JJ Johnson's Solo on Stardust (Transcription)
Hey all,
It’s been awhile since I posted in the blog. Sorry about that! I have been busy since leaving graduate school at Michigan State University. Today I thought I’d share my newest transcription with you all, JJ Johnson’s solo on Stardust! This is an amazingly beautiful tune and JJ’s solo is just as great. I would like to do a “mini lesson” over a couple things I took from his solo. I hope you can use this transcription and get something out of it like I did.
First, I want to cover his feeling of time. JJ’s control over time is really astounding. He will be playing right in the middle of the time and then BAM, super laid back. It’s a great way to add feeling and interest to your solos. This works especially well on phrases that you want to stand out. I have some examples JJ used below. When listening to these make sure to listen to the drums and bass. After that, listen to how JJ moves around their time. (for these examples he is laying back)
The second thing I would like to cover is his use of extensions as target tones. What I mean by extensions is the 9th, 11th, and 13th of a chord. Often in this solo JJ plays the 9th or the 13th. This could be though of as him playing diatonically (Db major), but it seems very intentional where he hits these extensions. I would argue that it is very purposeful. I have some examples below showing off his use of extensions. Remember, this works so well in his solo because of the melodies that he is improvising. The are all very singable lines, not just random 9th’s or 11th’s.
Lastly, I want to talk about JJ’s use to articulation. If you listen this solo you will notice that he is always adding little slides into notes, or falling out of notes, or little gliss’s into the next phrase. This is part of what makes JJ’s playing so memorable. I know when I was learning this solo, I would try and imitate his vibrato or his slides. 1) First, I would play the line that I got from this transcription exactly the way he did. 2) Then, I would play it in another song the same way (transposing it to different keys). 3) Lastly, I would try and improvise using the same concept in the line that I took. Try using this approach in your own practice! I think it will help all of us be more expressive when we are improvising.
To recap we talked about JJ’s time, his use of extensions, and articulation. I hope you can get a lot out of this transcription and apply some of these ideas into your own playing!
Happy Shedding-Nathan Borton