Category: b) Harmony & Comping
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So What Intro
The Miles album Kind of Blue really was one of a kind. A fascinating, confident adventure that came back with the treasure in abundance – and the whole story is documented really well in a book by Ashley Khan (see here). (Khan has also written an excellent book dealing with A Love Supreme.) Of the tunes from this…
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Deciphering Jazz Chord Symbols
Jazz relies on a shorthand system of chord notation, which is not universal, not standard, and not terribly logical or consistent, at least at first sight. This article is intended as a brief general guide for people who are new to this quixotic system and aims to give you a grounding in what any given chord symbol…
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Drop 2 More
I wrote about Drop 2 last year here and I’ve had some feedback (a few people really loved the picture of the Golden Retriever with four tennis balls in her mouth – so here she is for a well-deserved encore). In particular, I’ve been asked variations on the following question: “All very well, mate, and…
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The Silver Bullet
Adios then, Señor Blues. We did a couple of numbers as tributes to Horace Silver on the gig last Monday. Didn’t even know someone had written lyrics to Nica’s Dream. Cool though. Horace came up in the bebop era, but really hit his stride in the aftermath. Hard bop – the more accessible, downhome, bluesy,…
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A Rose by Any Other Name…
…would smell as sweet. (That’s yer actual Shakespeare, folks.) But sometimes the rose isn’t what it seems. So when is a rose not a rose? When is a fifth a fourth (or eleventh) and a third not a third? Having possibly thoroughly confused you already, I’ll get to the point. This post is a response to someone…
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The Rhythm Changes of Doom
Someone who has been following my bebop stuff has asked for help in overcoming his fear of Rhythm changes. So I’ll give it a go. Getting a grip on Rhythm changes is a bit like crossing a high bridge (it is known as a bit of a “rite of passage”). When you’re on this side,…
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Crunchy Chord Voicings
Here are some distinctive, three-note crunchy piano voicings for the left hand that you may not have considered. They’ve been used by pretty much everyone, and are a nice option when you want something in between the stark, macho bebop shells and the full, rich perfume of the four-note rootless jobs. They’re incredibly flexible, which…
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What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
How do jazz musicians learn, hear and think of tunes? They do it the way we all understand, read and speak. In chunks and in links between chunks, not word by word. Even when you put a new chart in front of them for the first time, they don’t read a chord at a time,…
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Super Locrian Meets the Dastardly Half Diminishedo
What do you play on a minor II in, say, C minor? D half-diminished, some kind of Ab7 or some kind of D7? Do you know the difference? Or, perhaps more importantly, do you know the similarity? This week I’ll look at some ideas from Bill Evans (jazz’s very own Clark Kent, and okay I’ll…
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How Strange the Change…
…from major to minor. I sometimes get “Dear Auntie Jase” emails, and I think it can be useful to post the results of the correspondence (anonymity guaranteed of course). If you have any questions, do contact me and I’ll try to help more than confuse. So you’ve learned your II V I stuff in the…
Jason Lyon Music 