DB Hall of Fame

SOLO  FLIGHT

THE  CHARLIE  CHRISTIAN  LEGACY

DB Hall of Fame


 

 

STOMPIN’ AT THE SAVOY
 
Jam Session
 
MAY  12,  1941     Monday “MINTON’S PLAYHOUSE”
Hotel Cecil,  210 West 118th Street
Harlem,  NYC
 

 
  32  BARS   (AABA) Key of D Quarter Note = 226 Time: 8:26
 
 
  14  CHORUSES  +  4-Bar Tag:
 
  16  bars  –  CC & trumpet (Theme)
      8  bars  –  trumpet
    8  bars  –  CC & trumpet (Theme)
 
      1  chor  –  trumpet
 
      2  chor  –  piano
 
    3  chor  –  CC
 
      3  chor  –  trumpet
 
    3  chor  –  CC
 
    1  chor  –  trumpet (w/ CC chord accents)
 
    4  bars  –  trumpet & CC (tag)
 
 

 
Personnel:
 
  CHARLIE CHRISTIAN Guitar
  JOE GUY trumpet
  KENNY KERSEY piano
  NICK FENTON bass
  KENNY CLARKE drums
 
 

 
  Jam Session Recorded by  JERRY NEWMAN
 

Composed by: Edgar Sampson  (lyrics added later by Andy Razaf)
  [ composition named after Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom ]
 
©   VALDÉS   4/7/02


 

Page 1:   Theme

Page 2:   First CC Solo:  1st Chorus

Page 3:   First CC Solo:  2nd Chorus

Page 4:   First CC Solo:  3rd Chorus

Page 5:   Second CC Solo:  1st Chorus

Page 6:   Second CC Solo:  2nd Chorus

Page 7:   Second CC Solo:  3rd Chorus

Page 8:   Out Chorus

 



C&A:

This Stompin’ at the Savoy was the other tune that Jerry Newman recorded at the same jam session as Charlie Christian’s ne plus ultra, Topsy.  Had it not been for the existence of Topsy (aka Swing to Bop), this may well have turned out to be CC’s most highly regarded recording.

Charles is a master at embellishing the theme—rhythmically and otherwise…harmony, melody, dynamics.  Joe Guy takes the first solo chorus followed by Kenny Kersey for two choruses, then Charles.

First CC Solo

1st Chorus
CC leads-in his first solo very nicely [love the passage at mm 9-12] and is in full stride by the time he hits the first bridge.
On the bridge E7, he sounds like he’s going to go into the same phrases he used on the bridge E♭7 on his last chorus on Topsy but then unexpectedly takes a different direction.
At mm 14-15 and again at 29-30, goes to lower frets instead of staying in the same hand position as would most other guitarists.
Plays his famous ♭3rd / 6th double-stops at mm 27;  then again at mm 32 with a grand flourish not heard on any of his other recordings.

2nd Chorus
The spacing of the figures on mm 9-14 is reminiscent of the spacing on mm 26-32 on CC’s first Topsy chorus.
Good use of silence before hitting the bridge on the first beat;  also good pacing (holding the B♮) at the start of the bridge B7.
Note the ♯5th (F) at the bridge A7.
Bars 30-31 finds the drop to the lower frets once more.

3rd Chorus
Flat-3rd / 6th double-stops again at mm 5 and a series of B♭s on alternating strings from mm 8 thru 11.
Then there’s that clever open low-E string on the bridge E7 that startles the listener upon first hearing.  Since the more recent releases of other live versions, we now know it was a favorite device of Charles on Stompin’…—he lets it ring out for a measure or more while he solos over it.
Alternating strings again on mm 26-28—this time it’s sweeping D♭s.

Then it’s Joe Guy again, for three choruses, between Charles’ two solos.

Second CC Solo

1st Chorus
Ostensibly, CC opens his second solo by playing eight bars of laid-back riffs—but  they’re not nearly as simple as they may seem on first hearing.  You’ll need more than a few practice runs before you can get them just right.
The two ♭5ths (F♭) at mm 11 signal the end of the laid-back-ness.  On the next measure he starts a bridge-like run that serves as a warm-up before laying into the bridge itself.
Another ‘sound of surprise’ at mm 23:  an arpeggio played a half-step higher than what the harmony calls for before briefly resolving with the 9th of the A7; then he goes on down another half-step to the A♭7.

2nd Chorus
The first four bars consist of the drawn-out 9-6-3-6 most commonly found on the guitar intro to AC-DC Current.  This one has a ♭9 in the third measure.
A lilting, melodic bridge.
Sweeping D♭s again at mm 27-30, an octave higher than on the 3rd chorus of the first solo.

3rd Chorus
On mm 9-11, the rhythmic emphasis of the repeated figures alternately switches from the downbeat to the upbeat five times, with alternately inserted ♯5ths and 6ths, before CC tops out the phrase.
The solo changes on the bridge follow the contours of the actual melody / harmony of Stompin’….

Joe Guy takes the final chorus with chordal urging from Charles most of the way.



 
Issued Recordings:
 
  [ 78 ] Vox VSP 302 (sides 4 - 6)
 
  [ 10 ] Esoteric ESJ-1 (side B)
    Vogue LD 035 (side B)
    Vogue LDE 002 (side B)
 
  [ LP ] Bellaphon BJS 4042 (side A, track 2)
    Counterpoint CPT-548 (side A, track 2)
    Counterpoint CPTS-5548 (side A, track 2)
    Esoteric ES-548 (side A, track 2)
    Everest 1233 (side A, track 2)
    Everest 5233 (side A, track 2)
    Everest FM-119 (side A, track 2)
    Everest FS-219 (side A, track 2)
    Festival ALB 377 (side A, track 2)
    Globe MJ-7066 (side A, track 2)
    Jazz Anthology JA 5122 (side A, track 2)
    Nippon Columbia HR-101-EV (side A, track 2)
    Nippon Columbia SL-5001-EV (side A, track 2)
    Nippon Columbia YS-7071-EV (side A, track 2)
    Presto PRE 640 (side B, track 1)
    Saga 6919 (side B, track 1)
    Saga SOC 1036 (side B, track 1)
    Society SOC 996 (side A, track 2)
    Upfront UPF-181 (side A, track 1)
    Vedette VPA 8095 (side A, track 2)
    Vedette VRM 36025 (side A, track 2)
    Vedette VRMS 325 (side A, track 2)
    Venus TKJV-19013 (side A, track 2)
    Vogue 500114 (side A, track 2)
    Vogue CMDEVR 9378 (side A, track 2)
    Vogue LD 665-30 (side A, track 2)
    W & G WG-25/5233 (side A, track 2)
 
  [ CD ] BD Jazz JZBD022 (disc 2, track 4)
    Blue Moon Discs 008 (track 2)
    Century CECC 00376 (track 2)
    Definitive DRCD11122 (track 17)
    Definitive DRCD11177 (disc 4, track 7)
    Definitive DRCD11197 (track 11)
    Definitive DRCD11288 (track 17)
    Disconforme GV1359 (track 17)
    Dreyfus Jazz FDM 36715-2 (track 5)
    Fantasy / Esoteric OJCCD-1932-2 (track 2)
    Frémeaux FA 218 (disc 2, track 13)
    Jazz Anthology 550012 (track 2)
    Jazz Classics JZCL-5005 (disc 2, track 2)
    JSP JSP909 (disc 4, track 7)
    Le Chant du Monde 274 1459.60 (disc 2, track 19)
    Masters of Jazz MJCD 75 (track 11)
    Masters of Jazz R2CD 8004 (disc 2, track 15)
    Membran 232096 [see Album Index]
    Membran 232568 [see Album Index]
    Music Memoria 87998 2 (disc 2, track 13)
    Natasha Imports NI-4020 (track 2)
    Nippon Columbia 30CY-1436 (track 2)
    Nippon Columbia 35C38-7223 (track 2)
    Prime Leisure PLATCD 509 (track 20)
    Primo / Proper PRMCD 6092 (disc 2, track 16)
    Proper P1492 (track 13)
    Proper PROPERBOX 98 (disc 4, track 13)
    Proper Pairs PVCD114 (disc 1, track 2)
    Proper / musisoft EMCD 21 (track 13)
    SSJ XQAM-1638 (track 2)
    Topaz Jazz / Pavilion TPZ 1028 (track 3)
    Venus TKCZ-36013 (track 2)
    Venus TKCZ-79502 (track 2)
    Vogue 600135 (track 2)
    Warner Music France 3007-2 (track 21)
 

 



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