“Oleo” is a tune written by Sonny Rollins, the legendary saxophonist, in 1954 and first released on the Miles Davis album “Bags’ Groove” in 1957. You can listen to the tune, made available on YouTube by Prestige Jazz here.

UPDATED 25 Jan 2022: Now includes PDFs for all major instrument keys

Miles takes the first solo after the head, crafting a relatively simple solo that, true to the Miles style, says what the artist wants to say—nothing more and nothing less. The faster passages are balanced by a quarter note motif and even entire measures of rest.

Óleo is the Portuguese word for “oil” and is also used in English as an infrequent synonym for margarine. The title reminds me of the 1947 Dizzy Gillespie tune, “Manteca” (Spanish for “lard”), and the 2013 Wycliffe Gordon big band tune, “Grease Bucket.” Apparently, lipids are a favorite topic for jazz artists.

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TRANSCRIPTION: "Oleo," Miles Davis' solo