It was only during June, 2025, after the passing of Brian Wilson, that I finally decided to share at Facebook my Lead Sheet/Mini-Score for "Don't Worry Baby" (No te preocupes nena) written by Wilson and Roger Christian for the Beach Boys. I had first posted those pages at KHAN'S KORNER 2 in 2003, and that was some 6 years after the Tim Weston produced CD, "WOULDN'T IT BE NICE": A Jazz Portrait of Brian Wilson(Blue Note Contemporary) had been released in 1997. These days, posts that are shared at websites do not seem to really attract much traffic so, one never really knows, who might reading them or listening to them. With that in mind, I was very pleasantly surprised, even shocked, by the super positive reaction to the Facebook post, now 22 years later. After having read so many glowing comments about my guitar work on this track, I decided to do something that I had never envisioned doing before, and that would be, to actually transcribe what I had played, especially the solo section and a bit beyond.
    In looking back over the Mini-Score from 1996 and the actual recording session, I could see that I had written out Wilson's melody based more upon the way that the Beach Boys had sung it than how I had actually played in on the guitar within the rhythmic context of a Cha-cha-cha. Frankly, I was just too lazy to rewrite the entire mini-score again - just too much work with all of those detailed keyboard voicings. They had always been designed to be a lasting tribute to the brilliant harmonies of Clare Fischer. So, I saw this presentation of the Guitar Solo as a means to right that wrong by sharing, after the solo, sections: [I2]-[A3]-[A4]-[B5] and the beginning of Letter [D]. With regards to my statement of the basic melody, played with single-note lines, the big difference between any of the earlier Letter [A] sections and those just mentioned is that the latter sections were played in octaves with a slightly different phrasing to better accommodate that technique. The keyboard magic, born of grace and beauty was, of course, supplied by my dear friend, Rob Mounsey. The basic track was created on January 18th, 1996 at Rob's then Flying Monkey Studio and, in addition to his beautiful Rhodes-like keyboard, we included some sampled horn 'stabs'; a kick drum; a foot-closed hi-hat; and the bell of a ride cymbal. Those were the only tracks we would end-up keeping.
    The actual recording was done live one afternoon on March 28th, 1996 at Power Station Studios with engineer Malcolm Pollack behind the console. There I was joined by some of my Salsa heroes: Rubén Rodríguez on 5-string el. bass; Papo Pepin on conga; and Marc Quiñones on timbal and güiro. At the recording, I was so very fortunate to have had my Latin music/Salsa professor and teacher, pianist/arranger, Oscar Hernández present at the session to serve as a conductor so that I could feel free enough to play live while the rhythmic aspects of the arrangement were being realized by these great músicos. I can't praise enough the wonderful personal touches that Rubén added with his full bodied and rich sound, and those low notes! Marc with his funky sense of time and super set-ups to accents. And lest we forget, his patented monster avanicos! And last but not least, Papo's sense of swing and relentless groove, not to mention his subtle musical responses to the music as it was being played. They all added so much to give the piece every bit of the sabor that I had only dreamed about.
    After a brief meeting on January 21st, 1996, I was lucky enough to have vocalist Gabriela Anders, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, lend her very special talents to the necessary vocals, which I wanted to have sung in Spanish. Gabi added in her own super sabor to the track. Gabriela, as you will hear, has a very special quality in her style and voice. But more than that, she has a great spirit of adventurous creativity; and is one of the few singers who could have sung the complex 4-part harmony voicing which appears in the 2nd ending of [B]. The actual recording session with Gabriela took place on April 14th, 1996 at Unique Recording, again with engineer Malcolm Pollack. Once Gabi had completed all of her very extensive vocal work within this arrangement, Malcolm and I sat together and made a rather beautiful rough mix which seems to have withstood the test of time. With everything that I was to learn about the history of the recording of so much of the greatly treasured Salsa catalog, this rough did not follow those same panning concepts. For example, you hear Papo's conga on the left side and Marc's timbal is really in center of the mix with his güiro being only the slightest bit to the right. In the years that would follow, I would almost always have the conga, a bit to the right of center, maybe at around 2 o'clock on the panning knob. The timbal would then be on the left side with the güiro placed on the right side, farther right than the conga.
    After all these years, I have come to feel that the guitar sound that I achieved with Malcolm that day in March, 1996 is perhaps the best recorded sound that I might have ever achieved. How did we do that? Well, I know this for certain that, on this particular session, I used my two(2) Marshall 1912 1x12" bottoms with each containing its stock Celestion speakers. It's interesting because I almost always use my Two(2) Marshall Model #1966A 2x12" cabinets with EV speakers. But, not this time! With a bit of research, I now know that I was still using my two(2) Pearce G-1 amp heads, which gave my Gibson 335 a lot of body and warmth, despite my longtime confusion with all of the damn midrange controls. Because of their weight, I had to eventually switch to using my Walter Woods Stereo Amp head in order to try to save myself from the worsening disc problems in my lower back.
    For this particular transcription, because of the nature of the arrangement taken as a whole, I presented the 12-bars that take place before the actual solo begins. This includes Gabi's singing of the refrain in [B4], which is ornamented by some improvised guitar fills in bars 3-4 and then in 5-8. This leads us into a Horn Break, where I doubled Rob's brassy sampled figures in bars 9-12. The chord changes for [B4] do reflect the basic 8-bar section that I soloed over from [C] through [C5]. These chord changes: 2 bars of Dmaj7(9/6) to 2 bars of Em7(9sus), back to 2 bars of Dmaj7(9/6) and then, 1 bar each of: Fm7(9)/Bb to 2 beats each of Em7(9)/A to A7(13#9b5). A basic linear approach would be something like this. For the bars of Dmaj7(9/6), one would use the D Ionian mode [D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#] which is exactly the same as the D major scale. For the Em7(9sus) chords, you might begin by using the E Dorian mode [E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D]. For the bar of Fm7(9)/Bb, we would use the F Dorian mode [F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb]. And lastly for the 2nd-half of bar 8 and the A7(alt.) chord, one would have two very basic options: [1] the A altered dominant scale [A, Bb(b9), C(#9), C#, Eb(b5), F(#5), G] and [2], because we are headed to cadence to a major7 chord, we could employ the A 1/2-tone/whole-tone diminished scale [A, Bb, C, C#, Eb, E, F#, G]. During the analysis of the actual solo, I will present some other options, both pentatonic and blues related as they appear.

    The solo begins at Letter [C] and, as most solos/improvisations should begin, here we have the most melodic section of the solo with moments alluding to the melody where Gabi sings: "todo va a salir muy bien." In bars 1 & 2 over the Dmaj7 chord, I used two parallel chord voicings that I like very much, because they embrace so many of the color tones. In bar 1, I play that high F# on the E-string at the 14th fret, and spelling down, you have F#-B(6th)-A-E(9th). In bar 2, the high C#, also on the E-string at the 9th fret, you have spelling down, C#-F#-E(9th)-B(6th). In bars 3-4, over the Em7, notice the very simple usage of modal tones/scale tones descending: B-A-G with an important Jazz-oriented phrasing ornament, the little gliss pull-off from E down to C#. In bars 5-6, again over Dmaj7, all of the notes played are simple scale tones without any chromatic notes in sight. In bars 7-8, even though the chord changes become more complex as they are one bar each, this is the moment where what I improvised loosely mirrors Gabi's melody. The phrase ascends through the Fm7/Bb chord with all diatonic notes, then through the Em7/A to A7 while changing modes and staying diatonic right through to the resolution to Dmaj7 and bar 1 of [C2].

    As [C2] begins, ending a phrase that began in the prior 8-bar chorus, if you will allow me to call it that, notice the long-short phrasing on beat 1, F# up to A-natural. You always hear so much talk, or see so much writing, about the guitar trying emulate horn phrasing, well, this is one of the most important tools that we have, and it comes from the way great trumpeters and saxophonists end their own phrases. It ias easy enough to do but, early or late, you will need to pay attention to these little details. Beginning on the last beat of bar 1, we have a phrase that puts to use the B minor pentatonic scale [B(6th), D, E(9th), F#, A], which gives an angular sound to the lines while presenting the color tones. The phrases in bar 3-4 over the Em7 chord remain very diatonic with another nice phrasing touch at the end of bar 4. Notice the little mannerism on the last beat bringing us back to Dmaj7, where the lines descend using that same B minor pentatonic. For the last 3 bars of this section, the note density begins to pick up, and we start to hear/see more double-time 16th-notes at this tempo. Though I don't know or remember with any certainty, it seems that the tempo was at [Q=118]. In bar 7, over the Fm7/Bb chord, we have a lot of modal Jazz line configurations with the non-modal tone of Db used as a chromatic upper-neighbor to the consonant C-natural. Again, pay attention to the small but quick phrasing ornament leading into beat 4. Notice how, on the last beat of the bar, I play an A major triad descending from C# on high E-string, which anticipates the coming chord before it arrives. Lastly, in bar 8, over the ii-V (Em7-A7(alt.), we have some chromaticism, and, on beat 3-4, we have a very traditional Jazz triplet-oriented phase that puts to use the A altered dominant scale. Notice the little triplet sweep descending from C-natural through Bb-F-Db/C# to C-natural(#9) an octave lower, and down the scale Bb-A-G to cadence of F# in bar 1 of [C3].

    After the resolution of the line to Dmaj7 on the 1st two beats of [C3], there is a breath for beats 3 & 4, before the solo ramps up with real syncopated 16th-note phrases. It would seem that I felt very comfortable at this tempo playing these kinds of double-time lines. Over both chord changes in bars 2-3, all of the notes are diatonic, because both chords are in the key of D major [D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#], so all of those notes appear somewhere within that one longish phrase. In bar 4, there is a hint of a montuno, which is really using notes that, as they lay out on the guitar, embody F# minor pentatonic [F#-A-B-C#-E], which offers notes that give us color tones be it over Em7(9) or Dmaj7. At the end of the phrase in bar 4 on the last beat, you see another Jazz phrasing mannerism with a coupling of a 16th-note triplet and 2 16th-notes bringing us back to resolution on Dmaj7 in bar 5. Then, another nice breath for a full 4 beats. One of the key elements to improvising in any Jazz-related style is to anticipate the chord change that is coming by beginning to play in that mode or scale in the bar before. Here, on beat 4 of bar 6, I am already leading into F Dorian for the Fm7(9)/Bb chord in bar 7. You can see that I am now using more triplet groupings within the flurry of 16th-notes. Looking at the notes in bar 7, there is some very traditional chromaticism on beat with the line descending through Eb-D-Db-C before vaulting up via an arpeggio outlining F minor 7 and landing on a high Eb before again descending through D-Db-C. In bar 8, another arpeggiated device used over the Em7 chord vaulting up to land on F#(9th) before we descend using some interesting linear devices beginning with 2 16th-notes just before beat 3. I see this as using Eb dominant 7th pentatonic [Eb(b5), F(#5), G, Bb(b9), Db] over A7. Just look at all of the altered tones that this produces. On beat 4, it would seem that I am passing through the notes of the alterations of the IV7 chord (G7), meaning that you have the G altered dominant scale [G, Ab(b9), Bb(#9), B-natural, Db(b5), D#(#5), F] where some of these notes don't seem to be connected to, or related to, the more expected A altered dominant scale. However, IF it sounds good to you? Just do it, play it! As the line ends on beat 1 of bar 1 of [C4], there are more notes from the G altered scale: Eb(D#)-B-Bb-Ab, and then slippery-sliding in F# to resolve all of this activity on Dmaj7. I often use this device, which I like to refer as a delayed resolution. If you like it, give it a try sometime.

    As Letter [C4] commences, leading into bar 2, I play a sequence of arpeggios ascending from a lower F# on the D-string, and passing through a target note of C# on the way to the ultimate goal of a high F# on the E-string. An internal continuity is in play when the next line begins with that same F# over the Em7(9) chord as the line descends with more modal chromaticism along with the usage of a non-modal tone, Bb. I view this note as more of a chromatic upper neighbor than anything else. In reality, that Bb becomes a linear bridge into our A altered dominant scale, and the line pushes to resolving itself on F#, the 3rd of Dmaj7 in bar 5. From there, the line reascends, but this time there is even more chromaticism over a maj7th chord. Though these notes are only in passing, often for Jazz players, on maj7th chords, notes like the Root(D) and the natural 4th(G) are often avoided as points of emphasis, because they tend to rub against the chord tones of, in the case, Dmaj7(9/6). You should experiment with these things, and determine for yourself if it works and sounds good - or not. Your ears will tell you! In bar 7, as the Fm7/Bb returns, with some further chromaticism, the notes are still right out of F Dorian. To lead into the Em7 in bar 8, the chord is approached in anticipation of its arrival, I vault up through an Em7 arpeggio on the way to a C-natural, the #9 of A7, only to come back down using familiar line configurations all connected to the A altered dominant scale. This very, very LONG line, which began on beat 2 of bar 6, actually runs all the way, streaming 16th-notes, through the 1st bar of the final section, [C5]. I guess one could say that I was really shredding here - in my way, of course.

    Though a very long line is concluding, [C5] is just beginning. What seems to begin in bar 1, almost all of the notes over Dmaj7 are consonant, with the only real chromaticism appearing on beat 4. Another slippery-sliding gliss from C# down to the real resolution point of F#(3rd) concludes with a little tail-off that lands on the color tone of B-natural(6th). Finally, a breath for a moment and then, as the solo is known to be coming to an end, the activity is winding down too. In bars 3-4, we have another nice little montuno figure, this time truly based upon notes within an E minor 7 chord, with the 7th (D-natural) as the bottom note in the grouping. This leads us into bar 5, and the return to Dmaj7 with some lightly accented 3rds. Bars 7-8 over a new sonority, not previously heard within the arrangement. This color became necessary because a route back to the Intro sonority of G7 had to be created. So, with the V7 of G7 being some form of D7, the answer became a rather dark and mysterious chordal sonority of D7(13#9b5). If you want to see the actual voicing, it appears on Pg. 4 of the mini-score within the 3rd system down. The line that I played over this harmony owes more to the D Blues scale [D, F, (F#), G, A, C] with the inclusion of a B-natural (as it is the 13th of this type of D7 altered chord). Yet again, the phrasing offers some very non-specific slippery rhythms en route to ending on beat 4 of bar 8 on the blue note of F-natural.

    As we hit [I2] of the arrangement, a reprise of our Intro, I wanted to take advantage of its appearance later in the song to transcribe what the guitar was doing at the top of the song. I chose to play these sections, fundamentally using double-stop 6ths, played on the D and B-strings, with a sense of blues. On top of the 6th, played on the and-of-2 is Bb and underneath is a Db. So, relative to the G blues scale [G, Bb, B-natural, C, Db, D, F] you have two of the blue notes used together. The little fill in bars 3-4 is also completely blues related from the bent double-stop played at the 10th fret to the slippery greaze-laden line. Looking at the actual notes, one might ask, "but isn't that really using G minor pentatonic?" Well, yes and no, because all 5 of the notes in G minor pentatonic are also contained within the G blues scale! I chose to play the last accents in bars 7-8 in octaves as that is what seemed to be most effective. And this leads us into [A3] where the entire melody is stated in octaves, and they become especially effective during bars 5-8 where the chords are completely reharmonized that one time.
    For the statement of the melody at Letter [A4] which mirrors the same 4-bar melodic extension that first appeared as [A2] in the arrangement, I wanted to share exactly how I phrased it within the Cha-cha-cha rhythmic context. You can see that, in bars 1 & 3, I play a very clear staccato accent of the melody note on beat 3. It is little moments and details like this that make having a brilliant timbalero like Marc Quiñones playing so rewarding, because he sets-up and catches these accents with great musicality and precision. Marc's musicianship is on the highest level, and I remember him sharing with me that the reason that his reading became so good is that he began by playing the trumpet! So, cutting figures like any of the ones that appear within this long arrangement become easy and creative fun for him. This includes the kick into [B5] on the and-of-4, which is also supported by Rob Mounsey's forceful brass stab. Once again, this section is the refrain where Gabriela sings "No te preocupes nena" and my guitar weaves fills around Gabi's phrases. The fills that appear in bars 3-6 are again very melodic, mostly because of their diatonic nature, but also because, rhythmically speaking, they dig right into the insistent quarter-note pulse of the Cha-cha-cha. This particular Latin rhythm is the most popular and easiest to understand and connect with for non-Latinos. Notice that in bar 3 over the Em7 chord, I played on the first 3 quarter-notes of the bar. In bars 7-8, the 16th-note activity returns with the line over the Fm7/Bb chord featuring all consonant notes. The only chromaticism over bar 8's Em7-A7(13) chords appears in the little pull-off between D down to B before becoming very E Dorian oriented. When we arrive at bar 9 and the resolution to Dmaj7, there is a delayed resolution technique in play, especially because of the presence of the Bb note. The line does not really resolve itself until beat 1 of bar 2 on a low C# on my A-string - which very warm sounding. The guitar's answer to Gabi's phrase in bars 3-4 returns to being melodic in bars 5-6. In bars 7-8, the phrasing becomes more angular, and this is because I was using F minor pentatonic over the Fm7/Bb. Notice the intervallic jumps, first up an octave from Eb to Eb on the high E-string, followed by F up to Bb (on the B-string). As the chord change to Em7 arrives. A fragment of that same kind of linear thinking is played on beat 1, except this time, the line direction is descending. The last phrase over the A7(13b9b5) reveals that the guitar is again playing ahead of the coming chord change, and this time, for the 1st time, we are heading to Bm7 and an entirely new section, Letter [D]. So, I attempt to arrive there by putting to use a chromatic version of what is essentially, what I might call, the B minor blues scale [B, D, E, F, F#, A]. However, because of the C#, you could say that I was anticipating the Bm7 chord with a sense of B Dorian [B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A]. There are lots of options to choose from for what becomes the [Fade].
    Letter [D], which appears on Pg. 6 of the mini-score, is a wonderful little 16-bar interlude where melodic aspects that were once in major are now treated in minor over the relative minor (B minor) of D major. The beautiful and very sensitive vocals by Gabriela Anders are so very evocative here, and certainly magical. The ride-out on the final 8-bar vamp, Letter [E] over Bm7(9sus), which appears on Pg. 7 of the mini-score, features almost all of the past elements of the arrangement including: Rob's beautiful keyboard playing; his horn stabs; wonderful playing by Rubén, Papo and Marc, and the most fantastic vocals of Gabriela's invention in both [E2]-[E3] and lastly [E6]-[E7]. All of this while the guitar is soloing throughout.

    When all is said and done, this arrangement stands as one of my best, and was totally inspired by my love for Latin music, Salsa, and the keyboard harmonies of Clare Fischer. I would again want to thank producer Tim Weston for affording me this opportunity to express my appreciation for those things. I suppose that it also demonstrates, in some curious way, that you can go through your entire life, especially growing up in Southern California, not even liking the Beach Boys, and still find something beautiful in one of their songs. If one simply views it as a 'love song' the rest is really not so difficult to imagine.
    And so, as we have arrived at July, 2025, and summer is just beginning to roar with its heat & humidity here in New York - it's not so hard to imagine that, because of recent global events, we all live in a far, far more dangerous world than ever before. I don't even want to think about what lies ahead - too scary to imagine. As always, we at KHAN'S KORNER are wishing you a happy and safe summer and the remainder of 2025. PEACE, BIG LOVE, and FLOWER POWER FOREVER!!! - Steve

Addendum: In the irony of ironies, on November 11th, 1976, I was added to the band of "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" by Howard Shore for the appearance of Brian Wilson! Jodie Foster was the host. He sang "Back Home" from The Beach Boys album "15 BIG ONES" and "Love is a Woman" from the Beach Boys "LOVE YOU." It was a really sad moment for Brian Wilson, we all believed, because he was accompanied by his therapist Eugene Landy, and the whole vibe around Brian was very strange. I recall that Landy said to someone, "We want to show Brian as he is today!" What a jerk Landy was proven to be!
    Brian seemed so fragile. Before he would play the songs, during rehearsals or the eventual performances, someone would come out and massage his shoulders to help him to relax. On that show, to make Brian more comfortable, the floor area surrounding the piano was covered with sand - Brian was bare-footed. This was for his solo performance of "Good Vibrations." At one point during the rehearsals, Brian felt uncomfortable, and it was relayed to the crew that "Brian needed more sand under his feet!" And so, as brusque and crass as stagehands can be, one of them, and it might have been the beloved stage manager Joe Dicso who actually yelled out to the back: "MORE SAND!" It was about as strange as anything could have been. All of the musicians and the cast and crew of "SNL" felt horrible that Landy was allowing Brian Wilson to be seen and heard this way. It may have been "the truth" - but was that really necessary? I hardly think so!!!
    To acknowledge that weird moment, I asked Gabriela Anders if, during the fade, somewhere, she could whisper that phrase in Spanish and she graciously complied saying: "Más arena" - for me, it was so great. For years, decades, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" felt that it was better to not make these performances available!

    And so, with the passing of Brian Wilson on June 11th, 2025 at the age of 82, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to his family, his friends, his bandmates and his millions of fans. Rest in peace Brian and thanks so much for the beautiful ride. - Steve Khan