Let's Learn Some Leo Parker: Transcription and Analysis of The Lion's Roar
Leo Parker’s acclaim as a baritone saxophonist has been hampered by his relative lack of output as a bandleader. He recorded two albums for the Blue Note label in 1961. The second of these, Rollin’ With Leo, was further held back by the label and only released in 1980. Parker struggled with substance abuse throughout his life; and, he passed away in 1962 at the age of 36 – my same age at this time of writing.
I first became acquainted with Parker’s work upon finding an album he did as part of the Bill Jennings/Leo Parker Quintet called Billy in the Lion’s Den in a used record store here in Seattle. I continued to explore his music, and have since used his tunes with students as he has a number of blues melodies that are simple and enjoyable for progressing jazz students.
I’m always searching for approachable transcriptions for some of my developing improvisers; and, after teaching this tune’s melody over the past week again, I decided to sit down and learn the baritone solo and subsequently notate it for further use and study.
As always, I believe that transcribing on the instrument should first be done as memorizing and playing along to the original solo without the aid of notation so as to fully immerse oneself in the sound of the musician being studied. After this process, I may consult or notate a score so as to be able to visually study the soloist’s improvisational language through another lense. In that sense, here are a few of my broad takeaways on Parkers solo from The Lion’s Roar (YouTube).
1. Parker mostly eschews the flat 7th on the I chord, instead favoring a major pentatonic and major blues sound. He also uses the major 7th “B” over the C7 chord – superimposing a major scale sound over the dominant tonality.
2. Parker’s language frequently draws him back to the “E” as he moves back to the I chord from the IV. One might expect this given the major-blues tonality as it provides the strongest guide tone movement back to the tonic; but, I found the repetition of this movement notable. The E-Eb movement is understandably present throughout the solo and placed with great clarity.
3. Historical blues and be-bop language are interspersed with sections that focus on tone color changes, culminating in a final chorus that is simply guttural timbral shifts on the tonic C.
One of my favorite sayings in my studio in regard to improvisation is that improvisation is sound. Too often it is easy to get swept up in the harmonic aspect of a composition and lose sight of the timbral possibilities that create a personal style. I think The Lion’s Roar showcases just how impactful a sound can be as it reaches its peak with a chorus a single note.
This transcription and more can be found under the materials page. Perhaps I’ll celebrate the rest of my 36th year by continuing to dive into the work of Leo Parker – more to come?!
