Caravan is a tune that everyone who plays jazz must know. It also happens to be a really fun tune to improvise over if you know what you are doing. The 'A' sections of this tune only contain two chords so one must be able to stretch their ideas over a long period of time and not run out of things to say. This tune also happens to extensively use the diminished dominant scale which we have explored in previous episodes of the podcast. In this episode we learn to use this scale and particular … [Read more...]
Choosing The Right Teacher
Teachers are some of the most important people in our lives. They can make or break our hopes and dreams. They can support us or discourage us, point us in the right direction, or lead us down the wrong path. Some teachers we get stuck with like many of the teachers we had in school, but when it comes to choosing a teacher for your instrument, technology has made it so that we can choose almost anyone we want. Whether it’s hopping in your car or on a train to go and see a desirable teacher, or … [Read more...]
Episode 007: Rhythm Changes: Part 3
This is our third installment of our series on Rhythm Changes. Last week we took a look at the 'A' sections of the form and learned some exercises to get us through these rapid fire chords. This week we will focus on the bridge, where the chords spread out considerably. Because the chords come at us a little bit slower, we have to approach this section in a different way than we did on the 'A' sections. In this episode we look at a couple of different approaches. The first, is using our … [Read more...]
How Louis Armstrong Transformed The 20th Century
Check out this great TED Talk on Louis Armstrong and a quick story about how one of the most important figures in American music history got his start. The little known Dr. Peter Davis was essentially responsible for creating the opportunity for this visionary to get his start. Imagine if these series of events never happened! Would he have still found his way to the cornet, or would the most important figure in jazz history never have found his muse? Really fascinating stuff. Check it … [Read more...]
Episode 006: Rhythm Changes: Part 2
In today's episode we get deeper into rhythm changes and start working on a couple of concepts that will start you into the world of improvising over this important form. In this episode we will be concentrating on the "A" sections of the rhythm changes progression. We'll save the bridge for the next episode. We will start with an exercise that explores a simple linear concept over the chord changes that will start you on getting familiar with each and every chord. We then move into a more … [Read more...]
I Wish Dave King Was My Dad
If you don't know about Dave King's "Rational Funk," I'm here to tell you that life is about to get a whole lot better for you. Dave is the amazing drummer of The Bad Plus and many other projects. He is also one of the funniest dudes on earth and if you don't laugh at this stuff I'm convinced you're more machine than man. This is one of the best episodes yet. If you're looking for an actual lesson on odd time signatures, well......I don't know what to tell you. But if you're looking for … [Read more...]
Episode 005: Rhythm Changes: Part 1
This week we start looking at another concept that is a must for any improviser to master. Rhythm changes are a staple in the jazz language and happen to be a little more complicated than the blues. We use part 1 to tach you some quintessential rhythm changes melodies. If we hope to master rhythm changes we need to have some heads to play over these changes. This will also serve the purpose of getting used to the sound of rhythm changes if you have never played them before or have limited … [Read more...]
Branford Marsalis on Classical Music and Hip-Hop
I read a great article with Branford Marsalis this past week and it lived up to the strong opinions I have come to expect from him. Branford has never been afraid to say exactly what he is thinking and I have, over the years, come to respect that about him. Whether it's the state of jazz or classical music, or his opinion on what is going on in the greater music world, he doesn't pull any punches. And whether you agree or disagree with his point of view, you gotta respect the guy for saying … [Read more...]
Episode 004: Diminished Dominants: Part 2
In Part 2 of our series on diminished dominants, we get a little deeper into this concept and create some vocabulary we can use in real life improvising situations. Our vehicle is going to be ii-V-i progressions, which are the most common progression in almost any tune you will see. By learning this vocabulary and plugging it into our solos, you will start to hear this concept reflected in your playing. Once you have incorporated the scales from part 1 of the series, start working on these … [Read more...]
Episode 003: Diminished Dominants: Part 1
In Episode 3 we start our journey into the concept of diminished dominants. This episode, again, is the start of a two part series. This concept is a must for any improviser to have in the arsenal and we are going to introduce you to it step by step. This episode focuses on exactly what a diminished dominant is and takes you through the basic knowledge and scales that you will need when we start to look at how to employ this device in our solos and improvisations. We will show you how to … [Read more...]
