Re: [Harp-L] Jam band harpmen - Jazz blues

["Chris Michalek" <Chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"What is a jam band?"  - Think Greatful Dead, Phish, Flecktones etc...

Most jazz players can't play the blues the way we know it.  Jazzers
get board with playing over three chords so they start substituting
other chords. 

A typical blues in F

|| I  | I  | I  | I  |         which,       || F  | F  | F  | F  |
 | IV | IV | I  | I  |    in the key of F,   | Bb | Bb | F  | F  |
 | V  | IV | I  | I  ||        yields:       | C  | Bb | F  | F  ||.

This progression offers a wider range of scale possibilities than
does the basic three chord blues. For example, bars 8 and 9 form a
V-i in G minor, and bars 9-11 form a ii-V-I in F.
The idea of adding ii-V's to the blues progression yields more
variations. For example, consider: 

|| F7     | Bb7    | F7        | Cm7   F7    |
 | Bb7    | Bdim   | F7        | Am7b5 D7alt |
 | Gm7    | C7alt  | F7  D7alt | Gm7   C7alt |.

This particular progression is especially common in bebop and later
styles. Note the substitution of a Bb ii-V-I in bars 4-5, a G minor
ii-V-i in bars 8-9, and a G minor V-i in bars 11-12. Also note the
diminished chord in bar 6. This diminished chord is serving as a
substitute for the dominant seventh, since both Bdim and Bb7b9 share
the same Bb HW (B WH) diminished scale. This same substitution can be
made for the second half of bar 2.
Other variations can be made using tritone substitutions. For
example, Ab7 can be played instead of D7alt in the second half of bar 

You can also change the qualities of the chords, for instance
replacing that Ab7 with an Abm7. Another common substitution is A7alt
for the F7 in bar 11. This substitution works because the chords
share several notes, including the tonic, F, and because the A7alt
forms part of a G minor II-V-i progression with the D7alt and Gm7
that follow.

Charlie Parker carried these types of substitutions to an extreme in
"Blues For Alice". The chord progression in that tune is: 

|| Fmaj7  | Em7b5 A7b9 | Dm7   G7    | Cm7   F7  |
 | Bb7    | Bbm7  Eb7  | Am7   D7    | Abm7  Db7 |
 | Gm7    | C7         | Fmaj7 D7alt | Gm7   C7  |.








>
>
>
>---- Original Message ----
>From: slavio@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Jam band harpmen - Jazz blues
>Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2004 10:09:25 -0500
>
>>
>>> Try to separate your influences.  If I'm playing a jazz tune then
>I
>>> play jazz lines, if I'm playing blues then I sound like a blues
>>> harmonica player.
>>
>>Question for you out there, I often hear Jazz players playing at
>concerts 
>>say:  "The next tune is a blues, blah blah blah ..."
>>
>>Then when they play I find myself surprised because it just dosen't
>seem 
>>like a blues to me at all; not even when I look for it. Is it just
>the chord 
>>progression or what? Feel kinda dumb, but can someone explain this
>to me?
>>
>>Here's another dumb one now that I've opened the can, what's a jam
>band, is 
>>there such a style?
>>  - is that like Led Zeppelin playing live or something?
>>
>>Pierre.
>>
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Chris Michalek