Jazz Guitar

Charlie Christian is often referred to as the father of jazz guitar, and for good reason. In the late 1930s, he fundamentally changed the role of the guitar in jazz. Before Christian, the guitar was primarily a rhythm instrument, fighting for volume in big bands. By being one of the first to use amplification, Charlie […] The post Charlie Christian – Grand Slam Solo (F Jazz Blues) appeared first on Jazz Guitar Online | Free Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks, Tips & Tricks.. […]

In the late ’50s and early ’60s, Paul Desmond recorded six classic piano-less albums with jazz guitarist Jim Hall. This quartet featured Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, Jim Hall on guitar, Connie Kay on drums, and Eugene Wright on bass. In this lesson, you will learn 5 Jim Hall intros taken from these recordings. Here […] The post 5 Jim Hall Jazz Guitar Intros (Paul Desmond Quartet) appeared first on Jazz Guitar Online | Free Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks, Tips & Tricks.. […]

This Barney Kessel blues comes from a 1974 BBC TV program called The Five Faces of the Guitar, later released on the album Live & Rare. The track is simply titled “Blues“. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to play the theme of this blues and part of the intro. The theme employs half-diminished (m7b5) […] The post Blues in C (Barney Kessel) appeared first on Jazz Guitar Online | Free Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks, Tips & Tricks.. […]

Nardis is a jazz standard written by Miles Davis for Cannonball Adderley’s album Portrait of Cannonball, which also featured a young Bill Evans. Strangely enough, Miles never recorded it himself, but the song became a signature piece for Bill Evans, who played it regularly with his trio. There’s a bit of controversy about who actually […] The post Nardis (Miles Davis) – Chord Melody & Jazz Guitar Solo appeared first on Jazz Guitar Online | Free Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks, Tips & Tricks.. […]

Arthur Hamilton composed Cry Me a River in 1953. The tune gained wide attention when Julie London recorded it two years later, with Barney Kessel on guitar. It has since become a jazz standard, recorded by Joe Pass, Diana Krall, and many others. In this lesson, you will learn a chord-melody version played over a […] The post Cry Me a River – Jazz Guitar Chord Melody appeared first on Jazz Guitar Online | Free Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks, Tips & Tricks.. […]

Baby I’m a Fool is a song by Melody Gardot, released in 2009 on her second album My One and Only Thrill. In this mini-lesson, we look at the chord progression played by Melody. The chords (except one), rhythm, and tempo are relatively easy, so this one is suitable for beginners. The song is in […] The post Baby I’m a Fool (Melody Gardot) – Jazz Guitar Chords appeared first on Jazz Guitar Online | Free Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks, Tips & Tricks.. […]

Cry Me a River was written by Arthur Hamilton in 1953 and became famous through Julie London’s 1955 recording, featuring Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Leatherwood on double bass. In this mini lesson, you’ll learn Barney Kessel’s guitar intro. I combine his guitar part with Leatherwood’s bass line from the original recording, creating a […] The post Jazz Guitar Intro – Cry Me a River (Barney Kessel) appeared first on Jazz Guitar Online | Free Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks, Tips & Tricks.. […]

Straight, No Chaser is one of Thelonious Monk’s most famous blues heads. The original 1951 recording is in B♭, but Miles Davis’s Milestones version popularized it in F, which is the key we’ll use in this lesson. In this lesson, you’ll learn the melody of Straight, No Chaser in two octaves. The chord progression of […] The post Straight, No Chaser (Thelonious Monk) appeared first on Jazz Guitar Online | Free Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks, Tips & Tricks.. […]

In this mini lesson, you’ll learn the intro to Moon and Sand as played by Kenny Burrell on his 1980 album Moon and Sand. Moon and Sand is a jazz standard composed by Alec Wilder in 1941 and first performed by Xavier Cugat and His Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra. Kenny Burrell’s opening uses some nice chord voicings, […] The post Jazz Guitar Intro – Moon and Sand (Kenny Burrell) appeared first on Jazz Guitar Online | Free Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks, Tips & Tricks.. […]

In this mini lesson, you’ll see an example of chord voicings for the A-section of a rhythm changes in Bb. I combine drop-3 and rootless chords to create clear, practical voicings that work well for comping, chord solos, and expanding your jazz guitar vocabulary. The diminished chord voicing in measure 1 and 2 often raises […] The post Mini Lesson – Rhythm Changes Chords appeared first on Jazz Guitar Online | Free Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks, Tips & Tricks.. […]