Last updated on October 17, 2024

Maceo Parker alto saxophone solo transcription on Cold Sweat by James Brown & Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis from Soundtrack album (Minor Music 1994). This take was recorded during live concerts at Fabrik in Hamburg, Germany on April 12, 13, & 14, 1994.

Cold Sweat developed from an earlier James Brown R&B song, I Don’t Care, recorded in 1962 and first released on the album Tour the U.S.A.

Cold Sweat can make a credible claim to being the first funk song, Pee Wee Ellis co-wrote the track, merging his jazz sensibility with Brown’s R&B. Pee Wee Ellis, who had a jazz background, was a saxophone player in the band. He based the repeating horns riff on the Miles Davis song So What, which has a similar structure.

There are eflat and bflat versions of this Maceo Parker solo transcription on Cold Sweat, available at transcriptions page.

Keep practicing and have fun!