Mark Egan – Bass

I bought this record shortly after it came out along with the sequel, ‘American Garage’. For a long time, I could never understand why Egan was replaced by Rodby but I have since gained a greater insight into Metheny’s vision. Nevertheless, these first two albums very much have their own identity and Egan and drummer Danny Gottlieb are very much a part of that.

The opening solo for the tune ‘April Joy’ was something of an eye-opener for me in terms of what the bass as a solo voice could do. I actually learned the whole of these two albums note for note at the time, although I had very little idea what I was doing. The transcription is for that delightful solo only. A melodic exercise that I have put here in two versions; an ‘as is’ transcription and an 8 va version for those who don’t like to read too far up onto the ledger lines. A short thing to chew on whilst I continue to work on another longer piece.