Casa Valdez Studios

Another classic article from the archives of Mark SowlakisDownload PDF ...

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Here is an interview with Warne Marsh from the December 1976 issue of Coda Jazz magazine. Warne was intervied by Roland Baggenaes. I've also included Marsh's obituary by Mike Hennessey, which I believe was from Downbeat magazine.Thanks to my good friend Mark Sowlakis for sending this.Download PDF article ...

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Here's a nice Barry Harris Bebop exercise that deals with approaches to dominant chord-tones.(click the graphic above fore a larger version) ...

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Guitarist and regular reader Tim Fischer sent me an Ab rhythm changes head that he wrote for guitarist Larry Koones, a teacher of his at Cal Arts. Tim says that the bridge of his tune was an exercise in using diminished sounds in an asymmetrical fashion by utilizing triads and...

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Flautist Anders Bostrom was my housemate my first year at Berklee. I'm pretty sure that Anders had more credits than any other student at Berklee. This was because in order to stay in the country on a student visa he had switched majors several times to keep from graduating. This...

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Here is a document that I put together with scale options for Major seventh chords.Click here to download the PDF document ...

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Here are some exercises that I have my students do to correct the most common technical problem- fingers that fly off of the keys. In order to play fast and clean while staying relaxed the fingers must stay low to the keys. Lifting fingers too high can even cause carpal...

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This is a study to illustrate the use of pentatonics to side-slip chromatically over Impressions changes. Over the minor seventh chord a major pentatonic from the flat third is used as the starting point. Then the pentatonic moves up or down a half-step to a pentatonic scale that isoutside the...

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I put together a document that details 26 different scale options that work over dominant chords. All of the usual scale choices are here, along with many that are much less commonly used by Jazz improvisers. Some of the less common choices obviously do not fit as neatly as the...

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Hello again, Tim Price here for Rico Reeds. I thought I might discuss some unique and important music played by Charlie Mariano and friends.The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady--- Charles Mingus's 1963 recording was wake-up call to jazz- - a lesson in alto saxophone expression by Charlie Mariano. Even...

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When I was going to school at Berklee back in the late 80's I spent a lot of time hanging and playing with the students at new England Conservatory. This was mainly because my close friend Kenny Brooks, a fantastic tenor player, was a student there. Through Kenny I met...

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A rooster is getting ready to retire from his gig at the Farm....he sent the word out to some young roosters to come up and audition for the gig....the first young rooster comes up and scats the bird solo on Night in Tunisia.....nothing happens the sun doesn't...

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The harmonic major scale (simply a major with a flat sixth) is a relatively new addition to Jazz improvisation. It has an interesting exotic sound and can be a important element of a modern Jazz musician's vocabulary.Music theory always lags significantly behind what musicians are actually playing on the streets....

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Here's a nice interview with NEA Jazz Master Yusef Lateef from WGBO's Checkout show. He talks about his musical influences and development, world music, his involvement with Islam, and his current work.Yusef Lateef interview ...

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Last night I was looking through stuff on my hard drive and ran across a great video lesson on melodic minor scales by John Stowell that I had never posted. This TV show was produced a few years ago by Darren Littlejohn of Portland Jazz Jams and directed...

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Joe Diorio is an underrated monster guitarist and was one of the first instructors at the Guitar Institute of Technology. He has recorded ten albums and written several instructional books.Dan Johnson transcribed this of Joe's on Autumn Leaves.Without You- mp3Invitation- mp3Joe Diorio's MySpaceMeet Joe Diorio @ All About JazzYouTube...

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Howard Alden give a master class for Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open on the tune All the Things You Are ...

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So Do ItThanks to Pere Soto for this transcription ...

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Founded by Nat Hentoff, Martin Williams, and Hsio Wen Shih in New York in 1958, The Jazz Review was the premier journal of jazz in the United States. Short-lived as it was (1958-1961), it set an enduring standard for criticism. While all of the material is of high quality, several...

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Roy Okutani is a great trumpet player that taught at Berklee during the time I was a student there. He now lives, teaches and performs in Sweden. He recently ran across this blog and sent me this paper that he gives to all of his new students. Roy has quite...

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Matt Otto has a new web site and he's posted some very good lessons on there.He has lessons on topics like: reverse 13th arpeggios, augmented scales over dominant chords, spread triads, minor ii-V7s, and rhythm changes.Nice stuff Otto.Matt Otto.org ...

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A conversation with jazz musician Joe Henderson ...

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I started to reply to Jazz pianist/educator Josh Rager comment from the previous post and I just got kind of carried away. He does make some good points and my reply is wildly rambling and not even totally directed in response to his comment. I think this deserves a post...

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Here is part of a letter that I sent one of my students who recently moved out east to study at a major Jazz school in the New York area. I thought that it was worth reprinting because it contains a lot of advice that I wish that someone had...

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