Solos

A guest post by my friend Chris Bell, who plays bass. We are too shy to have played together, but my impression is that he is rather good. Certainly our musical tastes overlap a bit. He writes about his Twitter list of Top Twenty Solos:

I’ve favoured great solos in song context rather than solo tunes in their own right. It’s a personal list, not intended as definitive. Disclaimer: Many choices are arbitrary (which Monk, Bird, Hendrix solo to choose?) and the ranking and any omissions personal taste.  Miles Davis's solo on ‘So What’ from Kind of Blue was omitted from my highly subjective Top 20 only for space reasons.

1. Ernie Isley, guitar, ‘Summer Breeze’, The Isley Brothers, 3 + 3

2. Frank Zappa, guitar, ‘Watermelon In Easter Hay’, Joe’s Garage

3. Carlos Santana, guitar, ‘Song of the Wind’, Santana, Caravanserai

4. Jaco Pastorius, bass, ‘Used To Be A Cha Cha’, Jaco Pastorius 

5. Josef Zawinul, keyboards, ‘A Remark You Made’, Weather Report, 8.30

6. Chet Baker, trumpet, ‘Shipbuilding’, Elvis Costello, Punch The Clock

7. Thelonious Monk, piano, ‘Ruby My Dear’, The Complete Blue Note Thelonious Monk

8. Charlie Parker, alto sax, ‘Ko-Ko’, The Charlie Parker Story (Savoy Jazz)

9. Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter, guitar, ‘My Old School’, Steely Dan, Countdown To Ecstasy

10. Jimi Hendrix, guitar, ‘Third Stone From The Sun’, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced

11. Jimmy T. Zavala, blues harp, ‘Missionary Man’, Eurythmics, Revenge

12. David Lindley, lap steel guitar, ‘Detox Mansion’, Warren Zevon, Sentimental Hygiene

13. John Coltrane, tenor sax, ‘Giant Steps’, Giant Steps

14. John Martyn, guitar, ‘Johnny Too Bad’, Grace and Danger

15. Steve Gadd, drums, ‘Aja’, Steely Dan, Aja

16. Wayne Shorter, soprano sax, ‘Aja’, Steely Dan, Aja

17. Herbie Hancock, piano, ‘Kuru/Speak Like A Child’, Jaco Pastorius

18. Terry Bozzio, drums, ‘The Black Page (New Age Version)’, Frank Zappa, Make a Jazz Noise Here

19. Ruth Underwood, marimbas, ‘Saint Alphonso’s Pancake Breakfast’, Frank Zappa, Apostrophe (’)

20. Joe Morello, drums, ‘Take Five’, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Time Out

Personally I’d have some Richard Thompson, Eric Dolphy, Amos Garrett, Lonnie Mack, Cannonball Adderley, Albert King, Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew and possibly Split Enz’s Noel Crombie on spoons. But then, what to ditch? 

Anyway, Chris expects to be argued with. Feel free to do so in the comments.