3-ish is a trio comprised of Jason Harnell on drums, Ryan McGillicuddy on Bass and Matt Otto on tenor sax. All 3 of us write for the group and have played a lot together over the last 5 years. This is our first album as a group and features all original material.
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3-ish “Baobab” was recently reviewed in the March 2010 issue of Jam Magazine, click on the image below to read the full review.
This is an instrumental recording of Tom Waits tunes with some wonderful players. Aaron Shragge on trumpet and Shakuhachi, Brandon Bernstein on guitar, Jason Harnell drums, Ryan McGillicuddy Bass and Matt Otto on tenor sax. Each of us arranged a few of our favorite Waits tunes and recorded them with Greg Leisz on Pedal Steel. We improvised over the forms of the songs but tried to stay true to the vibe and emotional content of the original pieces.
This is a melody taken from the harmonic major scale. The b6 mode of harmonic major outlines a major 7 chord with a #5, a #9 and a #11. The melodic line starts with a simple “shell voicing” (the root, major 3rd, and major 7th – i.e. for C major 7 these are the notes C, E and B). After the initial shell voicing, a triad pair creates the rest of the contour. The first is a triad created with the major 7th, the #11 and the #9 (over C major this would be a B major triad). Next, a triad is built off the major 3rd, the #5 and the root (over C major 7 this would be a C augmented triad). These two triads nicely outline the major #5, #9, #11 sound which may come from the b6 mode of harmonic major. You can improvise with these two triads once you feel comfortable with this simple melody and concept in all the keys. For more ideas using harmonic major for improvising, reference my book, Modern Jazz Vocabulary Vol. 1. Below you’ll find an mp3 example of the exercise played very slow by midi. You can use this mp3 to sing along with the PDF while visualizing the fingerings. This is a great way to develop your ears and unify your mind, ears and hands. It also is great if you suffer from hand or wrist problems such as RSI, you can practice all day without actually playing your instrument.
~Enjoy!
I finally finished my first book on jazz improvisation. After years of practice journals and outlines for the ultimate jazz tome, I finally realized that I’m not Mick Goodrick or Hal Crook (no matter how much I practice) and in general, I always liked a music book with a fairly narrow focus; with “baroque counterpoint” for example, you know what to expect. After much deliberation, I decided to take one concept that inspires me constantly, that I really enjoy practicing, and write a book about that. After digging through my practice logs, and organizing boxes of semi-legible manuscript, I found a lot of material about creating an original, non-cliched, modern vocabulary, as well as a lot of melodic examples from the harmonic major scale (an Ionian scale with a b13). So, I ended up writing a book on how to develop an original melodic vocabulary for improvisation using specifically the harmonic major scale.
The book outlines the various ways I’ve come up with to practice scales, melodies and harmonies while focusing on developing an original melodic vocabulary. Included are not only a lot of lines, melodies and “licks” (if you will), but the methodology I used to create them. This workbook leaves a lot of space for musical exploration and creation, although there’s plenty of written material if you just want to play through it and glean a few new ideas that speak to you. The following table of contents will give you an idea of just how comprehensive this publication is. I’ve put a lot of time and thought into this book and I really believe my work can benefit other musicians. At $11.95, I think you’ll find it a good investment!
You can read the CasaValdez review of the book here.
To get a copy of the book click here or the picture below.
~Table of Contents~
Chapter 1: Modes and Chords
Chapter 2: Arpeggiated Voicings
Chapter 3: Rhythmic Displacement
Chapter 4: ii-7 – V7 – I (Major)
Chapter 5: V7 – i (Minor)
Chapter 6: Melodic Sequence
Chapter 7: Random Intervals
Chapter 8: Diatonic Cycles
Chapter 9: Triad Pairs
Chapter 1o: Combination
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This is a short etude I wrote over the chord changes to My Shining Hour in concert C. The etude utilizes a lot of modern-ish concepts in terms of rhythmic groupings and harmonic/triadic substitutions. You’ll find several uses of #9 on major, #11 on minor, Maj7 on -7, sequential fourths grouped in 5 or 7, #5 on Maj7, b6 on -7, plus common harmonic tensions and standard melodic material. There are also several points where the harmony is anticipated or suspended by several beats. There is an mp3 of the etude (played by midi) that you can listen to and sing along with to get the sound in your ear. The PDF contains the melodic line and the common chord progression with no analysis. I encourage singing each of the phrases slowly with a drone or piano accompaniment to help develop the ear and experience the subtleties of the sound.
~Enjoy!
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~Purchase my book: Modern Jazz Vocabulary Vol. 1~
