Heleen – Joe Gordon
A beautiful ballad, with transcribed trumpet solos by two virtuosos recorded 48 years apart.
- Leadsheets $1.49 /ea
- Solos $4.99 /ea
All selected items will be available for download after purchase.
- Recording: Joe Gordon - Lookin' Good
- Recorded on: July 11, 12 or 18, 1961
- Label: Contemporary (M 3597)
- Concert Key: E-flat
- Style: Ballad
- Trumpet - Joe Gordon
- Piano - Dick Whittington
- Bass - Jimmy Bond
- Drums - Milt Turner
This was Joe's beautiful ballad feature on his "Lookin' Good" recording. The audio clip starts on the A section of the melody. On the recording, Joe elects to solo on the repeat of the A section before playing his double-time bridge, which then returns to ballad feel for the last A section of the AABA format. The rhythm section plays a four-measure introduction on the recording. Joe's trumpet in the coda echoes the melodic character of the piano in the intro. The intro and coda are indicated in all lead sheets.
Joe Gordon was only on two more recordings after this session. His last appearance was on Jimmy Woods' September 13, 1961, date. A year earlier, on May 17 and 18, Joe's marvelous trumpet playing can be heard on three Harold Land compositions that are on jazzleadsheets.com (Terrain, Compulsion, Ursula). Trumpet players as well as generations of fans were dealt a cruel blow when Joe died at the age of 35.
Joe Gordon Trumpet Transcription: This is a three page, one and a half chorus long arrangement. Joe's recording starts with a rhythm section intro (see the lead sheet edition) which Joe further explores in the Coda. Joe starts with the A section of the melody, which he plays only once, then he solos (in a double-time feel) over the second A section trumpet. The double-time feel continues for his performance of the bridge. Instead of repeating the last A section of the melody to end this chorus, Joe improvises. The arrangement stays double-time feel with the piano then soloing from the bridge. Joe comes in after the bridge, hinting the melody, but basically soloing into the Coda, which he develops into a cadenza.
Both Joe Gordon's melodic treatment and solo from this recording as well as trumpeter Brian Lynch's entire performance from his great Unsung Heroes project are available in B-flat and C editions. Don Sickler: "It's always challenging to transcribe the rhythmic phrasing of a recorded ballad. In this case I transcribed recordings of two different trumpet players, Joe Gordon and Brian Lynch, playing Joe's composition Heleen. I've always been very interested in how artists interpret melodies, so when dealing with ballads I usually transcribe the whole performance, as I did here. As you'll hear, these are two gorgeous recorded performances."
Both Joe Gordon's melodic treatment and solo from this recording as well as trumpeter Brian Lynch's entire performance from his great Unsung Heroes project are available in B-flat and C editions. Don Sickler: "It's always challenging to transcribe the rhythmic phrasing of a recorded ballad. In this case I transcribed recordings of two different trumpet players, Joe Gordon and Brian Lynch, playing Joe's composition Heleen. I've always been very interested in how artists interpret melodies, so when dealing with ballads I usually transcribe the whole performance, as I did here. As you'll hear, these are two gorgeous recorded performances."
- Leadsheets $1.49 /ea
- Solos $6.99 /ea
- MP3 Audio Tracks $1.49 /ea
All selected items will be available for download after purchase.
- Recording: Brian Lynch - Unsung Heroes, Volume 2
- Recorded on: December 22, 2009
- Label: Hollistic Music Works (HMW 2)
- Concert Key: E-flat
- Style: Ballad
- Trumpet - Brian Lynch
- Piano - Rob Schneiderman
- Bass - David Wong
- Drums - Pete Van Nostrand
Video
- See Brian Lynch performing Joe Gordon's HELEEN. Brian Lynch - trumpet; Rob Schneiderman - piano; David Wong - bass; Pete Van Nostrand - drums. Especially check out Brian's solo, the transcription of which is available here.
Brian Lynch's "Unsung Heroes" Project paid tribute to trumpet player/composers with new versions of their music.
See all available titles from Volume 1 and Volume 2
See all available titles from Volume 1 and Volume 2
In 2008 Brian Lynch asked Second Floor Music for music written by trumpet players. As a SFM composer himself, Brian was aware that we publish the music of many jazz artist-composers. We first supplied Brian with a list of our trumpet-player composers, 40 of them. As he refined his project, we sent him lead sheets to consider. We're pleased that he chose SFM composers!
Complete information and audio clips on the Unsung Heroes project.
Complete information and audio clips on the Unsung Heroes project.
Brian Lynch Trumpet Transcription: This is a three-chorus arrangement on five pages. Brian plays the first A section of the melody rubato with piano accompanying. The rest of the rhythm section comes in with "time" at the repeat of the A section. The bridge melody is double-time feel, then ballad feel for the last A section. Brian then plays a whole chorus (double-time feel). Here's how he sets up and starts his solo chorus trumpet. The piano then solos for two A sections continuing the double-time feel, after which Brian solos on the bridge and returns to the ballad feel for the last A section, the Coda and a cadenza.
Both Joe Gordon's melodic treatment and solo from this recording as well as trumpeter Brian Lynch's entire performance from his great Unsung Heroes project are available in B-flat and C editions. Don Sickler: "It's always challenging to transcribe the rhythmic phrasing of a recorded ballad. In this case I transcribed recordings of two different trumpet players, Joe Gordon and Brian Lynch, playing Joe's composition Heleen. I've always been very interested in how artists interpret melodies, so when dealing with ballads I usually transcribe the whole performance, as I did here. As you'll hear, these are two gorgeous recorded performances."
Both Joe Gordon's melodic treatment and solo from this recording as well as trumpeter Brian Lynch's entire performance from his great Unsung Heroes project are available in B-flat and C editions. Don Sickler: "It's always challenging to transcribe the rhythmic phrasing of a recorded ballad. In this case I transcribed recordings of two different trumpet players, Joe Gordon and Brian Lynch, playing Joe's composition Heleen. I've always been very interested in how artists interpret melodies, so when dealing with ballads I usually transcribe the whole performance, as I did here. As you'll hear, these are two gorgeous recorded performances."
Joe Gordon
May 15, 1928 – Nov 4, 1963
Trumpeter Joe Gordon was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. As a teenager, he became a fan of the Count Basie band, and especially trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison. Later, Joe was impressed by a live performance of "Little" Benny Harris with the Coleman Hawkins/Don Byas group. Soon after, he took a modern music class at the New England Conservatory taught by trumpeter Fred Berman. Read more...