yattajazz
Verified buyer
11/07/25
Essential jazz improvisation
Absolutely fantastic. Mimi Fox is a great jazz guitarists. In this video she shows some great ideas for soloing concepts. Every jazz guitarists should purchase this video.
Essentials: Jazz Improv
The Improvisation Booster for Jazz Guitarists
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Mimi Fox
Educator
Genres
About this course
Whether you’re gigging or jamming, it's “essential” that jazz guitarists feel comfortable improvising over the most commonly encountered jazz feels and progressions. Mimi Fox’s Jazz Improv edition of Essentials will put you squarely in that comfort zone without dragging you through tedious theory lessons or making you work on boring exercises — you will play your way through the entire course!
”We’re going to dig right in and improvise solos, over 10 jam tracks covering the most commonly encountered jazz feels, tempos and keys.
We’ll start with swing, funk, samba and a couple of blues feels. Then a minor groove, a 2-5-1 major, and a 2-5-1 minor. We’ll wrap up with “Rhythm Changes” and the changes to “Stella by Starlight”. I’ll solo over each track, break it down for you, and pass on some of my own approaches.
I promise you — the more you practice soloing with these tracks, the more confident you’ll feel on the stage.”
You’ll have all of TrueFire’s advanced learning tools at your finger tips to personalize your workspace and learn at your own pace.
You can loop, slow down, or speed up any section of a lesson. Plus, all of the tab and notation is synced to the videos for the optimal learning experience. You’ll also get tab and standard notation files to print out, Guitar Pro files, and all of the backing tracks to practice with.
Grab your guitar, and let’s dig in with Mimi Fox!
”We’re going to dig right in and improvise solos, over 10 jam tracks covering the most commonly encountered jazz feels, tempos and keys.
We’ll start with swing, funk, samba and a couple of blues feels. Then a minor groove, a 2-5-1 major, and a 2-5-1 minor. We’ll wrap up with “Rhythm Changes” and the changes to “Stella by Starlight”. I’ll solo over each track, break it down for you, and pass on some of my own approaches.
I promise you — the more you practice soloing with these tracks, the more confident you’ll feel on the stage.”
You’ll have all of TrueFire’s advanced learning tools at your finger tips to personalize your workspace and learn at your own pace.
You can loop, slow down, or speed up any section of a lesson. Plus, all of the tab and notation is synced to the videos for the optimal learning experience. You’ll also get tab and standard notation files to print out, Guitar Pro files, and all of the backing tracks to practice with.
Grab your guitar, and let’s dig in with Mimi Fox!
What you'll learn
- Create call and response phrases across chord changes
- Apply blues vocabulary in jazz contexts
- Improvise over 2-5-1-6 progressions in major keys
- Gain confidence improvising over common jazz progressions
- Develop comfort with multiple jazz feels and tempos
Release date: 03/14/2023 • 2h 06m runtime
Sample lessons
Bb7 Funk
Performance
TotALLy Blues
Overview
TotALLy Blues
Performance
TotALLy Blues
Breakdown
What's included
32 lessons • 10 charts • 10 Jam Tracks
Essentials: Jazz Improv
Hi, Mimi Fox here and welcome to my Jazz Improv edition of Essentials.
Whether we’re gigging or jamming, it's “essential” that jazz guitarists feel comfortable improvising over the most commonly encountered jazz feels and progressions.
To get you into that comfort zone, we’ll improvise solos over 10 jam tracks covering that variety of feels, tempos, and keys.
We’ll start with swing, funk, samba and a couple of blues feels. Then a minor groove, a 2-5-1 major, and a 2-5-1 minor. We’ll wrap up with “Rhythm Changes” and the changes to “Stella by Starlight.”
I’ll solo over each track, break it down for you, and pass on some of my own approaches.
The more you practice soloing with these tracks, the more confident you’ll feel on the stage.
Let's dig in!
Whether we’re gigging or jamming, it's “essential” that jazz guitarists feel comfortable improvising over the most commonly encountered jazz feels and progressions.
To get you into that comfort zone, we’ll improvise solos over 10 jam tracks covering that variety of feels, tempos, and keys.
We’ll start with swing, funk, samba and a couple of blues feels. Then a minor groove, a 2-5-1 major, and a 2-5-1 minor. We’ll wrap up with “Rhythm Changes” and the changes to “Stella by Starlight.”
I’ll solo over each track, break it down for you, and pass on some of my own approaches.
The more you practice soloing with these tracks, the more confident you’ll feel on the stage.
Let's dig in!
G7 Swing
In this section, I will be demonstrating the G7 chord, a fundamental chord that every guitar player should be familiar with. I first learned how to play it at the age of 10, and felt so cool at the time. As I continued to develop my skills, I started to explore other jazz chords. However, anytime I play the G7 chord, In my mind, I might as well still be 10 years old.
In this lesson series, we will be tackling a G7 Swing. I will begin by performing it and then provide you with a detailed breakdown.
In this lesson series, we will be tackling a G7 Swing. I will begin by performing it and then provide you with a detailed breakdown.
G7 Swing
Now lets take a look at a performance.
G7 Swing
Alright, now let's discuss my approach to playing over the G7 chord. As an instructor, I often share a phrase with my students that I firmly believe in: "It never sounds bad to play the blues." Starting with the blues is crucial for all musicians, especially those who are interested in jazz and improvisation.
I typically begin my improvisation with some bluesy phrases. However, instead of starting with the blues or pentatonic scales, I opt to outline the arpeggio of the G7 chord while targeting the colorful ninth tone. This technique can be incorporated into your chord playing as well. It's worth noting that I sometimes use this approach with the G9 chord instead of the G7.
I typically begin my improvisation with some bluesy phrases. However, instead of starting with the blues or pentatonic scales, I opt to outline the arpeggio of the G7 chord while targeting the colorful ninth tone. This technique can be incorporated into your chord playing as well. It's worth noting that I sometimes use this approach with the G9 chord instead of the G7.
Bb7 Funk
In this lesson series I'll be discussing my approach to playing over a one-chord funk groove, specifically the Bb7 chord. It's incredibly fun to improvise over this type of chord progression. I've got a great rhythm section accompanying me, and as you'll hear in this recording, I make an effort to emphasize the rhythmic accents and hits that complement the bass and drums. This technique is essential to execute correctly in a funk groove.
Bb7 Funk
Now lets take a look at a performance.
Bb7 Funk
I had so much fun doing this segment, and I hope you all enjoyed it too. I want to give a big shout-out to my rhythm section, Dan Feiszly on bass and Deszon Claiborne on drums. They laid down an infectious groove that set the perfect foundation for this piece. Whether in the studio or a live gig, allowing the rhythm section to get into a good groove is crucial in making the music sound juicy and happenin'. It's just super important!
+ 25 more lessons
Reviews
3 results
IamBenjamin
Verified buyer
05/15/23
Mimi Fox's Essental Jazz Improvisation
Great couse: Mimi is an excellent teacher and she really knows how to make the concepts easy.
raytcampbell
Verified buyer
04/03/23
Jazz Improv From The Master
Mimi Fox is a joy to listen to. Her soloing seems effortless. In this course she jams and guides you through how to jam over a bunch of jam tracks in different essential jazz style: funk, swing, samba... She covers what to do over many common changes and gets back to basics with both a Major and minor II, V, I. Tunes include I Got Rhythm, Take the A Train, Stella by Starlight and many variations on the blues. Very useful insights well-presented and fun to listen to!
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