R & B, Blues, Soul Recommended Blues Listening

[Digger2054]

My teacher has suggested trying to improvise over a blues progression.

For various reasons I've barely touched my saxes since, I'm after some listening recommendations to give me a little bit of inspiration.

So what should I be listening to?

 

[rhysonsax]

Johnny Hodges (alto). For instance the two small group albums “Back to Back” and “Side by Side”.

Rhys

 

[Pete Thomas]

Great R & B and Rock Sax Players Taming The Saxophone

Mini Biographies of the 50 most significant players in the history of R & B saxophone, including pictures and soundfiles.

tamingthesaxophone.com

 

[skeller047]

Hank Crawford, The Peeper. Hank Crawford was one of David Sanborn’s main influences, and he was band leader for Ray Charles for many years.

View: https://youtu.be/_JB6rvTIkBs


John Coltrane, Bessie’s Blues. Trane loved the blues, and was a master of the form.

View: https://youtu.be/16AqebffhWM


A more recent recording of an even older tune, Dizzy’s Blue ‘N’ Boogie, performed by Emmet Cohen, Wycliffe Gordon, Adrian Cunningham, Russell Hall and Kyle Poole. Communication off the charts….

View: https://youtu.be/A7qF4ZyArCk


And of course, Parker’s Mood, by the GOAT.

View: https://youtu.be/6Wa7El-k3jQ

 

[thomsax]

Blues progression: 12 bar, 8 bar, 12 bar with 8 bar bridge/chorus. 24 bar ......

I think it's also important to get the rhythm right. In Rock beat 2 and 4 is important. Listen to Howlin' Wolf. a stong back beat on some recordings.

When it comes to blues, I think the lyrics/words are more important than the notes/dots. Sing the words with you sax.

 

[turf3]

My teacher has suggested trying to improvise over a blues progression.

For various reasons I've barely touched my saxes since, I'm after some listening recommendations to give me a little bit of inspiration.

So what should I be listening to?

Well, if you're just trying to get a handle on the basic 12 bar blues, you're going to want to stay simple. C Jam Blues; Hound Dog; Blues for Alice; Jeep's Blues; Kansas City; Rock around the Clock; Blue Monk, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. ad infinitum.

If you want to "play the blues", stylistically, then you need to consider ALL the different ways this can be done, from Robert Johnson and a single guitar, T Bone Walker, Cab Calloway, Charlie Parker, B B King, Albert King, Freddie King, the King, Billie Jean King, Don King... (sorry, inside joke there), Stevie Ray Vaughan, Coltrane, Mingus, Led Zeppelin, and so on, and so on, and so on.

In popular music and African American improvised music, the 12 bar blues progression and its variants is probably the single most common chord progression. There's no shortage of "blues tunes". If you want to emulate Ellington's band, focusing on grindy rumpty rumpty electric blues may not be the shortest path; if you would like to play for sweaty dances at Kingston Mines some day, learning all the Charlie Parker Bird-Blues substitutions may not be the shortest path.

 

[PiccoloPirate]

Maybe it should be called "the Sorrows",
as the Blues where my family lives,
just smiles and happy. 🎶🏴‍☠🎶

 

[thomsax]

My teacher has suggested trying to improvise over a blues progression.

For various reasons I've barely touched my saxes since, I'm after some listening recommendations to give me a little bit of inspiration.

So what should I be listening to?

Listen to blues that is close to the music you want to play. And then play over the recordings. I wrote about his for some months ago.

Saxophone beginners - A slow way to play the blues.

I started to play the sax by playing along recordings. This was my way to "learn" to play, I just played along. Some improvasion, catching some singing lines, copy solos, riffs, fillings ...... I just played along and got familiar with a song-style-genre ... this way. I played a song 500 times...

cafesaxophone.com

 

[Dr G]

My teacher has suggested trying to improvise over a blues progression.

For various reasons I've barely touched my saxes since, I'm after some listening recommendations to give me a little bit of inspiration.

So what should I be listening to?

Why not ask your teacher what they have in mind?

There is a world of blues - or several. Ask for more focussed direction to converge more quickly.

I used to burn cd’s for my students. Now you can just share a play list.

 

[JayeNM]

Why not ask your teacher what they have in mind?

There is a world of blues - or several. Ask for more focussed direction to converge more quickly.

I used to burn cd’s for my students. Now you can just share a play list.

Yeah...this question is too nebulous as asked.

Blues...I mean....we talking Down Home Delta ? Or bebop blues ? Classic R&B ?

Does he strictly mean 12 bar 1-4-5 progressions ? (am assuming 'yes' here)

Next...if OP is just getting feet wet with blues scale improv...perhaps suggestions should veer towards keeping that in mind and suggesting more easily 'consumable' recordings....

 

[LostCircuits]

KISS
Start with the triads over the chords' roots, do the inversions and change ascending and descending. Add the 7th and a few mistakes and you have a beautiful solo

 

[rhysonsax]

View: https://youtu.be/CW1mHERYpDA?si=FGRAtGw5uHh7XtUA


Not just Hodges by the great Sweets Edison blowing beautifully. And of course Ellington showing what a fine pianist he was.

View: https://youtu.be/m7j-cc5i2as?si=GjietAp2S9dOVLLy


Rhys

 

[Digger2054]

Why not ask your teacher what they have in mind?

I've a lesson tomorrow, but wanted to get some ideas of what I like, don't like, and get some ideas from there.

My head's not really been into playing the past fortnight, so I want to get my teeth into something in my lesson and work on it over the next fortnight, something challenging yet fun, I could do with a distraction.

 

[LostCircuits]

How about playing "in time", even if it is just a one note blues?

 

[Dr G]

View: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=05XAt86IfaI&list=OLAK5uy_mM5Ez7LSXZg7qZLTod-WdubE5EGsuw9YI

 

[JayeNM]

I've a lesson tomorrow, but wanted to get some ideas of what I like, don't like, and get some ideas from there.

My head's not really been into playing the past fortnight, so I want to get my teeth into something in my lesson and work on it over the next fortnight, something challenging yet fun, I could do with a distraction.

Ok, are we talking jazz blues , blues-blues, or soul blues ?

Where does your musical interest lie ? Jazzer ? Or more of a generalist ?

 

[Digger2054]

Ok, are we talking jazz blues , blues-blues, or soul blues ?

Where does your musical interest lie ? Jazzer ? Or more of a generalist ?

I'd love to be a jazzer, but my mind tends to go blank when it comes to improvising 🤣

Will have a chat with my teacher tonight and see if I can make some headway, I seem to be going round in circles, and frustrating myself, along with everything else at the moment 🙈

 

[Pete Thomas]

Blues...I mean....we talking Down Home Delta ? Or bebop blues ? Classic R&B ?

Does he strictly mean 12 bar 1-4-5 progressions ? (am assuming 'yes' here)

I'd love to be a jazzer, but my mind tends to go blank when it comes to improvising 🤣

In that case any of the nonetheless excellent jazz/blues recommendations above may not be quite the ticket for starting off with more basic blues/blues.

I tend to think of jazz blues as not something to start off with when learning “the blues.”

The number one ingredient to learning the blues is to steep yourself in the genre. The number two ingredient is learning how, why and when to play a a so-called blue note.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Real blues saxophone:

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P6aXvJSPi8U&pp=0gcJCY8Co7VqN5tD&ra=m

 

[turf3]

Well, Pete just gave you two straightforward blues tunes, not too fast, plenty of saxophone on them. First one is pure 12 bar blues, the second one has a quick 4. Just start right there with those two tunes.