FROM GILAD…

One can imagine how delighted I am to see a book of my solo transcriptions being published. I’d like to use this opportunity to thank Chris Gumbley, a great friend, a superb educator and an excellent musician for making the effort and looking deeply into my music and improvising skills. To a certain extent it makes my musical journey into a meaningful event. The fact that someone out there believes that my work is worthy of intellectual scrutiny is indeed reassuring and nothing less than a great compliment.

As an educator, I feel that it is necessary to mention that I do believe in the primacy of the ear. I stress rather often that music should be learned primarily through listening. Those who are interested in my music vocabulary and improvised shapes will probably benefit from trying to understand my sound through listening. I guess that once an intuitive understanding of my musical language, rhythm, scales, micro-tonality and dynamics is explored, only then should the reading exercise be put into practice.

Looking into solo transcriptions is no doubt part of a healthy jazz diet. I’ve done it myself in the past, in spite of the fact that my music reading skills are far from being advanced. In general I use every opportunity to look into other musicians’ work.

Playing a transcribed solo is not an easy task.  I can only wish luck to those who take the challenge on board.

Gilad Atzmon

ABOUT GILAD…

Gilad was born in Israel in 1963 and had his musical training at the Rubin Academy of Music, Jerusalem.  Hearing Charlie Parker play April in Paris on a radio programme at the age of 17 was a pivotal moment, providing inspiration and motivation, and he spent the next 14 years playing jazz, R&R and ethnic music in Europe and the USA as well as acting as producer-arranger for various Israeli Dance & Rock Projects.

In 1994 he came to the UK and his brand of exciting, turbo-charged bop, combined with an endearing on-stage wit, soon won over the hearts of British jazz audiences. Equally at home on Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxes, Clarinet and Flutes, he was described by John Lewis at the Guardian as the “hardest-gigging man in British jazz".

However, it would be wrong to regard Gilad as simply an exciting purveyor of jazz standards: his own compositions evoke wide-ranging emotions and a cornucopia of different influences, encompassing music from the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe. These can be seen in his work with The Orient House Ensemble, formed in 2000, which has since provided the perfect vehicle for his music and an increasing  political awareness.

Gilad has recorded nine albums to date which include Exile  - BBC Jazz Album of the Year in 2003 - and In Loving Memory of America, which nods in the direction of  Bird’s 1949 album Parker With Strings.

Gilad is also a prolific writer. His two novels 'Guide to the Perplexed' and 'My One And Only Love' have been translated into 24 languages.

THE TRANSCRIPTIONS…

Transcribing is frankly solitary, laborious and time-consuming. So the music has to be very special to create such a rampant desire to explore and understand the nuts and bolts of someone’s playing. That is certainly the case with Gilad.

Out of the five albums featured in this book, these tracks were my personal favourites – memorable for their melodic invention, technical mastery and, above all, emotional intensity. All transcriptions were made at actual speed using a Sony CDP-XE330 CD player – a machine notable for its snappy rewinding abilities – and are as accurate as I could make them in terms of notes, phrasing, rhythm and nuance.

It is of course essential to study them alongside the recordings, details of which are given opposite.

CHRIS GUMBLEY September 2010

CREDITS…

Special thanks to my son Dan Nicholls for cover design, layout and advice.

For enquiries regarding this book and to order and browse other music available from Gumbles Publications, visit gumblespublications.co.uk

Content:

From the album THE TIDE HAS CHANGED: Gilad Atzmon & The Orient House Ensemble (2010)  (world village 450015)

In the Back Seat of a Yellow Cab            Gilad Atzmon                                           4                                                            

The Tide Has Changed                          Gilad Atzmon                                           6                                                   

GILAD as/ss/clt, FRANK HARRISON p, YARON STAVI b, EDDIE HICK d

From the album IN LOVING MEMORY OF AMERICA: Gilad Atzmon (2009) (enja TIP-888 8502)

Everything Happens T                                    Matt Dennis & Tom Adair                              10   musiK                                                      Gilad Atzmon                                      12                In The Small Hours                                Gilad Atzmon                                     14                                                                 

Tutu Tango                                             Gilad Atzmon                                           16                                                    

I Didn’t Know What Time It Was           Rodgers & Hart                                           18                                    

GILAD as/ss/clt, FRANK HARRISON p, YARON STAVI b, ASAF SIRKIS d, SIGAMOS STRING QUARTET arr. ROS STEPHEN and JONATHAN TAYLOR

From the album REFUGE: Gilad Atzmon & the Orient House Ensemble (2007) (enja TIP-888 849 2)

Autumn In Baghdad                               Gilad Atzmon                                             21                                                   

Her Smile                                                 Gilad Atzmon                                             23                                                   

GILAD as/ss FRANK HARRISON p/rhodes, YARON STAVI b, ASAF SIRKIS d

From the album EXILE: Gilad Atzmon & The Orient House Ensemble (2003) (enja TIP-888 8442)

Land of Canaan                                     Gilad Atzmon                                            24                                                 

GILAD as/ss/clt, FRANK HARRISON p/rhodes,YARON STAVI b, ASAF SIRKIS d/bandir & tray, KOBY ISRAELITE acc

From the album NOSTALGICO: Gilad Atzmon & The Orient House Ensemble (2001) (enja TIP-888 8412)

Petite Fleur                                              Sidney Bechet                                            26                                                  

GILAD clt, FRANK HARRISON p, OLI HAYHURST b, ASAF SIRKIS d



International Jazz Workshop Saarwellingen, Germany

8 - 13 August 2010.  For further information click here

Tuscany International Jazz Summer School, Certaldo, Italy

17-24 August 2010, for further information click here

For more information about the GMF workshops click here

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

The grand success of any workshop is when seeds of new concepts are sown, to grow in a mind free to be receptive. Even more so, if the person casting them has explored their art to the extent that they can see it in its fundamental simplicity and want to show you what they know. That was what was so good (more than good) for me about this workshop with Gilad Atzmon. It was great to hear that the key to all those fabulous sound that he makes with his saxophone is so simple and clear.

Monday, 2 November 2009

“ I’ll not ask your names, I never remember names, I can’t even remember the names of my children.” Said Gilad Atzmon, with typical self-deprecating humour. Thus began this fascinating and informative workshop.
About 10 of us attended, ages from 16 upwards, with a preponderance of sax players, but also a trumpet, violin, electric guitar, 2 pianists and 2 singers.
The session was in 2 parts, trying out improvisation and then discussing technique. And Gilad wasted no time in getting a few of us to play together creatively, and it actually sounded not too bad. Further attempts showed up the real problem, which was NOT LISTENING to the other musicians. Gilad explained it well, it’s the ear that matters in music, we shouldn’t be concentrating on looking at written music, but listening. We analyse too much, music isn’t academic. This applies to all music, not just jazz.
To improve technique, he declared that you must identify your problem and admit it, decide on the solution, then put it into practice. A demonstration of how to improve tone followed. The saxes were shown how to get a breathy tone out of the instrument with a simultaneous low tone. As a non-sax player I’ve no idea what they were doing but it sounded intriguing. Musicians were encouraged to sing some parts of the scale when practising. It seems we singers are doing it right anyway!
We then did rhythm exercises with clapping and stamping out the pulse, and rounded off with Indian Tabla rhythms. This bit was difficult to latch onto, and I think Gilad should return soon to extend our knowledge of this.
With loads of discussion and good humour this was a very successful session, which could be enjoyed by anyone who likes music, which is probably everyone.
Ann Alexander

Teachers/Performers

Gilad Atzmon - Saxophones and clarinet
Jeremy Brown - Bass
Pete Churchill - Vocals
Frank Harrison - Piano
Stephen Keogh - Drums

Partners

This is a unique first time event in China. The spectacular setting of Shanghai, the team of outstanding performers and teachers and the varied schedule of activity all add up to an unforgettable experience for everyone who takes part.

• An exceptional roster of International artists/teachers
• A week of intensive music making and study including tuition, supervised rehearsals, instrumental classes, group workshops and evening jam sessions
• Free admission to Jazz Festival concerts given by members of the faculty and guest artists
• Free entry to the JZ Shanghai Music Festival