The Greatest Sax Solo Of All Time

Performed by: Pee Wee Ellis (sax)
Song: Tupelo Honey (Van Morrison)
Transcribed by: Tom Pickles

faq:
Q: how old are you / A: i'm in high school!
Q: how are you related to jacob collier? / A: i'm not, we just have the same last name
Q: how do you transcribe? / A: i use musescore for notation and 'Transcribe!' for beat marking, slowing down etc
Q: do you have perfect pitch? / A: no
Q: why are some videos not transcribed by you? / A: sometimes other people submit transcriptions, most are commissioned from others who can do a better job than i can. i want to make sure you see the best transcriptions possible!

[GeorgeCollier]

I really love the last phrase of this performance. It’s just so smooth and feels so complete. If you're a sax player and want to take a crack at this, post a link to the video in this comment!!

[Elfhugger]

Would anyone else be interested if Mr. Collier took his transcriptions from these videos and sat world class musicians in front of that sheet music and see what they could produce? Not only see Mr. Collier's ability at transcribing but the talent of sight reading and musical interpretation/expression of the artists?

[MrGreatplum]

The late great Pee Wee Ellis! I’ve been lucky enough to see Van Morrison over 30 times and Pee Wee was often in his band - some of the call and answer stuff he did with Van was epic!

[jbtrumpet]

I didn't think it was gonna be the greatest sax solo of all time and then I watched and it's the greatest sax solo of all time

[IhatrYT]

You’ve made so many of these “you can’t make a ___ sing” to the point where I’m like heck yes it can if you transcribed it

[sammbee]

To be fair I don’t think anyone thought you COULDN’T make the sax sing

[pauldavies]

I like how he even wrote 'slightly ahead' on those triplets lol

[sambernaldross]

I was lucky enough to have a lesson with Pee Wee, who lived near to me. Incredible man and legendary player! He offered regular lessons, but it sadly wasn't possible - his playing always remains iconic so many years later!

[bingusmctingus]

Tupelo Honey, a perfect song for the day today. Thanks George for your content.

[wilberforce]

The double drum kits really provide a solid base

[danball]

I lack music theory knowledge and I sure as hell understand almost nothing from the transcripts, but I do like your taste. Thank you for showing me some great music and hopefully you'll never get bored of sharing this!

[shanef]

That was brilliant and your also amazing at finding and transposing these videos for us. We really appreciate your hard work

[robertkelly]

The precision and control are just outstanding.

[rhmayer]

Saw Pee Wee Ellis in some jazz group back in the '80's at a jazz club in San Francisco. I'll never forget how good he was. That's the reason I clicked this when it came up. I didn't even know he played with Van Morrison. Great solo. (Great transcription!)

[jimmythebold]

I met pee wee at a music camp when i was twelve. i taught myself to play trombone and electric bass the week i was there, and put a band together to play some pat benatar songs (late 70s). he was super nice, and told my i could go far in music, given my skills. alas, i never did. i also met brad gillis, who played guitar in my band, as well as patty smythe who sang, this was before either of them were famous. brad wore that flight suit EVERY DAY, lol... i also mixed for first time at the mixing board, the sound guy was a legend, frank catero, he said i was very good at mixing, although it was the first time. i was young and had no idea who any of these people were, but it was a great time. this was in Marin, in the hills at an abandoned army barracks...

[SapioTV]

Uh that really tugged on my heart strings. Thanks for the wonderful transcription beginning the New Year

[steveha]

This solo is truly breathtaking. Pee Wee Ellis was an amazing saxophonist and composer. One of the very best.

[quintennnnn]

Love the work you do! Kinda surprising to me that there is such a large audience for this kind of content.

[jonahbrame]

That is a full on concerto cadenza. The journey he went on was completely coherent and resolved beautifully at the end.

[RabidRiddinRabbits]

Fucking goosebumps. I'm ab to bust my sax back out after like 10 years thank you for the inspiration