Emily's melody.
How can the opening of Emily not draw you in? Johnny Mandel's childishly simple 3 note phrase catches your ear and doesn't let go.…
The reward for great art.
I’m in awe of Joe Pass and Johnny Smith’s dense chord melody styles, but recently I’ve been enjoying Bill Frisell’s arrangements. Always the master of taste, Frisell often chooses just one other note to harmonise a melody, like he’s composing a duet to play with himself.…
Do like Sco.
He generates an improvisational landscape rich in aesthetic continuity and motivic development, while keeping the listener on their toes with harmonic surprises and stark textural contrasts. Do Like Eddie from Hand Jive (1994) is an example of his masterful narrative.…
Lush Life.
Billy Strayhorn's crowning glory. Lush Life's reputation as one of the most sophisticated ballads in the jazz repertoire is attested by its unconventional structure, spellbinding melody and intricate harmonic meanderings.…
The music has gotten thick.
Modal jazz is popular jazz. Miles Davis' meanderings in the modal subgenre culminated in Kind of Blue - the best-selling jazz album of all time. It could be argued that Davis' critical acclaim led to the stream of seminal albums released by other artists in the same style.…
Pumping nylon.
I love Bach. After playing lots of his partitas and inventions, I thought it was about time to learn some repertoire more frequently associated with the guitar.…
Young jazz.
Steve Swallow's compositions are fascinating. The cyclic nature of his harmonic progressions are liberating for an improviser.…
New standards.
19/07/20 - week 6 Tune I've been meaning to learn 'My One And Only Love' for a while now, I thought I'd share the process. For me, it's important to transcribe the original recording because these old tunes have a…