Beginning Jazz Workshop Outline

Presented July, 2002 by Doug Talley Goals Reach as many students as possible Enjoyment/love/appreciation of jazz Basic (very) ability to play jazz styles and improvise Recognition of some standard jazz literature Some knowledge of jazz players/composers Instrumentation Non-standard As inclusive as possible Functions as very large combo w/ some big band characteristics Rhythm section placement Behind 1- 5 or 6 horns, piano/bass/drums Beside more than 1 row of horns piano/drums/bass or piano/bass/drums Eye contact with each other Guitar as close to piano as possible Amp behind and to the side of the player, pointed at an angle to be heard by as much of the band as possible Literature Criteria for selection Titles the students will hopefully hear/play again Available jazz recording Composers who were/are historically significant Mostly swing style, some straight eighth-note styles Ex. C-Jam Blues, Sonnymoon for Two, Tenor Madness, Watermelon Man, Preacher, Cantaloupe Island, Caravan, Blue Monk, Blue Seven, etc. Lead sheets (concert pitch, Bb, Eb, B.C., F) Allows all horn players to learn melodies Rhythm section concentrates on style Steady tempo Comping rhythms Sustain, quarter notes, pushes, punches, playing the song Voicings Bass line construction Easy background riffs (by rote) to be played behind soloists Written shout or interlude sections between soloists (unison and/or block writing) Improvisation Start with blues Play recorded example What is the form? Learn melody - rhythms, style, articulations, inflections, releases

Call and response Minor pentatonic (F Ab Bb C Eb F, for F blues) EASY licks, one measure, maybe as few as 2 pitches Sing and play responses Keep it simple, and make it swing Most ineffective solos are the result of rhythm issues One-measure call and response helps students keep their place Blues scale (F Ab Bb B C Eb F, for F blues) Same process as with minor pentatonic Use the new note (B-natural) frequently Dominant (Mixolydian) scales [or your scale of choice] Choose a 3-chord blues song (Sonnymoon for Two, Watermelon Man, etc.) Call and response MAJOR scale on the I chord Scale degree pattern 123454321 Scale degree pattern 12345678987654321 Arpeggio 13531, 1357531, 135797531 Call and response DOMINANT scale Same scale and arpeggio patterns as above Repeat major and dominant process for IV and V chords Call and response dominant scale material following chord progression Keep it simple Response will sometimes be in a different key than the call

A BRIEF (AND VERY INCOMPLETE) LOOK AT SOME JAZZ MATERIALS BASS, DRUMS & PIANO Mel Bays Electric Bass method + Starts from scratch + Learning fingerings, fingerboard - Weak in how to bass line construction - uses intervals rather than scale degrees Bass Lines in Minutes, by Kris Berg, Houston Pub. + Simple to understand + Fast results - Deals w/ individual chords rather than progressions Essential Styles for the Drummer and Bassist, by Houghton and Warrington, Alfred Pub. (2 volumes) 50 styles Reference w/ short (usually 2-measure) bass and drum written excerpt With accompanying CD track and performance/listening notes for each style + great reference for Latin and groove feels

Jerry Cokers Jazz Keyboard, Warner Bros. + great resource - moves very quickly, assumes some knowledge Jazz/Rock Voicings, Dan Haerle, Warner Bros. + great resource, bottom-up voicings - assumes some knowledge Introduction to Jazz Chord Voicing, Bill Boyd, Hal Leonard Intermediate Jazz Chord Voicing + well-written, user-friendly - assumes some knowledge Voicings for Jazz Keyboard, Frank Mantooth, Hal Leonard + 2 basic top-down voicings, plus voicings for alterations + sound good - just do it, lacks some flexibility Chord Voicing Handbook, Matt Harris & Jeff Jarvis, Kendor + pretty good reference - not a method or practice book Jazz Piano Comping, 2 vols., (Houston), Tom Anderson + Identifies different chord qualities + Provides practice songs, but not standards - not really a how to + discusses rhythms, but no CD - user-friendly, but assumes some knowledge JAZZ METHOD BOOKS Essential Elements, Mike Steinel, Hal Leonard + Classroom method, good for typical classroom setting + Standard inst. NOT required. + CD w/call & response + - Ja-Da and St. Louis Blues are the only standards Standard of Excellence + organized well for a classroom setting + 3 styles rock, swing and Latin + CD w/ call & response - NO standards Chop Monster Series (2 vol.), Shelly Berg + theoretically solid

+ plenty of call and response, CD included - no standard literature Approaching the Standards, Willie Hill, Warner Bros. + Individual or group + CD w/plenty of improv., transcription and analysis practice + All standards, 8 per volume (3 volumes) Billies Bounce On the Trail Cantaloupe Island The Preacher Summertime Satin Doll C-Jam Blues I Got Rhythm Nows the Time Sugar Honeysuckle Rose Maiden Voyage Just Squeeze Me Caravan In a Mellow Tone Perdido Tenor Madness Killer Joe Bye Bye Blackbird Take the A Train Softly As In a Morning Sunrise Secret Love Speak Low Cottontail

LISTENING LIBRARY CANNONBALL ADDERLEY - SOMETHIN ELSE, Blue Note 46338, March 9, 1958 HERBIE HANCOCK - MAIDEN VOYAGE, Blue Note 46339 HERBIE HANCOCK TAKIN OFF, 1962, Blue Note JOHN COLTRANE - BLUE TRAIN, 1957, Blue Note 46095 JOHN COLTRANE - JOHN COLTRANE & JOHNNY HARTMAN, Impulse 157 HORACE SILVER - SONG FOR MY FATHER, Blue Note 84185 MILES DAVIS - KIND OF BLUE, Columbia 40579 MILES DAVIS - ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT, (Miles Davis Quintet), Columbia 40610 SONNY ROLLINS - SAXOPHONE COLLOSSUS, OJC 291, June 22, 1956 DIZZY GILLESPIE - JAZZ AT MASSEY HALL, OJC 044, May 15, 1953 CHARLIE PARKER - NOWS THE TIME, Verve 825 671 GENE AMMONS/SONNY STITT - BOSS TENORS, Verve 837 440, August 27, 1961

WES MONTGOMERY - INCREDIBLE JAZZ GUITAR, OJC 036, January 26 and 28, 1960 GRANT GREEN - BORN TO BE BLUE, Blue Note 84432, December 11, 1961 and March 1, 1962 ART BLAKEY - MOANIN, Blue Note 46516, October 30, 1958 ART BLAKEY UGETSU, Riverside 090, June 16, 1963 LESTER YOUNG - THE PRESIDENT PLAYS W/THE OSCAR PETERSON TRIO, Verve 831-670 CARL FONTANA - THE GREAT FONTANA, Uptown Records 27.28 SLIDE HAMPTON - WORLD OF TROMBONES, Black Lion 760113, January 8 & 9, 1979 CHARLES MINGUS MINGUS AH UM, 1960, Columbia COUNT BASIE & HIS ORCHESTRA: THE COMPLETE DECCA RECORDINGS, 1937-39, GRP-Decca Jazz, 1992 APRIL IN PARIS, 1956, Verve STRAIGHT AHEAD, 1867, Uni/Chess DUKE ELLINGTON/COUNT BASIE -- FIRST TIME!, Columbia COL-40586 DUKE ELLINGTON: THE BLANTON WEBSTER BAND, 1940-42, RCA AT NEWPORT, 1956/1987, Columbia AND HIS MOTHER CALLED HIM BILL, 1967/1988, Bluebird OTHER GENERAL RESOURCES Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Inc. http://www.jajazz.com Musichound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide, ed. By Steve Holtje and Nancy Ann Lee, 1998, Visible Ink Press. PG Music makers of Band-in-a-Box http://www.pgmusic.com/ Double-time Jazz online source for jazz CDs, if not available locally. http://www.doubletimejazz.com