The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Yea... one needs to put in the time. And the better your approach of using that Time.... the better the results will be.
    I do agree with String Navigator.... learn to read music and most doors will open, not to mentioned work.

    But as I always say.... none of this will mean anything if you don't get your technical skills, (chops) together.

    Take a jazz blues test, LOL..... How well can you imply, or sound the Blues when Comping. Do you sound like a rocker or blues player, (not bad or wrong)... just not that jazzy ... by that I mean do you just use 3rds and 7ths. Again not bad or wrong, but is that your approach.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    It's pretty rare to find jazz musicians who follow a neat, chronological path. I'd say that the inverse is more common: most work their way back from the popular music of the day in all directions out of curiosity and/or necessity.

    Therefore, I was surprised to stumble upon a series of videos recently that outlined the former process. James Greer is a 12-year old jazz pianist from Canada who popped up on a YouTube sidebar and grabbed my attention as he was playing an Elmo Hope tune. It was immediately apparent that his lines and comping and general understanding of that music was remarkable: impeccable swing feel, organic narrative flow with little of the "cut and paste" mentality expected of someone so young:

    I was interested to hear James in a group context to check out more clearly how he reacted to other players:

    As it turns out, his first posts as a 10-year old are Albert Ammons & Pete Johnson boogies:

    Unlike most pre-teen jazz musicians whose Youtube channel subscription page is as likely to reveal an interest in contemporary pop music, manga and computer games, Greer's page and all his own videos are hardcore jazz. Interestingly, he's by no means stuck in the distant past as his original compositions are closer to the worlds of Kenny Kirkland & Mulgrew Miller:
    Last edited by PMB; 02-18-2023 at 10:11 PM.

  4. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by PMB
    It's pretty rare to find jazz musicians who follow a neat, chronological path. I'd say that the inverse is more common: most work their way back from the popular music of the day in all directions out of curiosity and/or necessity.

    Therefore, I was surprised to stumble upon a series of videos recently that outlined the former process. James Greer is a 12-year old jazz pianist from Canada who popped up on a YouTube sidebar and grabbed my attention as he was playing an Elmo Hope tune. It was immediately apparent that his lines and comping and general understanding of that music was remarkable: impeccable swing feel, organic narrative flow with little of the "cut and paste" mentality expected of someone so young:

    I was interested to hear James in a group context to check out more clearly how he reacted to other players:

    As it turns out, his first posts as a 10-year old are Albert Ammons & Pete Johnson boogies:

    Unlike most pre-teen jazz musicians whose Youtube channel subscription page is as likely to reveal an interest in contemporary pop music, manga and computer games, Greer's page and all his own videos are hardcore jazz. Interestingly, he's by no means stuck in the distant past as his original compositions are closer to the worlds of Kenny Kirkland & Mulgrew Miller:
    Howard Alden played old tunes on tenor banjo and didn't know what a guitar was.
    It depends of your environment.

    When I was studying jazz, there was a kid I played with, he was the younger and played great. He said his first influence was Lionel Hampton.
    This kid became someone.

    I know some people who grew up in a classical music environment, for them, Baroque, Classical and Romanticism are their pop music.

    My family is not into music but my father was into cinema so I heard a lot of music that sounded like jazz so I like jazz, my father doesn't.
    Even if he has never been very supportive about what I do, he did what he could.
    He still can't understand what I'm really doing.

    So your environment is a very important thing.

  5. #29

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    Some time ago, I borrowed two instruction books by Doug Munro from my local library: Jazz guitar: swing to bebop, and Jazz guitar: Bebop and beyond. They were published by Warner in Miami in 1999 and 2001. Each contained lessons on playing songs in the styles of noted guitarists. They were not taxing and did not require months of study, but they were insightful. Someone more interested in straight-ahead jazz than me might find them very helpful.

  6. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
    Listen at 1.5 speed

    I listened at 1.75 x speed, it sounds more like Bop than Coleman Hawkins sped up. I also think Don Byas was in the grey zone between Swing and Bop, and maybe a handful of others too.

    As much as I feel that Parker was obviously unique and more advanced than what preceded him, I don't think I'll ever understand fully what it must have been like to hear him for the first time in the 40's. I mean, how do you go from hearing Byas one night, then Bird the next and immediately feel like every sax player you ever heard becomes redundant! To me, from the future, the difference seems more subtle than it was for so many back then. But surely it's not really like listening to, say, Clapton for 5 years, then suddenly hearing Hendrix ! - because the difference there is amplified by not just the totally new sound, but also the new look.

    Hmmm, I guess you had to be there...

  7. #31

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    Yea...PMB, thanks.

    Kid is cool. Must have some memory skills. Great feel, it's just a matter of time before he gets his chops up LOL

    Love it, thanks again

  8. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by princeplanet
    I listened at 1.75 x speed, it sounds more like Bop than Coleman Hawkins sped up. I also think Don Byas was in the grey zone between Swing and Bop, and maybe a handful of others too.

    As much as I feel that Parker was obviously unique and more advanced than what preceded him, I don't think I'll ever understand fully what it must have been like to hear him for the first time in the 40's. I mean, how do you go from hearing Byas one night, then Bird the next and immediately feel like every sax player you ever heard becomes redundant! To me, from the future, the difference seems more subtle than it was for so many back then. But surely it's not really like listening to, say, Clapton for 5 years, then suddenly hearing Hendrix ! - because the difference there is amplified by not just the totally new sound, but also the new look.

    Hmmm, I guess you had to be there...
    Don Byas was certainly incredible. His improvisation on I Got Rhythm, a live duet with Slam Stewart at the New York Town Hall in 1945 has a host of fresh harmonic and melodic ideas, including one of the earliest recorded examples of Tatum/Monk changes - F#7 / B7 / | E7 / A7 / | D7 / G7 / | C7 / F7 / | - in the first four bars and some great descending whole-tone sequences. So why wasn't Byas more influential?

    The union recording ban meant that none of what was happening in the clubs was documented officially from mid '42 to late '44. Things really opened up in '45 but Byas was in Europe by the following year. His absence from the local NY scene was surely a huge factor (unlike today when bedroom players in remote towns can become huge Internet phenomenons).

    One factor that distinguishes Parker is his phenomenal rhythmic command. I'm reading Aidan Levy's new Sonny Rollins biography and he reaffirms how all the young cats, including Sonny sounded like Bird for a time. Although Rollins quickly developed his own voice, that rhythmic aspect remained a defining aspect of his improvisations. I still marvel at Parker's ability to drop in and out effortlessly anywhere, crossing bar lines with such ease. On top of that, there's the incredible Bach-like melodic and harmonic architecture of his lines produced at any tempo.

    I suppose the difference in the '60s is that popular music became increasingly about the sound and look of an artist rather than their musical vocabulary. Clapton's tone on The Beano Bluesbreaker's album (Les Paul cranked through a Marshall combo) quickly became the new standard in rock music and unlike Byas, Eric's contribution was already well established in the public mind, at least in Britain before Hendrix picked up the baton. Of course, Jimi's sonic explorations and sartorial flair took things to another level!

  9. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Reg
    Yea...PMB, thanks.

    Kid is cool. Must have some memory skills. Great feel, it's just a matter of time before he gets his chops up LOL

    Love it, thanks again
    Glad you got it, Reg. I'm often not convinced by musical child prodigies but I think this kid, known only by his family and a few locals at this stage, could really make waves down the track.