May 31, 2010 in Jazz Standards
Great easy blues tune! Check out the youtube recordings of Monk and Johnny Griffin with Wes Montgomery at the bottom of the page. Blue Monk-C Instruments (.pdf) Blue Monk-Bb Instruments (.pdf) Blue Monk-Eb Instruments (.pdf) Blue Monk-Roman Numeral changes (.pdf) Blue Monk Play Along Blue Monk-Thelonious Monk, viewed by Basie and others! Blue Monk-Johnny Griffin and Wes Montgomery
May 30, 2010 in Jazz Standards
This is a great standard/jazz original that many people overlook. It’s a jazz original by Pat Metheny, and you should definitely learn it! It’s a crowd favorite that seems to well within the jazz tradition even though it can be done with almost a rock groove. Make sure to check out the versions on youtube! The B section goes to basically a 6/8 feel, and should be played with slash chords a whole-step down from the roots. Song for Bilbao Changes Song for Bibao-C Instruments (.pdf) Song for Bibao-Bb Instruments (.pdf) Song for Bibao-Eb Instruments (.pdf) Song for Bibao (Roman [...]
May 26, 2010 in Jazz Standards
One of the most popular standards of all time, All the Things You Are has some great changes that can be tough to navigate at first. Try checking out the roman numerals on this one to help figure out what is happening in this tune harmonically. Brent Jensen features this tune is his VIDEO series “Seven Steps to Heaven” describing how he approaches learning tunes. Check that out! The link is at the bottom of the page. All the Things You Are changes All the Things You Are-C Instruments (.pdf) All the Things You Are-Bb Instruments (.pdf) All the Things [...]
May 26, 2010 in Jazz Standards
Nice easy latin tune by Sonny Rollins. Here are some nice resources to help you learn the tune! St Thomas pdf St. Thomas-C Instruments (.pdf) St. Thomas-Bb Instruments (.pdf) St. Thomas-Eb Instruments (.pdf) St. Thomas Roman Numeral Changes For some great left-hand piano voicings to use on St. Thomas, go to: http://www.learnjazzstandards.com/learning-jazz/left-hand-comping-handout-st-thomas/ For Sonny Rollins’ Solo Transcription of St. Thomas, go to: http://www.learnjazzstandards.com/learning-jazz/st-thomas-sonny-rollins-solo-transcription/ St. Thomas Play-a-Long Sonny Rollins plays St. Thomas
May 25, 2010 in Learning Jazz
The unfortunate reality is that we only have 24 hours in a day. Most of us lead busy lives, and unless you are doing full-time music with no day job, it is unlikely that you are able to find the practice time that you would like to have. So, while we would like to try to learn 2,000 jazz standards to aid us in any musical situation that may arise, for most of us it is impractical to make that a goal in the near future. Maybe someday if we take this goal and break it down into bite-sized chunks… [...]
May 25, 2010 in Jazz Standards
Learn the Jazz Standard “Blue Bossa” by Kenny Dorham with the following resources: Blue Bossa pdf Blue Bossa C Instruments (.pdf) Blue-Bossa-Bb-Instruments (.pdf) Blue-Bossa-Eb-Instruments (.pdf) Blue Bossa Play Along (Bossa, Easy) Blue Bossa Play Along (Afro-Cuban-More Difficult) Dexter Gordon plays Blue Bossa Joe Henderson plays Blue Bossa
May 24, 2010 in Learning Jazz
Learning jazz standards seems to be a very daunting task. Many top jazz players have HUNDREDS or even THOUSANDS of songs memorized. For the purpose of this website, I define the term “jazz standard” to include the Great American Songbook and also notable jazz originals by the masters. How can the novice, intermediate, or even professional player be expected to assimilate such a vast amount of repertoire? Also, how come jazz musicians are still interested in learning jazz standards, many of which were written in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s? Why learn All the Things You Are and Misty? Why [...]
