My Favorite Things – Complete Solo Jazz Piano Transcription (Paul Tobey)

The adventure opens with a spellbinding rubato introduction in 4/4, featuring lush right-hand third intervals that challenge and reward your coordination while painting the melody in intimate, searching strokes. Slowly, seamlessly, it slips into a swinging 3/4 waltz at a bright ♩ = 160 — a tempo that keeps the energy dancing and alive.

Paul states the head rubato over this evolving landscape, then locks into the up-tempo swing with well-placed grace notes and those signature ascending third patterns adding elegance and drive. The groove never lets up through the solo choruses, where the real fireworks begin: bebop scales weave effortlessly with blues scales and greasy riffs, punctuated by terrific left-hand cluster voicings and plenty of modern quartal voicings that nod directly to the iconic John Coltrane approach, giving the whole piece a fresh, contemporary edge.

Triplet patterns cascade through the right hand, interspersed with swinging eighth-note lines, building relentlessly — and by page 10 you’re tackling blazing 16th-note runs that demand precision and abandon in equal measure. Block chords punch through the texture for that classic horn-like authority, driving the improvisation to a thrilling climax before a clever vamp ushers in the final head.

The coda delivers one last flourish: freely played blues riffs that resolve into a soulful, descending blues pattern, leaving the listener satisfied and smiling as the final chord fades.This meticulously detailed transcription captures every nuance — every grace note, every voicings shift, every rhythmic subtlety — in clean, readable notation ready for serious study or performance.

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To watch the full performance of this transcription click the video below…