Skip to main content
Topic: rhythm section soli (Read 2367 times) previous topic - next topic

rhythm section soli

I’m working on a big band chart that had the following indication in the Guitar, Piano, and Bass parts:
Basie Sound:  Piano Player plays as if left hand is tied behind his back. 
Guitar and Bass strive to sound like Piano Player’s tied-up left hand!

The Guitar part also has the following:
Comp à la Freddie Greene
Anyone have any idea how I’m supposed to sequence this?
I’ve never heard of Freddie Greene [I’m not a guitarist or other rhythm section member.].
Does [did] Freddie have certain voicings for which he is [was] known, or certain rhythm patterns he typically uses [used]?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Re: rhythm section soli

Reply #1
Freddie Green - "the Basie powerhouse".
One of the great guitarists of the swing era.
His style could be described as "minimalist" defining the chord with three, two and sometimes only one note.
To learn more about his style go here http://www.freddiegreen.org/technique/allen_dcmn.html

Basie piano was similar - right-hand clusters that defined the chord - three notes like Eb, D , Bb near the bottom of the Treble staff define a C9.

Re: rhythm section soli

Reply #2
Thanks, Barry, what a fascinating read!
I suppose that will speed up my sequencing of the parts a bit, although I'm not sure how I'll accomplish the muted effect with only one staff.
That should be a fun experiment.