Benny Green – Decidedly (From the album “Greens”) [LOTW #87]
Once again, another nice 2536251 progression that fits perfectly. Benny uses approaches very well. Especially approaches that are anticipating another harmony. For example in the first measure after he gets to the F# he jumps back up to an A over the Bb7 chord. If he were using the chord scale this note would be […]
Jazz Piano Lick Of The Day #86 – Benny Green – “Wiggin'” (From the album “That’s Right!”)
As you might begin to see there are similarities that exist in Benny’s Lines. He loves to use the #11 over dominants to approach the 5. For example in measure one he jumps back to the F#, to approach the 5th of C. He also use the #11 in measure 3 to approach the 5th […]
Benny Green – Celia (From the album “That’s Right”) [LOTW #85]
Here is another great line that strings together two 2-5’s back to back. Benny Green’s line seamlessly flow together with ease with his use of approaches, bebop scale passing tones, and motif ideas. There’s a reason he is one of the greats. When approaching this lick outline the chord tones and use approaches and passing […]
Benny Green – Just A Tadd (From the album “That’s Right”) [LOTW #84]
This one kicks off our Benny Green series. I absolutely love Benny’s playing. It is very phrase oriented and it always sounds perfect. His lines fit together like a puzzle. All the harmonies connect so well as if there are no holes. This line here is a great line to finish up a 36251 to […]
Mulgrew Miller – Thinking Out Loud (From the album “Hand In Hand”) [LOTW #83]
This is a great maj#5 line to use to spice up major 7th chords. You can use this line over all major 7th chords and especially to end 2-5-1’s. Mulgrew is just using a major scale but adding a #5 into the mix instead of a natural 5. He then comes down with some other […]
Mulgrew Miller – On Green Dolphin Street (From the album “Young At Heart”) [LOTW #82]
Here is a nice pattern type of line you can use for runs. In the first measure he starts his run off by outlining an F7sus chord over the Eb maj7 chord. From here he plays somewhat of an A pentatonic but is leaving out the root. This gives certain colors over the Dmaj7 chord. […]
Mulgrew Miller – I Remember You (From the album “Wingspan”) [LOTW #81]
Mulgrew Miller starts this one of with the Eb7 Bebop scale but quickly defers to some extensions by going to the b13, the note B, jumping to the 3rd, then going #9, b9, Gb then E. In measure 2 he resolves to the fifth of the Abmaj7 chord and plays a diatonic pattern which he […]
Mulgrew Miller – If I Should Lose You (From the album “Live At The Kennedy Center, Vol. 1”) [LOTW #80]
Here is a nice solo break Mulgrew Miller uses over a dominant 7th chord. He starts on the #11 and runs down the altered scale until he gets to the second measure. At this point he has a nice skip pattern he uses to get back in to the altered scale at the C natural […]
Mulgrew Miller – If I Were A Bell (From the album “Live At Yoshi’s Vol. 1”) [LOTW #79]
Mulgrew Miller made a huge impact on jazz history. He will be forever remembered. Here is a nice line over a 2-5-1. He uses the same pattern over both the two chord and the five chord. He goes from the b9 to the #9 to the 3rd then back down to the natural 9, b13 […]
Chick Corea – Tones For Joan’s Bones (From the album “Number Two Express”) [LOTW #78]
I love how this line starts. It is such a cool sound over a dominant chord. If you’re thinking in terms of F7, he starts on the natural 13, the note B then moves to the b7 ,#9, 5th then root. Its a nice fourth pattern that can be used in lots of different ways. […]
