Red Baron

Drummer Billy Cobham of Mahavishnu Orchestra fame, made his most enduring contribution too the genre of jazz – fusion with his classic recording “Spectrum”. The 1973 album featured: Joe Farrell, flute, saxophones; John Tropea, guitar, and Ray Barretto, congas.

Studio legend Lee Sklar, played bass on the original version of ‘Red Baron’ and did a fine job of it. In 2001 bassist extraordinaire Marcus Miller released “M2″ and recorded an even funkier version (in my opinion) of ‘Red Baron’ and burned the tune even deeper into the jazz/fusion repertoire. Marcus changed the key of the song and of course the bass plays the melody.

This tune is a must know for all bassist regardless of which version you learn. I highly recommend learning as much of Marcus’ bass solo as possible and while you’re at it, go ahead and transcribe the solo yourself! Until next time, keep it funky.”

Click below to download the original as well as the Marcus Miller transcription
Original_Red_Baron
Marcus_Red_Baron