Joseph Alexander - The Complete Jazz Guitar Soloing Compilation: Learn Authentic Jazz Guitar in context

Introduction

The jazz blues is the most commonly called tune at any jam night. Its structure has been used to write hundreds of jazz standards, and because of its crossover between the standard Texas 12-bar blues form and the more complex structures of jazz music, it is one of the most important pieces of repertoire to master for any student of jazz guitar.

The jazz blues is a 12-bar blues with a couple of harmonic twists and turns. Sometimes these twists can be taken to some far-reaching extremes (for example, in Charlie Parkers Blues for Alice), however instead of seeing these additions as problems, jazz musicians see them as new opportunities to be expressive, find new melodies and break up the monotony of the standard 12-bar progression.

The chord changes in a jazz blues allow us to move away from the minor pentatonic vocabulary that is abundant in traditional blues melodies and solos. This isnt to say that the minor pentatonic scale isnt used; it definitely is! However, by adding in new chords we can reach for new arpeggios, scales and feelings that the traditional I, IV, V, 12-bar blues doesnt allow us.

Interestingly, some of the more common jazzy harmonic additions have made their way back into standard 12 blues repertoire. You will notice these as we explore the complexity of the jazz 12-bar structure throughout the book.

This book breaks down each section of the jazz blues chord structure and teaches the correct arpeggios, scales, substitutions and approaches available at each stage. We begin simply, but develop the essential first principles into complex, articulate devices that you can use over each chord.

This book has a practical focus on playing musical ideas which are naturally developed through understanding the fundamental principles of jazz. It is not simply a theory book, you will constantly see how every concept discussed can be used to create meaningful, articulate guitar solos.

Much of the information in this book is transferable to many other jazz structures and musical genres. Many of the lines will work over a traditional 12-bar blues too, so you will learn some great lines to pull out when youre jamming with your friends.

Throughout, the focus is on a meaningful transition from essential theoretical principles, to playing musical jazz guitar solos on the blues form.

While not essential, I do highly recommend that you take a look at my book, Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar , as this prepares the groundwork for many of the approaches taken when learning to solo on any jazz standard.

Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar also goes into much more detail on the essential major ii V I chord progression than I have room to include here. One quarter of the jazz blues is formed from a major ii V I chord sequence, so a good understanding of these will be an advantage when working through this book.

I generally avoid talking about minor pentatonic soloing on the assumption that you already have a good grasp of its application on a normal blues. This is not to say dont use the minor pentatonic scale, however, focusing on learning the blues from a bebop perspective will greatly increase your musicianship. You will naturally find yourself adding minor pentatonic/blues scale ideas later, so try not to let yourself noodle with the minor pentatonic instead of practicing.