Transcription Book Supervised by Takao Miyanoue

Transcription Book Supervised by Takao Miyanoue

Our site strives to be “All About Wes,” and as part of that, we’ve introduced several transcription books under “Wes-related Books.” However, we missed including a book supervised by Takao Miyanoue, published in 1985. Despite diligently visiting music stores back then, I regretfully overlooked this, which feels like losing a perfect game in the final inning. This oversight is both embarrassing and deeply regrettable.

Music magazines sometimes feature one or two transcriptions, but a book entirely dedicated to Wes should never be missed. This particular transcription book came to light when our Yokohama correspondent, Mr. Aoki, attended Mr. Miyanoue’s live performance. During the event, Mr. Miyanoue pointed out this omission, indicating that he also visits our site, which led to this discovery. Consequently, I contacted Mr. Miyanoue by letter, and he kindly allowed me to borrow this precious book.

Transcription is a painstaking and diligent task, an essential process for aspiring jazz musicians. Wes himself mentioned in interviews that he used to slow down his open-reel deck to pick up Coltrane’s phrases note by note. This method, emulated by many, is a valuable learning technique. Both Wes and musicians like Mr. Miyanoue and Mr. Koizumi can play without sheet music because of their exceptional ear training, almost like having a tape recorder in their heads—truly enviable and a sign of genius. Although Wes once said, “No one is a genius from the start,” being able to say that is itself a mark of genius, the result of prolonged effort. Nevertheless, it’s remarkable.