BASS
A Collection of Resources for Jazz Bassists.
NEW METHOD BOOK
A few years ago, Troy Nelson asked if I would be interested in writing a book about building bass lines. Five painstaking months later, the book is complete, and available HERE.
"Build Walking Bass Lines in 14 Days: Jazz & Blues Bass Lines for Upright And Electric Bass" covers the critical aspects of bass playing in a systematic format. Divided into six 15-minute lessons per day, the book is intended to be a resource for beginning and intermediate bassists looking for a methodical approach to improving their ability to create great sounding bass lines. The book is available through Amazon in print and E-book formats, and includes play-along tracks.
Previous MJI Workshops:
Building Better Bass Lines
From Thursday, August 4th 2020 6:30 - 7:30pm
In this workshop, we examined the fundamental
structures of bass playing on the blues form;
discussed some simple strategies to help make your
lines clear, strong, and forward moving; and finally
identified these components in some classic and
modern examples from great jazz bassists.
Previous Workshop Materials:
BetterBassLines.pdf or BetterBassLines.pptx
Bass Solos Workshop
From Thursday, January 7th 2021 6:30 - 7:30pm
In this workshop, we discussed some of the basic challenges of soloing on the bass, examined a step-by-step process for developing freedom in improvisation, and identified some of these concepts in classic examples from great jazz musicians.
And Download Workshop Materials:
BetterBassSolos.pdf or BetterBassSolos.pptx
Leadsheets for Milwaukee Jazz Institute Youth Combos
Please find pdf's of each tune listed alphabetically by title below. Concert charts are attached to the title. Trumpet/Tenor (Bb), Alto (Eb), and Bass Clef charts are listed alongside each title, when available. If you notice mistakes, please let me know so that I can fix them... Thank you!!!
Adam's Apple by Wayne Shorter Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Blue Monk by Thelonious Monk Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Blue Seven by Sonny Rollins Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Cantaloupe Island by Herbie Hancock Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Caramba by Lee Morgan Bb Instr. Eb Instr.
Cool Blues by Charlie Parker Bb Instr. Eb Instr.
Ease It by Paul Chambers Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Equinox by John Coltrane Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Footprints by Wayne Shorter Bb Instr. Eb Instr.
For Rockelle by Rodney Whitaker Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Green Chimneys by Thelonious Monk Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Hey Chico by Lee Morgan Bb Instr. Eb Instr.
In Walked Bud by Thelonious Monk Bb Instr. Eb Instr.
Jive Samba by Nat Adderley Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Just Friends by John Klenner Bb Instr. Eb Instr.
Kojo No Tsuki Traditional/Thelonious Monk Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Listen Here by Eddie Harris Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Mercy Mercy Mercy by Nat Adderley Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Mesmer by Paul Motian Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Milestones by Miles Davis Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
On The Trail by Fred Grofe Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Perdido by Juan Tizol Bb Instr. Eb Instr.
Recorda Me by Joe Henderson Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Rhythm-a-ning by Thelonious Monk Bb Instr. Eb Instr.
Search For The New Land by Lee Morgan Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Solar by Chuck Wayne or Miles Davis Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Soul Sister by Dexter Gordon Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
St Thomas by Sonny Rollins Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
The Jody Grind by Horace Silver Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
The Sticks by Nat Adderley Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Tom Cat by Lee Morgan Bb Instr. Eb Instr. Bass
Some Basic Functional Harmony...
I remember being really overwhelmed at the complexity of the harmonic structures in standards when I was just beginning to learn lots of tunes. It seemed so daunting to try to remember each progression - so incredibly specific and complex.
In an effort to help my students organize and simplify some of this complexity, I've put together a chart of some basic harmonic structures that are found extensively in The American songbook. Hopefully, it will help students begin to classify, identify, and understand some of the common harmonic structures. Let me know what you think! And thanks for your interest!