Stevie Wonder on "Giant Steps"
Disclaimer: I'm a Stevie Wonder fan, and I just wrote a five page paper on Innervisions for an African-American Studies class that surveys black American popular music from the '40s to the present. Being familiar with Wonder's melodic prowess, particularly on his various harmonica solos, and his harmonic sophistication ( e.g. , the harmonies on "Too High"!), I wasn't especially surprised to hear from a friend that Stevie often plays "Giant Steps" in concert. I was surprised, though, to hear how quickly Stevie takes the tune in a live recording from 2002 called Night School: An Evening with Stanley Clark & Friends . Stevie and Regina Carter play through the head together and Stevie takes two choruses at this burning tempo: As a break from studying, I thought I'd transcribe some Stevie and check out what he was up to. Here's the transcription: * * * * * In other news, I've added an Upcoming page to the blog. I'll