DENNY ILETTTHE ORGAN BLUES SESSIONSHello, music lovers! Welcome to the Organ Blues sessions. In this series you’ll be jamming over some swing jazz, rhumba, 6/8 time, funk & boogaloo tracks which were recorded live in the studio by my regular organ trio of Dan Moore on Hammond organ, Matt Brown on Drums and myself on Rhythm Guitar. I added the little percussion bits later on whilst mixing. If you’re familiar with Grant Green, Wes Montgomery or Kenny Burrell then you’ll know they

were three great jazz/blues guitarists who utilised the organ trio format to amazing effect. The major difference with this grouping is the fact that the bassline is taken care of by the organists left hand while he ‘comps’ with the right. A perfect example of this technique and sound can be heard/seen if you check out my mate Matt Schofield’s band. Remember, the inspiration for these tracks dates to a time when jazz and blues were interlinked. All of my favourite jazz guitarists were also incredible blues players although they would never have made the distinction between the two ‘genres’. They just played the music they heard and felt. There’s a lesson in there for all of us.

Blues for Kenny Here’s an up-tempo swing blues inspired by the amazing Kenny Burrell, one of my all-time heroes. He has the ability to say so much with so few notes and although he has chops to die for, he never felt like he had to constantly display them. I tried to make my solo as ‘sentence-like’ as possible by playing phrases only as long as I could sing them. When you run out of breath you have to stop and then start a new line. Be aware of this when you play and try to sing your lines as you play them, it’s a great way to practice being more musical in your playing as it gets you thinking about your note choices more. Notice the II-V ending to the sequence as opposed to the more traditional V-IV. This’ll give you a chance to work on those dorian/myxolydian licks on the Gm7-C7 in bars 9 & 10 of the sequence.

Boogaloo Blues This one is inspired by the series of funky albums Grant Green made at the end of the 60’s and into the 70’s. Grant was part of a movement that provided an ‘antidote’ to the direction that jazz was going in. The so-called ‘free jazz’ musicians led by John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and others had taken the music so far out that very few, including most musicians, could understand what was going on. At the same time, players like Grant Green, Cannonball Adderley and Kenny Burrell were taking their music back to it’s blues-based roots and my Boogaloo Blues is a tribute to that time. Notice that it doesn’t move to the IV chord but stays on a extended I chord before the little figure that outlines the V. This was a common technique of Grant Green’s. Some of his tunes only had 1 chord in, which the guys would riff and jam on for ages….. fantastic stuff!

East Coast Roast Wes Montgomery’s West Coast Blues was the muse for this track. It’s a chance to play some blues in 6/8 or jazz waltz time. I’ve put this one in Dm to give you a chance to get some cool sounding Dorian licks working. Although you might hear some very ‘jazz’ sounding lines in my solo, I’ll let you into a little secret… 95% of them are based on D dorian for the one chord and G dorian for the IV chord. Look at the dorian scale/mode as a minor pentatonic (which you already know) with added 6th and 9th. On the V chord (which actually goes; 2 bars Bb13 and 2 bars A7+5) I’m mostly, if at all, targeting the chord tones of Bb13 which are Ab, Bb, D & G and the A7+5; G, A, C# & F. The rest of it is minor pentatonic in D. Experiment with finding some chromatic moves between chord tones which you’ll hear a lot of in my playing.

One to Four This is another Grant Green inspired groove. This kind of lazy beat over a constant I to IV chord sequence is one that has given me countless years of fun to jam over. We’re in the key of E here and you can happily run round the E minor pentatonic all day if you want. As you get more into it, try targeting the chord tones for the A7 (IV) chord G, A, C# and E as the sequence changes and you’ll find some really satisfying ends to your line before launching into the next. In my solo, I’m also using the myxolydian scale/mode quite a lot which is simply a major scale with a flattened 7th (the note that changes a regular E to an E7, i.e D) With this kind of repeating chord sequence, it’s also good to practice singing your lines as you play them….. I’ve said it before but this is one of the most important things to work on in your playing. Get into the habit of doing it!

Rhumba Blues Here’s a groovy little Rhumba blues with a latin/new orleans type beat. We’re in G this time and I’ve stuck to the tried and tested I-IV-V blues progression. The minor pentatonic can be your ‘go-to’ scale here but experiment with some major tonality also by using the myxolydian mode. If you do that for the I chord and then slip into G minor pentatonic for the IV you’ll immediately separate yourself from all those blues players who stick on the pentatonic exclusively. On that note, target the chord tones of the D7 (the V chord) C, D, F# & A and you’ll find some great sounds. As with all my jam tracks, the object is to create lovely sounding melodic lines so if you need inspiration, listen to Kenny Burrell and Grant Green etc and hear how they make so much music with seemingly so few notes.

I hope you have a lot of fun jamming with these tracks and if you learn some new ways of negotiating a blues along the way, then great!! Stay musical and see you next time.

Cheers, Denny Ilett

DENNY ILETT - The Organ Blues Sessions