Blue Monk is a bebop blues written in 1954 by the great pianist, Thelonious Monk. Below is a video of the first iteration of this tune as released on his Thelonious Monk Trio album. https://youtu.be/WZcTZycaBdg This website his several resources for you on how to play this tune. First and foremost, I encourage you to learn the melody from the recording. You can use a real book, but sometimes the chords are wrong, so I advise to use the recording…
Below you will find the chords for the bebop blues tune, Blue Monk, as played by Thelonious Monk. Please note that these chords are different than the real book changes by design in order to match his initial recording from 1954 off his Thelonious Monk Trio album. Note that the real book includes an E diminished chord in measure six, which could be added in and still match the melody (but that's not how he played it on the recording.)…
Below you will find the two note voicings/guide tones and an example bass line for Blue Monk by the great pianist Thelonious Monk. You can download this by clicking the download button at the bottom. Blue-Monk-2-Note-Voicing-and-Bass-Line-PartsDownload
Lester Leaps in is a "rhythm changes" tune written by Lester Young (tenor saxophonist in Count Basie's band) in 1929. Below is a video of Lester Young playing this tune with Count Basie's Kansas City 7 in 1939. In the Depression, and subsequent World War II, big bands wound up playing with their core personnel and swing started to move to the Bebop style, as evidenced by Count Basie's big band becoming the "Kansas City 7". Benny Moton, Basie's bass…
Below you will find the chords for vanillia changes to the tune Lester Leaps In, which uses the same changes as I Got Rhythm, also known as Rhythm Changes. Lester-Leaps-In-Chords-PartsDownload
Below you will find the two note voicings/guide tones and an example bass line for vanilla changes for Lester Leaps In by the great tenor saxophonist Lester Young. You can download this by clicking the download button at the bottom. Lester-Leaps-In-2-Note-Voicing-and-Bass-Line-Full-ScoreDownload
Route 66 was written by Bob Troupe and performed the first time on an album by the same name by the Nat King Cole trio released in 1946. Below is a video of the trio playing, originally in the key of G. Most people play or sing this in F, but I went ahead and kept it in G for educational purposes. https://youtu.be/JTeR8UD43l8 This website his several resources for you on how to play this tune. First and foremost, I…
Below you will find the chords for the popular standard, Route 66, a blues in G. Usually this song is sung in F, but I chose to write it out in G to match the first recording of the tune. For this particular version, I took the chords off of Nat King Cole's 1946 album by the same name. I used "vanilla" chords, which is basically the least amount of substitutions, with the exception of the 10th measure of the…
Below you will find sheet music for the 2 note voicings, which are also known as the guide tones, and an example bass line for the blues standard Route 66. Route-66-2-Note-Bass-Line-Full-ScoreDownload
Tenor Madness is a tune written by the great Sonny Rollins premiered on his 1956 album by the same name released by Prestige records and featuring John Coltrane also on tenor sax. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MkUvZUTFUc This website his several resources for you on how to play this tune. First and foremost, I encourage you to learn the melody from the recording. You can use a real book, but sometimes the chords are wrong, so I advise to use the recording first. Once…
Below you will find a chord chart for Tenor Madness written by Sonny Rollins. Scroll down until you see your part. You can print the page you need, or use the Download button below to download the PDF to your computer. Tenor-Madness-Chords-v2-PartsDownload Below is the original recording of this blues by Sonny Rollins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MkUvZUTFUc
Below you will find sheet music for Tenor Madness 2 note voicings for piano and a sample bass line with notes written in for convenience. When constructing a bass line, I incorporated a I - vi - ii - V7 turnaround during the last two measures, but that would be dependent on what others were playing on the bandstand. I also incorporated a ii - V7 turnaround in measure 8 per the recording (although this is not on any of…
NOTE: ALL MY EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ARE MOVING TO THE JAZZ IMPROV INSTITUTE at https://www.jazzimprov.net/ . This blog post will be retired. Every musician should sit down at the piano and hammer out the 2 note voicings for every song they learn. In this case, these are the guide tones, or the 3rds and 7ths of each chord. The guidetones are the most important parts of the chord because they identify major/minor for the 7th and the triad. Sonnymoon-for-Two-2-note-PartsDownload
NOTE: ALL MY EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ARE MOVING TO THE JAZZ IMPROV INSTITUTE at https://www.jazzimprov.net/ . This page will be retired end of 2024. Here are the chords outlined for all different instruments for Sonny Rollin's Sonnymoon for Two. You can download the chords by clicking the download button underneath the PDF. On the recording, you will hear a very "plain" blues during the first head - the changes below are the soloing changes and include turnarounds in measure 8 and…
NOTE: ALL MY EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ARE MOVING TO THE JAZZ IMPROV INSTITUTE at https://www.jazzimprov.net/ . This blog post will be retired. The great Sonny Rollins wrote Sonnymoon for Two which was released in 1957. Since then, it has become a jazz standard and was recorded many times. You will hear him play this on his live Village Vanguard album as well as the 2005 release of The Freelance Years, among other albums and collaborations. Below is a recording from the…
NOTE: ALL MY EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ARE MOVING TO THE JAZZ IMPROV INSTITUTE at https://www.jazzimprov.net/ . This blog post will be retired. Below you will find a sample bass line for Sonnymoon for Two. Scroll down till you find your instrument: a C chart, an Eb chart, a Bb chart, and a bass clef chart are included. You can print directly from the website or download the chart to your device or tablet for easy viewing. Only print the page you…
Harry "Sweets" Edison, trumpet player for the Count Basie Big Band, wrote and released Centerpiece on his "Sweetenings" album in 1958. You can't find this album on streaming, but here it is on YouTube, below. Notice the tempo, nothing flashy about this version of the song! https://youtu.be/6ITiowBiMOs This website his several resources for you on how to play this tune. First and foremost, I encourage you to learn the melody from the recording. You can use a real book, but…
Here is a rhythm chart for C instruments, Bb instruments, and Eb instruments for the 12 bar blues, Centerpiece, written by Harry "Sweets" Edison. Notice the ii V7 turnaround in the fourth measure, and the diminished chord at the end of the 6th measure. This is very common in jazz, and creates tension which is resolved up to the chord in measure 7. There is another ii V7 turnaround in the 8th measure which goes toward the 9th measure. Then,…
Below you will find 2 note piano voicings for Centerpiece by Harry "Sweets" Edison. You can use this as a guide and it has not been designed for you to play it exactly as written. Two note voicings are constructed from the 3rd and 7th of the chord. Listen to the recording to hear how Jimmy Jones, the piano player, comped behind the horns. You can use this as a guide for guide tones as well. https://youtu.be/6ITiowBiMOs Centerpiece 2 Note…
Here you will find sheet music on how to play a bass line for the Ab blues, namely, through the song Centerpiece by Harry "Sweets" Edison. Notice the diminished chord - this is common in jazz blues that came after the bebop era. Below is a video of the recording as it was originally released on the album Sweetenings in 1958. https://youtu.be/6ITiowBiMOs Below you will find an example bass line playable on any instrument. Scroll down till you find the…
Nat Adderley, the trumpet playing brother of Cannonball Adderley, wrote "Work Song" for an album by the same name released by Riverside in 1960. Be sure to pay close attention to the hits for the rhythm section on the head. This lesson is based off the recording below. https://youtu.be/VlepuNi40M8 This website his several resources for you on how to play this tune. First and foremost, I encourage you to learn the melody from the recording. You may need to practice…
Nat Adderly, the trumpet playing brother of Cannonball Adderly, wrote "Work Song" for an album by the same name released by Riverside in 1960. Pay close attention to the hits for the rhythm section. This is a 16 bar blues. Below are the chord charts with chords spelled out for each instrument. Scroll down to see your instrument. Download by clicking the button below the PDF. Work-Song-Chords-v2-Parts-1Download Below is a Rhythm Chart for Work Song. This chart gives you the…
When I teach improvisation, I strongly encourage everyone to learn the chords on piano (doesn't have to be complex, can be 2 note voicings) as well as the bass line. I have resources for both 2 note and 3 note voicings. For pianists, consider stretching yourself into being able to play a left hand bass while comping right hand, like an organist. Click the links below for resources on how to play the piano parts. I have included a version…
Below you will find a sample bass line for Work Song by Nat Adderly and Oscar Brown Jr. The music includes a part for concert pitch, Bb instruments (tenor, tpt) and Eb instruments (alto). Scroll down to find your part. You can also download this to your computer or tablet by clicking on the Download button below the sheet music. Work-Song-Bass-Line-PartsDownload https://youtu.be/VlepuNi40M8 https://youtu.be/tqUd7gXxqmc
NOTE: ALL MY EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ARE MOVING TO THE JAZZ IMPROV INSTITUTE at https://www.jazzimprov.net/ . This blog post will be retired. Below you will find a chord chart for the great Sonny Rollins' Sonnymoon for Two, which was originally released in 1957. You will hear him play this on his live Village Vanguard album as well as the 2005 release of The Freelance Years. Below is a recording from the Freelance Years album. https://youtu.be/KCzV9PxGS30 Below is the chord chart. In…