And so I must ask a question…What makes the perfect solo?

First, a little background. This afternoon I broke out the old LPs for a little fun. The weather was wonderful, the windows were all open, and Oliver was playing with his cars. Of course, he must first come over to the record player and twirl his finger in a circle above his head to imitate the vinyl going around while the music is playing. And then, of course, he must dance a little and try to snap his fingers. 

So where am I going with this? After listening to one of my favorite albums, the soundtrack to the movie Round Midnight, I broke out a little Herbie. I broke out the album Maiden Voyage. This is a such a great album. Herbie at his best with a great ensemble of Anthony Williams, Ron Carter, George Coleman, and of course the great Indy trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. It reminds me of a couple of our popular ‘nailed it’ shows Richard and I have done in the past. Herbie Hancock might just be a  Nailed It album.

So where am I going with this? It all came from Freddie Hubbard’s solo on the title track ‘Maiden Voyage.’ Now this is an album and tune I have heard many times throughout my life. However this time it struck me. This solo by mister Indy himself is perfect in my humble opinion. Everything about it fits: the syncopations, the rhythms, the melodic development. It is perfect. No matter what, I know I will have to pick the needle up and lay back down at the beginning of Freddie’s solo at least three times just to listen to it again. My foot will be tapping, my head will shaking in awe, and I’ll be smiling.

So where am I going with this? I wonder what others think are the perfect solo. So I lay this down to Rich…let’s start a series on our show about our ‘perfect solos’ for each instrument found in the standard jazz setting. Sorry Mark Ortwein, we will be skipping electric bassoon. Let’s even invite one guest for each show and let them pick their one favorite ‘perfect solo’ for instrument of that show. 

Now unfortunately we will be unable to play this show on our awesome website. However, we will try to set up a Spotify playlist with the tunes we play on each show so our faithful readers can still hear the music.

So Richard, what say you? Do you like where I am going with this?

Matthew