Lester Young Transcription - Every Tub

Today's transcription is Lester Young's solo on "Every Tub," from the 1938 Count Basie Orchestra Decca recording. This is a rhythm changes tune (based on the chord progression occurring in George Gershwin's song "I Got Rhythm"). Lester makes great use of the augmented sound over a dominant chord. Almost the entire first A section is augmented triads!

A little big of history for ya: Lester Young's contributions to music might have only been surpassed by his contributions to the English language. Lester was an original through and through. So much so, he even had his own language. A lot of the colloquialisms we use today are often credited to Lester Young, you dig? Words like "dig" (to understand), "bread" (money), "crib" (home), and even "homeboy" are associated with Lester Young. The phrase "Every Tub" means "every man for himself." That last piece trivia is from Frank Büchmann-Møller's book, You Just Fight For Your Life: The Story of Lester Young. I highly recommend checking it out!

Enjoy!

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