The approaching end of 2007 inspired me to write a tutorial about jazz guitar endings:
Do you know more interesting ways to end a song? Let us know at the Jazz Guitar Forum...
The approaching end of 2007 inspired me to write a tutorial about jazz guitar endings:
Do you know more interesting ways to end a song? Let us know at the Jazz Guitar Forum...
I get a lot of emails from guitarists asking me how to play this or that chord on the guitar. Please show me how to play a G7b9, or a Bm7b5(11)...? Now, I don't mind these emails and I will answer them (although it usually takes a while), but what I want to say is: it's easy to find these chords all by yourself, even if you have never played the particular chord before. All you need to do is learn a little music theory once and you'll never have to ask for a chord again.
I explain it all here: How To Make Your Own Guitar Chords
Jason Crawford is an 8-string solo jazz guitarist who actually makes some music with his instrument. I like the way he lays out the theme of "I'll Remember April" in this video, but I'm not very impressed with the impro though. Not that I'd do it better than him, I never even touched a 7- or 8-string guitar (and I'm not planning to, to be honest). Anyway, Jason does a good job on the 8-string, this theme really swings!
technorati tags:solo, jazz, guitar, jason, crawford, 8, string
While browsing on Youtube I discovered this video of jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein. I had never heard of him before, but I like what he does, very tasteful. Here's him playing a song called Bones at the Ballard Jazz Festival with Eric Alexander on tenor saxophone, Chuck Deardorf on bass and Matt Jorgensen on drums.
Joe Zawinul, the legendary keyboard player and electric jazz pioneer died Tuesday, September 11 at the age of 75. He had been hospitalized in a Viennese hospital since last month.
Joe Zawinul helped shaping the sound of jazz fusion. He played in Miles Davis' band and appeared on albums like In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew.
In 1970 he formed his own band called Weather Report together with Wayne Shorter and people like (over the years) Miroslav Vitous, Airto Moreira, Jaco Pastorius, Don Alias, Peter Erskine and Victor Bailey. Zawinul scored two world hits with the songs Mercy, mercy, mercyBirdland and . When Weather Report split up, he formed the band The Zawinul Syndicate.
Here is a video of the Weather Report playing Birdland (with Jaco):
technorati tags:joe, zawinul, weather, report, mercy, birdland, jaco, pastorius, jazz, fusion
In this video Pat Metheny is a guest in some Japanese music show called Ongakuy Wa Sekaida. He starts by playing one of his songs with the Pat Metheny Band (sorry, forgot the name of the song) and then sits together with some Japanese guitarists for an interview/lesson. They talk about picking technique, Wes Montgomery and Pat plays a little solo improvisation on House of the Rising Sun.
technorati tags:pat, metheny, guitar, lessons, band, house, of, the, rising, sun, picking, technique, Japan
I decided to go the video way and made my first jazz guitar video lesson. The video is about comping and I use There WIll Never Be Another You as example. The video is hosted @ Youtube.com:
The guitar chord charts, tabs, backing tracks and explanation you can find at the website:
There WIll Never Be Another You
Let me know what you think of it. More video lessons will follow soon.
technorati tags:jazz, guitar, video, lessons, comping, there, will, never, be, another, you, tabs, chord, chart, backing, tracks
This guy is incredible! John Phil Wayne is a guitarist from London, England who has been pursuing a career as a solo jazz guitarist since 1961. He plays walking bass, chords and solo improvisation at once in a way and with a speed I have never seen before. He has a very strange, but very effective right hand technique. He really deserves his nickname: Thousand Hands.
Check out this clip of John Phil Wayne playing a fast blues:
technorati tags:practice+jazz+cds, practice, jazz, cds, aebersold, band+in+a+box
Points: 8/10
Vince Lewis, long time jazz guitarist and well known studio musician, has just released a new album, entitled “Charlotte Swing – The Gift”. This is trad. jazz that brings you back to the fifties and early sixties. Together with drummer Phil Riddle and bassist Tom Hildreth, Vince has created a nice collection of various old jazz songs, and has accomplished what probably was his goal: to let the listener lean back into that old rocking chair, close his or hers eyes and travel to a place far beyond the stress and intrigues of modern society.
The tight and steady drumming of Phil Riddle makes the perfect “landscape” which Lewis gladly explores, and the lovely, sustaining bass tones created by Tom Hildreth sets the mood. In a funny way these old songs sound fresh and new, though it should be noted that Lewis is far from a newbie on the jazz scene. The first note in “Will You Still Be Mine” shows what is to come, and “Perdido” is the perfect ending for the record. “The Gift” and “Just A Closer Walk” are in my opinion the most interesting songs. “The Gift” with its warm, hot and if I may say so, sexy feel is by far the song that sticks out, in a good way. The latter (“Just A Closer Walk”, that is) starts very gently and melancholic, only to burst out in a beautiful ballad which make you want to pick up an instrument yourself and play along.
All in all this is a very good trad. jazz CD. Vince Lewis uses his great technique and ability to play almost anything perfect to create a calm and cool feel over every song. You can clearly hear that this is a man who lives on the stage! The only thing that might disappoint someone (specially the younger listeners) is the fact that it’s all so perfect. You almost want him to make a mistake. I think it would be very interesting to see (or hear) him do something a bit more experimental. Nevertheless, this is a traditional jazz record, and people who are fond of such music will love it! All in all this is a very good record, and Vince Lewis has set his mark in the history of jazz guitar greats.
technorati tags:philip+catherine, jazz+guitar, nigel+clark, larry+coryell, catherine, coryell
In this video clip you can see some rare footage of George Van Eps, the master of fingerstyle jazz guitar, playing the Gershwin tune 'I've Got a Crush on You'. In the late 1930s George Van Eps designed a 7-string guitar (with an extra bass string). He called his style of playing, later adopted by Howard Alden and John Pizzarelli, "lap piano".
technorati tags:fingerstyle+jazz+guitar, george+van+eps
technorati tags:amazing+fingerstyle+guitar, fingerstyle+guitar, guitar, don+ross, acoustic+guitar, andy+mckee
In this video from 1993, Bill Frisell performs Just Like a Woman on acoustic guitar on a live concert in Austin, Texas. Vely nice!
technorati tags:bill+frisell, acoustic+guitar, guitar, jazz+guitar+videos
I've got some requests for Andy Mckee tabs, but they are available at the website of his record company Candyrat here:
http://candyrat.com/artists/andymckee/
They are not free though, you pay $19.95 for four songs in mp3 format and matching quality guitar tabs and standard notation in .pdf format. There are 5 sets of 4 songs each available.
technorati tags:guitar, practicing, tips
The Free Jazz Chords eBook is a compilation of beginner and advanced guitar chord charts bundled with a comprehensive tutorial about guitar chord theory. You can download the eBook when you subscribe to the Jazz Guitar Gazette (free as well), a newsletter filled with jazz guitar lessons, tips & tricks, guitar licks, answers to your questions and much more.
Download the free ebook here: The Jazz Guitar Chords Book
technorati tags:free, jazz, chords, ebook, guitar, chord, charts, lessons, tricks, tips
The Brazilian Guitar Book is a great book that's written by Nelson Faria and published by Sher Music. If you want to learn authentic Brazilian guitar accompaniments and Latin chord melody arrangements, this is definately the book to go for. The book comes with a CD with audio recordings of each exercise and a tune in each style. Highly recommended and only $24.97!
More information about the Brazilian Guitar Book
Listen to a Sample of the CD
Free lesson: Latin Guitar 101
technorati tags:brazilian, guitar, book, free, latin, chord, melody
This is a lesson for the beginners amongst us:
The tutorial deals with arpeggios, what they are, how we can play them on guitar and how we can use them in your guitar solos. It's the first lesson in a series of beginner tutorials, in which I will be covering all the jazz guitar basics.
If you have questions or remarks about this tutorial, you can post them at this thread in the forum:
http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/jazzguitar-lessons/149-jazz-guitar-101-arpeggios.html#post986
All the Best,
Dirk
Here's the intro clip from E)mily Remler's Advanced Jazz and Latin Improvisation video in the Hot Licks Video series. The tune she plays is one of Antonio Carlos Jobim and is called "Red Blouse" from the album Wave (1967). Emily Remler puts a nice going groove into the tune, although I don't really like how she plays the beginning of the theme, I think she plays it a bit too staccato. Nice video none the less.
Good news, www.jazzguitar.be has a new forum:
http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/
It's going fast: we're only opened for one week and we already have 456 members and 655 posts. There's also a posting contest going on: he who has the most post by May 11th wins the competition. First price is Band in a Box 2007, but there are also prices for 2nd and 3rd place. More Information: The Jazz Guitar Posting Contest
You can post guitar tabs directly into your posts. Here's how: How to Add Guitar Tabs to Your Posts
You can also show Youtube videos directly into your post: How to Add Youtube Videos to Your Posts
And finally, you can register here: http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/register.php
See You There,
Dirk
technorati tags:jazz, guitar, forum, community, contest, tabs
More slap guitar: Reggie and his brother Victor Wooten have a funk off.
Here's another (black and white) video of John McLaughlin with Shakti, playing live in India in 1974. I love the bending technique he uses to mimick Indian scales.
John McLaughlin Tabs
Exotic Guitar Scales
technorati tags:john, mclaughlin, shakti, india
Here's a video of Bireli Lagrene playin at the Montreux Jazz Festival at the age of 13. Bireli Lagrene is a French guitar player who was born in a gypsy family and started playing guitar since he was 4 years old. In these beginning years he sounded very much like Django Reinhardt, but a few years later he found his own sound playing fusion and recording with Jaco Pastorius (1986).
The chops he allready had as a 13 year old are really amazing. His guitar is a bit out of tune though.
technorati tags:bireli, lagrene, jazz, guitar, gypsy, django, reinhardt, montreux, festival
Sylvain Luc is a French guitarist who studied at the Academy de Bayonne as a child. He masters guitar, violin, mandolin and cello (and I was complaining I had to study piano as a second instrument :-) In this video he plays Solar, an original by Miles Davis. I don't like the sound of his guitar too much (what's with the buzzing high E string?), but his incredible technique totally makes up for it. Somewhere in the middle of the video he starts to play slap guitar, very impressive!
technorati tags:sylvain, luc, slap, guitar, solar, miles, davis
Andreas Oberg is a Swedish jazz guitarist who plays mainstream jazz, modern jazz and gypsy swing. This video is a live recording from a gig in Portland in January 2006. This guy sure has an impressive right hand technique!
His website: http://www.andreas-oberg.com/index2.html
More gypsy jazz: Django Reinhardt Licks, Stochelo Rosenberg Licks, Django Reinhardt's guitars
technorati tags:django, reinhardt, gypsy, jazz, guitar, andreas, oberg
There is a new guitar lesson at the site: http://www.jazzguitar.be/half_diminished_chords.html
The lesson is about how to play over half diminished chords. I got a lot of emails of people who are having trouble playing over these chords. There are 13 tools I use to play over half-diminished chords, a Bm7b5 chord in this case:
Do you know some alternative ways to play over m7b5 chords?
technorati tags:guitar, lesson, half, diminished, chords, scale, arpeggio
Chuck Stevens was one of the ten semi-finalists in the 2005 Theloniious Monk Guitar Competition. Check his website out, he makes some really nice music:
www.chuckstevens.net/listen/index.html
technorati tags:jazz, guitar, jazzguitar, jazz-guitar, guitar, jazz, chuck, stevens
Here's a video from a reunion concert of the band Shakti. John McLaughlink formed the original Shakti after the collapse of the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1975. The band played a mixture of jazz and Indian music and featured John on guitar, Zakir Hussain on tabla, Lakshminarayana Shankar on violin and TH. Vinayakram and Ramnad V. Raghavan on mridangam. The band made 3 albums, but split up in 1977. In 1999 there was a reunion with Zakir and Vinayakram for a new album Remember Shakti.
technorati tags:john, mclaughlin, guitar, jazz, zakir, hussain, tabla, india, indian, music, violin, shakti, remember
When you're new to Charlie Hunter and walk into a concert of his, you might be wondering where the bass and organ player are hiding. Charlie Hunter plays a custom-made Novax eight-string guitar through a Leslie-cabinet. He plays bass, organ and solo guitar at the same time. Charlie's main influences were Joe Pass and Tuck Andress, both masters of chord melody guitar.
Here's a short video of Charlie Hunter:
Here's an in depth article, written by Tuck Andress, about various pick and fingerstyle techniques used by jazz guitarists. He talks about Wes Montgomery, George Benson, circle picking, wrist motion, the best pick to use and so much more. Check it out, it's really interesting.
http://www.tuckandpatti.com/pick-finger_tech.html#1.1.8
technorati tags:tuck, andress, wes, montgomery, george, benson, picking, technique, pick, jazz, guitar, fingerpicking
I just revamped and updated my Jazz Guitar Chords eBook. Here's what's inside:
You can get your free copy by subscribing to The Jazz Guitar Gazette (which is free as well):
Get Your Free Copy and Subscription by Clicking Here
technorati tags:jazz, guitar, chords, free, ebook, book, music, theory, newsletter, voicings
The title of this post might imply that I'm having doubts about the masculinity of John Abercrombie, which is not. This video is an excerpt of a Berklee alumni performance of 1988. The band with Emily Remler and John Abercrombie on guitar plays Brigas Nunca Mais, a tune composed by Emily. The band is introduced by John Scofield. The video quality is awful, but the solos and the tune are great.
Emily Remler graduated at Berklee at the age of 18 and recorded her first album at the age of 24. Unfortunately she died at the age of 32 after a heart attack.
technorati tags:emily, remler, john, abercrombie, scofield, guitarist
technorati tags:mimi, fox, jazz, guitar, jazz-guitar, emily, remler
After a two and a half year battle with MDS and leukemenia, Michael Brecker, aged 57, passed away on January 13, 2007 in a New York hospital. Michael Brecker was the most influential tenor sax player of the last 25 years. Brecker recorded a final album while being very sick, he managed to finish it the beginning of January.
He will be greatly missed.
I recently started a new jazz guitar newsletter, called The Jazz Guitar Gazette. It is packed with guitar lessons, jazz licks, chords, cool offers, contests, site updates and answers to all of your questions. Best of all, it is completely free to join!
Subscribe here: The Jazz Guitar Gazette
technorati tags:jazz, guitar, newsletter, gazette