Transcription: Magic Flea

Tune: Magic Flea
Composer: Sammy Nestico
From the album: Count Basie - Wild & Swingin'
Leader of the session: Count Basie
Recorded: July 23, 1968
CD: Fuel 2000 Records 302 061 352 2
Transcription: starts at 0'14"; ends at 0'39"
Tempo: 306 beats per minute

This thirty-two measure transcription illustrates Freddie playing "one note chords" on this very fast tune. The guitar is quite audible on this live recording made by Radio Europe 1 at the Antibes Jazz Festival in Juan les Pins, France.

Freddie's part stays within the range of a perfect fifth, F to C. The transcribed notes show only the pitches that can be definitely discerned. For details on playing "one note chords", see the Lessons and Techniques section of this web site.

Bar 4: The B dim chord can be heard as a G7-9 moving to the Cm7 in bar 5. In bar 4, Freddie replaces the B dim with Dm7 - G7 (ii- V progression resolving to the Cm7).

Bar 27 - The guitar chart has a Bb6 for the entire bar. Freddie substitutes a D7 on beats 3 and 4 leading to the G7-9 in bar 28. This substitution accentuates the strong chromatic bass line that begins on Eb (bar 25), to E (bar 26), to F (bar 27), to F# (bar 27), to G (bar 28).

Bar 32 - The guitar chart has a B dim for the entire bar. Freddie does not play this chord, but instead continues the Bb6 tonality with his choice of notes. Perhaps this was an error, or perhaps he preferred the Bb6 to the written B dim.

Important: The chord diagrams illustrate probable fingering forms used by Freddie Green based on extensive research conducted by the primary contributors to this web site. As there is no video record of this recording session, Freddie's exact fingerings will never be known.

An "x" indicates that a finger is placed on the string, but the string is not fully pushed down to make contact with the fret.
A "black dot" indicates that a finger is placed on the string, the string is pushed down to make contact with the fret, and is the first chord form in a measure.
A "white dot" indicates that a finger is placed on the string, the string is pushed down to make contact with the fret, and is the second chord form in a measure.
If there is no "x", "black dot", or "white dot", the string is fully damped by a finger of the left hand.

Left hand fingerings are not included; experiment to find fingerings that work for your technique. Note that Freddie often used his left thumb on the sixth string.

Transcribed by Michael Pettersen
July 2004