10 jazz blues tunes every guitarist should know

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10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know New to Jazz Guitar? Visit the Beginner's Guide to Jazz Guitar. And Learn to Play Jazz Guitar Today! When learning how to play jazz guitar, one of the most important elements to check out in the woodshed is making sure you have enough tunes to play when you get out into a jam session or on the bandstand, especially jazz blues tunes. For this reason, I have put together my list of 10 jazz blues tunes every guitarist should know. Often times we’ll be focused on learning all of the chords, scales and arpeggios that we need to be able to comp and solo over jazz-blues changes, but we forget that we also need to learn at least a few heads so that we are ready to take the lead on any tune when it comes to jamming with friends and other musicians. Because there are literally hundreds of jazz-blues heads to choose from, I’ve put together a list of 10 jazz blues tunes every guitarist should know that you can work through in your practice routine and add to your repertoire list. I have chosen a variety of jazz-blues tunes, including riff-based heads, major blues, minor blues, bird blues and common altered blues heads that you can get under your fingers and bring into your playing, so that you always have a good mixture of blues heads to choose from when it comes to jamming or getting out on the bandstand. Have a question or comment about this lesson? Visit the 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know thread in the MWG Forum. If you are new to the jazz blues genre, start by checking out my article “ How to Play a Jazz Blues Chord Progression” before digging into these 10 classic jazz- blues melodies.

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Page 1: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should KnowNew to Jazz Guitar? Visit the Beginner's Guide to Jazz Guitar. And Learn to Play Jazz Guitar Today!

When learning how to play jazz guitar, one of the most important elements to check out in the woodshed is making sure you have enough tunes to play when you get out into a jam session or on the bandstand, especially jazz blues tunes. For this reason, I have put together my list of 10 jazz blues tunes every guitarist should know.Often times we’ll be focused on learning all of the chords, scales and arpeggios that we need to be able to comp and solo over jazz-blues changes, but we forget that we also need to learn at least a few heads so that we are ready to take the lead on any tune when it comes to jamming with friends and other musicians.Because there are literally hundreds of jazz-blues heads to choose from, I’ve put together a list of 10 jazz blues tunes every guitarist should know that you can work through in your practice routine and add to your repertoire list.I have chosen a variety of jazz-blues tunes, including riff-based heads, major blues, minor blues, bird blues and common altered blues heads that you can get under your fingers and bring into your playing, so that you always have a good mixture of blues heads to choose from when it comes to jamming or getting out on the bandstand.Have a question or comment about this lesson? Visit the 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know thread in the MWG Forum. If you are new to the jazz blues genre, start by checking out my article “How to Play a Jazz Blues Chord Progression” before digging into these 10 classic jazz-blues melodies.

Page 2: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

 

 

C Jam Blues This is probably the most commonly learned Jazz Blues head for guitarists as they first begin their exploration of the genre.With only two notes in the melody line, it is easy to play and memorize, and it can be quickly transposed to any key as the line is moved around the neck of the guitar.Though it only has two notes and follows the standard Jazz Blues chord progression, the rhythm can be a little tricky to nail down, which is the element that makes the two-note melody so memorable.So, when learning this tune, make sure you spend the time to get the rhythm down as you bring this classic blues head into your jazz guitar repertoire.  

Page 3: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

Bag’s Groove Another must-know “riff” style jazz blues head, this melody can be played in two ways when taking it onto the guitar fretboard.Some players, especially those just beginning their jazz-guitar journey, will play the melody without the “trills” that you can here when vibes, sax or other horns play the tune, while other players prefer to add those trills into the melody line when they learn it on guitar.No matter which way you prefer to learn the melody line, trills or not, this is a great line that is built from the tonic blues scale, which allows you to learn the fingering quickly as you can build it from a scale shape that you already know, as well as use the melody as the basis for your jazz guitar solos as all of the notes of the melody will sound good when used to solo over the 12-bar blues form.Lastly, as was the case with “C Jam Blues,” since this is a repeated-riff melody line, it is easy to transpose into different keys on the neck as you simply move your hand around the neck to bring it to different keys on the guitar.  

Billie’s Bounce Now we can branch out from the riff-style melody lines and check out a Bebop Jazz Blues progression and melody.If you are unfamiliar with the extended jazz blues changes, check out my article “Jazz Blues Substitutions and Alterations for Guitar” to begin digging into the Bebop side of the jazz-blues genre.Though there are a large number of Charlie Parker blues heads that are classics and deserve to be learned by jazz guitarists of all backgrounds, “Billie’s Bounce” is one that is commonly called on jam sessions, and a jazz-blues Bebop style melody that sits well on the fingerboard, which isn’t always the case when you transfer tunes from sax to the guitar.

Page 4: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

Take it slow when first working on this melody as it does offer some unique fingering challenges that you’ll need to work through.As well, you might need to learn it in a few different positions on the neck, or even shift between positions during the course of one 12-bar chorus, in order to find a comfortable and flowing fingering for the melody.If you are looking for a jazz blues soloing primer, check out my article “Expand Your Jazz Blues Soloing Chops With This 1 Easy Shape.”  

Au Privave Another classic Parker tune that sits well on the neck, “Au Privave” is worth learning as it not only brings a Bebop blues head into your repertoire, but it’s commonly called by sax players and pianists on gigs and jams, so you could double the melody line with them if you have it under your fingers.As is the case with any Bebop tune, working with a metronome and starting slowly is essential when getting this tune under your fingers.As well, work the head out in multiple positions if needed in order to find one that fits well with your fingers on the fretboard.If you are knew to soloing over Bebop jazz blues tunes, check out my article “Jazz Blues Bebop Scales: The Definitive Guide” to help you navigate this sometimes tricky changes by bringing a good dose of Bebop vocabulary into your soloing on this tune.  

Straight No Chaser The last Bebop style jazz-blues head we’ll look at on this list is a classic, highly rhythmic and fun to play tune by Thelonious Monk.This tune can be found in a number of jazz fake books, and there are several books that have different notes/rhythms than others, so it’s worth going to the original recording and checking your notes/timing

Page 5: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

when learning this tune so that they line up with what Monk originally wrote and recorded.Again, soloing over this tune means building your bebop vocabulary, and so learning how to navigate the ii-V in bars 9 and 10, as well as the VI7b9 chord that is often used in bar 8, is essential when bringing this tune into your repertoire list.Played at a slower tempo than some of the other Bebop blues heads, some players, such as Mike Stern on his album “Standards,” prefer to play this track at blistering speeds.So, when learning this head make sure you can at least play it at a medium to medium-up tempo in case you get out into a jam and someone calls it at a quicker tempo than you are used to hearing on your favorite recording.  

Mr. P.C. Shifting gears, we can now look at a few minor blues heads that are must-know tunes for any jazz guitarist. The first, “Mr. P.C.” is a riff-style head written by John Cotrane, and is probably the most commonly called minor-blues head on jam sessions or pick-up gigs and so it’s definitely worth getting under your fingers.Often played at a very fast tempo, getting this melody under your fingers isn’t that difficult compared to navigating these changes at medium-up to up speeds on the bandstand.In order to make sure you are prepared to blow on this tune in a jam or on a gig, make sure you are comfortable soloing over minor key ii-V-i chord changes as that tends to be the part of the tune, bars 9-12, where players struggle when blowing on this tune at faster tempos.  

Birk’s Works 

Page 6: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

Another minor-blues head that is often called on jams and gigs, this is a great way to get under your fingers from a repertoire standpoint, but also from a phrasing standpoint.Because of the way the melody is built, it is a study in how you can take a simple idea, add in a good dose of blues phrasing, and voila, classic melody.As well, if you bring this melody into your soloing, and use it as the basis for your melodic ideas when blowing, you can also bring a strong focus on phrasing and space into your improvisations as well.To see how you can take this idea into the practice room check out my article “Jazz Blues Phrasing Exercises Video Lesson.”  

Blue Train This is the first “out of the ordinary” blues head that we’ll check out and that you should have under your fingers as a jazz guitarist.This tune features 7#9 chords over each change in the melody section, before switching to standard 7th chords in the blowing sections.Because of these changes, and the fact that the melody line is based on the minor pentatonic scale, a lot of players will mistake this for a minor blues tune when first learning to play it, especially if they learn it by ear from the record.It’s easy to make this mistake so if you are in this boat and thought it was a minor blues tune, don’t feel bad.To make sure you have the right changes for the melody and blowing sections of the tune, check out the Jamey Aebersold lead sheet for this tune, or double check your changes with your guitar teacher or more experienced player if you are just starting out with your journey into jazz guitar.  

Blue Seven 

Page 7: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

Written by jazz-sax legend Sonny Rollins, this tune features 7#11 chords for each of the three changes in the form, I7#11, IV7#11 and V7#11.As well, the melody line outlines these changes and so the #11 is prevalent in the scale choice for each chord as well.When working on this blues head and changes, you will need to check out the fourth mode of the melodic minor scale, often called the “Lydian Dominant Scale,” as it can be used to solo over each of the 7#11 chords in the tune.This mode can often sound dissonant when you first get your fingers and ears around these 7 notes, but with time you will become comfortable with it and be able to easily apply it to this, and other, blues tune.So, not only is this tune a classic jazz-blues head that you can call on a jam, it allows you to work on developing your control and understanding of the melodic minor scale and its application to the jazz-blues progression.  

Blues for Alice Probably the most famous non-traditional blues tune, “Blues for Alice” features a series of tough chord changes that have become known simply as “Bird Blues” chords, as the tune was written by Charlie Parker whose nickname was Bird.The melody is tricky to get started on if you haven’t learned a Parker tune before, but it is manageable on the guitar and if you take it up the octave, starting on the F on the 13th fret of the top string, it can actually sit nicely on the neck of the guitar.But it is the chord changes that provide a unique challenge to guitarists that are looking to tackle these fast moving ii-V’s.If you aren’t familiar with the Bird Blues changes this tune might not even be recognizable as a blues progression, especially since it starts on an Fmaj7 chord.

Page 8: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

But, these changes are based on the blues, and are built from adding Bebop subs to the common blues form, and so as tough as it may be, it’s a great tune to get into your playing as you build your jazz blues vocabulary. Do you have a question about the 10 jazz blues tunes every guitarist should know? Share it in the comments section below.

Matt Warnock Guitar Frequently Asked Questions

 

Click any link below for answers to the 9 most frequently asked questions that I receive from readers, students, workshop participants and Facebook followers about how to learn jazz guitar.

  

I Am New To Jazz Guitar. Where Should I Start?

What Are The Essential Beginning Guitar Chords, Scales and Arpeggios?

How do I Learn How to Run My Own Guitar Teacing Website?

How Do I Build An Effective Jazz Guitar Practice Routine?

What Are The Three Elements Of Music?

Should I Play Jazz Guitar With My Fingers Or A Pick?

If I Know Only 1 Jazz Guitar Lick, What Would It Be?

What Are Essential Tunes For A Beginning Jazz Guitarist to Know?

How Do I Play a Jazz Blues Chord Progression?

 

Do you have a question about playing jazz guitar? Post it in the comments section below.

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26 Responses to "10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know"

1. Jamie says:

Reply

Great list Matt, I wouldn’t change one tune from that list! Two lesser-known blues heads I’ve

been enjoying playing at gigs recantly are ‘Soft Winds’ and ‘Vanguard Blues’.

Page 9: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

July 29, 2012 at 3:36 pm

1. Matthew Warnock says:

Reply

Thanks Jamie, yeah those are both lesser-known but very fun to play jazz blues tunes!

July 29, 2012 at 3:45 pm

2. Jim Alrutz says:

Reply

So Matt, from one fingerstyle player to another, how do you handle the trilling in Bags’ Groove?

If I played it with a pick, I’d be fine with tremolo picking and a light touch, but how do you get a

consistent sounding trill with your fingers?

July 29, 2012 at 8:59 pm

1. Matthew Warnock says:

Reply

Hey Jim, I slur all of those trills if I play them. So I would pick the first note and then hammer-

pulloff on the next two notes. Check it out, much easier than fingerpicking every note.

July 29, 2012 at 9:12 pm

3. Nikki MacLeod says:

Reply

Well I reckon you forgot Tenor Madness and Blue Monk but only of course imho ;-)

July 29, 2012 at 9:14 pm

1. Matthew Warnock says:

Reply

Yeah Nikki, those are two great tunes to learn as well. I guess it also depends on where you live

as different cities I’ve gone to like to play Blue Monk on gigs while others like to call Straight No

Chaser. So I guess you can never learn enough blues heads to get them all!

July 29, 2012 at 9:16 pm

4. Jim Mustard says:

Reply

All Blues, Freddie The Freeloader, Blue Monk, Thrill Is Gone, Nobody Loves You (When You’re

Down & Out), Killer Joe, these are all West Coast favorites.

July 30, 2012 at 2:42 pm

5. Matt (A Different One) says:

Reply

Page 10: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

I had always planned on making my first post a detailed question, but I instead I’m inspired to

note that my favorite version of “Birk’s Works” is this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XKypc6AwyQ

(Even if some of the kids look like they need to work on finding two and four.)

Also, great list. The “contemporary” jazz guitarist I think of most when I think of blues is John

Scofield, although that may be different for others. I’m not saying any one of his many blues

heads is “essential,” but there are some good ones. “Wabash III” from Time on My Hands is

really cool — different changes on a 32-bar form. Every played it?

July 30, 2012 at 5:47 pm

1. Matthew Warnock says:

Reply

Yeah there are some cool modern tunes, I played a concert in college where we played Wabash

III, great tune! I also like Locomotion by Trane for a blues with a bridge, kind of a tricky form to

get, but once you do it’s a fun form to jam on.

July 30, 2012 at 5:49 pm

6. Matt (A Different One) says:

Reply

Oh yeah: “Isotope.” Fun melody, cool turnaound.

August 1, 2012 at 2:09 am

7. Marty says:

Reply

Work Song

August 2, 2012 at 3:59 pm

8. DannyD says:

Reply

How about West Coast Blues to get comfortable in 6/8? Doesn’t hurt to learn some Wes

Montgomery if you’re working on your jazz blues guitar chops.

August 2, 2012 at 10:18 pm

9. Gabe says:

Reply

Hey Matt, great article and website, such great resources! Also, just a recommendation: you

could do 10 progressions every jazz guitarist should know (rhythm changes, blues, minor blues,

etc.)

Keep up the great site!

Page 11: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

August 26, 2012 at 7:17 am

1. Matthew Warnock says:

Reply

Thanks Gabe, I did a list like that years ago that you can find here, I need to update it with

examples, but it’ll get you started.

http://www.jazzguitarlife.com/jazz-guitar-lesson-with-mathew-warnock-common-

chord-progressions/

August 26, 2012 at 8:03 am

10. Jeffrey says:

Reply

Hi Matt – I’ve been using this list as a jumping point for getting some blues heads under my

fingers, starting with Straight, No chaser. Do you know of any recordings that use these

alternate/bebop changes in mm. 7-9 that you mentioned? The real book only gives the basic

changes for a 12 bar blues, and I’m trying to get the sound wholly in my ears, since I learned the

head by ear.

Thanks! I love your articles, so many have been helpful to me.

January 13, 2013 at 10:53 pm

1. Matthew Warnock says:

Reply

Hey Jeff, glad you are digging these tunes! Check out Mike Stern’s version, I think he uses the

VI7b9 chord in bar 8, but he plays it very fast. And Miles’ version might use those changes, I

can’t remember but I would check those two to start. I think Miles uses those changes in the

solos

January 13, 2013 at 11:04 pm

11. peter says:

Reply

How about “Oleo”? By the way Matt every guitarists has a curse and mine believe or not is the

timing of “Billies Bounce” never seem to get it right -and usually fake it.

Any views?

January 15, 2013 at 8:41 pm

1. Matthew Warnock says:

Reply

Hey, yeah Oleo is a rhythm changes tune, so I consider is essential but from a rhythm changes

point of view.

Billie’s Bounce is tough to emulate the rhythm of Parker’s recording, you really have to go back

to the original and learn it from there rather than a lead sheet.

Page 12: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

January 16, 2013 at 9:00 pm

12. Erwin says:

Reply

Watermelon man (Herbie Hancock) is an example of a widely played blues pattern in F7,

especially in jamsessions!

January 15, 2013 at 9:27 pm

13. old woodlark says:

Reply

Love your site, Matt.

What is the best source for charts for all these tunes? I have stack of books but still lack most.

January 19, 2013 at 6:17 pm

1. Matthew Warnock says:

Reply

Hey, a lot of the harder ones are in the Real Book. But you can learn the easy riff ones C Jam

Blues, etc from the recordings. They are pretty easy to pick up from the albums.

January 19, 2013 at 6:38 pm

14. oldwoodak says:

Reply

Thanks for the quick reply,

As soon as I sent question I knew the answer. I need to practice transcribing. worked through

the melody of Grant Green’s Count Every Star tonight on to the solos tomorrow.

January 20, 2013 at 10:10 am

15. Michael says:

Reply

“Bag’s Groove” sounds a lot like the theme song from an old sitcom that I can’t quite place yet.

Does anybody else hear this?

April 8, 2013 at 2:34 am

1. Matt Warnock says:

Reply

Hey Michael. I’m not sure if it was exactly the Theme to the Odd Couple TV Show, but it always

reminded me of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDrfHj3j398

Kind of close to that one.

Page 13: 10 Jazz Blues Tunes Every Guitarist Should Know

April 8, 2013 at 6:56 am

1. Michael says:

Reply

That’s the one. Thanks. It’s a little different but you can surely hear Bag’s Groove in

there.

April 8, 2013 at 8:11 am

1. Matt Warnock says:

Reply

For sure, pretty similar!

April 8, 2013 at 8:15 am

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