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Funk Jazz

Woodstockz

Woodstockz

Sep 23, 2011
684
158
San Diego, Ca
#1
Hi Anthony,

I'm new to Talkbass but I've lurked for a while. I would like to learn jazz, but I am running into a roadblock.

When most people ask for recomendations on learning jazz, the answers generaly point to learning the '50's standards. So What, Autum leaves, ... etc. I will study those if I have to, but I am more interested in modern jazz style, like Mr. Majic [Grover], Always There [Ronnie Laws], Chicago Song [Miller/Sanborn], Euge Groove, etc. Funkier jazz.

I ran into this same roadblock on the piano. I studied piano for awhile and wanted to play jazz. I have a few Jazz piano theory books covering modes and ii-V-I progression, but nothing with a funky groove.

I always liked learning the basslines, so I switched to the bass. Any recommendations for funky jazz resources?

Thanks!!! :bassist:

[PS. On the piano, we had to learn to read both treble and bass cleff. On the bass, you only have to read one].
 
#2
Yo Wood,

I'm not sure if I can help because I don't teach is a genre specific way. I feel that if you teach someone the fundamentals of music and bass then you have prepared them the best way that you can. Then it comes down to listening a lot and playing as much as you can with as many people as you can.

Remember that a CMaj7 chord is the same CMaj7 chord in Jazz, Funk, Rock, Polka, Reggae. Etc,...

What makes a 'genre' is stuff other than notes. Genres, like accents comes from geographic locations and 'isolation'. That's why genres can be traced to specific places.

If person grows up in Jamaica and listens to Reggae his whole life, when he comes to me to learn how to play the bass I don't have to teach him how to play Reggae. He's lived that. All he needs to learn is the fundamentals of bass and music. Any other genre he wants to learn will involve a great deal of listening on his part.

I hope this helps!

peace,
anthony
 
#3
Anthony, thanks for the reply...I didn't expect a response so quickly.

It helps a little. The way you play that CMaj7 chord is rooted in the style/genre. I can buy that. I partially agree with your analogy, but I not completely. I think that is because I didn't grow up learning to play songs by ear.

I listened to R&B and jazz growing up, but learning jazz and R&B didn't come quickly to me after learning classical piano while in college. I had to study jazz specifically to play jazz and study R&B specifically to play R&B...Instead just reading a long stream of classical notes.

Thanks again.
 
#4
My major in college was 'Studio Music and Jazz'. I had to take 'traditional' theory and Jazz Theory. The only difference I can see between the two is the names they give things and the music we listen to. You discern genres by listening. If you charted out a Jazz tune in paper it could be played Reggae if you do desired. And vice versa.

Studying 1 genre is studying music theory in a limited way.

I've been teaching for over 20 years and I've had countless students get scholarships to colleges. I've found that if I prepare them with fundamentals and I get to listen to as many different kinds of music as possible they become well rounded musicians. Not just musicians who only can play one genre.

There's so much more I can say but typing on my iPhone with 1 finger is starting to cause me a great deal of pain.

I guess you just gotta' find that works for you. I've found what works for me and the countless students I've had.

peace,
anthony
 
#6
I haven't been playing that long but I've studied with Anthony for a few years now. He taught me everything I know about bass. The one thing he can't teach you is how to play the way you want. To do that, you have to just go do it. After getting some fundamentals down, I hooked up with a southern rock and blues band gigging around town. Then I did some stuff with a neo-country band. I'm now in an alt-rock band and looking to start a side project doing jazz standards in a trio setting.

I learned something different in each band and I know for a fact I could not have gained that experience by sitting in my basement working on the stuff Ant gave me, as invaluable as it is. You will actually have to apply it in a gigging setting to make it work.

Bottom line is you'll figure out how to play the music by playing it. Seems kinda obvious to say it, but it's not obvious until you get out there and have the pressure applied on you to find out how to make it happen.

Learning the stuff Ant shows you allows you to execute the stuff you want to and allows to know what you're doing. He can give a ton of pointers for any type of music, but invariably you will teach yourself to play your music. The cool thing is that you may start out copying Anthony Jackson's Mr Magic bassline, but after awhile you start to do it the way you want and it ends up being just as cool.
 
#7
Woodstockz: Don't undervalue learning "traditional" jazz, like So What, Autum leaves, etc. Contemporary jazz is frequently based on traditional jazz harmonically, but not rhythmically. Grover, Sanborn, and all those guys learned the jazz standards first, and can play the )@(#$* out of it.
 
#8
Take the standards and work them with funk/jazz feel. Slow 'em down, grab a funky drum loop, and just start playing along. You'll get to work the chord changes - and all the good stuff that comes from that - while working the groove you want to pursue. I doubt there is a strong funk-jazz player who has not worked through the standards - you HAVE to learn working those kind of chord changes, which are fundamental to the vocabulary of jazz. And just about anything can be funkified, if your funk be bona fide. But it is 2011, so need to lock yourself into bop or post-bop grooves (although doing so, on occasion, also puts you in touch with an important part jazz history, which is worth your time as well, but no reason to let that block you from the essential mission of learning how to negotiate traditional changes).
 
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