Jazz for blues guitarists

[Robscott]

@Downunderwonder is right. I made a point of simplifying the repertoire so the 20 or so musicians I work with can step into a gig with no rehearsal...my faves for this kind of easy situation --songs with a structure of "A", if possible (or close to it). Items with stars have some blues changes in them, although some are minor blues.

All Blues*
Jodi Grind*
Comin Home Baby*
Cold Duck Time
Summertime
C Jam Blues*
Mr PC*
Watermelon Man*
Cantalope Island
Footprints*
Bags Groove*
Blue Monk*
Blue Bossa
Mercy Mercy Mercy*
Little Sunflower
Ladybird

More complex structures, but still easier songs.

Killer Joe
Song for my Father
Autumn Leaves
Girl from Ipanema
Triste

That's all I can think of without looking up stuff on my phone...which is away from me now.

Good luck!

Great suggestions. I would add Black Orpheus and How High The Moon

 

[Downunderwonder]

Black Orpheus

big reach for a I IV V kid!

 

[Ostie]

Stormy Monday
In Memory of Elizabeth Reed

 

[JoeWPgh]

Stormy Monday
God Bless the Child
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Rhythm Changes. That's a fundamental progression for jazz, and most music that followed

 

[Carl Hillman]

So What/Impressions

2 chords

 

[turf3]

I think a more fundamental question is whether the person in question has any interest in learning the repertoire and performance practice of jazz as opposed to blues.

Just taking jazz standards and slathering blues scales all over them will not yield pleasing results. If you are not prepared to learn the tunes, and more important, to learn how the different styles sound, then listing off names of tunes that use a blues progression will not be a path to success. There's a big jump between being able to play the tunes in their appropriate context and occasionally dropping in a rippin' blues-sounding line, vs. just coming to everything like it's just another rock and roll 3 chord tune.

 

[klyph]

Yeah, a couple of these are a stretch without personalized instruction in theory/technique, but the soul-jazz suggestions of PauFerro should be doable.
Personally, I think that people used to copping material from pop songs can make a good start by doing this with jazz- from the era when the two terms were synonymous. I think it whets the appetite for learning harmony more than riff based or modal jazz. YMMV, etc., of course.
If he has Spotify, he can easily avail himself of several treasure troves of this music:

The Nat King Cole Trio on Capitol
Billie Holiday on Columbia
Louis Armstrong Orchestra on Decca
Fats Waller
Count Basie with Joe Williams or Jimmy Rushing
Cab Calloway

...and of course, there is no bigger kick in the ass for a guitarist than learning about the existence of Django Reinhardt.

 

[40Hz]

Dude needs to get a Real Book. He needs to start learning more than I-IV-V. Suggest he listen to songs and follow along on the chart. If he wants to join you, it's his job to learn, not yours to spoon feed. IMO.

Bulldog, you know I think the world of you. But I’m sincerely glad the OP doesn’t seem to share that opinion.

Thats an attitude that’s endemic in some jazz circles and one of the biggest turn-offs on the planet for somebody to encounter who might otherwise be interested in getting into jazz for the first time. Especially when you consider jazz isn’t something that you’re ever going to pick up on too well from books or videos. Which is why it’s still a genre that has a very real apprentice and guild system. I found it (back in my early jazz days) like riding a bike or swimming. You hang with people who know how and keep falling off or sinking until one day it clicks and you can.

Unfortunately there’s a lot of local jazzers I’ve seen who tell would be players who want to join in to stay out of the water till you know how to swim. So the would be players soon decide there’s no entry into the club and move on to other genres. And then those same jazzers. who only want to play and jam with knowledgeable and accomplished jazzers, bemoan how the young ‘uns don’t want to get into playing jazz.

Can’t have it both ways. You want to have the majors then you need to give some thought to maintaining your farm teams. And maybe even start a little league just to be on the safe side. Schools are scaling back on music programs everywhere you look. So you can no longer depend on your local Board of Education to provide intro jazz programs anymore.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Bulldog, you know I think the world of you. But I’m sincerely glad the OP doesn’t seem to share that opinion.

Thats an attitude that’s endemic in some jazz circles and one of the biggest turn-offs on the planet for somebody to encounter who might otherwise be interested in getting into jazz for the first time. Especially when you consider jazz isn’t something that you’re ever going to pick up on too well from books or videos. Which is why it’s still a genre that has a very real apprentice and guild system. I found it (back in my early jazz days) like riding a bike or swimming. You hang with people who know how and keep falling off or sinking until one day it clicks and you can.

Unfortunately there’s a lot of local jazzers I’ve seen who tell would be players who want to join in to stay out of the water till you know how to swim. So the would be players soon decide there’s no entry into the club and move on to other genres. And then those same jazzers. who only want to play and jam with knowledgeable and accomplished jazzers, bemoan how the young ‘uns don’t want to get into playing jazz.

Can’t have it both ways. You want to have the majors then you need to give some thought to maintaining your farm teams. And maybe even start a little league just to be on the safe side. Schools are scaling back on music programs everywhere you look. So you can no longer depend on your local Board of Education to provide intro jazz programs anymore.

I am not saying the guitarist has to do it on his own. But he has an obligation to work to improve - OP does not have to just find songs to make it easy for him. It's good that OP is looking for tunes that will be easier for him. As I said, OP should help him find local jazz shows where there are good guitarists, so the guy has inspiration.

Jazz is not my area of expertise. I played it in high school and college, because that was about the only way bassist could play in school. When I was about 40, the drummer in my rock band asked if I wanted to play with his jazz group. No one did anything but tell me what music they were playing.

 

[markjazzbassist]

There is a whole genre of this stuff. It’s called Soul-Jazz. Check out Brother jack mcduff, Jimmy McGriff, Richard groove Holmes, Reuben wilson, Johnny Hammond Smith, etc. it’s prevalent from the mid 60’s to early 70’s. Most lineups are centered around the organ.

Most have blues changes or very simple changes with jazz improv but the rhythm section doing more groove oriented patterns instead of swinging and walking.

I love this stuff to listen to and to play too. Combines my favorites genres, you can be funky and jazzy at the same time!

Great place to start and stretch out from there.

 

[obimark]

I am sorry but being able to play typical blues progressions is the lowest level of electric guitar. Most likely this guy doesn't have the discipline to go beyond.

 

[40Hz]

Jazz is not my area of expertise. I played it in high school and college, because that was about the only way bassist could play in school. When I was about 40, the drummer in my rock band asked if I wanted to play with his jazz group. No one did anything but tell me what music they were playing.

I’ve been almost completely out if jazz since my early twenties despite it being the main genre I was playing (mainly on upright) starting seriously at the age of 16.

I got out of it largely because despite having excellent teachers and some degree if proficiency, I didn’t care for the overall vibe or attitude of the jazz crowd I found myself in. And I never really looked back once I turned the page. And I don’t think I’m the only one who did the same.

Now maybe things have seriously changed since 1975. I’m already long past the time of caring about it for myself. But I would hope the jazzers out there would begin a far more aggressive public outreach for new players and be more welcoming to absolute beginners than I’ve seen them be. Jazz is a fascinating musical idiom. I’d hate to see it go the way classical music largely has and become a living museum piece.

 

[Downunderwonder]

I am sorry but being able to play typical blues progressions is the lowest level of electric guitar. Most likely this guy doesn't have the discipline to go beyond.

Maybe you aren't old enough to have realised it isn't wise to place limited expectations on teenagers.

 

[thehindteet]

If I were to ask you for your favorite jazz blues standards, what would you suggest? If you also have easy non-blues standards that come to mind, feel free to share them. I'd like to include the guy more, instead of having him sit out when no one can think of a blues tune.

Thanks.

i think anybody who plays jazz and is not a poser will understand how the transition from playing blues to playing jazz is not something which makes you holier, its just that you're skipping ahead like 40 or 50 years in time with respect to the style that you like.

I started out playing traditional blues and then transitioned into playing jazz when I was in college. Today some of my gigs are straight ahead blues and some are straight up jazz. It's a totally different aesthetic in each scene, but one thing is the same, and that's the fact that really killer players in each style don't think that style is better than any other. A few of us cross over with no difficulty at all; the people who are insecure about their playing in one style or the other are the only people I know who have hangups.

The most important thing is not to create the impression in this kid that jazz is some bigger, more important thing and that he should put the blues behind him and move on to the real music. So you want to illustrate how jazz starts with blues and builds on top of it, introducing more sounds, not with the later modal stuff like All Blues. So stuff like Birks Works, Blue Monk, Straight No Chaser etc.

I feel like its somewhat harder to get a modern young guitar player interested in, say, Charlie Christian than it is to get a modern alto player into somebody like Cannonball Adderly. Like if you play this kid a Muddy Waters record, and it resonates with him, Charlie Christian or Wes Montgomery might sound dated. So maybe recordings of those tunes with modern guitarists would be more interesting to this kid.

When I was younger, I just wanted to play killing solos and get attention, but sometimes older cats who recognized their younger self in me would take pity on me, not tell me I was playing wrong, but would give me a record which might have some ideas that were close to where I was in my playing but a little further along the blues/jazz continuum. The fact that they recognized my younger tastes and gave me a gentle nudge in the jazz direction instead of being purists was really important to my development, and I do the same thing for younger players I meet today.

So maybe show him a youtube video of Scofield playing straight no chaser or some killing young guitarist playing Billie's Bounce might intrigue this kid way more than telling him to go back and listen to classics. He'll get to the classics later.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I’ve been almost completely out if jazz since my early twenties despite it being the main genre I was playing (mainly on upright) starting seriously at the age of 16.

I got out of it largely because despite having excellent teachers and some degree if proficiency, I didn’t care for the overall vibe or attitude of the jazz crowd I found myself in. And I never really looked back once I turned the page. And I don’t think I’m the only one who did the same.

Now maybe things have seriously changes since 1975. I’m already long past the time of caring about it for myself. But I would hope the jazzers out there would begin a far more aggressive public outreach for new players and be more welcoming to absolute beginners than I’ve seen them be. Jazz is a fascinating musical idiom. I’d hate to see it go the way classical music largely has and become a living museum piece.

We aren't that far apart. I think it's great that the guitarist is stretching, and that OP is welcoming. But if you are going to move into a different genre, you have to be willing to work. The idea is to grow and expand your musical horizons.

 

[40Hz]

We aren't that far apart. I think it's great that the guitarist is stretching, and that OP is welcoming. But if you are going to move into a different genre, you have to be willing to work. The idea is to grow and expand your musical horizons.

Agree. But I didn’t get that said newcomer wasn’t trying based on what the OP was saying. But maybe I missed something.

 

[JoeWPgh]

I remember when I was young and starting out. I lucked into a gig with a real jazz pianist, who was very patient with me. He would count off the songs. 1..2..Starts on F. He taught me to use my ears. He's no longer with us, but my gratitude is.

 

[twinjet]

I am sorry but being able to play typical blues progressions is the lowest level of electric guitar. Most likely this guy doesn't have the discipline to go beyond.

No need to be sorry, but I think you are very wrong. You just can't know where the kid will be in ten years based on what he knows now.

 

[Michedelic]

I am sorry but being able to play typical blues progressions is the lowest level of electric guitar. Most likely this guy doesn't have the discipline to go beyond.

Really? The lowest? Huh... how d’ya figure that?

 

[Robscott]

big reach for a I IV V kid!

Take your point, but if he wants to play jazz he will need to start thinking about other chord structures or he will quickly get lost. And if he doesn't reach beyond I IV V why's he showing up at a jazz night?