Jazzin The Blues

**bfloyd6969** · 10-06-2011, 05:01 AM

Hello all. I've been around a little on the forums here but admit that I am more of a blues player.

However, I have been wanting to get more into the jazzy side of the blues and was wondering if this is happening some on the forums here.

I've been procrastinating getting the Jazzin The Blues book/cd combo from John Ganapes as I've used his Blues You Can Use material in the past with some great results. Anyone here been through this book and could share comments on it?

Also, I would like to know some artists/recordings that are doing the jazzy blues style guitar. Thanks!

**robertm2000** · 10-06-2011, 05:55 AM

I've played a lot of blues in the past myself. Grant Green is the player I like who seems to be a bridge between blues style guitar and jazz.

**jmstritt** · 10-06-2011, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by bfloyd6969

Also, I would like to know some artists/recordings that are doing the jazzy blues style guitar. Thanks!

Jimmy Smith, Midnight Special (Kenny Burrell on Guitar)
Jimmy Smith, Organ Grinder Swing (Kenny Burrell on Guitar)
Hank Mobely, Workout! (Grant Green on Guitar)
Oscar Peterson, Hello Herbie (Herb Ellis on Guitar)
Wes Montgomery, Guitar on the Go (Wes Mongtomery on Guitar)

I think that the more you get into jazz you will start to realize that there is a fine line between jazz and blues. Blues is something you feel, not a style of music right? Making the transition to Jazz simply involves playing different tunes. I grew up in Houston, TX and as such grew up playing blues. When I was younger my big heros were Freddie King, Albert Collins, Lightning Hopkins, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, etc. When I first started playing jazz it was difficult for me, because I thought of it as a completely different thing than what I already knew. There are however, plenty of players that blur the lines and have influences in both camps. One of Duke Robbilard's big influences is Charlie Christian. Well CC was also a big influence for Herb Ellis, Wes Montgomery, and pretty much every jazz guitar player after him. Robben Ford is a great blues player, but also played with Miles Davis. When you can go from Miles Davis to Charlie Musselwhite you know there must be some kind of common musical thread right? Another example is Barney Kessel, he was one of the early greats of bebop guitar, but he also played with T-Bone Walker.

My point to all of this is to hopefully be encouraging and say that as you look to add some jazz vocabulary to your playing don't make things more complicated than they really are. There are many of us who have made the switch and can still go back and forth between both camps.

I wish you all the best of luck in advancing your playing! Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!

**derek** · 10-07-2011, 11:48 PM

Originally Posted by jmstritt

Jimmy Smith, Midnight Special (Kenny Burrell on Guitar)
Jimmy Smith, Organ Grinder Swing (Kenny Burrell on Guitar)
Hank Mobely, Workout! (Grant Green on Guitar)
Oscar Peterson, Hello Herbie (Herb Ellis on Guitar)
Wes Montgomery, Guitar on the Go (Wes Mongtomery on Guitar)

Really, it doesn't get much better than these. Even Stevie Ray dipped his toes in these waters with tunes like Riviera Paradise.

**mark105** · 11-05-2011, 09:01 AM

I've been working on some of the material in Jazzin the Blues, good stuff IMHO.

**Extrapolation** · 11-06-2011, 12:31 PM

I would recommend listening to horn and piano players and really get a feel for their phrasing. It'll definitely keep you from playing tired blues guitar cliches, and expand your vocabulary and ideas. Here's a few albums to start off with.

Charles Mingus - Cornell 1964, Complete Live In Amsterdam, The Great Concert Of Charles Mingus, Revenge! The Legendary Paris Concerts, Town Hall Concert: listen particularly to the blues "So Long Eric"; Eric Dolphy, Clifford Jordan, Johnny Coles, and Jaki Byard all play great solos.
John Coltrane - Blue Train
Oliver Nelson - Screamin' The Blues
Hank Mobley - Soul Station
Jackie McLean - Bluesnik
Freddie Hubbard - Open Sesame

A couple of great 12 bar blues that would be ideal to learn are Monk's "Straight, No Chaser" and "Blue Monk". They're both in the Hal Leonard Real Book though I'm sure you can find lead sheets through google or something. Very fun to play and the perfect way to practice "jazzy" blues phrasing.

**Jweele01** · 11-06-2011, 04:20 PM

Not sure if it was mentioned but I like these two by Jim Ferguson:

All Blues for Jazz Guitar: Comping Styles, Chords & Grooves
All Blues Soloing for Jazz Guitar: Scales, Licks, Concepts & Choruses

**Oldman** · 11-06-2011, 10:08 PM

It's good to know there are folks, on this forum, who like to play the Blues.

I'm learning chord melodies of Jazz standard and it's very rewarding.

But, there's nothing like sitting in the backyard and playing the blues. I like to do a I-IV-V chord progression and add a variety of chords you find in playing jazz into the mix.

I string chords and fill in with a couple of well placed notes. It's a lot of fun.

I was at Guitar Center checking out a Fender Super Champ XD, by the way a nice guitar amp for a small price. I was using a Epi Dot Deluxe, another nice guitar for a small price. I was throwing down some double stops, jazz chords, and fills. I have to admit, the amp made the guitar playing stand out. I had another guitar player ask me what I was doing. I showed him and he was impressed on the simplicity, choice of chords, and tone. When I get some cash, I'm going to get me a Super Champ. I love the Fender cleans.

I'm very interested in the Bebop Blues style playing. There's a site, which has a listing for Bebop Blues comping and I think this would be fantastic. If anyone has any experience, with the site, I'd like to hear some input.

I don't know about you folks, but after sitting down and working with chord melodies I like to do some free style playing.

If any of you can point me to some sites that have some Bebop Blues tabs, I'd appreciate it.

Michael

**bfloyd6969** · 11-13-2011, 08:09 AM

I really enjoy this and what I think is a great bridge between jazz and blues!

**JaggedToaster** · 12-02-2011, 07:53 AM

Thanks for this thread

On my wish list of music books is John G's Jazzin' the blues. I'm a fan of his books and his approach.

**bobby d** · 12-31-2011, 03:18 PM

Jazzy Blues or Bluesy Jazz? I love both. I have to recommend listening to Ronnie Earl if you like Blues with a Jazz edge. For a real Jazz guitarist playing Blues it's Joe Pass or Kenny Burrell.

**ES350** · 01-29-2012, 04:48 PM

There is a long line of guitarists who played in the late 40's-50's who came out of a jazz/swing background but did sessions with R/B or blues artists: George Barnes, Mickey Baker, Reggie Boyd, Billy Butler, John Collins, Tiny Grimes, Bill Jennings, etc etc etc...

**Jazzguitarsussx** · 12-23-2012, 02:35 PM

Joe pass recorded many jazz blues a lot of em solo guitar..

**FZ2017** · 09-01-2018, 09:30 AM

Is it just me or is T-bone Walker the jazziest bluesman there ever was? I don't really like that word jazziest but I'm using it for lack of a better word or vocabulary lol. So this thread can be about two things. First about T-bone and 2nd could be another example of a jazzy blues guitar player. Thanks guys!

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**fep** · 09-01-2018, 10:11 AM

This is pretty jazzy

**FZ2017** · 09-01-2018, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by fep

This is pretty jazzy

Yes it is! That's what I'm saying he definitely was a blues player but some of his ideas were more advanced than the average blues player. He definitely had some jazz tinge to him! Plus he had horns backing him most of the time!

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**fep** · 09-01-2018, 10:20 AM

I'll add this cat to the list of jazzy blues players...

**Steven Herron** · 09-01-2018, 10:41 AM

I always thought Duke Robillard fit the bill of being a jazzy blues guitarist.

He often cites T-Bone Walker as one of his early influences so I guess it's not hard to believe.

Duke does a great live jazzy blues version of "Gee I Wish" where it looks like he's playing a Gibson L5.

**Jack E Blue** · 09-01-2018, 11:04 AM

I never get tired of listening to this:

**Jazzstdnt** · 09-01-2018, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by Jack E Blue

I never get tired of listening to this:

Yeah nice. Not to split hairs but that's jazz/blues, as opposed to "jazzy" blues. In other words, it's jazz.

Granted, it's a very slight distinction in some cases.

**ragman1** · 09-01-2018, 07:35 PM

Many years ago I picked up an old cassette tape of Chicago blues bands from some charity shop or other. It was great - unknown bands playing brilliantly. But the thing was that a lot of the guitar solos were definitely very jazzy, not just 13ths and 9ths but altered sounds and clever ones at that.

I've no idea who was playing but they were unquestionably jazz influenced and they knew how to do it. I don't know where that tape is now otherwise I'd treat you to it!

**neatomic** · 09-01-2018, 08:35 PM

same roots..so many...mickey baker, gatemouth brown, teddy bunn, billy butler, saunders king, peewee crayton, lowell fulson..etc etc

junior watson!! is a current master

fellow forum member tim lerch can go between lo down blues and ted greene pretty nicely too!! hah

teddy bunn- jacksons nook...the nook was an after hours chicken shack in sf ca that had after hours sessions with all the top players visiting town

cheers

**Hep To The Jive** · 09-01-2018, 08:44 PM

**neatomic** · 09-01-2018, 09:01 PM

yeah west coast still has a nice jump blues scene...kid ramos, tommy harkenrider, paul pigat, junior watson, tim lerch, rick holmstrom

and they have genre specific gear makers...like grez guitars, tavo vega's nocturne amps & pedals, vintage 47, dunham guitars, tk smith, etc

nice little scene

here's pt one of fave vids from junior..man knows his stuff...