Setlist Society

1. "Eruption" from Van Halen by Van Halen
2. "Etude No. 3 in G-sharp monor, S 141 'La Campanella'" by Franz Liszt
3. "Doggin' Around" from The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz by Count Basie
4. "Jack the Bear" from Highlights From The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition (1927-1973) by Duke Ellington
5. "I Got Rhythm" from The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz by Don Byas and Slam Stewart
6. "St. Thomas" from Saxophone Colossus by Sonny Rollins
7. "Giant Steps" from Giant Steps by John Coltrane
8. "Blue in Green" from Kind of Blue by Miles Davis
9. "Bemsha Swing" from Conversations With Myself by Bill Evans
10. "Bags' Groove [solo section]" from Bags' Groove by Miles Davis
11. "Song For My Father" from Song For My Father by Horace Silver
12. "Moody's Mood for Love (I'm in the Mood for Love)" from At The Jazz Workshop by James Moody
13. "Love For Sale" from Mel Tormé and Friends by Mel Tormé
14. "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" from 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Flatt & Scruggs by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs
15. "Moto Perpetuo, Op. 11" from Carnaval by Wynton Marsalis
16. "Layla" from Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos
17. "San Francisco Bay Blues" from Unplugged by Eric Clapton
18. "Free Bird" from Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd by Lynyrd Skynyrd
    

So, oddly enough, this post is a lot more biographical than the last one. First of all, you either know or might have guessed that I'm a big jazz fan, and that I played in jazz bands through college. So, the jazz entries in this list tend to be either textbook examples of well crafted solos or personal favorites I've studied on my own. And, since I'd like to explain why I picked some of them, here are my list notes: #3 - Compare Basie's solo at the end to the previous track. It's amazing how space can be just as effective in conveying an idea. #4&5 - Ellington gave Jimmy Blanton the first bass solo, which eventually paved the way for many others, including Slam Stewart. #6 - Good solos all around. Rollins' is a great example of structure and Max Roach shows that it's really about how you use your drum kit, not how many pieces it has. #7 - Very difficult chord changes to solo over, which leads to a very great solo (when you happen to be that good). #8 - Amazing examples of lyrical soloing. Pay attention to Bill Evans' piano at the end, I happen to think it's very beautiful. #9 - Bill Evans overdubbing himself, twice. #10 - This is only the solo section, played by Thelonious Monk, and it's an amazing example of how to build a solo. #11 - Amazing Joe Henderson solo, which contains one of my favorite licks of all time. #12 - Vocalese, which takes instrumental solos and mirrors them with lyrics for vocalists. #14 - I was, at one time, an aspiring young banjo player (though I played Dixeland, not Bluegrass). #15 - more technical than musical, but as a trumpet player, I've got to give credit to anyone who has the technical prowess to pull this off. #17 - J. knows why I picked this one.