Typical Minor Jazz Blues Chord Progressions

**pauln** · 01-31-2018, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by grahambop

The bit I find hard to play well on a minor blues, say in Cm, is where you get the Ab7 and then maybe Dm7b5 to G7 in bars 9 and 10. Something about those changes kind of trips me up a bit for some reason, I mean to play a line that works convincingly on them.

I don't like just playing pentatonic blues stuff, I want to nail those changes like Dexter Gordon or Wes!

Try this...

When you reach the Ab(7), think about it as extended to look for ideas to play (think of it a 13th even if you don't play it that way).
So for the "Ab(7)" you play Ab(13) to hear it, then experiment playing F Eb Bb Gb and hearing that changing the Eb to D sounds cool. Then invert the chord so the 7th is on the bottom and arp down Ab F C Gb.
So two sets of four notes to play with for the Ab(7). You could just run both arps which sounds cool, or slow play one or the other... I'm just going to put the notes as coordinates (string, fret)...

(Ab(7)

1,13
1,10
2,11
3,11
2,9
3,10
4,10
5,9

For the Dm7b5, you could try a couple of things:

Think of it as the ii of a ii-V and play the V's tritone sub... so play Db Lydian dominant over both the Dm7b5 and the G7 as if the chord pair was really a bII9b5

Dm7b5

2,11
2,9
2,8
3,10
3,8
4,9
4,8
5,11

Treat it as Dm and play D minor pent followed by Gaug played on the G7

Dm7b5

6,10
5,8
4,7
4,10
3,9
2,8
2,12
1,10

G7

5,10
4,9
3,8
2,8
2,11
2,8
2,9
1,11
1,7
1,10
1,8

All this is just for getting something to play so hear the ideas; you'll find more things... You will notice that these kinds of figures lend themselves to different "sounds" (more Latin, more Cool, more Bop...) and have variations in degrees of resolution... for example the first Dm7b5 idea covers the whole ii-V, but if you try to use it on just the ii and use the G7 idea for the V you'll hear that they are resolving in too similar a way and it's not as effective in expressing the change.

**christianm77** · 02-01-2018, 07:13 AM

Ok jazz dudes.

The Ab7 G7 move has been common in harmony for a long time (ie since the 18th century.)

It’s a common move along with the related D7 G7.

Along with ii-v all these moves accomplish the same brief, which is to move into the i chord.

As a result they all function really well as subs for each other. Therefore, it’s good to think of these as subs for ii-V and

The side slip ii-V might be fun.

Ebm7 Ab7 Dm7 G7

Bear in mind you are not limited to using a b9 on G - Parker like Bach often used an A on this chord.

So rather than just turn everything into ii-v don’t forget to reverse it around and turn boring ii-v into more interesting movements.

**christianm77** · 02-01-2018, 07:14 AM

Ok jazz dudes.

The Ab7 G7 move has been common in harmony for a long time (ie since the 18th century.)

It’s a common move along with the related D7 G7.

Along with ii-v all these moves accomplish the same brief, which is to move into the i chord.

As a result they all function really well as subs for each other. Therefore, it’s good to think of these as subs for ii-V and

The side slip ii-V might be fun.

Ebm7 Ab7 Dm7 G7

Bear in mind you are not limited to using a b9 on G7 going to Cm* - Parker like Bach often used an A on this chord.

So rather than just turn everything into ii-v don’t forget to reverse it around and turn boring ii-v into more interesting movements.

*unless you have dickhead comping for you

**grahambop** · 02-01-2018, 08:20 AM

Yes I often tackle it by playing Ebm lines over the Ab7, like a Pat Martino minor thing.

**grahambop** · 02-01-2018, 08:33 AM

Originally Posted by pauln

Try this... (etc)

Thanks, I'll check it out later. Actually I think I am already using some approaches similar to this. It's more a question of working over these changes to make them effortless. So I can negotiate them, but not quite as smoothly in 'real time' as I should like to. Whereas I can play bebop lines seamlessly over a major blues.

Probably it's just that I have played major blues a zillion times, but minor blues not nearly so much.

**pauln** · 02-01-2018, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by grahambop

Thanks, I'll check it out later. Actually I think I am already using some approaches similar to this. It's more a question of working over these changes to make them effortless. So I can negotiate them, but not quite as smoothly in 'real time' as I should like to. Whereas I can play bebop lines seamlessly over a major blues.

Probably it's just that I have played major blues a zillion times, but minor blues not nearly so much.

I'm sure that's it... we internalize the sound of what we have heard and played to where we "hear it coming" and "know how it goes" in advance, with lots of vocabulary whose syntax we can express at speed.

The cure for "soft spots" is immersion, leading to familiarity.

I'll be interested in how you interpret my post after you've had a chance to check it out.

**christianm77** · 02-02-2018, 07:25 AM

Originally Posted by grahambop

Yes I often tackle it by playing Ebm lines over the Ab7, like a Pat Martino minor thing.

It’s big and clever

**grahambop** · 02-02-2018, 08:10 AM

Originally Posted by christianm77

It’s big and clever

haha I'm not sure it's all that clever. just that I found it easier to 'hear' the line like that initially (which I think is what Pat said somewhere). But actually after doing this for a while I found I can now associate those lines with the dominant chord more easily. So it sort of comes round to sounding like a 'dominant' sound too eventually.

Actually it's interesting that when I was practicing these kind of lines in an endless cycle of fifths (I think I was trying to nail the rhythm changes bridge), after a while I could sort of 'flip my ear' at will, to hear them either as minor or as dominant context, without stopping playing.

**christianm77** · 02-02-2018, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by grahambop

haha I'm not sure it's all that clever. just that I found it easier to 'hear' the line like that initially (which I think is what Pat said somewhere). But actually after doing this for a while I found I can now associate those lines with the dominant chord more easily. So it sort of comes round to sounding like a 'dominant' sound too eventually.

Actually it's interesting that when I was practicing these kind of lines in an endless cycle of fifths (I think I was trying to nail the rhythm changes bridge), after a while I could sort of 'flip my ear' at will, to hear them either as minor or as dominant context, without stopping playing.

I think once you can link dominants, minors (and half dim chords) together it opens a lot of doors - and to understand equivalences are two way.

It’s essential imo, for more traditional swing & bop playing.

You can even link the dominant to the Lydian major, closing the circle.

And CST becomes an open book pretty much.

Funny thing is it’s taken me far longer to trust it - I’m still a bit guilty of playing different lines and voicings over different chords, rather than finding contexts for everything.

**AlsoRan** · 02-03-2018, 10:04 PM

I also found this video from one of our members "Jensl."

It was right in line with other material I am finding. When I am not feeling so "blue" I try "jazzing" the progression up with the different suggested modes/scales. What a difference it can make for me in lifting the mood.

Its kind of like I am somber playing the traditional minor Blues scales and minor pentatonic, but when I use dorian and some of the other scales/modes, I get that "lift" that Jazz music give me - that reaching-for-something-more feeling.