April 29, 2012 in Album of the Week
Click above to purchase Joel Frahm Quartet Live at Smalls
Learn Jazz Standards is proud to promote New York saxophonist Joel Frahm’s 2011 release Live At Smalls.
This is a fantastic record and I had the pleasure of being at Smalls Jazz Club in New York City for both of the nights this record was being recorded. The energy in …
April 27, 2012 in Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards
“Cherokee” is a tune written by Ray Noble originally intended for an “Indian Suite”.
This tune was heavily adopted by bebopers such as Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown and remains to be a popular jam session tune for cutting contests. It has adopted a reputation as a difficult tune because it is meant to be played at blazing fast tempos, …
April 26, 2012 in Great American Songbook, Jazz Standards
“All Of Me” is a tune with lyrics and music by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simon in 1931. It has become one of the most recorded songs of its era including popular versions done by Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald just to name a few.
This is another one of those tunes that you just have …
April 24, 2012 in Great American Songbook, Jazz Standards
“Night And Day” is a beautiful tune written by the famous composer Cole Porter. It was written for the 1932 Broadway musical “Gay Divorce”. Porter was known to claim that an Islamic call to worship he heard on a trip to Morocco inspired the song.
This tune has been recorded and performed largely among the jazz community.
It can be …
April 23, 2012 in Bebop, Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards
“Confirmation” is a bebop tune written by the great alto saxophonist Charlie Parker.
It has a considerably difficult head but a nice set of changes to blow over. This is a very common jam session tune and is definitely worth learning. It is most commonly played in the key of F major.
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April 22, 2012 in Album of the Week
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I must confess that I have a bias toward small group jazz. However, every now and again I’ll hear a big band album that really speaks to me. In my opinion, the Christian McBride big band and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra are the two groups that best carry the tradition of the great big bands to the next …
April 20, 2012 in Jazz Standards, Straight 8ths
Cold Duck Time is a rock-influenced jazz standard written by Eddie Harris. It first appeared on the album Swiss Movement by Les McCann and Eddie Harris. The first recording of this tune wasn’t well-rehearsed, and you can definitely hear that the band is learning this tune while on stage. Swiss Movement is a live album that was recorded at the Montreux Jazz …
April 20, 2012 in 3/4 Jazz Tunes, Blues, Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards
West Coast Blues was written by the unparalleled genius of jazz guitar, Wes Montgomery. The solo changes are different than the changes for the melody, and so that’s something to be aware of on this tune. This tune first appeared on Wes’ 1960 album, The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery. The album also featured his tune Four On Six. …
April 18, 2012 in Bebop, Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards
“Scrapple From The Apple” is a bebop tune written by the great pioneer of bebop himself, Charlie Parker.
This tune borrows the changes of “Honeysuckle Rose” for the A section and “I Got Rhythm” changes for the B section. It is common for ii V7′s to be added to the changes in the bridge as demonstrated in the charts bellow. …
April 17, 2012 in Jazz Standards, Latin Jazz
“The Girl From Ipanema” is a bossa nova tune written by Antonio Carlos Jobim and became one of the modern worlds popular songs. It was original written for a musical comedy entitled “Dirigivel”.
The 1964 album “Girl From Ipanema” that included Stan Getz, Jao Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto became an international hit and was topping charts all around the world.…
