Brekelefuw

Hello,
I was wondering what you do to work on taking your solos outside of the changes. I am not talking about the really out there playing that you would do over a vamp or anything, but using tension to weave your way through a standard. I guess the best example could be on a 2-5-1 using the Tritone sub on the 5 chord. Every time I use an idea that implies the substitution, it just sounds like an exercise.
I can play well around most standards, but my playing sticks mostly to the changes because I feel much safer playing around what is given to me.

I have done plenty of lifting, most recently, Freddie Hubbard's solo on Open Sesame, and Lee Morgan's solo on Blue Train, but I don't feel I have those down well enough to incorporate them into my playing yet. The solo on Open Sesame uses many ideas that aren't in the changes, but they sound so incredible when Freddie plays them. It is one of my favorite solos.

Any tips?

Mattrumpet

Woody Shaw. Do it.

hubnub

DITTO....

Dave Leibmans "Chromatic approach to jazz harmony" available through aebersold

gridjam

for sure~ it was the Freddie and Woody sound that made me want to play more 'outside' ideas BUT, it was actually the confidence I gained by really hering and NAILING the inside of the music. Believe it or not, the more melodies of your own you develop, the more ammo (sp?) you have to develop lines and motific materials that will help you navigate to the more 'tense' parts of the harmony. The old saying of practice slow, really applies here. I had a student do a series of chromatic long tones over the first two chords of Recordame. It was very interesting because as she developed more and more confidence in her sound and intonation ( I was droning the roots on trumpet, piano and annoying tuner) she was able to land on the non-scale tones and improvise around them with melodies that made it all sound in. George Garzone is one of my all-time gurus in this method of pivoting around the harmony. John Mcneil has some great exercises too.
Gotta run and get some things together for my New Mexico gigs next week but will check in soon. Hope this helps. Long tones and triads (and inversions).shift them around and feel the energy they create whether a half step or a third away.
Also- be patient. All of that transcribing will pay off. Take some risks too- listen for your own idea before playing what you know will work,then develop the heck out of it.
Ingrid

gridjam

I mean hearing- not herring! but if you want to see a funny YOutube on how to make pickled herring...jon wikan + herring...there is a cameo of me at the end via the wonders of Skype.