Jazz Standards

A classic jazz standard, Satin Doll is often one of the first tunes that we study when learning how to comp and solo over jazz guitar progressions. With many famous recordings, including one by Wes Montgomery that is a must hear if you haven’t already, Satin Doll has become a crowd favorite at jam sessions and gigs. Because of its level of popularity in the jazz world, with audiences and players alike, learning how to play Satin…

A fun and interesting chord progression, the tune Killer Joe is a commonly called jazz standard on jam sessions and gigs. While the tune looks easy from an initial look at the chords, especially the A sections which are only two chords, it can be tricky to keep things from becoming monotonous when playing over these changes. Below you will find a chord study written out over the changes to Killer Joe that uses melodic comping phrases…

When learning how to comp over ii V I chord progressions, many of us struggle when taking exercises and chord shapes that we’ve learned in our technical workout and apply these ideas to a practical, tune-based situation. One of the best tunes that you can use when transplanting chords and comping concepts from the technical to comping side or your playing is Take the A Train. With long chord changes, mostly one or more bar long each,…

Summertime is a classic jazz standard that is often played at gigs with a singer.

In this chord study, you will learn how to play Summertime’s chord changes with a variety of voicings such as drop 2 chords, 4th chords and 3 to 9 chords.

My Funny Valentine starts with a recognizable descending minor chord progression that you will find in many other jazz standards as well.

In this lesson, you will learn 10 ways to play the chords of this famous progression.