JAZZ IMPROVISATION

This lesson constitutes the second installment of Bebop Reverse Engineered, a series devoted to the analytical study and systematic reconstruction of bebop vocabulary. Whereas the first installment examined phrases drawn from Charlie Parker, the present study applies...

In this lesson I trace the most played bebop lick using findings from Dig That Lick. The project, led from Queen Mary University of London beginning around 2017, combined automated melody extraction with curated sources (including the Weimar Jazz Database and the...

Bebop Reverse Engineered presents a step-by-step method for reducing classic bebop lines to their essential harmonic and melodic framework, then rebuilding them into new, stylistically faithful variations. Using excerpts drawn from Charlie Parker, it treats each...

I recently posted a series of videos demonstrating how jazz musicians are using the different concepts employed by the impressionist composers, namely Debussy and Ravel. In this lesson I step further back in time to the baroque period, in order to demonstrate how the...

I have found that when talking about influential saxophonists, especially among guitarists, Joe Henderson is not necessarily a household jazz name, as is the case with Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. Nonetheless, if you talk to any professional saxophonist today and...

 If you’re familiar with the late Michael Brecker, you already know that he has been regarded as one of the greatest improvisers in jazz history, right up there with John Coltrane, who in turn was one of his primary influences! And I’m not just referring to his...

In this lesson I want to introduce you to a concept that you’ve most likely heard in the playing of many great post bop improvisers such as Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, Joe Henderson and countless more! You’ve probably heard about triad pairs. Simply put, they...

If you’re wondering what on earth anacrusis means, it’s simply the proper term in written music for what we otherwise would call a “pick up”. And in this lesson I am excited to demonstrate this seldom taught melodic and rhythmic device in the unique context that it is...

If you’re a jazz guitarist, at some point you’ve probably experienced what I like to call... pianist envy! This is the result of watching keyboard players use their left hand to comp with chords, while independently improvising intricate lines with their right hand....

This is the 3rd in a series of Coltrane Guitar Perspectives on using pentatonics. In the previous 2 installments, I showed you how the legendary John Coltrane pioneered the use of the common minor pentatonic and the kumoi pentatonic of Japanese origin by...

Are you familiar with the modes of the harmonic minor? If you're like the great majority of jazz guitarists, or musicians in general, the answer is probably “No”! When was the last time you used the Romanian scale or the Lydian #2 when improvising over a standard?...

This is the 2nd in a series of "Coltrane Guitar Perspectives" on using pentatonics. If you missed the first one be sure to check it out here. In it I show you how the legendary John Coltrane pioneered the use of the common minor pentatonic in jazz by super-imposing it...

If you’re a guitarist, I wouldn’t be surprised if the very first scale you ever learned is the minor pentatonic ! And most likely…you first learned it to solo either over the blues or your favorite rock tune. But if you’re like most guitarists who get into jazz, it’s...