Hi and welcome to this month's column on the blues. My last article dealt with the various grooves one could play within a 12 bar blues. While you can get a lot of mileage out of that lesson, it won't take you the whole nine yards. I'll try to fill in the gaps by showing you an 8-bar blues, the changes to "Stormy Monday" and the "Thrill is Gone," and an up-tempo B-flat blues. You can bet that sometime during a gig, rehearsal, or jam session, at least one of these songs will be called.

I'll also show you side by side how these basic forms are used in many great jazz tunes by making a few simple changes. If you are already experienced in the blues or are an intermediate player, you may enjoy checking out the more advanced harmony. While this article does not address jazz improvisation, the good news is that blues licks still sound great over the chords with added tensions. It's one of my favorite sounds and many of my favorite artists utilize this concept. Try it and hopefully you'll hear what I mean.

1. Let's start with an 8 bar blues. Tunes like "How Long Blues" and many others share this form. If you're not given a heads up on this one, you'll find yourself in one place and the band in another!

1a. Deceptively simple, an 8-bar blues translates great into a jazz tune. Check out "Broadway" on Danny Gatton's CD, "Relentless." A lot of tunes will add a B section to add more harmonic interest. I added those changes and hope you enjoy the challenge of playing over them.

2. It's always great to change the vibe after playing a couple of blues shuffles.
A minor blues can lower the heat (and raise it as well!) and "The Thrill is Gone" does just that. A basic minor blues can be played with minor chords on the 1, 4 and 5 chord. This one uses a minor on 1 and 4, but a dominant seventh on flat-6 and 5.

2a. By adding some upper tensions to same chords, the sound of some classic jazz minor blues tunes is revealed. Use this when playing John Coltrane's' "Equinox" or "Mr. P.C." While there are many ways to approach soloing over this, don't forget that the blues will still sound cool.

3. "Stormy Monday", a 12-bar blues, is usually played with a set of changes that takes a few different turns. I've used the chords used by the Allman Brothers, which is probably more familiar to the rock players out there. Don't forget to check out versions by T-Bone Walker and B.B. King.

3a. You can play a blues scale over all of these changes, but try this out:
- Play a G Major Pentatonic scale through bars 7 and 8. It will reflect the sounds of the chords that have been borrowed from G Major.

This gets a bit more complex:
- Move up a half-step over the B-flat minor chord. Play an A-flat Major Pentatonic scale and move back down to G Major Pentatonic on bar 9.
This gets closer to a jazz player's concept by acknowledging the chord changes found in many jazz standards.

4. Last but not least, a nice way to end a set is with an up-tempo swing blues. I wrote it out in B-flat just in case you're working with a horn section. Similar to in some ways to "Stormy Monday", make sure to check out the sections that will sound great when you switch to a B-flat Major Pentatonic scale.

4a. Slow these changes down and change the vibe a little, and the melody to "Blue Monk" works fine. A cool head to know if you're getting started in jazz. Thelonius Monk is always happening.

In regards to the alternate "jazz changes" that I've provided next to the more traditional ones, please keep this in mind:

- While theoretically many of the chords are substitutes for one another, that doesn't mean that they are "stylistically" interchangeable. The bottom line is, if I were lucky enough to play with B.B. King, I most likely would not play 13th chords when a 7th or even a 9th chord would be more appropriate. Obviously, in a more modern or open situation chords with upper tensions will sound great. Think of Hoagy Charmichael or Duke Ellington tunes, or what Robbin Ford is currently doing.

Well, that's it for a while and hope you've enjoyed my columns. I'd like to impose my musical values on you one more time before closing.

- Just a pleasant reminder to always be listening.
- And…always play and support music.
- Thanks for keeping it alive!

Yours truly,
Carl

Check out my Mel Bay book "Rock Fusion Improvising" for additional information. Visit my website www.carlfilipiak.com to view my schedule and listen to my music.