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You are here: Home / Transcriptions / Danny Walsh Tenor Sax Solo Transcription of Wave

Danny Walsh Tenor Sax Solo Transcription of Wave

January 16, 2019 by Steve 12 Comments

Here’s another great saxophone solo transcription from a Youtube video that I started working on this morning.   This is another great solo from the terrific tenor sax player, Danny Walsh (I’ve already transcribed a couple other solos by him). Danny Walsh is an amazing NYC saxophone player that  many people may not know about but is definitely worth checking out!  Here is a short bio of him taken from the description of the Youtube video below:

A world-class saxophonist, composer and performer Danny Walsh is regarded as one of the most gifted and versatile recording artists in the jazz and R&B circuits. During the course of his career, he has not only recorded, performed and toured with many jazz, R&B and classic rock luminaries, but continues to be involved as a clinician at colleges and universities throughout the nation. Upon graduation from The Berklee School of Music, Danny was immediately hired by Aerosmith. Soon after he secured more opportunities with the Mingus Dynasty Big Band, Mike Stern, Greg Allman, Phil Woods, Mulgrew Miller, Marcus Miller, Bruce Springsteen, Donald Brown, Terruo Nakamura and many others. In this broadcast, he is joined by a group of other gifted musicians: Emiko Ohara on keyboard, Rob Reich on guitar, Eric Halvorson on drums, Chris Berger on bass and the lovely Anastasia Rene as a guest vocalist. A very special night for all!

Danny Walsh-Tenor Saxophone

This whole gig, in the Youtube video below, sticks out to me because the setlist is primarily tunes we would all play on a typical gig.  Cold Duck Time, Wave, Our Love is Here to Stay, The Way You Look Tonight, Masquerade, etc…….  I find it fascinating to hear a player of Danny’s calibre playing these common tunes that we probably have all played on gigs and just tearing them to shreds.  The other thing that I love is how effortless Danny looks while soloing on the sax.  He’s playing these intense lines but looking like he’s playing Mary Had a Little Lamb or something.  Not a drip of sweat or sign of effort, it just seems like it is flowing out of him effortlessly.   I love that!

If you have never heard of Danny Walsh before, check out his CD and any future projects he plays on!

Full Gig Video-Wave Solo starts at 9:59

The entire solo is only one chorus long but it is action packed!   The whole solo follows this format: Beautiful melodic line, killin’ 16th note line, beautiful melodic line, killin’ 16th note line, beautiful…….You get the point!  Thanks Danny for another great solo!!  Enjoy!  Let me know what you think in the comments below…….

https://cdn.neffmusic.com/2019/Wave-Danny%20Walsh%20Solo.mp3

Wave-Danny Walsh Solo Clip

Wave Solo Bb-Danny Walsh
Wave Solo C-Danny Walsh

*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

It’s a couple days later and just to blow your mind, I had to complete this transcription by transcribing Danny’s solo on the ending vamp of this tune (It’s at 15:42 on the video but be prepared, the lines are so intense that you might need therapy after hearing them….) I’ve also included an audio cut below but watching the video is even better. The PDF is another four pages of soloing but well worth it! Check it out below……..

https://cdn.neffmusic.com/2019/Wave%20End-Danny%20Walsh.mp3

Wave Ending Vamp-Danny Walsh Solo

Wave Ending Vamp Solo Bb-Danny Walsh
Wave Ending Vamp Solo C-Danny Walsh

*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

This is Danny Walsh’s last recording.  Check it out!!

Danny Walsh “Entering In” Itunes

Danny Walsh “Entering In” CD Baby

DevastatingFrontCoverSmallAdDevastating Minor Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing

Devastating%20Dominant%20Front%20Cover%20PDFsupersmallDevastating Dominant Lines for Jazz & Funk

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Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: Danny Walsh, Improvisation, jazz sax, Jobim, solo, tenor saxophone, transcription, Wave

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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. AvatarHoward Brown says

    January 17, 2019 at 6:39 pm

    Hey Steve,
    You know I’m a huge Danny Walsh fan. He’s playing the Saxscape Live on this clip. Of course he knows harmony inside and out, but he told me when he plays those lines (amazing lines) he’s just hearing it and not thinking about chords so much. He makes it look easy. A few months ago my phone rang and caller ID said it was Danny. I answered it and it was him playing Tequila on some gig. He must have butt called me. I listened to him for about half an hour, it was pretty funny.

    Reply
    • SteveSteve says

      January 17, 2019 at 11:57 pm

      Howard, That is pretty funny about the phone call. That’s one call I wouldn’t mind getting with Danny ripping over Tequila. Hahaha!!

      Reply
  2. AvatarMike Wilkens says

    January 18, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    Nice!
    And a little Jimi Hendrix quote right there at the end.

    He has a very sophisticated harmonic ear. Great to hear those patterns employed in such a clear forward moving way.

    Thanks for posting!

    Reply
  3. AvatarMartin Hoff says

    January 20, 2019 at 5:10 pm

    I’ve seen him a lot in the last few years because he plays 2, 3 night a week in NYC so quick train ride from NJ. Every night is a lesson for me. Nice flute player and singer as well.

    Martin

    Reply
  4. AvatarRich Winkler says

    February 2, 2019 at 3:39 pm

    Steve,
    Great job transcribing. I enjoyed very much. Question – what software did you use to create the PDFs ?
    The tunes “She” and “The Chicken” would also be great to see.

    Reply
    • SteveSteve says

      February 2, 2019 at 3:43 pm

      Rich, I use Finale to create the transcriptions. Are “She” and “The Chicken” on that same Danny Walsh video or are you talking about another recording? Steve

      Reply
      • Avatarrsaxman62 says

        February 2, 2019 at 3:46 pm

        Steve – they are on the same video.

        _____

        Reply
        • SteveSteve says

          February 2, 2019 at 4:12 pm

          Which tune is “She”? I don’t know that tune……..

          Reply
          • Avatarrsaxman62 says

            February 2, 2019 at 4:44 pm

            He announces “She” by George Shering at 42:55 and “The Chicken” at 54:50

            _____

            Reply
  5. AvatarCharlie says

    June 17, 2022 at 3:32 pm

    Ok obviously late to this thread but I’ve seen him live with Mike Stern. Currently they are in Chicago and Danny is just killing it.

    Reply
    • SteveSteve says

      June 17, 2022 at 4:04 pm

      Lucky man! I would love to see Danny live with Mike Stern! I have to settle for random Youtube clips….

      Reply
  6. AvatarRobert Blackwell says

    February 25, 2023 at 2:46 am

    I’m so looking forward to seeing and hearing Danny in the flesh again next month 16/03/23 @ Birds Basement here in Melbourne “Downunder”. The last time I saw him live was at an Italian Restaurant by the name of Michael’s at Manasquan ? or Brielle ?N.J in 1998. My Partner Katie and I were living in Point Pleasant Beach and spent the whole year working in the U.S.A. I met and spoke with Danny that night and found him charming as I’m a Saxophonist myself. One tune he played that night that just blew me away was “Europe” which is played with so much emotion by Gato Barbieri. I was lucky to see Gato, also that year on a Jazz Cruise from South Pier around Manhattan. Also that year Frank Sinatra died. But The stand out Memory for me was listening to Danny that night. A truly amazing and brilliant Player A true Maestro on Tenor, Alto and Soprano Saxophones!!!

    Reply

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