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

~ Jim Ferguson (Author) "Before exploring the specific elements of comping approaches, it is constructive to understand the range of blues progressions used in jazz..." (more)
Key Phrases: triads over bass notes, passing chords, walking bass lines, Barney Kessel, George Barnes, Lenny Breau (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Destined to become a classic, this book is the natural result of not only years of playing jazz guitar but also of the author's long associations with many innovative jazz guitarists. This comprehensive guide is one of the first jazz methods to focus entirely on the blues idiom and its contribution to jazz improvisation. It is designed to help you play authoritatively in a broad spectrum of jazz guitar settings from big band to small combos to a solo context. This book is divided into 4 sections which addresses 12-bar blues progressions, 3-note Freddie Green-type chords, shuffles, swing riff comping, chord scales, linear bebop comping, modal concepts, triads over bass notes and a wealth of chord voicings and inversions. Includes over 110 music examples, 45 complete 12-bar choruses, and a CD with 30 tracks. It also offers a helpful glossary of jazz terminology. Written in standard notation and tablature.

About the Author

In 1994, Jim Ferguson received one of the highest honors of his profession: a Grammy nomination from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in the Best Album Notes category for annotating Fantasy Records' 12-CD boxed set Wes Montgomery - The Complete Riverside Recordings, which includes an incisive biographical essay and interviews with numerous figures, including Nat Adderley, Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, John Scofield, and Tommy Flanagan. The award marked a recent high point in a career that began in the mid '70s. For more than 15 years, Ferguson was associated with Guitar Player Magazine. A former editor, he specialized in jazz and classical guitar - meeting, interviewing, and writing about virtually every important figure in the guitar world. A specialist in jazz, and in jazz guitar in particular, he con-tributed the guitar history entry and 14 biographies to The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. He has also annotated over 40 albums (Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, Jim Hall, Tal Farlow, George Van Eps, Johnny Smith, and many others) and compiled several acclaimed collections of historic performances for the Fantasy, Rhino, and Concord labels. In addition to Guitar Player, his hundreds of articles have appeared in JazzTimes, Down Beat, Classical Guitar, Fingerstyle Guitar, and other international publications. His books have covered topics ranging from blues to the music of Federico Moreno Torroba. A noted guitar instructor, Ferguson has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Mills College in Oakland, California, and teaches music at both Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, California, and California State University, Monterey Bay in Seaside, California. He has studied with George Barnes, Red Varner, Lenny Breau, Jose Rey de la Torre, and David Tanenbaum and performed in Europe and the U.S. Moreover, he is profiled in Maurice J. Summerfield's The Jazz Guitar - Its Evolution, Its Players And Personalities Since 1900. Regarding his own approach to jazz, Cadence Magazine said, "Bluesy and swinging, Ferguson bears up under repeated listening." In 1997, Jim founded his own music publishing company, Guitar Master Class, whose first book, All Blues for Jazz Guitar - Comping Styles, Chords & Grooves, has been received virtually with universal acclaim. He resides in Santa Cruz, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 92 pages
• Publisher: Guitar Master Class Publications (September 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786631287
• ISBN-13: 978-0786631285
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #483,450 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, November 19, 2002

By	Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is AWESOME, April 7, 2003

By	Ilia Asafiev (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent book for real musicians, August 23, 2003

By	R9 (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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.