In this lesson I play and discuss a two chorus solo I wrote on the changes to “Song For My Father”. I play the solo for you on soprano and then talk through all aspects of the solo. I go into detail about what I was thinking when I wrote it and also what kind Read More…

In this lesson I  show you 10 A section Rhythm Changes solos that I’ve written out. These solos are are a collection of great lines that I have collected from the likes of Bob Berg, Hank Mobley, John Coltrane,  Johnny Griffin and others. this lesson originated from  having students work on Rhythm Changes and I Read More…

In this lesson I teach you how to improvise while using some simple thematic ideas through the changes to “Out of Nowhere”.  I give you 10 simple themes and show you how to play them through  the changes.  Playing a thematic idea through changes is a vital skill that all great improvisers have.  At any Read More…

This is a great lesson on how to improvise using key centers. Instead of thinking chord by chord you can improvise just thinking of what key center any part of the tune is in. This is a great lesson to help you change your playing and play more melodically over the changes. This is also Read More…

In this lesson I talk about a number of tools I use to embellish a melody. In this lesson I am demonstrating on “All the Things You Are” These are specific tools that I use quite often when playing standards and embellishing the melody. I talk about approach notes, chord tones, runs, scale useage as Read More…

In this lesson I talk about the process of learning a melody. I demonstrate how I think and what I do when learning a song like “All the Things You Are”. I go through step by step and talk about the secrets and roadblocks to learning and mastering a melody. All samples are demonstrated on Read More…

Skylark is a beautiful standard written by Hoagy Carmichael. I have played this tune over the years but it has never been a part of a my standard repertoire. In this lesson I teach you the methods I use to try to memorize a tune like this and the different ways that I approach playing Read More…

“All Blues” is one of the most popular standards of all time.  It was written by Miles Davis and is on the album “Kind of Blue”.  This is one of the first standards that I use with intermediate improvisers as they learn to play and improvise in 3.  This is also an easier standard to Read More…

In this lesson I take you through my thought process while soloing on a tune like Recorda-Me by Joe Henderson.  I play through the tune for you and then talk about each chord and the different scales and concepts I use on each chord.  I improvise over the tune while using these concepts.  The goal Read More…