Toe to Toe
Streetlight Manifesto, Baritone Saxophone Solo
Song by Tomas Kalnoky, Solo by Mike Brown

This is a short but extremely tasteful solo by Mike Brown from Streetlight Manifesto's The Hands That Thieve. It's a little different from a lot of my other transcriptions, but after being introduced to the track by my girlfriend Maria, I had to check it out. Harmonically the track stays pretty solidly in the key of E, and a lot of the solo is just riffs on E major pentatonic. One exception is the frequent deviation to the minor third, G natural, which is just straight blues. You'll notice that in the context of a longer phrase, Mike sticks to the major third, but uses the minor third when he's starting a phrase or after some space.
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Rhythmically, the solo is played way behind the time. And while there is an element of swing, it needs to be executed with a degree of swagger. The accents included in the transcription are an indication of space as much as they are of emphasis. This is a solo that would be close to impossible to imitate without hearing the recording first. So check out the recording below and see if you can play along.
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Please feel free to email me if you have any questions (or disagreements!) with me about this transcription, I welcome your feedback!
Solo at 1:40
Year of the Cat
Al Stewart, Alto Saxophone Solo
Song by Al Stewart, Solo by Phil Kenzie

While this solo is in many ways a prototypical rock and roll sax solo, it is never the less technically impressive and well executed. Phil Kenzie pushes his sound write to the edge of what still is a round, musical tone, and unlike many rock solos utilizes the full range of the instrument in the first solo. The second is much more limited to a vamp on the C# minor pentatonic scale above F#, but soars nicely in a counterpoint above the rest of the band.
Solo at 4:11
Heart of the Night
Poco, Alto Saxophone Solo
Song by Paul Cotton, Solo by Phil Kenzie

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Solo at 2:53