Transcription: Old Man River

Tune: Old Man River
Composer: Jerome Kern
From the album: Autumn In Paris
Leader of the session: Count Basie
Recorded: November 12, 1957
CD: Magic Compact Discs DAWE 13
Transcription: starts at 0'48"; ends at 1'29"
Tempo: 350(!) beats per minute

This transcription illustrates Freddie playing "one note chords" on this blazingly rapid chart that features the pyrotechnics of drummer Sonny Payne. Freddie's solid right hand technique is also on display as he executes downstrokes at the rate of 6 per second! The guitar is quite audible in this live recording from the Olympia Theatre in Paris, France.

Measures 33 to 47 are not transcribed because Freddie's exact notes are masked by the band. His guitar can be felt in this section, playing on beats 2 and 4.

Freddie's guitar part stays within the range of a minor sixth, F to Db. The transcribed notes show only the pitches that can be definitely discerned. For details on playing "one note chords", see the Lessons and Techniques section of this web site.

Transcribed by Michael Pettersen
June 2008