I had the wonderful opportunity to meet composer, educator and tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi at the KU Jazz Festival last weekend. The KU faculty and…
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 96: Augmented Study
In this lesson we will look at a melodic pattern derived from the (classical) Augmented Scale (not to be confused with the whole tone scale). …
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 95: Random Chords
Playing by ear over tunes you don’t know can be challenging. I’ve found this easy ear training routine to really help in this regard. We’ll…
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 94: 7Alt Monk
Taking a short phrase from a popular jazz tune and working it through the keys by alternating between singing and playing is great way to…
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 93: Scale Pattern
In this lesson we’ll play a simple scale pattern ascending chromatically through all 12 keys. This is a variation on what is often called “diatonic…
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 92: the 3rd and 5th
In this lesson we’ll look at using only the 3rd and 5th of each chord in a melodically specific way. We’ll either play from the…
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 91: Yusef Lateef Scale
Yusef Lateef was one of the great innovative melodic improvisers and composers and in the 80’s, I purchased Yusef Lateef’s book, Repository of Scales and…
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 90: Blues Tina Brooks
Here’s a nice blue’s idea (or “lick”) played by Tina Brooks (tenor sax) over the chord changes to Confirmation on Jimmy Smith’s album House Party…
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 89: Altered Melody
This is a simple Altered Melody that works on a dominant 7th chord with a #5, #11, #9 and b9 and comes from the 7th…
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 88: Bach Theme
In this lesson we’ll look at and play a theme from Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier Book 1; Fugue 10 in E minor. What I find…
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 87: ii-7 V7 Melody
Lesson 87 is a simple ii-7 V7 melody that you’ll probably recognize. This line will work over both a ii-7 or a V7 so it’s…
Read Full Blog Post~Lesson 86: Bird Line (2)
Playing bebop melodies through all 12 keys can be a great practice that will help develop your ear, your analytical mind and your technique. Sometimes…
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