We can think of a scale as a kit for making melodies… or as a way of defining harmony. Unfortunately, all the ways we have of depicting scales are well-suited to the former, and poorly suited to the latter. This post aims to rectify that. [read more]
Scales offer a palette of notes to choose from. And they always contain the root. So, what if we don’t want to play the root?! We discuss the possibilities of rootless scales… [read more]
Fifty years ago today, a 26-year-old Joe Henderson recorded his debut album, Page One, for Blue Note Records. In addition to its stellar lineup and the fact that it debuts two songs that went on to become jazz mega-classics, Page One is notable in that it displays gorgeous facets of Joe’s playing that one doesn’t hear in his later years… [read more]
In praise of the song we all love to hate. [read more]
Like most jazz recordings, my CDs have stayed pretty true to the live-concert experience. But here’s a couple tricks we’ve played in the studio over the years that we couldn’t have pulled off live. Audio included [read more]
A look at a cadence where a ii-V progression resolves not down a perfect fifth to the I chord, but up a half step. [read more]
My “Radiant Blue” CD is a collection of ten songs that, in different and sometimes unusual ways, follow the blues form. But you probably wouldn’t notice that, listening to it. “Radiant Blue is a CD of blueses, but it is not a blues CD any more than The Who’s rock opera, Tommy, is an opera CD.” [read more]
I was humming Hendrix’s Hey Joe not too long ago and it occurred to me: the harmony song’s chords are a cycle of major chords moving downward in fourths. The world is filled with songs whose chords move around the cycle in the standard direction… down fifths… but I had never noticed one that moved backwards, like Hey Joe. I wondered: are there others there? … [read more]
Of all my compositions, the one that draws the most comments and questions is Pangur Bán. I’ve never recorded it, but I’ve been performing it off and on for some years now. I named it after a poem written in the 9th century by an anonymous Irish Monk. As I’ve explained at gigs now and then, the name is a groaner of a pun… [read more]
For several years I’ve been sending out a mailing every few months about my teaching activities. In most I’ve included a little discussion about at topic in jazz music or jazz education. While I’ll continue to send out those mailings (go to my contact page to sign up if you like), I’ll be making those sorts of discussions a part of my website’s blog. To start things off, here’s one I wrote about a favorite ballad of mine, Moonlight in Vermont… [read more]
Random Roots is a groundbreaking practice app I've created for players looking to deepen their musicianship and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their practice. Guaranteed that you've never experienced anything like it.
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To learn more and download it for free, visit randomroots.app.
—Anton