January 14, 2012 in Uncategorized
Brent Jensen, saxophone recording artist on Origin Records, did a lecture series on Jazz Styles. I’m going to be posting some of his lectures on my website because he has a great perspective on the music. Brent is a wealth of knowledge on jazz history. Bebop Lecture by Brent Jensen Recordings by Brent Jensen Amazon.com Widgets
January 11, 2012 in Jazz Standards
Written by Alex Stordahl, Paul Weston, and Sammy Cahn and published in 1944, I Should Care appeared in the movie “Thrill of a Romance” in 1945. The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra played the tune for the movie. Most common key for this jazz standard is C major. Chord Changes: I Should Care C Instruments I Should Care Bb Instruments I Should Care Eb Instruments
January 11, 2012 in Jazz Standards
My Shining Hour is a popular standard written by Harold Arlen, words by Johnny Mercer. Originally written for 1943 film “The Skies the Limit”. Most commonly played in the keys of Eb major and C major. Amazon.com Widgets My Shining Hour (C instruments) My Shining Hour (Bb inststruments) My Shining Hour (Eb Instruments)
January 11, 2012 in The Omnibook on MP3
The Omnibook is one of the most widely-used jazz resources available. If you do not have this resource, you should DEFINITELY get it! The Omnibook compiles written transcriptions of some of Bird’s best solos. Amazon.com Widgets However, I have always thought the Omnibook was a frustrating resource because it used to be very difficult to track down ALL of the recordings that were transcribed. It doesn’t do NEARLY as much good to learn the solos without hearing them. The written page does not do Bird justice. Charlie Parker’s music should NOT be learned from the Omnibook only-you MUST listen to [...]
October 24, 2011 in Uncategorized
Hi Everyone! Thank you for all the supportive comments! I’m really glad this has been a helpful resource. I am back in school now in my hometown in Idaho, and I haven’t had time to update in a while. I plan on leaving everything up, and I’ll add more material when the time is right. I’m working on getting new software to develop better play-a-longs for the website, and I expect to have some new songs up in the next couple of months. Good luck! We’re all in this together. Thanks for supporting jazz and jazz education. Camden
November 13, 2010 in Learning Jazz
Ain’t Misbehavin’ is an important tune by Fats Waller. This is probably the tune people think of first when you think of the harmonic motion in the three bars: IMaj7 #idim7 | ii-7 #iidim7 | iii-7 This is an important progression, and this tune embodies that progression. Fats Waller did the tune in Eb, so that’s the key we are going to use in the chart/jam track. Lots of vocalists sing this song in various keys, of course. Ain’t Misbehavin’-C Instruments (.pdf) Ain’t Misbehavin’-Bb Instruments (.pdf) Ain’t Misbehavin’-Eb Instruments (.pdf) Ain’t Misbehavin’ Play Along Fats Waller [...]
November 5, 2010 in Learning Jazz
This is likely my favorite jazz standard of all time. It’s got a great melody, and I love blowing over the changes! It was written for the musical comedy “And the Angels Sing” by lyricist Johnny Burke and composer Jimmy Van Heusen. Released as a song by Jo Stafford, the tune also reached #10 on the Billboard chart one week in 1944. I used the Miles Davis changes (although they play slight variations throughout, as is commonly true for any jazz recording) in the .pdf chart and the play along. It Could Happen to You changes It Could Happen to [...]
November 3, 2010 in Learning Jazz
In my teaching, I sometimes feel the need to make a chord chart for a particular song to help guitarists comp through a tune. This isn’t intended to be what Joe Pass would do, but it’s a few jazz voicings to get you started comping over St. Thomas. Elizabeth, this is for you (and I’m sure others will benefit also). Click on the link below to learn the voicings. St. Thomas Chords
October 19, 2010 in Uncategorized
Have you ever wanted to improve your solo chops on the guitar? Do you ever feel limited by your lack of fretboard knowledge, especially higher on the neck? Have you ever wanted to connect the different positions on the guitar together in a cohesive way? If so, then the CAGED system may be a great way for you to expand your ability to solo on the guitar. Why CAGED? In a nutshell, CAGED Scales are one way of exploring all the regions of the neck of the guitar. The system breaks down each region of the neck into an easy-to-navigate [...]
October 6, 2010 in Learning Jazz
Soloing over a minor iim7b5-V7-i progression is often played with either melodic minor harmony or harmonic minor harmony. Some musicians prefer the melodic minor sound, while others prefer using the harmonic minor sound. I will demonstrate both sounds over this next two-post series. Jazz melodic minor soloing is a very hip sound. Over a minor ii-V-i, the melodic minor sound is used thus: Over the iim7(b5) chord, use a melodic minor scale up a minor third from the root. Ex. Em7(b5)=G melodic minor Over the V7 chord, use a melodic minor scale up a half-step from the root. Ex. A7=Bb [...]
