Monthly Archives: October 2022

Emulate, Assimilate, Innovate, part 4: Taking the fifth – melodic phrases using perfect 5ths

The ‘Cool Blues’ lick was a phrase Charlie Parker used in multiple improvised solos, including his March 1946 recording of Yardbird Suite and his May 1947 recording of Cheryl.  In February 1947 he recorded an entire composition titled ‘Cool Blues’ … Continue reading

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Leading with the left: Blues solos by Tommy Flanagan and Wynton Kelly that use hand-to-hand conversation (State of the Blues, part 10)

In a Keyboard Magazine article from 2011, George Colligan uses the term ‘hand-to-hand conversation’ to describe an aspect of Horace Silver’s style on piano. He demonstrates this with an example from Silver’s solo on ‘Cape Verdean Blues‘ where Silver alternates … Continue reading

Posted in The State of The Blues (solos on blues progressions) | 1 Comment

Broken Heart for Sale: a tune based on the changes of ‘All of Me’ and a glossary of melodic root position chord patterns – also, a history of the ‘All of Me’ chord progression

The song ‘All of Me’ by Seymour Simons and Gerald Marks is a jazz standard which has been recorded by countless artists. Two versions which show the multiple possibilities the tune contains for improvisers are the studio version by Count … Continue reading

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