Customer Reviews

All Blues for Jazz Guitar: Comping Styles, Chords & Grooves

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Maybe you've been playing guitar for a while, and can play basic rock and blues rhythm. You know a few dozen bar chords, and they work well for most rick playing. You've listened to R&B guitarists like Matt Murphy and Steve Cropper, and wondered, what the heck is he playing? That doesn't sound like any of the chords I know. And all those different chords in a simple blues? And hey, what about those cool two-note riffs?

If that sounds like you- this is the book you need. Ferguson teaches an essential vocabulary of 3 and 4 note rhythm guitar chords while showing you how to apply them to not only blues, but any sort of pop or jazz chord changes. By the end of the book you'll be playing so hip your guitarist friends will think you sold your soul to the devil at a crossroads at midnight.

For me, this title was a dream-come-true. I've always wanted to get away from the basic 12-bar blues progressions in my playing, and this book really helps you accomplish that. The author does several things, which I found to be excellent in terms of approach.

This book is geared towards the aspiring jazz guitarist, and as such, the first thing the author does is compare the standard 12-bar blues progression (I-IV-I--IV--I--V-IV-I-V) to more complex ones, including Parker changes, minor blues, various forms of modern blues, swing and bop. Just going through this part of the text is already of benefit to most players, and this is only the beginning.

Next, the author goes through actual playing of the chords for different progressions on the guitar, by demonstrating several standard chord positions and their inversions. Obviously a jazz player, he tends to stay in position, and shows how to do so effectively - this is something that's very useful for voice-leading; it also sets the groundwork for later topics presented.

The next three sections are applications of blues progressions in various blues and jazz settings. They range from swing and bop, to double-stop blues, to walking bass lines. The author goes through various "in-the-style-of" possibilities, which include such jazz greats as Joe Pass and Lenny Breau, as well as several others.

The chapters are very structured and organized. The examples are in several different keys, which serves to show how a variety of ideas can be expressed in different areas of the fretboard. All examples are in standard notation and tab, and include chord symbols (Gm7, B9b13, etc etc). The analysis of each progression is fairly in-depth, but for someone familiar with basic chord theory and progressions, that shouldn't present a problem - in fact, it comes in very handy.

If you've ever had any sort of interest in jazzy blues, this is the book for you. If you've played guitar before, this book shouldn't take excessive effort to work through. And if you're already an advanced player, you will still get insight into the variety of ideas associated with blues from Mr. Ferguson, who's an accomplied educator and a wealth of information.

The only drawback of this publication is the CD. The bass is up way too loud so you can't hear the chord colors very well. Also, there's no (audible) clicktrack, so counting is a pain unless you have the music in front of you. However, since the presentation is in standard notation and tab, it's not really a big issue and not worth taking off a star. Also, the audio quality is also only a problem for the chord comp; the walking bass and more riff-based examples can be heard fine.

In short, highly recommended.

I've been looking for a book that does not teach a purely physical beginner-like approach to the blues. This one is pretty darn close. Its tough to find exactly such an animal, because the two basic book audiences seem to be a) beginner hobbyists or b) gigging pros who make a living playing guitar. What about us guys in the middle? Maybe there are not enough of us to warrent a market.

This book assumes you are a decent player who can read charts and are already an intermediate-level jazz cat. In other words, you have put in a lot of hours on a music-based appraoch to the instrument and now want to learn blues.

Since I am not quite at that level, I kind of have to come in "sideways" at the material and figure out how to make use of it.

My guess is an accomplished jazz player might throw 5 starts at the book, but I rated it based on what I wanted it for.

I do recommend the book to guys in the middle between hobbyist and pro, because there is plenty in there to get your money worth.

Thanks.

The book assumes a basic knowledge of chord structure, scales, and music theory but gives you some solid practice lines which just about anyone can do with some practice in easy to read tabs. I have played guitar (on and off) for years, but am a little rusty and bought this book as a "refresher" for soloing. And so far it has done the trick. It incorporates different scales (major, pentatonic, Dorian, Mixolydian) as the basis for soloing and gives you "classic" licks from various jazz artists as a basis. The book is a bit expensive due to the CD included. The only thing I wish it had was some longer audio clips (5 minutues or more)with more varied chord progressions that would allow you to improvise with the CD as background.

An essential book if you want to learn to play Swing and Bebop.

This book has four chapters:

Chapter 1: Theory.
I find this section only helpful as far as chord sequences go.
Granted, this book is only about comping (Accompanying a band by playing chords), but what are chords if not scales? Also, why discuss chromatic scales in the following chapters if the reader does not have it explained in this chapter?

Chapter 2: FAT chords
I found that at first,there was no incentive to practising this chapter. This is due to the fact that there are many tracks dedicated to them, and they sound boring on their own.
I have discovered that they sound excellent in chapter 4 when used with walking base lines, and are really essential to learn. I found the best method is to alternate between chapter 4 and 2, as you put them into good use straight away.

Chapter 3: BLOCK chords
A beautiful chapter. The sequences and voices are fantastic, and the chords do not sound like those you find in a chord book. For example the 13th and 11th chords are super, because the notes, that cause dissonance, are left out.

Chapter 4: Walking base lines
Another great chapter. I have not seen this in any other jazz book. The bass lines are played in combination with chords. Lovely stuff.

CD:
It does not have any drums, or bass, and many reviewers rightly complain about this.
Ignore the review stating that the base is too loud! There isn't any!
The author has superb timing, and this does make up for the lack of backing.
He is a really smooth, and talented player.

The tracks that cover " Fat chords " from chapter 2 sound awfully boring, due to the fact that they are played without any backing or intervening block chords.There is , however, a method to this madness as they are required later in the book to learn walking base lines.




There are four excellent tracks on the CD:

Intro: Fantastic.
Why wasn't this one covered in the book, mr. Ferguson?

Turkey bacon: I have learnt a lot from playing this one. Octaves, diads etc.This is the only track with diads,(double stops), which is unfortunate.

Totally blue: My next project, awesome sound.

Outside groove: A ringing bepop progression. Once again, I'm glad that I have put in the effort to learn this one.


CONCLUSION:
I have found this book to be essential.
It's now four years later, and I'm still using it.

This book is a very well written and organized study of jazz blues for jazz guitar students! I have found something new each time I have picked it up. The writing is clear and explains things on many levels, and the examples are not that hard to play, so you can use them pretty quickly. I find that one of the best ways to use the book is to play the examples as choruses while you are playing tunes that you know, changing the rhythms to fit the tune. Thanks to the author for giving us what must be a lifetime of experience in a compact package!

I have been using this and the Blues Soloing for Jazz Guitar at the reccommendation of my guitar teacher and have found both books to be informative and useful. I am relatively new to guitar playing and have learned some difficult techniques at a rapid pace. My compliments to the author.

This book has good ideas for building out your chops with a bluesy feel as it will introduce segments in blues progression, "fat chords", swing and bepbob comping and riffs. It covers different styles of blues influenced jazz and has a glossary of terms in the back. I use it to add a walking bass feel to my chord style of playing. This gives a Joe Pass feel. Diligent use will help your lead voicing as well. My only gripe is how the first track is laid out on CD but I am still glad I purchased it.

This book swings and bops all the way through! Jim Ferguson's instructional and playing talents come pouring through in this book/CD package. It's full of bluesy, hip progressions, passing chords, walking bass lines and much more. I learn something from it everyday!

This is the best book of its kind. A friend recommended it to me and he was right; Ferguson really knows his stuff. You'll learn how to play traditional rhythm guitar, do combo comping, and play walking bass lines.