Welcome to episode 184 of the LJS Podcast where today we kick off “Jazz Blues Month!” In this episode, I discuss 3 reasons why you need to master the jazz blues. If you go deep into understanding and navigating a jazz blues it will unlock countless secrets for becoming a great jazz improviser. Here’s why!
Listen to episode 184
We are starting “Jazz Blues Month” here on the LJS podcast, but we are going to be digging in deep into a jazz blues strategies for learning, strategies for improvising over it and strategies for mastering it.But I cannot think of a better way to start than to try to impress upon you the importance of mastering a jazz blues — getting this song form under your belt, being able to play it backwards, forwards, sideways, up, down. Because if you know a jazz blues, it is going to make jazz, in general, so much easier.
So, in today’s episode, we are going to be digging into 3 reasons why you absolutely need to master a jazz blues. But first, a story of the first jazz standard I ever learned.
In this episode:
1. A story about the first jazz standard I learned
2. Reason #1: If you want to understand the tradition of jazz, you need to understand the blues
3. Reason #2: A jazz blues contains most of the crucial harmonic movements in jazz
4. Reason #3: The jazz blues is the perfect platform for developing improv skills
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast. If you aren’t already, make sure you are subscribed on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
I look forward to having you join me in the next episode!
Important Links
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way