Jazz Blog Archives - Page 11 of 11

4 Tips to Get More Jazz Gigs

Ok, so you want to get more gigs huh? Here are a few tips that have helped me secure gigs over the years, keep working on the jazz art form, and even put food on the table. 1. Know lots and lots of tunes (but start with 20). You must realize that you will increase…

Misty Chords & Cool Reharmonization

If you want to learn Misty chords to the jazz standard Misty then you’ve come to the right place! Ok, so as promised I charted out the chords for the jazz piano video lesson I made on reharmonizing Misty. If you haven’t seen the video check it out here: Misty reharmonization lesson. Thanks to Bill Evans…

How To Play Misty – Jazz Piano Reharmonization

Make Your Jazz Standards More Interesting Have you ever noticed that great jazz piano players seem to play so many more chords than are written in your everyday run of the mill fakebook? Why is this? For starters, most of the time the chord changes written in a fakebook are either very bland, boring, or…

Bebop Piano Lick Lesson II – V(alt) – I

Here’s a new II – V- I bebop lick instructional video I just shot. This particular lick is one of my favorites because it uses alot of the classic building blocks of bebop. I’ll list some of the more “theoretical” elements of lick that make it bebop. (video below) 1. chromaticism with mostly chord…

Jazz Comping Chords – How To Play Two Handed Comping Chords (Rootless)

When I was first learning jazz I searched for a long time trying to find a good book or a method to learn how to comp in a jazz rhythm section. Sadly, there isn’t a ton of information out there on this subject. How To Comp It’s vitally important for everybody to learn how to…

Wes Montgomery’s solo on Satin Doll

Here’s a Wes Montgomery solo I transcribed about a year ago on the jazz standard “Satin Doll”. (scroll down for the solo.) There’s all kinds of great jazz licks in this one. I could write a 10 page essay on everything that I like about this solo but I’ll just mention 4 things here: 4 Wes…

How To Solo Over the Jazz Standard All The Things You Are.

Would you like to be able longer jazz licks? Do you feel like your licks sometimes sound like run on sentences? How do you play those beautiful and long flowing lines that a lot of the great jazz masters play? You know the ones that always sound good no matter how long they go? Your Jazz…

Barry Harris Transcribed solo “On Green Dolphin Street”

Here’s a transcription I made about two months ago of Barry Harris’ solo on the jazz standard “Green Dolphin Street”. Barry has some really killin’ II-V-I licks on here and really plays some really nice stuff through the break section. Check out his lines over the major chords and the break section as well. …

Turnaround Lick Lesson

Need a cool lick to play over a jazz turnaround? Great! Here’s a new jazz piano lesson video on playing a turnaround lick. I recommend you watch the video tutorial first and then scroll down for a bunch of extra tips and resources for you to learn jazz. The lesson features a lick in the key…

Swingin’ II- V- I lick lesson

Here’s a very cool bebop jazz lick over a II – V – I chord progression. I break this lick down to it’s core elements so you can master it and add to your own playing. There is some very nice bebop source material in there including arpeggiation minor line cliche approach patterns altered tones…

Barry Harris Jazz Piano Lick Lesson

Here’s a video lesson on how to play a Barry Harris Lick. He played this lick over the standard “Green Dolphin Street” Barry is one of the best bebop piano players in the world. He was a true disciple of Bud Powell and Charlie Parker. There’s several cool things about this lick but make sure…

ii – V- i Jazz Lick in Minor Lesson

Here’s a very fun bebop lick over a ii -V-i in a minor key. I teach you how to play every note on there and break it down for you. This lick is not just for jazz piano though. This lick will sound great on guitar, saxophone, and trumpet as well. If you are looking…

7 Tips For Playing Better Jazz Piano

Here it is! World touring jazz pianist Steve Nixon’s tips for playing great jazz piano. 1) How to play chords 100% authentic to the jazz style That means using chords that contain the prettiest notes. If you only play triads and basic chords you’re missing 99% of the style. You don’t want your playing to sound…