Jesse Davis Transcription-Cherokee Solo

Here’s another great bop solo by one of my favorite alto players “Jesse Davis”.  Jesse has one of the best alto sounds I have heard and I love how he can incorporate killer bebop lines and phrases with a bluesy feel and sound. (Another master of this technique was without a doubt Cannonball)

Here’s a short snippet of a bio from the Jesse Davis Wikipedia page:

Jesse Davis (born November 9, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist. Davis began as a student in Ellis Marsalis’s New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.  After graduating, Davis embarked on a productive jazz career, recording 8 albums on the Concord Jazz label, alongside collaborations with such artists as Jack McDuff and Illinois Jacquet. Davis has studied music at Northeastern Illinois University, and in 1989 he received a “Most Outstanding Musician award” from Down Beat magazine.

Jesse Davis-Saxophonist

Here he is soloing over Cherokee from this Youtube video of a performance with Warren Vache from 2001.

The solo starts around the 1:09 mark.  Enjoy! Lot’s of great lines for you to work on in this solo…………….( I have another great solo based on the changes to Cherokee I’m working on also that should be up in a few days,,,,,,,,)

Jesse Davis Solo on Cherokee-Warren Vache 2001 Youtube Video Eb PDF

Jesse Davis Solo on Cherokee-Warren Vache 2001 Youtube Video Concert PDF

*Charles McNeal’s website also has a transcription of this solo which is where I first discovered it.  (Thanks Charles!) I wrote out my transcription and there were enough differences that I thought it was worth posting it also…………..

If you are interested in more lines and ideas in this style of playing make sure to check out my two books below on Mastering the Bebop Scale and it’s links:

Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale

More than just a book on a scale, these books incorporates bebop links and bebop resolutions that when combined with the bebop scale will produce some great bebop lines!

Mastering the Major Bebop Scale