[Gtzortzakis]

Hi guys, I’m looking for some recordings with polyrhythmic phrasing to listen to and perhaps transcribe. Any suggestions?

[dneo]

Hey Gtzortzakis! Lots of recordings for you to check out, but these two come to mind first. Four and more by Miles Davis (the Miles Davis quartet basically established the whole polyrhythmic thing for jazz, at least the way I see it..), and also Standard time vol.1 by Wynton Marsalis, which is another classic full of polyrhythmic interplay. Have fun! If you get around to transcribing any of that stuff, sharing it would be highly appreciated!

[JulianT]

Hello everyone!
A few examples of great polyrhythmic playing...

Israel/ Bill Evans trio
https://youtu.be/WGdr93tnNMk
Drums and bass play 2:3 (dotted quarter notes) for the first three solo choruses.

Anthropology/ Melhdau and Rossy trio (When I fall in love)
https://youtu.be/78A8eef77CM
1&2 solo choruses: the drummer accents every 3 beats so it sounds like 3/4 time signature over 4/4 (which is the time signature of the song)
3&4 solo choruses: 2:3 (dotted quarter notes) -also 3/4 over 4/4 again at the 2nd A..
Brad's solo is full of groupings and polyrhythmic phrases...too difficult to describe...

Blues for Gwen/ McCoy Tyner (Inception)
https://youtu.be/H85micUTdbk
9th solo chorus (2:15) : McCoy plays a 3/4 phrase almost for the whole chorus.
14th solo chorus (3:20) : McCoy plays a 2:3 phrase for the first 8 bars.
(I have to transcribe this stuff right now!!!)

So what/ Miles Davis (four and more)
https://youtu.be/s8b5i3YGy9c
Amazing interaction between Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams. They often play dotted quarter notes phrases (2:3). Check at 5:25, 7:10 and 7:33...
Tony also plays a 3/4 swing rhythm over 2 quarter notes. A 3:2 polyrhythm.

Autumn leaves/ Chet Baker-Paul Desmond
https://youtu.be/Gsz3mrnIBd0
(5:20) : Dotted quarter notes once again! A 2:3 phrase for almost 8 bars in the Rhodes solo, I think it's Steve Gadd on the drums.

Humpty Dumpty/ Chick Corea acoustic band
https://youtu.be/LZWrtZIGHd4
Everybody plays 2:3 except me..
(5:17) : A classic Chick's lick over the B section.

Oleo/ Pat Martino
https://youtu.be/XTuMY9N49wc
Second solo chorus (0:47) : Pat plays eight notes in groups of three over the first A section.


To be continued..

[Gtzortzakis]

Wow thanks guys! that's more than enough to keep me busy for quite some time! keep it coming!