Miles Davis Solo
A transcription and break down of Miles Davis’ solo on the Sonny Rollins tune, “Doxy,” recorded in 1954 on the “Bags’ Groove” album.
Category: Jazz History
Clark Terry autobiography
A quote from Clark, the autobiography of trumpeter Clark Terry: “Emulate, assimilate, and innovate.” (Clark Terry) Clark Terry’s formula for success is prominently displayed at the top of all my jazz improvisation course syllabi. A more succinct and accurate summary of the process for learning jazz doesn’t exist. I just finished…
Contextualizing Jazz
Where Are We? How Did We Get Here? And Where Are We Headed? Why do most jazz history textbooks (not to mention the infamous Ken Burns jazz documentary) end around 1970 and/or give only fleeting mentions of truly contemporary jazz? Is thirty or forty years still too recent to comment…
Essential Jazz Reading: Notes and Tones, by Arthur Taylor
Even now, after having studied and played jazz music for more than three decades, there’s still plenty I will admit to not knowing about the art form, and the context in which much of it was created. I was drawn to this music in the late 1980’s, as a Canadian…
12 Albums
This list came out of a prompt from Bret Zvacek in 2016: “Name twelve jazz albums that made a lasting impression on you—no particular order, one per band.” It was not an invitation to identify the “most important” records in jazz history, nor to assemble a pedagogical checklist for students.…
Clark Terry autobiography
A quote from Clark, the autobiography of trumpeter Clark Terry: “Emulate, assimilate, and innovate.” (Clark Terry) Clark Terry’s formula for success is prominently displayed at the top of all my jazz improvisation course syllabi. A more succinct and accurate summary of the process for learning jazz doesn’t exist. I just finished…
Contextualizing Jazz
Where Are We? How Did We Get Here? And Where Are We Headed? Why do most jazz history textbooks (not to mention the infamous Ken Burns jazz documentary) end around 1970 and/or give only fleeting mentions of truly contemporary jazz? Is thirty or forty years still too recent to comment…
Essential Jazz Reading: Notes and Tones, by Arthur Taylor
Even now, after having studied and played jazz music for more than three decades, there’s still plenty I will admit to not knowing about the art form, and the context in which much of it was created. I was drawn to this music in the late 1980’s, as a Canadian…
12 Albums
This list came out of a prompt from Bret Zvacek in 2016: “Name twelve jazz albums that made a lasting impression on you—no particular order, one per band.” It was not an invitation to identify the “most important” records in jazz history, nor to assemble a pedagogical checklist for students.…