"Down Wylie Avenue" - Sheet Music Download
To celebrate Erroll’s 99th birthday and what would have been the beginning of his 100th journey around the sun, we are giving away a new transcription of one of Erroll’s compositions. Enter your email address at the bottom of this page to receive sheet music for Erroll Garner’s “Down Wylie Avenue” from Ready Take One (2016).
“Down Wylie Avenue” was discovered in the Erroll Garner archives during research for 2016’s Ready Take One album. Titled by fellow Gemini and founding member of the Erroll Garner project, Geri Allen, “Down Wylie Avenue” is named for the roadway that runs through Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District.
“Down Wylie Avenue” begins deceptively as a standard Bb blues, but after the second chorus slides into the eight-bar bridge to “I Got Rhythm.” Technically, then, “Down Wylie Avenue” is a 44-bar AABAABCAAB song form! And this from a man renowned for his inability to “read music.” - from Dr. Robin D.G. Kelley’s 2016 Liner notes
And we want to see your covers! Post your cover of “Down Wylie Avenue” to Instagram or Facebook so we can share the cover with other fans. Remember to tag us (Instagram / Facebook) and use hashtag #downwylieavenue so that we can find your posts! Feel free to get creative with your interpretations and instrumentation. As Erroll often said, “I’ll take you out as far as you want to go, but I’ll always bring you back home.” Let’s have some fun!