Jason Lyon Music

Tag: bebop

  • Brecker’s Magic Third

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    Jason
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    Or is it? Here’s a recent YouTube post by Jazz Duets. Do watch it, and subscribe to Nick because he puts up some good stuff. Now then. All sorts of interesting ideas proposed and some useful approaches spun off. But can we use a bit of detective work, apply Occam’s razor and come up with…

  • Bebop Part III – Find the Lady

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    I’ve admitted before that I’m not really much of a licker. But there are some gestures that are more than licks, they’re essential idiomatic vocabulary. Thanks to SG for pointing out that I’d missed this one from my bebop posts. Well, it was sort of in there – but I don’t think I highlighted it…

  • Monky Business

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    Jason
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    Some thoughts on whole-tone scales, altered scales and passing tones. Ah, Thelonius Sphere Monk (certainly no square). A very influential composer and performer. He was once described by a hip journo as “the high beast of prebop” (clever Spoonerism or a boozy lunch, you be the judge). Monk was actually an incredibly naturally gifted musician…

  • Bebop Part II – All the Exercises You Can Eat

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    Bebop is ultimately all about being able to play any chromatic tone on any chord. Obviously, if we just play chromatically with free abandon, the harmony goes out the window. Theory dictates that we place strong tones on strong beats to best convey the harmony. The principle is simple – these exercises are designed to…

  • Bebop Part I – Perpetual Motion Exercises

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    Bebop is much more than just one particular style, it is pretty much the “grammar” of modern jazz, and bebop “licks” are not so much cliches as essential elements of speech within the jazz language. Here are some bebop exercises to practise that repeat themselves over and over and make musical sense, so they work…

  • Transcription: Bill Evans on Love for Sale

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    Jason
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    This is a transcription of the two-chorus solo that pianist Bill Evans takes with the Miles Davis Sextet on Love for Sale. It’s taken from the Columbia recording originally entitled Jazz Track, although these days you’re probably more likely to find it under the reissue title of ’58 Miles. I think this solo is one…