I've noticed that when we have a new guitarist sit in that they are generally not familiar with these typical jazz chords and voicing. When you have been pounding out power chords through heavy distortion at a frantic rhythm the nuances of a flatted 9th tend to get lost, but in jazz the beauty is in the varied voicing.

The selection below are just a couple typical examples of the chords called out in Fake Books and my favorite voicing (...meaning these are the more simple voicing).

Chord	Typical Voicing	Notation	Chord	Voicing 1	Voicing 2	Notation
Major 7 ^th Example Cmaj7		1, 3, 5 and 7	Half Diminished or minor 7th Flat 5 Example C^f7 Cm7b5			1, b3 b5, b7
Major 6^th Example: C6		1, 3, 5, 6	Diminished Example C dim or C^o7			1,b3, b5, bb7
Minor 6 ^th Example: A min 6 ^th		1, b3, 5 and 6	Altered Dominate 7^th flat 9 Example C7(b9)			1, 3, b7, b9

Route 66 Intro

This is the 5 bar intro we have been using to Start route 66. The vocals line starts on the first beat following the end of this intro.

Progressions

Try this nifty 12 bar blues progression. First give a listen to the changes so you have a good idea of how the chord changes sound. I use this progression for Route 66 with a few slight changes. In the 5th measure try a C9 instead of the C7, then in the 7th measure substitute the G7 with a G6. The fingering for this allows a nice walk up on the 5th string from the C, C# and D across the three measure. (See the sheet music above for Route 66).

The minor Blues Progression

Chords

This chord has a nice "outside" sound. Our guitarist have been observed to use this in Moon Dance. This song has a rhythmic back and forth movement between the Fm and Gm for 16 bars (20 if you count the 4 bar intro). As a result the C11 can be used to break the monotony with some outside flavor by periodically substituting it for the Gm. This helps the group to count and be ready for the bridge. Thanks Tom for the new chord.

The ninth chord is a main stay in the jazz world. It can transform down and dirty blues into uptown jazz. Figure 1 is the typical voicing we see at our sessions. But an alternate shape is seen in Figure 2. This rootless 9th works great in our G blues tunes; Bessie's Blues, Route 66, and Watermelon Man ( I notice Bob tends to like this voicing). Remember both chord shapes are fully movable up and down the neck so give them a try.

The rootless 9th chord shares its shape with another favorite Jazz chord, the half diminished chord (also called the m7b5), see Figure 3. This chord appears in "Its Impossible" and "Autumn Leaves". Flat the b7 one more time and you have the fully diminished chord which gives "Wave" part of its great sound.

Comping

Comping (from accompaniment) is the art of providing rhythmic and melodic support to a soloist. Chord sustain and logically connecting one chord to another are major characteristics of this valuable technique

Comping is a jazz term used to describe the act of playing accompaniment in an ad lib fashion using the Fake chord names and certain time signature hints to create a background part. It is almost always assigned to one or more of the rhythm instruments (Piano, Guitar, etc.).

This technique allows for a limited amount of freedom on the part of the rhythm section and also is used to free up the copyist from the chore of having to write out arrangements note for note for the rhythm instruments.

When reading a jazz chart in an ensemble setting it is fairly common to encounter a section of two where the notation simply reads "comp" above the staff line, followed by measures and fake chord changes and possibly some rhythm figures as a guideline. The player then must create the accompaniment part "on the fly" in the style of the overall tune.

This practice is useful for accompanying soloists as well as creating effects in intros and choruses.

Listen to this example of comping over SummerTime in Dm. If you like this type of play check out anything by Joe Pass who is truly a master of this style of Jazz Guitar.

Harmonic Minor

The harmonic minor is one of the three so-called diatonic scales - the other two are the major and melodic minor scales. Most of the other scales that are encountered are merely modes (or inversions) of one of these three. This scale is similar to the natural minor (Aeolian mode) but with a raised seventh. This altered note permits stronger sounding resolutions with minor key perfect cadences ( a V to I chord progression). Based on the tonic this scale has a flat third and unaltered seventh making it both major and minor at the same time.

To appreciate this scale you have to hear it in the right context. Listen to this short mp3 file. This is the Intro (entirely G Harmonic Minor) to Summer Time played by Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company circa ~1969. Very cool.

For those who find this version especially haunting, or anyone who was once in love with Janis, I have a video of the group in studio rehearsing this number and discussing the arrangement. Also on tape, is a live performance from Germany. I would be glad to make a copy for you.

What is Jazz?

Interviewer: "What do you expect is in store for the future of jazz guitar?"

Yogi: "I'm thinkin' there'll be a group of guys who've never met talkin'
about it all the time.."

Interviewer: Can you explain jazz?

Yogi: I can't, but I will. 90% of all jazz is half improvisation. The
other half is the part people play while others are playing something they
never played with anyone who played that part. So if you play the wrong
part, its right. If you play the right part, it might be right if you play
it wrong enough. But if you play it too right, it's wrong.

Interviewer: I don't understand.

Yogi: Anyone who understands jazz knows that you can't understand it. It's
too complicated. That's what¹s so simple about it.

Interviewer: Do you understand it?

Yogi: No. That's why I can explain it. If I understood it, I wouldn¹t know
anything about it.

Interviewer: Are there any great jazz player alive today?

Yogi: No. All the great jazz player alive today are dead. Except for the
ones that are still alive. But so many of them are dead, that the ones that
are still alive are dying to be like the ones that are dead. Some would
kill for it.

Interviewer: What is syncopation?

Yogi: That's when the note that you should hear now happens either before or after you hear it. In jazz, you don¹t hear notes when they happen because
that would be some other type of music. Other types of music can be jazz,
but only if they're the same as something different from those other kinds.

Interviewer: Now I really don't understand.

Yogi: I haven't taught you enough for you to not understand jazz that well.

Lessons and Learnings

Jazz Talk Page

Need-to-Know Jazz Chords for Guitar

Route 66 Intro

Progressions

The minor Blues Progression

Chords

Comping

Harmonic Minor

What is Jazz?