It took me a couple of days. Playing someone else’s solo isn’t always a breeze because you’re playing something they came up with and so it may not be so natural to you. That being said, it can really benefit you because it does open up possibilities you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. That Boots solo in Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree is a great study in very basic jazz improvisation… just 2 chords, the one and the five, yet he makes a great solo out of it. Every song we play will have a one and a five chord so I can forever revert back to that solo and “borrow” any of those ideas and they will work.
Regarding memorizing someone’s solo; approach it as a loittle tune within a song. Think of it as a melody and memorize it bit by bit, one or 2 bars at a time. Before you know it you will have it in your head… if you can sing it you can then play it.
