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"Sheik of Araby" Tchan-Tchou Vidal transcription

HCPhillyHCPhilly Phila. PA✭✭✭✭
edited April 2009 in Licks and Patterns Posts: 147
Hey folks,
I know that we all wish we were as cool as somebody like "Tchan-Tchou," AKA Paul Vidal, but let's face it, the closest we'll really ever get is by learning his music. I first transcribed his classic "La Gitane"
because I wanted to really learn it and perform it, and I couldn't find any transcriptions that I thought were really accurate, so I ended up doing it myself, [best way to really learn anything, of course].
I really dig T.T's swingin' approach on songs like Sheik.
I'm not quite sure what he recorded this on, I'm sure
someone her knows all of the info, including his string gauges,
and what kind of razor he preferred, and it'll be posted here in like ten minutes :) Some of the photos show him playing a thin hollow body and some a Selmac. The track sounds a bit like a 'stimerized' Selmac, or maybe a hollow body electric with heavy flatwound strings, [wow, I guess I'm a Django dork/nerd too]! :shock:
I have Sheik on a few CD's including "Gipsy Jazz School," a first rate compilation on Iris Music. [almost worth buying for the great liner notes and photos].
The notes say that the recording is circa 1960, and it's titled "The Cheik of Araby." I transcribed his 1st solo chorus, starting on his fill after the melody. One of the really cool things about his playing is that he
has such a nice sense of swing, and often is playing fairly simple ideas
surrounded by lots of space, [this ties into what I was saying a day or two ago about less being more, etc.] I didn't notate all of the rhythmic nuances, [much of that is implied in performance anyway].
The song has been covered by a lot of folks, including of course
Benny Goodman, Louie Prima and Django and his heirs. According to Wiki it was also recorded by the Beatles for their failed Decca audition.
Don Albert recorded the 1st version of it with the famous group response line, [With no pants on] :lol: it as generally banned from radio airplay because of that, [goes to show how much times have changed]! Louie Prima and crew cleaned it up by saying "With no turban on," [that's how we do it, say it that is]! There is a cool verse to the piece that I found online, but I have never heard anybody perform it.
[BTW, If you really want to hear some mighty swingn' listen to ANYTHING by Louie and Sam Butera. I don't think anybody plays swing like that now, and that's kind of a shame. It's a lost art. Hell, half of Sam Butera's solos were mostly one note!
Anyhow, check out the transcription, and let me know if this stuff is helpful to all you budding hipsters.
Barry
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Comments

  • RollerpunkRollerpunk Toulouse, FranceNew
    Posts: 17
    Hello,

    Is it possible to get your transcription of "La Gitane" by Tchan-Tchou ?
  • HCPhillyHCPhilly Phila. PA✭✭✭✭
    Posts: 147
    RollerPunk,

    Yes, it is possible to get a transcription of la Gitane.
    Send a pack of French cigarettes and a used wegan pick..
    Just kidding, I'm posting it here.
    I used Tchan-Tchou's recording and also Angelo Debarre's as refersnces to come up with a version that would be more or less standarized and possible to reproduce live.
    There are bits that T.T. or Angelo plays slightly differntly each time.
    I smoothed those parts out to make it playable.
    I have a page of transcriptions on my band's site,
    WWW.hotcluphilly.com I'll be adding to it.
    there's also band in the box play along files there.
    Good luck, and let me know how you make out with it.
    B
  • BonesBones Moderator
    Posts: 3,319
    Hi Barry,

    Great transcriptions! Can you post an mp3 of the recordings? It's nice to be able to hear it while working on the transcriptions.

    Thanks
  • BonesBones Moderator
    Posts: 3,319
    Hi Barry,

    Great transcriptions! Can you post an mp3 of the recordings? It's nice to be able to hear it while working on the transcriptions.

    Thanks
  • HCPhillyHCPhilly Phila. PA✭✭✭✭
    Posts: 147
    Bones,
    Thanks for the feedback. It takes alot of time to do these,
    so hearing some positive feedback is good to hear.
    I'm really swamped with music biz stuff right now,
    so I won't have time to post mp3's right now.
    Maybe someone else on the forum can step up to help.
    "La Gitane" is an amalgam of Angelo's version, taken from his on the Gypsy Guitars CD. I've seen Tchan-Tchou's recording of his classic waltz
    and "Sheik] on a few CD's including Gipsy Jazz School on Iris.
    Like I said, maybe someone here can post MP3's.
    Also, I'd suggest picking up the Cd's if you can, [ I'm sure that Michael stocks them]. They're really worth having, [consider it an investment in your continuing education] :D . Angelo's Gypsy Guitars
    is IMHO a really important CD. I'd recommend it to anybody who is serious about learning G.J. guitar. Gipsy Jazz school is very good too, it is a good overview.
    The best thing to do is use a program to slow down the track and play along with it to help in capturing the nuances. I'd also recommend "Band in the box" for play along tracks. [Very user friendly program. Like having
    a rhythm section that's always ready to play. Any song at any tempo, and doesn't need beer or food and won't get lost in the form :wink:
    I have BIB files posted on my Hot Club Philly site, and I'll add Sheik ASAP. I'll take requests for BIB files, Simply print them on the back of a 20 dollar bill, no make that a 40 Euro note :D Seriously, send in a request, and I'll try to do them when I can.
    My students here have been using BIB, and it seems to be a big help.
    If you don't have a program to slow tracks down, try the amazing Slowdowner. You can download it online, [it was $39 last I checked, and worth every penny]. I use it all the time.
    Good luck,
    Barry
  • HCPhillyHCPhilly Phila. PA✭✭✭✭
    Posts: 147
    Here's an mp3 for Sheik
  • RollerpunkRollerpunk Toulouse, FranceNew
    Posts: 17
    Thanks Barry for the "La Gitane" transcription, no time to hear it yet but i'm very interested since i've never seen a accurate transcription of this tune, it's often in my opinion not so close to the spirit of the Tchan-Tchou original version. which is amazing. But the one from Angelo is amazing too by the way !
    I've not the skills to play it nice yet (just 16 monthes of gj), but it's one of my dreams to play it right one day, so i will tell you if it helps me a lot, and how !
  • RollerpunkRollerpunk Toulouse, FranceNew
    Posts: 17
    For BIB, i've not heard, but i would have thought that it sounds too digital no ? I mean compared to playalong files of "pompe" like the ones from Stephane Wrembel for example.
  • HCPhillyHCPhilly Phila. PA✭✭✭✭
    Posts: 147
    RP,
    BIB has it's advantages. Yes it's MIDI, but you can program any song that you want to play. It also has a soloing funcyion which is amazing. And you can print out the solos that it generates, on and on, too many cool functions to list.
    If you are serious about learning jazz, I'd say get it ASAP.
    B
  • BonesBones Moderator
    Posts: 3,319
    Thanks Barry. I'll check it out!

    I wish I had your computer skills. I have a couple of transciptions/arrangements I'd like to post but learning PTAB was a bit daunting to me.

    Maybe if I get some free time I'll try again.
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