Gary Thomas Transcription: Donna Lee

In the past few months, I had a couple life events which kept me off the horn for an extended period of time — longer than I’ve ever been off the horn since I began playing at age 9. As a way to get some of my chops back, I wanted to transcribe this solo by Gary Thomas, one of my all-time favorite saxophone players.

Growing up, my dad would always point out that many iconic Bird solos are quite short. He would repeat:

“If you can’t say it in two choruses or less, you don’t have anything to say.”

This two chorus solo left such an impression on me that I still remember hearing this solo for the first time. It was the first ‘jazz standard’ I ever heard Gary Thomas play (there are many others — I especially like his albums ‘Exiles Gate’ and ‘Til We Have Faces’). The way he approaches familiar chord changes should help the listener understand his unique approach to harmony. Additionally, this is so early in his career that I think this can give the listener further insight into how his approach has developed over time.

Here is my transcription — for educational purposes.

And here I am struggling through.