July 30, 2010 in Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards, Swing Era & Dixieland
These are the regular changes to this song. To experiment with some hip alternate changes, click HERE. And make sure you learn the shout chorus and the piano intro-they are very cool!
Recordings
Amazon.com Widgets
Take the A-Train .pdf
Take the A-Train-C Instruments (.pdf)
Take the A-Train-Bb Instruments (.pdf)
Take the A-Train-Eb Instruments (.pdf)
Take the A-Train Piano Intro
A-Train …
July 28, 2010 in Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards, Swing Era & Dixieland
This standard is the basis for another standard, Bird’s composition Scrapple from the Apple. Bird took the A section of these changes and made a “contrafacts” out of it, or a new melody over the changes to a jazz standard. This is one of the most common standards you must know as a jazz musician. The charismatic Fats Waller released …
July 24, 2010 in Great American Songbook, Jazz Ballads, Jazz Standards
My Funny Valentine was written by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart (before there was Rogers and Hammerstein). It’s from “Babes In Arms,” a 1937 musical from which the standards “Where or When” and “The Lady is a Tramp” also originated. The musical was made into a film starring Judy Garland and 19-year-old Mickey Rooney, in 1939, although they cut My …
June 3, 2010 in Jazz Recordings
This article will use three different recordings of the jazz standard “On the Sunny Side of the Street” to show how a jazz musician can approach learning the melody to a tune.
A jazz melody is often nebulous. I have heard many people say “just listen, you can learn the melody from the recordings.” However, it is often a difficult thing to …
