While I wouldnt recommend this as a first solo, due to the odd time signature and Wes's signature chord soloing and octaves, it's a genius solo to check out, and you can't go wrong with a blues, right? -West Coast Blues, Wes Montgomery
@@JensLarsen Awesome, love them both. I have no idea how you can be that creative without all the inspiration and music at our fingertips we have today
Miles Davis' solo on Bye Bye Blackbird from the album 'Round Midnight. It's got good stuff, theme and variations, a lot of arpeggios, some cool little chromatic approach notes and almost all of it fit within my skill level in terms of speed. I got the idea for learning this by ear from the book How to Start to Play Jazz and Improvise, by Andy Mc Swain.
Thanks for having me in your video, Jens. Transcribing songs is extremely important. Not only for developing a good ear, but for so many other things as well. And it's so rewarding. It can be frustrating at first, but the more you transcribe, the more you'll realize parts of lines you've already learned are used by other players too. As a reward for the efforts, your ears and muscle memory will lead you to good lines when improvising.
Thank you Jens so much for including me on this! It was great to hear/see everyone else as well. Videos like this bring the jazz guitar community together! So many great solos!
Thanks Robert. I will probably make one with beginner suggestions, since later it gets a lot easier to choose and you need to go with things that fit your taste :)
Great comment. As I an reading the suggestions by some commenters, it's immediately apparent that not all these suggestions are going to be for beginners. It's a fascinating topic as one listens to players and teachers explain why they choose these pieces. Thx
What a great idea Jens. And a tasteful way to share some of these fine teachers, some I was already familiar with, and many new ones. It takes a big man to step away from center stage and highlight what other artists are doing. It could take years to find these solos, and to have them shared, all in a matter of minutes is fantastic. Having been a partner with a teacher for many years I've come to the understanding that a great teacher is one who is invested in the growth of his/her students. Who actually cares that they "get it". You sir are a great teacher. Thank you, thank, thank you!
Days of Wines and Roses by Dexter Gordon in his album Swiss Night, vol.1 is probably another nice choice. We can learn some bebop language with a relatively slow tempo.
Great video! I love how you featured all the other teachers. My solo suggestion is Lester Young's solo on All of Me when he played with Billie Holiday. There are two versions you'll find if you look up All of Me with Billie Holiday and Lester Young and both of his solos on those two versions are great for learning. In fact, he uses some of the same thematic material in both of them, which is a nice little insight into how he's thinking over the tune. Every note feels intentional in these solos and it's great practice transcribing solos that aren't just from guitar players. Cheers everyone! -Jared
All great suggestions: to begin to understand the language of Bebop on a blues, my recommendation would be ‘Cool Blues’ by Charlie Parker. As a guitarist I found his note choices on the changes a revelation. I learned the first two choruses by ear
My first transciption and entrance to jazz guitar: "Good Bye Pork Pie Hat" by Jeff Beck on "Wired". Recommendation of my teacher 40 years ago. Can hardly be labelled as a jazz solo, but served well as a transition from rock pentatonics to jazz. Good for phrasing and tone too. The next he gave to me was Benson, "On Broadway", from 'Weekend in L.A ". He was a teacher for classical guitar, b.t.w.
I'm blown away by the fact that I can simply pull up all these songs on my computer. I don't have to search all over the city for old recordings. We live in an incredible time. We are so lucky! (But with our luck comes poor compensation to artists.)
JUSTIN'S GUITAR!!?!?!? I have come full circle.... 😂 I watched him when i first picked up the guitar but gave up and tried again a few years later from watching Jens!
What a great idea, and also typically generous of you Jens to give some "air time" to some other teachers. Lots of good ideas to track down here. My own suggestion would be Miles's solo on "Blues by Five". Thanks for this!
For more intermediate players, Jim Hall's solo on "I'll Never Smile Again (Take 7)", from Bill Evans' "Interplay", is one of the most perfectly distilled hard bop solos for my money. Lots of seemingly intricate lines made up from foundational theory that is easy to recognize with a little bit of background in harmonic function. The lines are tough at tempo but have lots of space in between to breathe, and (what I believe to be most important) it's incredibly singable, which I think is a very often overlooked aspect when people are learning to transcribe for the first time.
It's funny that Mikko's recommendation, Django's "Minor Swing", is the first jazz solo I remember "transcribing" (learning by ear). It stood me in good stead when I first tried soloing over "Autumn Leaves" because I could use some of the same lines or variations of them, especially over the V chord as I remember. I didn't know it was called a V chord at the time but I understood the concept all the same.
Although I am a classical guitarist and also like to play jazz, I actually listen to the rock players as they understand harmony progressions and can compose excellent and memorable solos - e.g. Jimmy Page: 'ten years gone'
this is excellent ( i am also working through your video with 5 solos, which is great). really superb, getting different perspectives, different instruments and styles. thank you !!!
I would suggest solos from Kenny Burrell album « midnight blue » (chitlins con carne, midnight blue, Gee baby…) as he is a good example or pivotal guitarist from blues to jazz
I don't transcribe a lot and probably not in the right way as I usually just wrote the solo down but the Chet Baker solo on Summertime is a solo that has really stuck in my head for a decent amount of time. Charlie Christian's rose room is also one that I got something out of studying.
I have not read all the comments, so please forgive me if this is redundant. Yes, Oscar Moore was a fabulous guitar player, but that's a picture of Irving Ashby...
Wow, I follow Justin because, well that's where I started learning almost 2 years ago, but the rest of the list, thank you for that introduction! I've now subbed to everyone, got all the songs they recommended into a transcribe folder, and will start working on them as part of my transcribing/ear training practice. Thanks again for this!
No. 1 Green Street by Grant Green is a great bridge from blues into Jazz. One of the real eye openers for me was hearing the b9 of the root (B on a Bb blues) being played (which is actually the major 3rd of the 6 chord in the 1-6-2-5 turnaround). Got me thinking along the lines of playing arpeggios and chord tones rather than relying on guessing what will sound good within familiar scales.
Jen how you doing this is James Banks I heard you like my comment that I made about me learning my major scales before I start doing anything else I want to thank you for that and also did you check out my brother Marlo Henderson that I told you about let me know in the comments thank you
I have no formal ear training. But I think I can hear and listen to a recording and at least transcribe the start of a solo. My question is, how do I know I’m playing the same notes? Is there a simple way to test myself? Thanks.
Surprised no one mentioned Charlie Christian . Air Mail Special...learn the head ...swing , blues , and space ...when to play , phrasing...of course you can't go wrong with any of the Benny Goodman Sextet recordings ...Charlie influenced Wes, George Benson...just to name a few
I would probably go with Grand Slam, since that was the one I learned first, as I mentioned in the video a few weeks ago. But yes, Christian is an obvious choice
Check Dizzy Gillespie's solo on "Con Alma," recorded in 1957 with Sonny Stitt on tenor sax. It appears on various albums, including "Duets," released in 1957, and "Dizzy, Rollins, and Stitt," released 1962. Start by learning to play the simple sections, of which there are several, and work up from there. This solo will repay long study, both for how he uses rhythm and melody, and how he weaves around the changes.
Autumn Leaves is always a great one to get going. I also think it's important to feel a connection to the song your learn because that desire will drive learning. For a player experienced in other genres, Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell is one I really like, even if that passage around 2:30 is a little challenging. I like the mix of playing chords and melody.
-Lester Young tenor solo on Lady Be Good(Jones-Smith inc.) -Charlie Christian gtr solo on Rose Room(w/Benny Goodman) -Wardell Gray tenor solo on Twisted -Grant Green gtr solo on The best things in life are free(w/Hank Mobley) -Louis Armstrong solo on Big Butter and Egg Man from the West -Chet Baker vcl solo on It could happen to you -Grant Green gtr solo on The Shadow of your smile(w/Big John Patton)
Late to this party, but.. made me happy that Minor Swing was the first suggestion. Only just dipping my toe into jazz after 5yrs playing and Gypsy Jazz is what i really want to play. Had picked out Minor Swing to learn randomly as my first song not realising how famous it is, just liked the name 😂 La Vie en Rose is another project, the Gypsy Caravan version. My suggestion for a great solo from a 'beginner's' position is both the guitar and trumpet solo from Billie Holiday's 'Comes Love' (master take 4). The guitar is so smooth and the trumpet solo is just sexy, with beautiful phrasing and feel (no idea who played, to my shame)❤ Both parts are very clear and easy to sing along to, which is great. Great vid as always.
I would advise listening to Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, and Bobby Timmons on Moanin by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. As a guitar player, I would listen to Wes and his octave playing solos. Bottom line, just listening will ingrain in ones playing all kinds of stuff. I want to add this. If you listen to the Moanin piece the solos are so awesome, when Lee finishes and Golson takes over, you’ll hear that he sounds like he’s merely continuing Lees solo! th-cam.com/video/Cv9NSR-2DwM/w-d-xo.html
@@JensLarsen Here’s what I’m saying: Dexter Gordon use to play well-known phrases in his solos. A few lyrical notes mimicking, for instance, a bebop line played on a well-known piece then he veers off into other stuff…great to hear. It's not a copying thing at all since he merely uses it to go into other things and it's sort of enjoyable hearing well-known jazz phrases in this way. When I play, (though nowhere near a Dexter Gordon) almost automatically I get into the same thing, a phrase I’ve heard from well-known songs I’ll repeat. It almost comes naturally since I’ve heard so much music in my brain.
One for me is Wes Montgomery's Mr. Walker with the octave licks. That was the song that truly made me want to learn about Jazz, though a very complex song for a beginner. It took me years to understand it, but I always go back to that solo. Wes does a lot of amazing things with octaves.
I loves this for Miles solo transcriptions & play along ear training. Pure improvised melancholy, use of space & tasty runs: th-cam.com/video/Wc4tT-55ZzI/w-d-xo.html For me, the most interesting stuff Miles does is outside of the standards canon (this & the Bitches Brew etc electric period).
What do you think about west coast blues by Wes Montgomery? I transcribed the melody but then I opened it up it iReal b and saw the chord changes. Is this a more advanced song? Is it worth transcribing the solo as a beginner?
All of the suggestions given are from Traditional Jazz. But what really counts as "jazz"? Personally, I don't like traditional jazz. When I listen to jazz, I listen to Paul Brown (my favourite), Nick Colionne, George Benson or Chris Standring. If I had a magic wand, these are the people who I would like to sound like.
@@JensLarsen No worries, I have lost most to my interest in pop / rock music - at the place where I am at, your lessons are applicable to most genres of music including smooth jazz and classical. Many thanks!
I recommend "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams and Dream Your Troubles Away" by Howard Alden from the "Sweet and Lowdown" movie soundtrack, because it's so cool, easy to play and sounds great on an acoustic. th-cam.com/video/j7WLYYMILV8/w-d-xo.html
Following your recommendation, I successfully learned by ear and transcribed Grant Green's solo on "Grant's Greenery," which wasn't as difficult as I feared, but was, however, very time-consuming. What's the next step in this process? Is there something from the transcription process that is absorbed by osmosis, or should I be studying and dissecting the transcription for usable licks and other patterns?
@@JensLarsen Thanks, Jens. As an intermediate jazz player, do you recommend that I make transcribing my chief focus, or do it only from time to time? And yes, I recognize that that's a difficult question for you to answer, but I'm trying to optimize my practice time, and it helps a lot to have some input on where to concentrate my efforts.
It's fascinating to me that every Jens Larsen video dovetails nearly perfectly with what I'm trying to do at the time; case in point, after resisting transcription for years, I sat down recently to transcribe Charlie Christian's solo on Flying Home. Now here's a video with a great sampling of solos to work out. Thanks, Jens, for putting this together, and for all the musicians who contributed.
¡Maestro! Infinitas gracias por todo lo que compartes. He aprendido mucho con tus videos y este último es una gran llave para seguir avanzando. Aparte de enseñar increíble eres muy humilde al compartir este material. Una gran muestra de fraternidad. Un abrazo desde Chile con todo mi respeto y cariño.
Wow, there’s a lot here for checking out. Great! Also, if I could ask for a solo transcription, it would be Pat Metheny’s solo in Have You Heard, from the Letter From Home album. I guess this is not exactly a beginner solo, but I think it flows so nicely, and there’s a kind of brazilian flavor in it that, as a brazilian guitarist that I am, feels irresistible to me.
Thank you Gabriel! Great to hear that you like the videos. I don't really teach one-on-one. I simply don't have time. The best I can offer is my course where you do get feedback if you post videos of you playing the different assignments. You can request an invitation to check it out through the link in the description
Would it be possible to provide a list of the tunes and the artists associated with the soles . .. ? A truly remarkable teaching style you are able to deliver. Though I have played for nearly 60 years mostly in smoky bars I have yet to develop a strong knowledge or ability to play jazz. Your methodology has inspired me to try again, my fingers can do it but the brain has difficulties. Thank you Jens
What a great video. Inviting his friends is always a good idea for a good chat. My first jazz transcription was the solo of Jimmy Raney on Have You Met Miss Jones. It is just 2 -3 years ago. And all the stuff I learned before started making sence. I still play this solo just for warming up. Before that, I played a lot of Pop, Rock and also classical guitar music.
Jens an extraordinary video....great idea to get different perspectives on this.....everyone of course has an opinion....i would add that although he wasn't technically a "jazz" player ,i would recommend listening to certain(pick 'em) solos by the great Jerry Garcia.......because at his best his solos were masterpieces of what i'd call ....narrative flow....which not many have.......the sense of structure in his improves is extraordinary.....this could be applied to jazz,or for that matter all musical pursuits.....
It will take me a lifetime to learn all these solos, and another lifetime to put them to practice. Aside of that, many thanks for introducing me to some of these great recordings. Also interesting that, aside from "Travels", all these come from recordings made ≤1960. I guess these people all think no good solos have been made in the last 60 years. (Obviously absurd!). Nevertheless, thanks a lot for sharing this. Always educational. One way or the other. Cheers all!
Jazz is the most egalitarian art form, and the inherent sharing is the essence of its beauty. It's so inspiring to see all the great jazz educators together, compiled by inarguably the most prolific. And the recommendations are stellar and necessary Cats. Thanks to all - and especially you Jens.
Do a video on your suggestions!! Also I really like Dexter Gordon's solo on "Three o'clock in the morning" for transcribing. It was my first and I'm glad it was!
Such a fantastic video- and I was blown away by the Metheny/Travels suggestion, as that tune, and that very lick highlighted was the 'gateway' for me to want to understand Jazz. Another very approachable, modern solo I learned a lot from was on Scofield's 'Flower Power,' (Time on My Hands). For Scofield, this is a very INSIDE solo, beautifully outlining the changes.
I a recent listener to your channel, it's very good. Thank you, My suggestion for solos would be Oliver Nelson's solo on Stolen Moments --All the solos on that track are really amazing, but his really struck me....
“You Stepped Out Of A Dream” by Grant Green. Not particularly difficult to play, but lots of great arpeggios and licks that introduced me to some basic jazz vocabulary
Recommend great solos you have checked out!!
What to do with solos that you transcribe or learn by ear: th-cam.com/video/lprLYFqmOVM/w-d-xo.html
While I wouldnt recommend this as a first solo, due to the odd time signature and Wes's signature chord soloing and octaves, it's a genius solo to check out, and you can't go wrong with a blues, right?
-West Coast Blues, Wes Montgomery
@@cjgreen4331 True! I usually give students the single note part of the first Four On Six solo from that album.
@@JensLarsen Awesome, love them both. I have no idea how you can be that creative without all the inspiration and music at our fingertips we have today
@@cjgreen4331 On the other hand: It was a lot easier not to get distracted or overloaded with information
Miles Davis' solo on Bye Bye Blackbird from the album 'Round Midnight. It's got good stuff, theme and variations, a lot of arpeggios, some cool little chromatic approach notes and almost all of it fit within my skill level in terms of speed. I got the idea for learning this by ear from the book How to Start to Play Jazz and Improvise, by Andy Mc Swain.
Thanks for having me in your video, Jens. Transcribing songs is extremely important. Not only for developing a good ear, but for so many other things as well. And it's so rewarding. It can be frustrating at first, but the more you transcribe, the more you'll realize parts of lines you've already learned are used by other players too. As a reward for the efforts, your ears and muscle memory will lead you to good lines when improvising.
Thank you for being a part of this 🙂
Hi Sandra :)
@@overtonesnteatime198 Hello 👋
Jens shouting out a bunch of jazz teachers makes this a lot better
Thank you! :)
Amen. Jens' genuine generosity and collaborative Spirit really shine through in all he does.
Yes glad to see that these guys don't all hate each other.
@@robertgrippo5312 I think that the comment section is really the only place with hate on TH-cam :)
Thank you Jens so much for including me on this! It was great to hear/see everyone else as well. Videos like this bring the jazz guitar community together! So many great solos!
Glad you wanted to be a part of it 🙂
Really liked your choice...not a solo I would have really come across any other way!
Please make a 'Jazz Solos: beginner to advanced levels' video. Your YT content is exceptional and very much appreciated. Thanks Jens
Thanks Robert. I will probably make one with beginner suggestions, since later it gets a lot easier to choose and you need to go with things that fit your taste :)
Great comment. As I an reading the suggestions by some commenters, it's immediately apparent that not all these suggestions are going to be for beginners.
It's a fascinating topic as one listens to players and teachers explain why they choose these pieces. Thx
yes I agree. S@@andercoyote4170
What a great idea Jens. And a tasteful way to share some of these fine teachers, some I was already familiar with, and many new ones. It takes a big man to step away from center stage and highlight what other artists are doing. It could take years to find these solos, and to have them shared, all in a matter of minutes is fantastic. Having been a partner with a teacher for many years I've come to the understanding that a great teacher is one who is invested in the growth of his/her students. Who actually cares that they "get it". You sir are a great teacher. Thank you, thank, thank you!
Thank you very much Robert! That really makes my day 🙂
Days of Wines and Roses by Dexter Gordon in his album Swiss Night, vol.1 is probably another nice choice. We can learn some bebop language with a relatively slow tempo.
A solo that I have rehearsed a lot is Charlie Christian "I got rhythm". I learned a lot from it.
Great video! I love how you featured all the other teachers. My solo suggestion is Lester Young's solo on All of Me when he played with Billie Holiday. There are two versions you'll find if you look up All of Me with Billie Holiday and Lester Young and both of his solos on those two versions are great for learning. In fact, he uses some of the same thematic material in both of them, which is a nice little insight into how he's thinking over the tune. Every note feels intentional in these solos and it's great practice transcribing solos that aren't just from guitar players. Cheers everyone! -Jared
All great suggestions: to begin to understand the language of Bebop on a blues, my recommendation would be ‘Cool Blues’ by Charlie Parker. As a guitarist I found his note choices on the changes a revelation. I learned the first two choruses by ear
Jim Hall on Taste of Honey. 🙂 And Paul Desmond on... Taste of Honey (both the live version, although studio one is great too)
Indeed! Both are great solos :)
Jim Hall on Without a Song off of The Bridge. Easy but soooo good.
My first transciption and entrance to jazz guitar: "Good Bye Pork Pie Hat" by Jeff Beck on "Wired". Recommendation of my teacher 40 years ago. Can hardly be labelled as a jazz solo, but served well as a transition from rock pentatonics to jazz. Good for phrasing and tone too. The next he gave to me was Benson, "On Broadway", from 'Weekend in L.A ". He was a teacher for classical guitar, b.t.w.
Written by Charles mingus
@@jacksonmanning5477 Absolutely right, composed by Mingus, the solo performed by Beck.
Jeff Beck… really?
Love that one too
Adam Levy, the ASMR guitar teacher
I'm blown away by the fact that I can simply pull up all these songs on my computer. I don't have to search all over the city for old recordings. We live in an incredible time. We are so lucky! (But with our luck comes poor compensation to artists.)
JUSTIN'S GUITAR!!?!?!? I have come full circle.... 😂 I watched him when i first picked up the guitar but gave up and tried again a few years later from watching Jens!
Haha! Justin is really great, and a very nice guy!
What a great idea, and also typically generous of you Jens to give some "air time" to some other teachers. Lots of good ideas to track down here. My own suggestion would be Miles's solo on "Blues by Five". Thanks for this!
For more intermediate players, Jim Hall's solo on "I'll Never Smile Again (Take 7)", from Bill Evans' "Interplay", is one of the most perfectly distilled hard bop solos for my money. Lots of seemingly intricate lines made up from foundational theory that is easy to recognize with a little bit of background in harmonic function. The lines are tough at tempo but have lots of space in between to breathe, and (what I believe to be most important) it's incredibly singable, which I think is a very often overlooked aspect when people are learning to transcribe for the first time.
dam that was like youtube jazz guitar avengers
Haha! Thank you!
It's funny that Mikko's recommendation, Django's "Minor Swing", is the first jazz solo I remember "transcribing" (learning by ear). It stood me in good stead when I first tried soloing over "Autumn Leaves" because I could use some of the same lines or variations of them, especially over the V chord as I remember. I didn't know it was called a V chord at the time but I understood the concept all the same.
The tempo is insane right
Chet Baker’s solo on Tangerine changed my life
Although I am a classical guitarist and also like to play jazz, I actually listen to the rock players as they understand harmony progressions and can compose excellent and memorable solos - e.g. Jimmy Page: 'ten years gone'
Ok. That is a great solo. It may not help you play Jazz a lot better though :)
One of my favorite Paige solos!
@@CliffieVanR Did you see my answer to your ATTYA question in the FB group? I didn't get to it until yesterday :)
@@JensLarsen I must have missed it - will check it out. Thanks Jens!
John Scofield's solo on " Leaving " Live concert.
this is excellent ( i am also working through your video with 5 solos, which is great). really superb, getting different perspectives, different instruments and styles. thank you !!!
Glad it helped!
I would suggest solos from Kenny Burrell album « midnight blue » (chitlins con carne, midnight blue, Gee baby…) as he is a good example or pivotal guitarist from blues to jazz
couldn't agree more 🙂 : th-cam.com/video/K7OO-s31pOU/w-d-xo.html
I don't know if is it jazz, but i think Frank Zappa's on inca roads is an amazing solo to check out
Priceless. Thank you. From the blue village of Sitges
Glad you found it useful 🙂
I am glad to see you making videos with Sandra Sherman. I learn a lot from both of you.
Sandra is great 🙂
Cry Me A River by Dexter Gordon would be a good one to transcribe
I don't transcribe a lot and probably not in the right way as I usually just wrote the solo down but the Chet Baker solo on Summertime is a solo that has really stuck in my head for a decent amount of time. Charlie Christian's rose room is also one that I got something out of studying.
That's great!
Just subscribed to a bunch of these people!
I have not read all the comments, so please forgive me if this is redundant. Yes, Oscar Moore was a fabulous guitar player, but that's a picture of Irving Ashby...
That's funny, I think I downloaded it from Wikipedia :D
Tal Farlow, East Lag. The Birdlanders
Hi Jens, I'm curious to know if you agree with what Barry Greene said - about NOT writing down solos. Thanks for the video
I do, first play it and nail it like that, then you can worry about writing it down
Wow, I follow Justin because, well that's where I started learning almost 2 years ago, but the rest of the list, thank you for that introduction! I've now subbed to everyone, got all the songs they recommended into a transcribe folder, and will start working on them as part of my transcribing/ear training practice. Thanks again for this!
Great! Go for it 🙂
Hi jen, I love your points of view on jazz, I don't have a jazz guitar and somebody recommended me a firefly what do you think about them.
Thank you, Joaquin! I don't know them and have never played one, so I can't really say. Sorry
No. 1 Green Street by Grant Green is a great bridge from blues into Jazz. One of the real eye openers for me was hearing the b9 of the root (B on a Bb blues) being played (which is actually the major 3rd of the 6 chord in the 1-6-2-5 turnaround). Got me thinking along the lines of playing arpeggios and chord tones rather than relying on guessing what will sound good within familiar scales.
Jen how you doing this is James Banks I heard you like my comment that I made about me learning my major scales before I start doing anything else I want to thank you for that and also did you check out my brother Marlo Henderson that I told you about let me know in the comments thank you
Hi James, I answer a lot of comments, so I don't know what this is about. What did I reply?
Hi Mikko!!! I see you’re Bach! Where have you been Haydn? So much goodness in this video... too much for me to Handel
I was sooo debussy 🙄 I had to go chopin
The best recommendation was the last one for a begginner
I have no formal ear training. But I think I can hear and listen to a recording and at least transcribe the start of a solo. My question is, how do I know I’m playing the same notes? Is there a simple way to test myself? Thanks.
You should be able to hear that, and to check just play along with the recording
I love the fact that there's a community of teachers who appreciate each other and who each have something of their own to say.
Yes, I think that is very valuable as well 🙂
Surprised no one mentioned Charlie Christian . Air Mail Special...learn the head ...swing , blues , and space ...when to play , phrasing...of course you can't go wrong with any of the Benny Goodman Sextet recordings ...Charlie influenced Wes, George Benson...just to name a few
I would probably go with Grand Slam, since that was the one I learned first, as I mentioned in the video a few weeks ago. But yes, Christian is an obvious choice
Check Dizzy Gillespie's solo on "Con Alma," recorded in 1957 with Sonny Stitt on tenor sax. It appears on various albums, including "Duets," released in 1957, and "Dizzy, Rollins, and Stitt," released 1962. Start by learning to play the simple sections, of which there are several, and work up from there. This solo will repay long study, both for how he uses rhythm and melody, and how he weaves around the changes.
It's on the album Sonny Side Up
Good suggestions! I will try and check some of these out! Thanks Jens and all the other guys and gals.
Awesome! Thank you!
Autumn Leaves is always a great one to get going. I also think it's important to feel a connection to the song your learn because that desire will drive learning. For a player experienced in other genres, Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell is one I really like, even if that passage around 2:30 is a little challenging. I like the mix of playing chords and melody.
This is such a useful video. Thank you for including so many different professional recommendations. Very cool
Glad it was helpful!
The first one I learned was Chet Baker's Autumn leaves, awesome stuff
Great choice!
-Lester Young tenor solo on Lady Be Good(Jones-Smith inc.) -Charlie Christian gtr solo on Rose Room(w/Benny Goodman) -Wardell Gray tenor solo on Twisted -Grant Green gtr solo on The best things in life are free(w/Hank Mobley) -Louis Armstrong solo on Big Butter and Egg Man from the West -Chet Baker vcl solo on It could happen to you -Grant Green gtr solo on The Shadow of your smile(w/Big John Patton)
Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell was big for me.
Svery solid suggestion! 👍👍
Really a brilliant idea my friend to gather all this beautiful 🎉 congrats and thank yawll😊
Thanks so much 😊
Nice of Mikko Hilden to have your book in the background (and a bottle of Gammel Dansk).
Yes. I also really appreciated that 🙂
At the end of the video you said check out this playlist. But I didn’t see a playlist link. Can you please tell us what it is?
Just click the highlighted video that will get you the playlist.
Late to this party, but.. made me happy that Minor Swing was the first suggestion. Only just dipping my toe into jazz after 5yrs playing and Gypsy Jazz is what i really want to play. Had picked out Minor Swing to learn randomly as my first song not realising how famous it is, just liked the name 😂 La Vie en Rose is another project, the Gypsy Caravan version.
My suggestion for a great solo from a 'beginner's' position is both the guitar and trumpet solo from Billie Holiday's 'Comes Love' (master take 4). The guitar is so smooth and the trumpet solo is just sexy, with beautiful phrasing and feel (no idea who played, to my shame)❤ Both parts are very clear and easy to sing along to, which is great.
Great vid as always.
Barry Greene said something very important. Thank you.
Gammel dansk…. Skål
Takk før klippet
Jeg fik inspirasjon ifrå deg og dit arbeide.
Tusind tak 👍🙂
I would advise listening to Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, and Bobby Timmons on Moanin by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. As a guitar player, I would listen to Wes and his octave playing solos. Bottom line, just listening will ingrain in ones playing all kinds of stuff. I want to add this. If you listen to the Moanin piece the solos are so awesome, when Lee finishes and Golson takes over, you’ll hear that he sounds like he’s merely continuing Lees solo! th-cam.com/video/Cv9NSR-2DwM/w-d-xo.html
That is not wrong but also not really specific 🙂
@@JensLarsen
Here’s what I’m saying: Dexter Gordon use to play well-known phrases in his solos. A few lyrical notes mimicking, for instance, a bebop line played on a well-known piece then he veers off into other stuff…great to hear. It's not a copying thing at all since he merely uses it to go into other things and it's sort of enjoyable hearing well-known jazz phrases in this way.
When I play, (though nowhere near a Dexter Gordon) almost automatically I get into the same thing, a phrase I’ve heard from well-known songs I’ll repeat. It almost comes naturally since I’ve heard so much music in my brain.
One for me is Wes Montgomery's Mr. Walker with the octave licks. That was the song that truly made me want to learn about Jazz, though a very complex song for a beginner. It took me years to understand it, but I always go back to that solo. Wes does a lot of amazing things with octaves.
That’s a great one!
I loves this for Miles solo transcriptions & play along ear training. Pure improvised melancholy, use of space & tasty runs:
th-cam.com/video/Wc4tT-55ZzI/w-d-xo.html
For me, the most interesting stuff Miles does is outside of the standards canon (this & the Bitches Brew etc electric period).
I love that album. I've been thinking about figuring some of that out by ear. Great suggestion.
i started my whole guitar playing following justinguitar on my own during high school so great to see him here !
Justin is a great guy, who has actually done a lot for guitar players the last 10 years :)
What do you think about west coast blues by Wes Montgomery?
I transcribed the melody but then I opened it up it iReal b and saw the chord changes.
Is this a more advanced song? Is it worth transcribing the solo as a beginner?
If you already know it really well then it can be fine, but I would indeed consider a more difficult tune
@@JensLarsen thanks! I switched gears to transcribe grants greenery. Appreciate all your guitar knowledge you share.
Does anybody have similar advice but with tunes that have great comping that someone can learn by ear?
Paul Desmond with Jim Hall is great
@@JensLarsen Thank you so much for the response! I'm going to start that right away.
Roy Hargrove's solo on the album version of Strasburg St Denis is really worthwhile
charlie christian grand slam to start in jazz guitar is a good choice
True! I learned that really early as well
Very good! I'll recommend this to my students
@@Mikkokosmos I'm really fan of your videos, I really appreciate your content, from Argentina.
@@matiasbenitez3593 thank you 🤠
All of the suggestions given are from Traditional Jazz. But what really counts as "jazz"? Personally, I don't like traditional jazz. When I listen to jazz, I listen to Paul Brown (my favourite), Nick Colionne, George Benson or Chris Standring. If I had a magic wand, these are the people who I would like to sound like.
Then find easy solos in those genres. I am not really into smooth jazz, so I can't help you with that
@@JensLarsen Perhaps even some Santana! :o)
@@JensLarsen No worries, I have lost most to my interest in pop / rock music - at the place where I am at, your lessons are applicable to most genres of music including smooth jazz and classical. Many thanks!
I recommend "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams and Dream Your Troubles Away" by Howard Alden from the "Sweet and Lowdown" movie soundtrack, because it's so cool, easy to play and sounds great on an acoustic. th-cam.com/video/j7WLYYMILV8/w-d-xo.html
check solos of Oscar Aleman
Following your recommendation, I successfully learned by ear and transcribed Grant Green's solo on "Grant's Greenery," which wasn't as difficult as I feared, but was, however, very time-consuming. What's the next step in this process? Is there something from the transcription process that is absorbed by osmosis, or should I be studying and dissecting the transcription for usable licks and other patterns?
That's great! Keep playing it with the track until that takes no effort, and maybe steal some phrases and start making your own version of them 🙂
@@JensLarsen Thanks, Jens. As an intermediate jazz player, do you recommend that I make transcribing my chief focus, or do it only from time to time? And yes, I recognize that that's a difficult question for you to answer, but I'm trying to optimize my practice time, and it helps a lot to have some input on where to concentrate my efforts.
@@keval618 do that but keep playing songs to have places to use what you learn
The 4th man by Wolfgang Puschnig. Sax solo by himself and guitar by Hiram Bullock.
It's fascinating to me that every Jens Larsen video dovetails nearly perfectly with what I'm trying to do at the time; case in point, after resisting transcription for years, I sat down recently to transcribe Charlie Christian's solo on Flying Home. Now here's a video with a great sampling of solos to work out. Thanks, Jens, for putting this together, and for all the musicians who contributed.
¡Maestro! Infinitas gracias por todo lo que compartes. He aprendido mucho con tus videos y este último es una gran llave para seguir avanzando. Aparte de enseñar increíble eres muy humilde al compartir este material. Una gran muestra de fraternidad. Un abrazo desde Chile con todo mi respeto y cariño.
Wow, there’s a lot here for checking out. Great! Also, if I could ask for a solo transcription, it would be Pat Metheny’s solo in Have You Heard, from the Letter From Home album. I guess this is not exactly a beginner solo, but I think it flows so nicely, and there’s a kind of brazilian flavor in it that, as a brazilian guitarist that I am, feels irresistible to me.
Shady Side - nice relaxed tune by Johny Hodges and Gerry Mulligan - very melodic and logical. Criminally underappreciated tune.
Grand slam Charlie christian
I love u jens but I wanna learn from u personally am a Nigerian
Thank you Gabriel! Great to hear that you like the videos. I don't really teach one-on-one. I simply don't have time.
The best I can offer is my course where you do get feedback if you post videos of you playing the different assignments.
You can request an invitation to check it out through the link in the description
Would it be possible to provide a list of the tunes and the artists associated with the soles . .. ? A truly remarkable teaching style you are able to deliver. Though I have played for nearly 60 years mostly in smoky bars I have yet to develop a strong knowledge or ability to play jazz. Your methodology has inspired me to try again, my fingers can do it but the brain has difficulties. Thank you Jens
Joe Pass’ solo playing Clifford Brown’s “joy spring” 🔥
These collaborations are so sweet... shows how youtubers are part of a community instead of just being competitive. Thanks jens
Incredible jazz guitar of wes montgomery album is worth to figure wes’ solos by ear. Im still learning new things from him.
Great video with lot of my favorite wonderful teachers on TH-cam! Great team nice to see them all together
What a great video. Inviting his friends is always a good idea for a good chat. My first jazz transcription was the solo of Jimmy Raney on Have You Met Miss Jones. It is just 2 -3 years ago. And all the stuff I learned before started making sence. I still play this solo just for warming up. Before that, I played a lot of Pop, Rock and also classical guitar music.
Thank you Siamak Sattari I am glad you found it useful! 👍
The youtubers should play a bit of the given solo
That's tricky with copyrights and in general difficult with people clicking away very fast if the don't like the music.
Dexter Gordon - Lady Bird. Clear, nails the changes. Just the first chorus will give you a lot of bop vocabulary right away
That is indeed a great solo
Jens an extraordinary video....great idea to get different perspectives on this.....everyone of course has an opinion....i would add that although he wasn't technically a "jazz" player ,i would recommend listening to certain(pick 'em) solos by the great Jerry Garcia.......because at his best his solos were masterpieces of what i'd call ....narrative flow....which not many have.......the sense of structure in his improves is extraordinary.....this could be applied to jazz,or for that matter all musical pursuits.....
Days of Wine & Roses solo by Wes was a good starting point for me.
Great solo for sure 🙂
Wow. I loved Barry's explanation of why learning solos is important! Thank you for including it.
Glad it's useful 🙂
Jazz guitarists are sleeping on Herb Ellis and Thornel Schwartz so hard.
It will take me a lifetime to learn all these solos, and another lifetime to put them to practice. Aside of that, many thanks for introducing me to some of these great recordings. Also interesting that, aside from "Travels", all these come from recordings made ≤1960. I guess these people all think no good solos have been made in the last 60 years. (Obviously absurd!). Nevertheless, thanks a lot for sharing this. Always educational. One way or the other. Cheers all!
Jazz is the most egalitarian art form, and the inherent sharing is the essence of its beauty. It's so inspiring to see all the great jazz educators together, compiled by inarguably the most prolific. And the recommendations are stellar and necessary Cats. Thanks to all - and especially you Jens.
That is very kind of you. Thank you, Steve.
Jens, what a fantastic idea. Simply brilliant. My man.
Glad you like it Dr Brad!
Man your video quality as grown exponentially...Great video man!
Do a video on your suggestions!! Also I really like Dexter Gordon's solo on "Three o'clock in the morning" for transcribing. It was my first and I'm glad it was!
Same for me !! I love this solo. It would have been one of my suggestions too !
Hello ! Freddie Freeloader Miles Davis solo will be great !
That's a good one too! :)
I love red garlands solo on bye bye blackbird on round about midnight. The melodies. Feel. Phrasing.
When Nathan thanked Jens I thought he said Yinz and was a fellow Pittsburgher.
Such a fantastic video- and I was blown away by the Metheny/Travels suggestion, as that tune, and that very lick highlighted was the 'gateway' for me to want to understand Jazz. Another very approachable, modern solo I learned a lot from was on Scofield's 'Flower Power,' (Time on My Hands). For Scofield, this is a very INSIDE solo, beautifully outlining the changes.
I a recent listener to your channel, it's very good. Thank you,
My suggestion for solos would be Oliver Nelson's solo on Stolen Moments --All the solos on that track are really amazing, but his really struck me....
Great suggestion, and welcome to the channel :)
The 16 Men Of Tain is a good in road.
Great work thank you for gently persuading me the correct tools.
“You Stepped Out Of A Dream” by Grant Green. Not particularly difficult to play, but lots of great arpeggios and licks that introduced me to some basic jazz vocabulary
Jens, this is a great video. Very inspiring!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fun and interesting to hear what some of the instructors I follow have to say on this topic while ficking my breakfast.