never heard of those recordings. I’ll have to check them out…………. Does he play on every tune or just a couple?
Awesome Steve! Did you know he plays this exact lick during his solo on “The Philly Blues” off the album The Searcher? I was listening to it the other day and had a deja vu moment. Thanks again!
Oops, I’m sorry… I meant he plays it on “Jody Grind” from After Hours Vol.2 My Mistake!
I could not agree more. Definitely underrated and totally on par with the other Bob’s of the tenor ( Berg and Mintzer) With that crisp Brecker touch yet doing his own elaborate thing. Knowing how to make a single note sing and and then let it linger. I remember hearing him the first time on Mike Sterns “It is what it is” wondering who the heck this was. Incredible how much drive and spin he can put on a single note. One of a kind indeed. I saw him live a few times. Went to one of his work shops in the late 90’s in Berlin. Then met him in New York at Mike Stern gig at Smalls. He was happy to have a quick chat. Very affable, kind and humble soul. Always with a slight smirk on his face. You could feel he’d be fun to work with.
I remember him talking about his custom made Vandoren mouthpiece. Then using a little wooden hammer tapping it softly against his horn stating it would “release some of the trapped sound pockets”. Definitively doing his own thing. with an immediately recognisable sound. Check out his “Conversations with Michel ( Petrucciano )” to get a feel for the way he works.