Sonny Rollins on "I Know That You Know"

Sonny Rollins's stop-time solo on "I Know That You Know" seems to be one of those touchstone tenor solos—a benchmark in the mainstream tenor tradition like Hawk's "Body and Soul" or Lester's "Shoeshine Boy." I'd transcribed this solo some time ago, but had been sitting on it; somehow, I managed continually to procrastinate learning this one, but I finally got around to it this week. I've never heard anybody call this tune on a session, and I also noticed that's not so easy to track down a leadsheet via Real Books; is it just me, or did this tune end of slipping through the cracks over time?

This piece on the twin recording sessions, Duets and Sonny Side Up, refers to "a classic 1928 recording by Jimmie Noonie" of "I Know That You Know," which is easily accessible thanks to YouTube:




After playing "Tea for Two" at a session the other day, my friend, the pianist, blogger, and super-nerd Martin Porter, remarked, "Vincent Youmans is the shit." Some very catchy compositions, for sure, although I'm not so sure about the lyrics. Anne Caldwell wrote the lyrics to "I Know That You Know," which sound almost like Pynchon's parodies of American songbook lyrics, e.g.,

I know that you know 

That I'll go where you go 

I choose you, won't lose you 

I wish you knew how much I long to hold you in my arms 

 

This time is my time 

T'will soon be goodbye time 

Then in the star light, hold me tight 

With one more little kiss say nighty night 

Make of that what you will. Here's the solo:

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