Jazz Blues Concepts Video

Get it off your chest – be the first to comment on this video!

Jazz Blues Concepts

So a 12-bar blues in the sense of a Jazz 12-bar blues is obviously a lot more complex than the basic three chord blues in standard blues playing. And the thing about it is that it's completely drawn from the same concept of the 1 4 and 5 chord, 3 4 bar phrases just like we'd have in the standard blues. And what I was actually just playing was more of a, what we would call Charlie Parker's Parker blues. There is definitely a whole lot of chord changes, and what I was just doing. But ultimately it was the same 12-bar context, and I was up tempo and I was doing like a bass-line with chords which we will talk about in a minute. But what I want to do in this podcast is give you an overview of what a Jazz Blues entails and the difference is that a Jazz Blues will have between the chords in the Jazz Blues and the straight 1-4-5 blues just like a typical blues. So we are going to use the key of F as an example, and I am just going to step you through the 12-bars. I am sure you are familiar with these, 12-bars of a basic F blues. We have one bar of F, a bar of B flat, 2 bars of F, 2 bars of B flat, 2 bars of F, bar C, B flat, F, and then bar C on the turn around; obviously, a straight blues and F. The thing about Jazz is its harmonically complex most of the time unless you are talking about Modern Jazz it's just part of the sounds; like cooking, we just had a lot of ingredients, that's what Jazz is. So the thing about Jazz Blues is it has got a lot of extra changes in there. I am just going to step you through a basic Jazz Blues in the key of F. First measure is going to be in F chord, F7. Second measure is going to be B flat 7 to B diminished, two beats a piece and then a measure of F, F7 again. Then C Minor 7 to F7 in the fourth bar. So again, slowly the first four bars of an F blues in the Jazz chord changes; F, B flat, B, F, C Minor, F. Slowly one more time. I am showing you this like block chords with the bass notes. Before we talk about some other chord voicing you could use, just to get the point across for the bass notes, so you can really hear the harmony. So when you get to the fifth measure, you are basically on the B flat 7 chord. Sixth measure is going to be the B diminished for a whole measure. The seventh measure will be in the F7. And then, in the eighth measure, this is an important one, you are going to actually go to an A Minor7 and then to D7, so you get --. And then, in the ninth measure a full measure of G Minor 7 to full measure of C7 in the tenth measure and then the last two bars to be two piece F7 to D7, G Minor 7 to C7. So the whole thing slowly will be like this. So now that we have looked at the chords that you would play in a Jazz Blues in F with the bass notes with the roots of the chords. Let's think about what that would mean if we were playing in a group with a bass player where his role really is to play those roots of your chords more or less. At that point it's time to not play the roots of the chords in the bass, so you would play things that would sound a little thinner like this. So these chords really have the thirds and sevenths added in those cases of attention. I guess in all cases -- but let me step you through what these are. And of course these are in the chord diagrams in the beginning of the video as well; F13, F9 to B flat13 chord, to a B diminished7, back to F, F dominant 9, C Minor9 to F7#9 flat13. And now into the 4 chords, this is B flat13 and then the B diminished chord and I think about diminished forms is you can move those in Minor third, so you can move those just at will, up and down three frets a piece. That's kind of the same chords just inverts. Back to F. And after that, after the F chord you have got to -- just kind of setting up with the turn around here, A Minor11 to D13 flat9, then the turn around G Minor11, C13 #9. Then the true turn around, last couple of bars here; F9, D7 flat13 flat9, G Minor9, C7 flat13 flat9, and then up to the F13 #9. So some of those chords are pretty bold sounding but that's the kind of stuff that you would hear in a modern Jazz context. In most situations, the point of that really is to get away from playing the roots in the bass if you are playing with the bass player. So really that is drawn from the same elements that make up a 12-bar blues as we know it, really those same basic ideas of the one chord, pentonic sound in that first phrase, the fourth chord in that second phrase and then ultimately a turn around in the last phrase. And you can do a ton of stuff with that, in all of the chords and all of the stuff in playing is outlined at the beginning in the tabs and the chords. You can check those out. I want to step you through that, what I was playing originally in the beginning there, that definitely was a drawn from that same F blues concept but it is more of what we call a Parker blues, a Charlie Parker changes on a blues. And there are some very interesting differences here. What I am doing just is a technique, just as you are going to see I am playing a walking bass with a thumb; like this kind of giving a real smooth legato sound of the thumb and the chord has basically been plucked with the first and second fingers, in most cases, the guide tones in third and seventh of the chord. Like that, you want to shorts the kapo sound, so I am just pulling up and muting. Well the bass note rings out, you kind of give a short muted off B chord sound. So when we play through it again slowly, real slowly to B flat7 to G Minor 7, C7. So let me say slowly what those chords would actually be. Of course this is all tabbed up at the beginning too. F major 7 on the first measure there just walking up to the bass and chord notes, E Minor 7 flat5 to A7 to D Minor7 flat5 to G7 to C Minor7 flat5 to F7. And then into -- we are now in measure five; a B flat7 chord walking up, B flat Minor7 to E flat Dominant7, A minor7, to D7, A flat Minor7 to D flat dominant7 to G Minor 7, now at the ninth bar, G minor7, and then to C7, and now the turn around. This is little tricky but what that is it's if we look at the turn around as we talked about in the other Jazz Blues , the basic Jazz Blues, the basic turn around is 1-6-2-5 so when F7 to D7 to G Minor7 to C7. All we are basically doing is putting dominant seventh chords in front of each of those changes. So I have F7, E flat7 sliding into D7 and A flat7 sliding into G Minor7, then D flat7 sliding into C7, and G flat7 ultimately resolving back to the F chord. So those are some ideas for a Jazz Blues changes. My name is Pierre Bensusan. I would like to play for you a tune dedicated to Michael Hedges which I wrote some years ago. I am going to put my index on that 15th fret and I am going to pick such stream either with my ring finger or with my little finger.

No Links were listed yet. Go ahead and share!

So a 12-bar blues in the sense of a Jazz 12-bar blues is obviously a lot more complex than the basic three chord blues in standard blues playing. And the thing about it is that it's completely drawn from the same concept of the 1 4 and 5 chord, 3 4 bar phrases just like we'd have in the standard blues.

And what I was actually just playing was more of a, what we would call Charlie Parker's Parker blues. There is definitely a whole lot of chord changes, and what I was just doing. But ultimately it was the same 12-bar context, and I was up tempo and I was doing like a bass-line with chords which we will talk about in a minute. But what I want to do in this podcast is give you an overview of what a Jazz Blues entails and the difference is that a Jazz Blues will have between the chords in the Jazz Blues and the straight 1-4-5 blues just like a typical blues.

So we are going to use the key of F as an example, and I am just going to step you through the 12-bars. I am sure you are familiar with these, 12-bars of a basic F blues. We have one bar of F, a bar of B flat, 2 bars of F, 2 bars of B flat, 2 bars of F, bar C, B flat, F, and then bar C on the turn around; obviously, a straight blues and F. The thing about Jazz is its harmonically complex most of the time unless you are talking about Modern Jazz it's just part of the sounds; like cooking, we just had a lot of ingredients, that's what Jazz is.

So the thing about Jazz Blues is it has got a lot of extra changes in there. I am just going to step you through a basic Jazz Blues in the key of F. First measure is going to be in F chord, F7. Second measure is going to be B flat 7 to B diminished, two beats a piece and then a measure of F, F7 again. Then C Minor 7 to F7 in the fourth bar. So again, slowly the first four bars of an F blues in the Jazz chord changes; F, B flat, B, F, C Minor, F. Slowly one more time.

I am showing you this like block chords with the bass notes. Before we talk about some other chord voicing you could use, just to get the point across for the bass notes, so you can really hear the harmony. So when you get to the fifth measure, you are basically on the B flat 7 chord. Sixth measure is going to be the B diminished for a whole measure. The seventh measure will be in the F7. And then, in the eighth measure, this is an important one, you are going to actually go to an A Minor7 and then to D7, so you get --. And then, in the ninth measure a full measure of G Minor 7 to full measure of C7 in the tenth measure and then the last two bars to be two piece F7 to D7, G Minor 7 to C7. So the whole thing slowly will be like this.

So now that we have looked at the chords that you would play in a Jazz Blues in F with the bass notes with the roots of the chords. Let's think about what that would mean if we were playing in a group with a bass player where his role really is to play those roots of your chords more or less. At that point it's time to not play the roots of the chords in the bass, so you would play things that would sound a little thinner like this.

So these chords really have the thirds and sevenths added in those cases of attention. I guess in all cases -- but let me step you through what these are. And of course these are in the chord diagrams in the beginning of the video as well; F13, F9 to B flat13 chord, to a B diminished7, back to F, F dominant 9, C Minor9 to F7#9 flat13. And now into the 4 chords, this is B flat13 and then the B diminished chord and I think about diminished forms is you can move those in Minor third, so you can move those just at will, up and down three frets a piece. That's kind of the same chords just inverts.

Back to F. And after that, after the F chord you have got to -- just kind of setting up with the turn around here, A Minor11 to D13 flat9, then the turn around G Minor11, C13 #9. Then the true turn around, last couple of bars here; F9, D7 flat13 flat9, G Minor9, C7 flat13 flat9, and then up to the F13 #9.

So some of those chords are pretty bold sounding but that's the kind of stuff that you would hear in a modern Jazz context. In most situations, the point of that really is to get away from playing the roots in the bass if you are playing with the bass player. So really that is drawn from the same elements that make up a 12-bar blues as we know it, really those same basic ideas of the one chord, pentonic sound in that first phrase, the fourth chord in that second phrase and then ultimately a turn around in the last phrase.

And you can do a ton of stuff with that, in all of the chords and all of the stuff in playing is outlined at the beginning in the tabs and the chords. You can check those out. I want to step you through that, what I was playing originally in the beginning there, that definitely was a drawn from that same F blues concept but it is more of what we call a Parker blues, a Charlie Parker changes on a blues. And there are some very interesting differences here.

What I am doing just is a technique, just as you are going to see I am playing a walking bass with a thumb; like this kind of giving a real smooth legato sound of the thumb and the chord has basically been plucked with the first and second fingers, in most cases, the guide tones in third and seventh of the chord. Like that, you want to shorts the kapo sound, so I am just pulling up and muting. Well the bass note rings out, you kind of give a short muted off B chord sound.

So when we play through it again slowly, real slowly to B flat7 to G Minor 7, C7. So let me say slowly what those chords would actually be. Of course this is all tabbed up at the beginning too. F major 7 on the first measure there just walking up to the bass and chord notes, E Minor 7 flat5 to A7 to D Minor7 flat5 to G7 to C Minor7 flat5 to F7. And then into -- we are now in measure five; a B flat7 chord walking up, B flat Minor7 to E flat Dominant7, A minor7, to D7, A flat Minor7 to D flat dominant7 to G Minor 7, now at the ninth bar, G minor7, and then to C7, and now the turn around.

This is little tricky but what that is it's if we look at the turn around as we talked about in the other Jazz Blues , the basic Jazz Blues, the basic turn around is 1-6-2-5 so when F7 to D7 to G Minor7 to C7. All we are basically doing is putting dominant seventh chords in front of each of those changes. So I have F7, E flat7 sliding into D7 and A flat7 sliding into G Minor7, then D flat7 sliding into C7, and G flat7 ultimately resolving back to the F chord. So those are some ideas for a Jazz Blues changes.

My name is Pierre Bensusan. I would like to play for you a tune dedicated to Michael Hedges which I wrote some years ago. I am going to put my index on that 15th fret and I am going to pick such stream either with my ring finger or with my little finger.

Transcription by: Scribe4you Transcription Services

Jazz Blues Concepts

Jazz Blues Concepts -

Jazz Blues Concepts -