This week I was fortunate enough to meet and hang with one of my all-time heroes of this music, Joe Lovano. His approach to music both inspired and made me think about my own and the people I teach. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more each month. You get incredible benefits and this keeps the podcast coming at you regularly. Thanks so much! … [Read more...]

This week's episode is a listener request which I'm thrilled about! We have talked a lot about bebop and some of the devices that are used in this specialized form of improvising. Enclosures are one of the most important devices to have down if you want to play like a bebop master! This week is going to be an introduction to the simplest form of this device. Next week we will take a look at more complicated ways to play them and give you a few more tips and tricks. For now though, enjoy our … [Read more...]

This week is all about tactile ways to handle the back door cadence that we introduced to you last week. Playing over this progression is similar to any other in the way that we want to examine the voice leading first. While it turns out to be a little bit different in the back door cadence, the principles are the same and it actually results in some brand new sounds for us. I hope you enjoy this episode and never get surprised by a back door resolution from here on out! WANT THE PDF THAT … [Read more...]

This week is all about confronting things that scare you. Why are we scared of these things? Because we aren't good at them! Let's get better together.... Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more each month. You get incredible benefits and this keeps the podcast coming at you regularly. Thanks so much! … [Read more...]

This week is all about a chord progression that you have probably seen a lot, but maybe never knew what it was called or how it functioned. The back door cadence is a kind of deceptive cadence that appears in many jazz standards. This week, we are going to discuss what it is, how it functions, and give you a couple of examples from a couple of popular jazz standards. Make sure you tune in next week as well when we will talk about the unique aspects of playing over this particular progression and … [Read more...]

This week is all about some of the most interesting music on YouTube. Check Ben Wendel out today! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more each month. You get incredible benefits and this keeps the podcast coming at you regularly. Thanks so much! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK-yvPUU5xg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W04w4y4bRYA … [Read more...]

I'm very excited to let you know that we are releasing a brand new book this coming month! The Chromatic Way contains 10 chromatic etudes over some of your favorite jazz standards. Have you ever wanted to sound like your bebop heroes but just need some examples on how to do it? This book is for you! I'm a firm believer that etudes are a fantastic way to learn concepts. Seeing things in action over REAL chord progressions teach us in a way that exercises can't. That's what this book is all about … [Read more...]

This week is all about one of the coolest websites for musicians. Scribd is a great resource for so many things, I highly suggest you check it out and see what it has to offer! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more each month. You get incredible benefits and this keeps the podcast coming at you regularly. Thanks so much! … [Read more...]

This week is all about an exercise I found in Oliver Nelson's pattern book. Most of the time, when I'm practicing out of a pattern book, it's all about technique. This exercise, however, I was able to apply to my improvisation right away which is why I wanted to show it to you all. This is an awesome pattern that utilizes a pre-determined structure of scale patterns over minor chords. By moving this structure around over a cadence, we come up with all kinds of cool sounds that are very … [Read more...]