Here is another insane tenor sax solo by Sam Dillon. Believe it or not, this is Cherokee at 400 beats per minute. Yes, you read that correctly……. It’s just a fact of life that if you lock a jazz musician in a room in isolation or quarantine, they will not survive without a clear unfathomable goal and musical purpose. For some unknown reason, Sam Dillon and the bass player Yosuke have decided that their purpose in life while in isolation is to play Cherokee as fast as humanly possible. I will warn you now that if high speeds scare you, you might want to put on your seatbelt before pushing the play button on the video below (some motion sickness pills might help also…..).
The second page of this solo was especially hard to transcribe because Sam was laying so far behind the beat on some of these lines that it was difficult sometime to tell what note was “supposed” to be on one. I think I came pretty close in transcribing it. I had to really hone in on Yosuke’s bass notes and actually work backward for the last 12 bars of the solo.
Well done guys! This pandemic better end soon or all these great jazz players in isolation will convert every tune from the great American songbook to 400+ tempos and random odd meters just to keep themselves entertained!
Sam Dillon-Tenor Saxophone
If you want to check out more from Sam Dillon you can read Sam’s bio here on his website. He also has a great CD recently released called “Force Field” and an older CD of standards called “Out in the Open” that you can check out! Also, do yourself a favor and go to this page from his website with a Slow Blues on it! You can definitely tell Sam has studied the lines of John Coltrane right? I also have a few other transcriptions of Sam Dillon’s solo here.
My wife always asks me why I have to practice so much? Well, it’s because of young guys like Sam who remind us all that we need to practice! Thanks for the great solo and inspiration! Feel free to leave any thoughts or comments you might have in the comments section below this post after you pick yourself up off the floor!. Steve
Sam Dillon “Cherokee” 400bpm Tenor Sax Solo
Cherokee 400bpm-Sam Dillon Bb PDF
Cherokee 400bpm-Sam Dillon Concert Key PDF
