{"id":33178,"date":"2015-12-02T14:44:02","date_gmt":"2015-12-02T19:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=33178"},"modified":"2015-12-02T15:01:55","modified_gmt":"2015-12-02T20:01:55","slug":"the-dick-oatts-solo-collection-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/the-dick-oatts-solo-collection-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dick Oatts Solo Collection Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Today I am reviewing an awesome new transcription book of solos by alto saxophonist Dick Oatts. \u00a0Dan Bayliss wrote the transcriptions and did the work of putting this ebook together. \u00a0It includes 9 solos from 3 albums and is 68 pages long. The CD’s the solos are from are Dick Oatts “Standard Issue Volume 1”, Dick Oatts “Standard Issue Volume 2” and “One for Bird” by Red Rodney. \u00a0I already had Standard Issue Vol. 1 in my CD collection and after receiving the book I immediately purchased Vol. 2 and One for Bird.<\/p>\n

Now, being a primarily an alto player back in college in the 80’s I had heard of Dick Oatts but to be honest I hadn’t really heard him too much back then. \u00a0I\u00a0seem to remember hearing him on a few big band recordings and a Flim and the BB’s CD I had but that was about it. \u00a0Years later I stumbled across his Standard Issue Vol. 1 CD on ITunes and after listening to a few clips decided this guy was burnin’!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dick Oatts Solo Collection<\/strong><\/p>\n

I spent about an hour this morning listening to the tracks and following along through the transcriptions and I have to say that Dick Oatts is killin’ on these standards. \u00a0Mr. Oatts does an amazing job of mixing different elements together while improvising which is what really excites me about his playing. \u00a0He has the bebop language and lines mastered and plays many of these lines throughout these solos but just when you are comfortable and think you know what he will play next he takes the line way “outside”. \u00a0This is the kind of “outside” playing that you hear from the best players that just makes you almost fall out of your chair.<\/p>\n

Then, just when you think you have a handle on this and know where he’s going with this “outside” sound, he ventures into a melodic idea that is just so beautiful and memorable that you wonder if it is a quote of a standard you don’t know because it is so melodic.<\/p>\n

Then , as you are diggin’ the cool melodic ideas he starts getting playful with the rhythm and mixing up hemiolas with across the bar line phrasing that has you again wondering where he’s going.<\/p>\n

Finally, through the midst of all this he throws in some soul and blues lines that again just surprise and amaze you. \u00a0I mention all this, \u00a0because this is my favorite kind of player to listen to. \u00a0They keep you guessing and interested by creating a solo with so many layers and directions that as a musician you can’t help but be fascinated and intrigued. \u00a0You are always waiting and wondering what’s coming next……….<\/p>\n

The 9 standards that are transcribed are:<\/p>\n

All the Things You Are,\u00a0Blues for Alice,\u00a0Like Someone in Love,\u00a0Little Willie Leaps,\u00a0Memories of You,\u00a0On Green Dolphin Street,\u00a0Stella By Starlight,\u00a0The End of a Love Affair,\u00a0You Stepped Out of a Dream.<\/p>\n

Honestly, \u00a0there is so much material in these 9 solos that you could spend a year just trying to play them and understand what is going on. Figuring out\u00a0why these lines sound so fantastic\u00a0and what Dick Oatts was thinking??? \u00a0\u00a0As I\u00a0was working my way through listening to the solos, \u00a0I started feeling this urge to grab the print out of the book, a CD player and my alto sax and head off to a deserted island for a year of shedding. \u00a0No internet, no mouthpiece reviews, no housework and distractions, \u00a0just shedding with Dick Oatts………..Ahhhh, if only…….<\/p>\n

A few of the things that stick out to me after the first listen are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. There are so many great rhythmic concepts in these lines to master.<\/li>\n
  2. The melodic ideas are gold and should be worked on themselves as a lot of players have trouble creating\u00a0these types of \u00a0beautiful melodies while improvising.<\/li>\n
  3. Blues for Alice rocks the bebop lines!<\/li>\n
  4. Like Someone in Love!! \u00a0 Holy Cow! \u00a0The tone on this has a Desmond-ish type sound that is\u00a0<\/i><\/b>gorgeous! \u00a0Check out how Mr. Oatts weaves in and out of the great melodic ideas with\u00a0the outside lines………..so smooth!!<\/li>\n
  5. His phrasing is not tied down to typical 2 bar or 4 bar II-V-I type lines, he plays across the bar line and has total freedom to start and end his lines wherever he so pleases…….<\/li>\n
  6. Stella and Green Dolphin are just sublime also. Maybe because I know these tunes so well, \u00a0I am even more amazed by the lines and ideas that I am hearing. \u00a0I have to spend some more time with this book and the recordings but I know there are all sorts of substitutions and concepts being used as he travels through these changes.<\/li>\n
  7. Mr. Oatts is not afraid of traveling up into the altissimo when needed………<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Upon first run through, it looks like Dan Bayliss did a great job with the transcriptions. \u00a0 I\u00a0can’t speak for all the notes and rhythms because I haven’t played along with the recordings yet but it\u00a0was easy to listen and follow along as I\u00a0worked my way through all the solos.\u00a0The measures are\u00a0spaced out nicely and all the chord symbols are there above the lines which is nice. \u00a0He also does a nice job with accidentals which is a pet peave of mine. \u00a0I get irritated when the accidentals don’t make sense in relation to the chord symbols but Dan does well with these. \u00a0There are a few places where courtesy accidentals would be nice (like in bar 23 of All the Things…….) These are just handy when you are sight reading and moving across the bar line to a natural note………<\/p>\n

    The only critique of the book is that I wish it had a time marker on the first page of each solo to let you know when the solo was starting on the recording. \u00a0This just makes it easier to find the starting point of each solo quicker…….(I know, Dan’s thinking “I gave you all the notes and rhythms! You need a time marker also! \u00a0Are you spoiled?)<\/p>\n

    As a person that does transcriptions my self, I will say that many of the faster lines have to to be worked on and learned side by side with the recording. \u00a0I think it is easier to figure out these lines by playing over and over with the recording until you are playing together with Mr. Oatts seamlessly. \u00a0Some of the faster lines and passages are next to impossible to read as you have 16th notes mixed with triplets mixed with 32nd notes mixed with notes in groups of 7 and other crazy stuff all going a thousand miles an hour. \u00a0The transcription gives you the notes to work with but then the key is playing them so you begin and end at the same place as the recording for those lines. \u00a0If the line looks crazy on the page then try to let your ears guide you on how it should sound. \u00a0(I use to go through this with the Omnibook when I was younger trying to intellectually figure out the lines Parker was playing when they had crazy rhythms. \u00a0Listening to the recording made it so much easier to figure out and copy…….)<\/p>\n

    Dick Oatts is an amazing player and I think all jazz sax players would benefit from spending a lot of time with these transcription. \u00a0 The book is full of those lines that I used to hear as a college student\u00a0when I would go visit NYC. \u00a0I would leave a club thinking “What the heck was that??” and be totally inspired to go home and shed for 8 hours in a row. \u00a0 In the Dick Oatts Solo Collection<\/a>, these lines are all written out for you. \u00a0You don’t have to think “What the heck was that?”, you can look down at the page and see what it is! \u00a0The great rhythmic ideas are all written out for you and the killin’ bebop lines are all right there in front of you. The book is available via Dick’s website: www.dickoattsmusic.com<\/a>\u00a0if you are interested.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    A hearty thank you to Dick Oatts for spending his life working to master what we call “jazz”. \u00a0Thank you for all the hours spent shedding these concepts and tunes and thank you for recording these special moments so we could all listen,\u00a0enjoy and benefit from them. \u00a0 Thanks also to Dan Bayliss for spending the many many hours transcribing all of this. \u00a0It must have taken forever! \u00a0I am very appreciative! \u00a0Now I have to go get my alto reed wet and play some Dick Oatts solos………….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Today I am reviewing an awesome new transcription book of solos by alto saxophonist Dick Oatts. \u00a0Dan Bayliss wrote the transcriptions and did the work of putting this ebook together. \u00a0It includes 9 solos from 3 albums and is 68 pages long. The CD’s the solos are from are Dick Oatts “Standard Issue Volume […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":33179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[47,51],"tags":[119,1445,1444,10,540,1318],"class_list":{"0":"post-33178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-book-reviews","8":"category-jazz-education","9":"tag-alto-sax","10":"tag-dan-bayliss","11":"tag-dick-oatts","12":"tag-jazz-saxophone","13":"tag-jazz-standards-2","14":"tag-transcriptions","15":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}