How Does Jazz Improvisation Work?

[@Jonnfield]

gotta show love to the drummer, pocket only for 13 minutes straight is crazy

[@lucwijngaard8413]

The man is on point

[@skylocks123]

Flowstate. Even for the simple demonstration. 😊

[@alexanderheathen2628]

Zach grooves would have been fired for sure.

[@balroggambit]

That's not long

[@thomaswilliams2723]

@@balroggambit Bop drummers holding down a fast cherokee for 45 minutes while the tenor players try to flex on each other

[@johnjones2341]

Drummer missed exactly zero chord changes. Outstanding.

[@fruitypebbles803]

Dude. I have studied jazz on and off for decades, and this is the first time I’ve seen it explained so clearly. Thank you! ❤

[@els1f]

Right!? Quickly, with a great sounding backing that made me focus the whole time!

[@danthegeetarman]

💯💯💯💯

[@voornaam3191]

Then you took the WRONG workshops. Simply walk out after 5 minutes. It never gets any better, after those 5 minutes. No, it doesn't.

[@FireflowerDancer]

He's really good, isn't he? I love how he broke down 'the bassists job.' I would have thought the drummer would be the time keeper, but what do I know about jazz? Lol

[@danthegeetarman]

Dang this sums up 30 years of jazz research in 20 minutes. Amazing

[@boboloko]

I'll never forget when a jazz piano instructor of mine had me play ii V I progression in the key of C while he just ran up and down the C major scale. It sounded a lot jazzier than I expected. My jaw dropped when he told me that his improvisation was just a major scale.

[@IgorHatesEverything]

As a hack rock player rather than a jazz player, isn’t that something that I or any other basic player could do as long as we stay in the key?

[@voornaam3191]

It's because of the well tempered tuning. That is a compromise, allowing us to play in ALL keys we'd like. And the drawback is, not all chords that could be perfectly consonant (or dissonant) still are. Which is okay, many people don't even HEAR these details. We are used to our piano's. We are used to, say, an E flat 7 chord. However, we have never played it on a piano that was TUNED in E flat. That piano has a perfect consonant terts G and perfect quint B flat. When you got a good quality spare piano, and you are a piano tuner, you could do it. Pick the key of a song you love, and tune the spare piano in that key. Sure tuning a piano takes time, but then you can find out if such strange tuning is worth the trouble. Depends on the song. The chords were chosen for a reason, if we change the tuning, chances are we murder the mood of certain chords. That is subtle, I remember an organ piece of Pachelbel, set just one tone lower, in this book, and you immediately hear, this is not the original we all know. Let alone what happens when you play it in a different tuning.

[@BlurredTrees]

Super cool this was done in one continuous shot! 👏🏻😮

[@Thataussiebattler]

Old school Jazz feels

[@MyRackley]

I tried snapping my fingers, but nothing happened.

[@RaptorT1V]

​@@MyRackley ты только что стёр с лица земли половину человечества! 🤯

[@grantkoeller8911]

As a life time jazz saxophonist for 52 years now, i think this video is fantastic!!!!! I have played at Smalls with Roy Hargrove. I was a member of the USAF Bands for 23 years, I will tell all my students to watch this video.Thanks!!! Grant King Koeller

[@RobertZ-sn4ms]

30 years myself piano is my game and just shared with all my students the title of this video. I feel Jamey Aebersold vibe. Met him personally years ago and had a nice long workshop with the man.

[@AS-vq3ep]

RIP Roy incredible legacy.

[@zeldamage001]

4:02 "We in the horn section rely on the rhythm section for the rhyth and for the harmony and the rhythm section relies on us in the horn section for a tenuous sense of existential reality, for a sense of purpose!" What a quote, briliant! Sounds so insane yet so true!

[@wesleyayres7017]

This is just a fantastic incredibly well thought out video, I'm dipping my toe into jazz composition and learning flugelhorn and this and your other lessons have been amazing thank you so much!

[@RidgewoodSchoolofMusic]

Thanks! Happy to hear it!

[@noiburg8866]

Been playing jazz for 10 years and still watching videos like this, mentally taking notes. You’re never done learning!

[@flockenlp1]

All i can think about is if you really did the main part in one take without stuttering or anything

[@RidgewoodSchoolofMusic]

And only one take! It was a bonafide jazz miracle.

[@jangivik1718]

I’m quite sure you can talk about this subject for hours…. You LOVE this, one can tell…😂

[@voornaam3191]

But but but, you can SEEEEEE that. It was one take, from the moment the 3 others popped up. It was not Take Five, or Take A Walk On The Wild And Sunny Side Of The Street.

[@alterI4]

Thank for what I always imagined was a perfectly logic way of explaining basic jazz. I always asked a fellow Piano major, who also majored in Jazz, to teach me a little about jazz only to get some kind of obnoxious answer like “Oh yOu cAnT ReAlly TEach Jazzzzz” like it was some secret language peasants weren’t allowed to be taught or that every Jazzer just somehow learns out of the love for the music alone. God forbid they try to define jazz in some concrete way. Will definitely be coming back to this video.

[@boboloko]

This debate is as old as jazz. I think there is truth to both sides. There's definitely a formula, but that formula gets abused regularly by great musicians with real chops because dissonance in jazz can work so well.

[@somekid7]

That pianist just didn't know how to teach jazz and lacked the humility to admit it. Jazz can be taught in many ways, whether in plain language or academic terms. As long as you have good teachers or are self-taught through effective resources, you're being taught jazz. The issue is that many people fail to learn because the teachers either overwhelm the student with too much or bore them with too little, so the end result is that the student gives up.

[@WCM1945]

@@somekid7 It's when it becomes a demonstration of formula that jazz becomes BORING.

[@thinkerly1]

One shot. Fine writing. Fine musicians. Thank you, Professor Spellman, thank you, Professors.

[@pacokja]

Man, underrated video. It's incredible that the whole thing came out in one take

[@rpoetic]

Great explanation! My friend in High School gave me the analogy of "Jazz is just like DandD. You have your Dungeon Master the tune. Your guide post the chords. The rest is just adventuring. Have fun interacting with the world and your team mates!"

[@AS-vq3ep]

And you have decades of history, convention, “memes”, tropes, and references on the culture level (LoTR, the official lore book, popular fanfic) and the community (the inside jokes with your local scene or friends)

[@chickennoodlesu322]

All the skill in this video is unmatched

[@voronOsphere]

Definitely!

[@m9740]

Can we all conglomerate and acknowledge this guy for not making ONE cut in this video?! Except one

[@Nubenhoofer]

Seriously tho, this was a sweet lick. God help us, and keep Jazz alive and well in these trying times!

[@Madjiq16]

Brilliant! Wnat an amazing jazz appreciation crash course!

[@RealAadip]

This is one of the best illustrations of the fundamentals of playing jazz with other humans

[@gam1471]

I suspect you're American. "Other humans"? Why not "other people"? 😊

[@sealeddeal2432]

@@gam1471I’m American. Never heard anyone else say that. F off tbh. “ you must be American”

[@HABLA_GUIRRRI]

i tried it one time with other spacealiens but they aways get across

[@DaArles]

Other living creatures

[@Stooge2]

Personally I like to play jazz with other inanimate objects

[@jeremykelker8908]

I've only been with the trumpet for about a year and a half; your channel is a continual help and motivator. This is one of the very best videos I've seen explaining form and function. Your trumpet sounds fantastic. Great choice of notes; great timing. Thank everyone for their playing!

[@RidgewoodSchoolofMusic]

Thanks, Jeremy! Happy to hear it!

[@cedzimagination]

The piano came in and my heart melted 🖤

[@DarkSideofSynth]

It means you have a good heart ;)

[@HABLA_GUIRRRI]

it cld take more than a cntstrck little comment and loveheart on YT to have her sit exactly as directed in ur mix dyude

[@rogerjane1350]

Wow ❤❤❤so when did Bee Gees mend your broken 💔💔💔？

[@blurjayy]

that was the most amazing intro i've ever seen

[@akashita]

I loved that you talked about the scales you were using over the form. As someone who only plays by ear, the base logic of jazz improvisation over chords, or why you'd play a certain note and not others has completely eluded me for years. I could only play what I heard, but now I know that I need to learn modes. Also, great job from you and your band on the single take! It was executed very well and sounded incredibly pleasing to the ears.

[@FunkieFelix]

hats off to all participants and thank you for the phenomenal instruction. Great teacher.

[@_bhall]

Best background music for a KZbin tutorial video ever!

[@gam1471]

I'm a guitar player (strictly hobby amateur) trying to get a bit of jazz enlightenment. I found your presentation very clear and helpful. I'll record the chords and try the scales over the chords to try and get the sounds into my head. I'm not musically particularly talented, so as a newcomer, what I'd find most helpful is a gradual easing into jazz - as an example, just working on two bars of the I chord to get some ideas going in proper jazz style; something to establish a solid foundation, then gradually extend this to say fours bars, then the IV chord and onwards. I've had a go at memorising transcribed solos by Charlie Christian, and even transcribed one myself. I've enjoyed doing so, but it's not getting me into improvising. It's early days yet I suppose, but I hope my comments make sense and are helpful for you. Thanks for a first class and clear presentation - it's definitely an evolutionary step forward for me.

[@danielgiles833]

I dont play trumpet but this is super helpful as a drums and piano player

[@claudiokezen9575]

Who would have thought Sheldon from Big Bang Theory was such a fine jazz drums player? Now, seriously, you guys are the best! 👏👏👏

[@KevinJennissen]

The most important part of jazz is to always introduce your number as going "a little something like this."

[@derekdeoh]

Bobby, I absolutely love this video. Thanks to you and your band for putting this together.

[@strykerthe_byker]

Gotta love the upright bass! 👍

[@dannysmash275]

I was a music student and jazz theory was a required class for 2 semesters. There’s a lot of lingo that if you don’t play jazz can really get you confused. This video clarifies a lot of things. Still can’t get over hearing that someone was blowing in my jazz arrangement assignments. 😂

[@rajazzralem5176]

The very first lesson i wish i was taught for

[@MrAndr3yi]

Awesome explanation

[@m.vonhollen6673]

Here’s how I use all 12 notes over a Dominant 7 chord: first 3/b7, the mighty tritone contains the 2 most important notes, then 1-3-5-b7 is the arpeggiated chord, then b3 and b5 from the Blues scale (with b3 always resolving upwards into 3, never the reverse), then add in 6 and 2 from Mixolydian. So now we have 1-2-b3/3-4-b5-5-6-b7, the most “inside” notes (Mixolydian + the Blues scale). Finally add in b2-b6-7 as “outside” notes to be used in chromatic lines that resolve. There’s all 12 notes over a Dominant 7 chord.

[@HABLA_GUIRRRI]

z z zZ z z ?

[@disliked1390]

horse

[@zan77460]

Yes! The blues!

[@yousifmajid8187]

Thank you for making jazz looks like a piece of cake, although we all know how incredibly hard that was 😍

[@alecj3454]

Loved this video! It was like a lesson & a wonderful performance all in one. What a joy to see such top tier musicians! Thank you for the effective instruction.

[@DJ_TideWave]

Fantastic introduction to jazz impro! Hats off! 😃🎹🎶🎵🎺🥁

[@flyinandjammin]

Fantastic tutorial. Simplest, most cogent and concise intro to jazz I've ever seen.

[@BlakeThompsonMusic]

As a jazz pianist, I really enjoyed the video. I wish I had it when I started a couple years ago! You explained the chemistry perfectly.

[@mgehrisch]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I wish someone had explained it to me this way a long time ago. Now I need to find some accompaniment tracks to practice.

[@JC-bj5cv]

Tremendously talented group of musicians.

[@Matraka2000]

This really nice. Thank you for putting it together.

[@WolfeLienhardt]

This is such a fantastic thing you've created. Kudos to all 4 of you 👏

[@paolomarnini1516]

Awesome. Simple but very well articulated description of whats going on … great job

[@neilripsch6624]

Truly, thank you for doing this video - a great introduction into jazz/blues but more importantly it shares why I love playing saxophone - unlimited possibilities. Neil

[@SimplyChinese]

Wow! Such a great explanation and demonstration! I’m surprised it doesn’t have 1 million views yet.

[@CavalliMeikle]

Beautiful production! God bless you guys 🙏🏾

[@wesleyc.4937]

I believe they could do that all day long... scuuze me, comin' through!

[@mynamesnotchom366]

you guys are amazing, both in explanation but also just clean and tidy playing

[@juanpablopena7913]

This video is absolutely amazin

[@ChipQ]

I am ashamed to admit that I am going to transcribe this solo to guitar. Really great playing, and you even made those scales swing hard.

[@nabeelelsayed1261]

You should be ashamed

[@Jose_diazlife]

such a good and easy follow long video, really appriciated. Super nice and tight

[@stevecrawford3551]

This is an excellent master class in jazz! Please congratulate your fellow band members, and thank you so much for sharing your talent. 😀🥳😎

[@chrishayhurst163]

I think I learned more about Jazz today with this video than I did an entire semester I took in college, haha!

[@Bingobongo3]

Amazing video, very thorough but also concise

[@general5104]

THANK YOU ALL, for hanging in there, and thanks for the explanation narration. I SUBBED TO YOUR CHANNEL . I'm a firm believer, that all embellishments SHOULD stick to the melody, but jazz it up, otherwise it's just a bunch of unrelated racket...you can bend one note or one phrase, only so long, before it gets OLD !!!

[@wahraoeh]

I understood more about Jazz in this one jam session than any other jazz classes. Amazing low-down! Goes to show music education doesn't have to be thick and complicated.

[@ElsonA9]

Great tutorial video well explained good job

[@charlestompkin6772]

I love this video. It's so cool to have a flowing explanation inside of a performance like this. Very compatible for my learning style. My huge thanks to the four of you.

[@sevelos]

You're explaining very well. Thank you! Perhaps I now understand one of the reasons I don't like listening to jazz improvisations much. Instead of treating the entire chord progression as a single song and improvise a melody line based on a single scale for the entire round (unless there is a modulation), you improvise on each chord in what you treat as a different mode or scale. There is usually no clear "plot" in jazz improvisations, as the melody line swings like a rope between the different modes corresponding to each chord independently. Thus you refrain from having emotional peaks and melodical gravity to the improvisation - it's all over the place .

[@japanrecords4007]

Thats phenomenal! What a joy

[@kamealex]

You just made my a better player in 20 min. Thanks.

[@aj6417]

This information and instructions is awesome, gave me a greater insight and understanding Thank you!

[@leonardosonoqui9040]

Wow, this is the best succinct jazz lesson I have ever had.

[@colehetzel5003]

and Sheldon Cooper on the drums!!!

[@bitstreamm]

Just beautiful!

[@logangreenwel2532]

Great video; trumpeter sound reminds me of young Miles in the great C/R/W/S quintet Charlie Parker does a great job showing how to play “outside” the chords

[@miguelfelix9173]

I've been looking for a video just like this...amazing job! thank you!

[@peterisancverins]

Very cool video. This definitely will help beginners getting into jazz in the future.

[@maiu_m]

I love the musicianship in the explanation alone. The whole speach fits so perfectly in the form of the music being played, and the flow is never lost. Adored it 👏👏👏

[@chiefofruneterra]

I need more videos like this one, more analysing and specific terms in details. great job! thank you

[@seanonel]

Very, very kewl! Subscribed!

[@1morenote.]

such a free way to express emotions in music

[@danielportugal1507]

loved it im not a jazz player but ive studied for a while and its nice to see it this way

[@rizz_razzle_boi369]

The most comprehensive introduction to jazz I wish I saw when I started out!

[@alexalexanderman1238]

best intro to jazz as a concept i have ever seen. i don't play jazz but the concepts are applicable to any genera. best musicians on the planet are jazz musicians (IMO) even if they now play something else. thanks for the vid

[@BloodyMer]

#13:32 this is where we start to look at each other among those of us who have no idea about jazz and go to a jazz concert

[@kathynormandeau4793]

A very clear presentation. One of the easiest to follow. We'll done. Thank you. Cheers.

[@Thataussiebattler]

This is pure gold!

[@nickbutler1395]

Really good knowledge, competent delivery, confident, with a really cool approach which was enjoyable, thank you all for your musical talent.

[@johnjamatia9188]

Bob you are really great teacher who make complicated concepts easy. You can make any intermediate player to a jazz musicians. Amazing content as always🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@bitity]

genuinely an incredible and insightful mini retrospective on jazz. love this so much

[@Croix1]

Incredible, down to earth and in-depth enough introduction to jazz. I wish I had this years ago when I was trying to understand jazz by myself. Even after years and years of trying to understand certain jazz stuff, I learned a BUNCH of basic stuff

[@christopherpudney4943]

Brilliantly clear video covering a huge amount of ground.

[@edberam4074]

Great feel! Very capable players. Loved it.

[@jellybean7931]

Great job!!!

[@VCaamano]

Excellent, only comment is don’t forget about us guitarists. Wes, Kenny and Django were legends. Today we have Frisell and Lage, amongst others. Keep up the good work!

[@J4D0N.]

This video helped me understand how jazz is put together I’ve always wanted to compose jazz it pleases my ears more than any other genre when done right, just the nostalgia feeling I get from it, thank you for the informative video

[@kalvincatlin7777]

Holy shit!!!! That was brilliant!!!! Bravo to everyone!

[@berkekucukaltun3343]

Thanks for the amazing video Bob.

[@thismoment57]

Amazing! Thank you for this great video exposé! The lighting is exquisite by the way! 👌

[@JSDJerry]

I learned so much. Thanks

[@AZISDOPE]

First time I hear somebody explain Jazz theoretically and with example using terms and techniques a non musician would understand, subscribed even before for the solos went in

[@Alan-zi2rs]

What a great video thanks 👌👍🎸🎶🎶🎶🎸

[@lyndafoster9437]

That was very good thank you

[@OlimpiuVuia]

Wow! Thank you!❤

[@pkeelan56]

Absolutely excellent!! Such great musicians! The woman on the keyboard is fabulous!