This melody on the changes to Take The "A" Train plays on the signature dissonance in the Strayhorn composition and transforms it into something completely new and fresh.
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Listening to the audio clip which starts at the beginning of the track with the melody, you'll notice that the A sections are really a variant of Take the "A" Train changes, so those would also be a good choice for soloing. The soloing on the recording was "rhythm changes," using the bridge from the head.
Glad Lad was the first title recorded on the 1961 session that was designed to return Leo to prominence on the recording scene, after his personal problems waylaid his career in the 1950s. In the late '40s, Leo had been one of the prominent figures in the changing music scene. His first recordings (1944) were on alto sax with Trummy Young and Coleman Hawkins. He found his true voice in late 1944 when he anchored the sax section of the Billy Eckstine Orchestra on baritone sax.
Saxophonist Leo Parker was born in Washington, D.C. In case you're wondering, Leo was not related to Charlie Parker. Leo played alto sax on his first recording sessions, first with the Trummy Young sextet, and then on two sessions with Coleman Hawkins, all in February of 1944, when he was still 18 years old. Read more...
