Growing up, I listened to the 1959 album Sonny Side Up (recorded in 1957) more times than I could ever count. As a saxophonist I was drawn into both Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins’ sound, phrasing, and mastery of the bebop language. When given the chance to transcribe a solo from 1940–1960 for a Jazz Improvisation class at college, I jumped at the opportunity to learn Stitt’s fantastic solo on On the Sunny Side of the Street.
You can listen to the recording on YouTube here.
Without further ado, here’s my transcription (pitched for Bb instruments):
If you are having trouble viewing the PDF above, view it here.
