My Main Man – Jeanfrançois Prins

Our audio excerpt starts right at the top of the track, and immediately you'll hear that the melody is a delicate dialog between the guitar and the drummer. The melody weaves its way through an ABC format. A is an eleven-measure phrase, B is nine measures, and C expands to sixteen measures. The solo form is a separately written out AABA form. When the melody returns, the C section becomes fourteen measures, vamping on the last four measures for more solo space before setting up the ending. Wonderful dynamic contrast in the melody.

Jeanfrançois Prins is a Belgian guitarist and composer living in Berlin, Germany. He started recording in Brussels in 1988, and has recorded several albums as a leader as well as several albums with Judy Niemack, Lee Konitz, Toots Thielemans, Victor Lewis, Eddie Gomez, Darmon Meader, and Ray Drummond, to cite but a few.

As to the origin of this composition, Jeanfrançois says: "My Main Man refers to my father, Jeanpierre Prins. He always loved big bands (Duke and Basie of course, but also Lunceford and Hampton . . . ). So the idea for the tune was to give a trio impression of a big band tune."

Here, Jeanfrançois Prins captures the essence of a big band in a guitar trio format. However, as you can hear, he is also firmly operating within a modern conception of jazz guitar, incorporating floaty chromatic harmonies into his writing. Our two-page Chord Melody Transcription shows the voicings Prins plays in the appropriate octave, revealing the guitarist's acute sense of orchestration on the instrument as he seamlessly moves between single notes, double stops, five note voicings and more.

This is great material for the intermediate to advanced guitarist looking to expand their harmonic vocabulary.