John Patitucci – Bass

What a player, what a band and what an arrangement. The Dave Grusin ‘West Side Story’ album has never been far away from my cd player since I got hold of my first copy when it came out in 1997. The whole album is a masterpiece of big band arranging but the rhythm section of Patitucci and Dave Weckl create an energy that I find exhilarating to this day. I have always wanted to get inside this bass part but the technology had never allowed me to do it justice until now.

So, here is another ‘bucket list’ transcription (I hope to get through the whole recording in time. This is the complete John Patitucci performance of ‘America’ from the 1997 Dave Grusin album, ‘West Side Story’. There are some real challenges; the tempo for a start, but the bulk of the chart is in 7:8 and the way the notes tie makes it challenging to read initially but, once you start to see the way the notes fall, it gets a lot easier and you would be surprised how logical it becomes.