[Harp-L] Re: Toots' rhythm

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A poster wrote re: Wim Djikgraf's recent transcriptions of Thielemans solos:
> I took a look at your transcription. Are these rhythmically intricate
> phrases typical in Toot's playing?

The answer is yes.  Toots's rhythms are complex.  He was heavily influenced by John Coltrane, who uses lots of non-symmetrical phrases, and you can hear that influence all over Toots's work from the 1960s on.

When I notated Toots's solo on the Fabulous Rhinestones's "What Becomes of Your Life" for my book "Jazz Harp", it took hours of careful listening to get those rhythms right.  And that's a relatively short, simple Thielemans solo.

All this by way of saying that Wim is handing out a big gift here with his careful transcriptions, and harp players are well advised to accept the gift.

Regards, Richard Hunter


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