Students of Emily’s work will be thrilled with this detailed transcription of Remler’s tribute to Herb Ellis from musician, Robert Strait of New York. It includes exhaustive notation with wonderfully accurate fingerings, articulations and accents. Rob put his heart and soul into ensuring its authenticity to Emily’s style and to also make it comprehendible for all levels of inspiring guitarists.

” I’ve always loved Emily’s playing, but never really stopped to figure out why. She just seemed to have that THING…that special thing that makes you love a player but seems elusive when you try to categorize it. Since I’ve been transcribing, it’s really become apparent to me how my favorite players have a quality of phrasing that is truly special and can never be transferred to the written page. Emily has that. She was a master of phrasing, rhythm, and time and she did it all at will, effortlessly, the same way the greatest of players do. In addition, she had tremendous melodic and harmonic sensibilities and a wonderful sense of invention.

The tune “Blues for Herb” has all of that. The first time I heard it, my jaw hit the floor. The head is so classic AND inventive. Her solo is incredible…it has soul, feeling, tone, and unbelievable phrasing and timing. It’s harmonically simple AND incredibly complex. Emily also executes melodic tension and release in this solo with a master’s touch. She uses chromaticism, chord substitution, and other devices to take the solo really outside at times but she NEVER loses her connection to the melody. Transcribing it has been challenging because her rhythmic phrasing is often impossible to get on the page. It’s definitely up there with my favorite jazz blues solos of all time. There is a lifetime of study to be had from this one solo.   Listening and studying her music has been an enlightening and essential endeavor.”

Robert Strait   

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