Trading Solos: Soul Jazz

No one would argue that one of the most effective ways you can become a better guitarist is to play with other musicians. That's where the real learning happens. By sitting in at jam sessions, interacting with the rhythm section, and playing behind soloists, you can hone your comping chops and learn how to improvise compelling solos yourself.

In James Hogan’s Soul Jazz edition of Trading Solos, you’ll jam with James over five popular soul jazz grooves, in a variety of keys and feels. James kicks off the course sharing some tone tips to help you get a great ‘soul jazz’ sound. And then for each of the five grooves, James shows you a handful of moves and comping approaches. You’ll then take turns applying those ideas, trading solos, and comping for each other over the tracks.  

”We'll jam together over five killer soul jazz grooves in a variety of keys, tempos and feels. For each of the five examples, I'll teach you a handful of classic licks and comping ideas that we can both use when trading solos and comping for one another. I'll show you some killer licks, talk about developing good tone, and show you how the soul jazz greats have inspired my playing in this style. You'll be able to jam along together on screen, checkout the tabs and chord charts, and follow along with video synced tab, too. This is gonna be fun!”

James will explain and demonstrate all of the key concepts and approaches along the way. You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the key examples and performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson. You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are included to work with on your own as well.

Grab your guitar and let’s trade solos with James Hogan!

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Track 1: Mercy Groove
"For this first example, we'll be jamming over a classic chord progression and groove inspired by the great Soul Jazz standard, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!". The tune was written by jazz legend Joe Zawinul and first released on Cannonball Adderly's Live at The Club in 1966. "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!" has been covered countless times and was even a Top 10 Billboard hit at one point. While we won't be learning the full tune, this is definitely an essential groove for us to check out! We'll get the basic vibe but I've condensed the form a bit here for this course. Before we jam on this one, I'll show you some nice chord moves and a few classic licks we can use when trading solos. We'll get to trade solos and comp for each other on this track so it'll definitely be a lot of fun! Check out the original recording for inspiration."

Track 2: Cantaloupe
""Cantaloupe Island" is a quintessential soul jazz groove. We'll be using those chord changes & jamming to a similar groove on this track. The original tune was written by jazz legend Herbie Hancock for his Empyrean Isles record from 1964. While musicians often use a modal approach when improvising on this progression, "Cantaloupe Island" is really a perfect amalgamation of bop, soul and modal jazz. All of those elements can be found in the original recording and all of those approaches work well in regard to improvisation. It's become a soul jazz standard. Herbie's version was also sampled by US3 for their 90's hip hop hit "Cantaloop", so definitely check out a bunch of versions of "Cantaloupe Island"! It's a classic. Before we jam on this one, I'll show you the chords and a few licks that work well over the progression. Then, we'll get to trade some solos and comp for one another! One concept you can use to your advantage here is space. Leaving space both in your comping and soloing approach can be quite effective. Especially if other instruments are busy around you. I like to ramp things up when soloing over this progression so if that happens try to leave some space in your comping, listen to what I'm playing and stay in the pocket. The trick is to listen and react to the soloist, but don't let their playing overwhelm you and throw you off time."

Track 3: Cold Duck
"This next example is a take-off of the funky soul jazz standard "Cold Duck Time". This Eddie Harris classic follows a 12-bar form, but uses some alternate changes and chord breaks which are perfect for trading solos! Once I demonstrate the groove and show you a few licks we can use, we'll lay down some solos and trade with one another. If you want to dig deep into this style, definitely check out the original recording of this tune. Eddie Harris is THE man! His playing, sound & approach are completely unique and his licks lay out really well on guitar. This tune has been recorded by some legendary players over 50+ years so there's a lot of great musical information out there if you search for it! Dig it!"

Track 4: Comin' Home
"One of the all-time great Soul Jazz tunes is "Comin' Home Baby" by bassist Ben Tucker. I had the great honor of playing with Ben on a few occasions at his club in Savannah, GA and he was an absolute gentleman and an inspiration! Ben addressed all the new cats on the scene as partner (pardnah), but if Ben dug you he would make an effort to remember your name. Otherwise, it was "Hey Pardnah" like the rest! This was a right of passage for many of us in the Southeast. I was relieved when Ben introduced me by name on the first gig! He's gone now but is truly missed and you should definitely check out Ben Tucker, his music and history. "Comin' Home Baby" was a big hit for Mel Torme and many others and has been played several different ways. When Ben taught it to me, it was basically a 12 bar G minor blues with a Cmin9/F5 in bar 5. Piano/guitar play Cmin9 while the bass player plays a perfect 5th (F5). He liked playing it with a boogaloo beat. Note: A lot of people play the Booker T & The MG's/Real Book changes in bar 5 (Eb9), so be mindful of that. There's also a chromatic turnaround with dominant 7th chords that are a catchy part of the tune. That move is quite common in soul jazz due to the popularity of "Comin' Home Baby". Check out David Sanborn's version. Soulful! Before we trade solos here I'll show you the chord changes, a few chord moves and a few soloing ideas!"

Track 5: Sunny Groove
"Bobby Hebb's hit tune "Sunny" has been covered countless times by pop vocalists and jazz musicians alike. The tune originally appeared in the mid-60's as a cheesy lounge tune sung by Mieko Hirota and then re-appeared as a quasi-bossa by Dave Pike. Fortunately, Hebb recorded it for himself and the tune really took off after that. I've played this tune a lot in organ trios (á la Jimmy Smith's arrangement) and it's a blast to play in a soul jazz style. The changes are killer. Check out Jimmy's version along with live clips of Joey DeFrancesco with Pat Martino and John Scofield. Those are the changes we'll be playing here. Burnin'!!! I'm really looking forward to closing out our jam session with this one! We'll try to target some ii-V's, thrown in some grit & soul and maybe add a little flash on this one ala Martino & Sco."