No, that's classic Doc improvising. That's a spontaneously improvised solo, live in front of 15 million people. No pressure at all.
Made me curious - either way it's amazing but I have a hard time envisioning someone actually writing something like this out and I don't imagine they spent much time working on the charts they played on the show - maybe read it down once at rehearsal?
Kind of sounds like Don Ellis on steroids. _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
King Silver Flair
Besson 1000
Bundy
Chinese C
Getzen Eterna Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Rotary Bb/A piccolo
Back in the mid 70's I attended a summer workshop at Quinnipiac University. Arnie Lawrence was one of the clinicians. He played sax in the Tonight Show Band when it was in NYC.
Arnie told us that Doc's improvised solos were written out for him. He was not judging Doc or being critical but stating a fact.
I had a conversation with a very well known trumpeter/teacher about 7-8 years ago and we talked about this. He told me he had heard the same thing. He also pointed out that Doc had to be a beast to be able to play theses solos whether they were written out or not.
I have heard Doc with his current group The San Miguel Five. I felt that while Doc may have lost a step or two regarding range, his solos were much more passionate.
Joined: 01 Mar 2003 Posts: 355 Location: Maryland, USA
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:57 pm Post subject:
Hmmm. Never heard anything about Doc Severinsen's solos being written out. I have several unpublished charts right out of the Tonight Show Band's book and have never seen one with a written jazz solo for Doc.
In the late 60s the solos Doc played were written out, but that didn't mean he couldn't improvise. At the end of a concert the crowd simply would not let him go, so we pulled a chart of our "our" book (at the time he was playing with local big bands backing him up playing his charts that we got in advance) and started playing and he took off. No written changes or anything, he took off--we all thought it was the best solo of the night. _________________ Recording Olds Trumpet
Bach Stradivarius ML 37
Bach Stradivarius CML 236
Bach Stradivarius Bass Trumpet
Holton T171 Alto Trumpet
Yamaha 610 Eb/D Trumpet
Kanstul 920 Picc.
Whether we wrote them in advance, I thought he steadily improved with improv once the 70's ushered rock grooves into the book. As Tonight show or records of jazz-rock got featured, he often emulated Freddie Hubbard beautifully within a solo, then adding various catch phrases to the mix.
Some of these phrases have aged less well than others...for ex., by emphasizing down home licks, several x's in the clip. The phrases themselves originate from a blues lexicon, but instead of a down home feel...a polished 'aristocratic' air is present, like escargot eaten in a five star restaurant.
Last edited by rothman on Fri Jul 13, 2018 11:45 pm; edited 1 time in total
Dunno. Of course all jazz is "rehearsed" to some extent, jazzers work on licks. I know I've heard various versions of the same chart where Doc's solos are different. _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
King Silver Flair
Besson 1000
Bundy
Chinese C
Getzen Eterna Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Rotary Bb/A piccolo
Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 10:18 am Post subject: Doc improvising
Having been his road manager with the responsibility of being in charge of the library one of my duties, I will say that in the case of this piece Doc was definitely improvising. He could "wing" it and play some incredible jazz. It didn't seem to matter the style either. That said, his parts on the classic Tommy Newsom charts he recorded did indeed have the solos basically written out which Doc would embellish over time but pretty much stay to what was on the page. Arrangements like "Georgia", "Sing Sing Sing", "Stardust" that he recorded were pretty much the same each time they were performed. Another tid-bit, the hours prior to the gig warming up in a stairwell, I would hear Doc playing through passages that were on the upcoming program that night with him tapping his foot in the tempo to be performed and playing everything with full duration exactly as it would be later on. Nothing was left to chance. He really didn't want anything to be less than flawless.
Another tid-bit, the hours prior to the gig warming up in a stairwell, I would hear Doc playing through passages that were on the upcoming program that night with him tapping his foot in the tempo to be performed and playing everything with full duration exactly as it would be later on. Nothing was left to chance. He really didn't want anything to be less than flawless.
Tony, thanks so much for the insight.
I was early to a performance at UCLA where Doc was going to perform with Jens Lindemann and a brass ensemble. I was walking the halls and just happened upon Doc who was on his way to warm-up. I gave a nod and uttered some clumsy salutation. Doc nodded and quipped back then disappeared into his chosen stairwell. My brush with greatness. _________________ "I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum