ii-V progressions often present themselves as pairs, a step apart, known as contiguous ii-Vs. Barry Harris plays this lick twice in the same chorus (see also Tommy Flanagan's repeated lick) in his solo over the changes to Tadd Dameron's Good Bait on Warne Marsh's 1986 quartet recording Back Home.
The standard tune Stella By Starlight has a a total of seven minor iiVs in it's 32 bars. Here is a pair of licks that you can use to get started improvising over this tune.
The first lick is composed of only a scale and an arpeggio. Starting on the 9 of the ii-7b5 chord, it proceeds up the locrian mode to the 3 of the dominant chord and arpeggiates the dominant 7b9 chord from the root to the b9.
The second lick is all about approach patterns. The first four notes zero in on the b3 on beat 3 via a root-chromatic from below-double chromatic from above pattern. Another approach pattern follows (double chromatic from above-chromatic from below) aiming for the 5 of the G7b9b13 on beat 1 of the second measure.
Sergio Mendes Once I Loved Lick While not primarily a jazz pianist, Sergio Mendes has been a major force for the last forty years in latin music. His deep musicality shines through in this excerpt from his solo over the tune Once I Loved on the 1962 Cannonball Adderley led recording Cannonball Adderley And The Bossa Rio Sextet.
Don't think you can make a great solo with just chord tones? Think again. Composed of mostly chord tones with occasional chordscale fragments and chromatic notes used to connect his ideas, this elegant melody is as breezy as the bossa groove it floats upon.
The rhythm of the buoyant comping on guitar is notated in slash notation on the second staff.
Red Garland was a fleet handed pianist who had a predilection for sixteenth notes. Try this lick of his over a pair major of ii-Vs. Listen to him breeze through it at 4:16 on the A section of the first chorus of his solo over the tune It Could Happen to You from Miles Davis' 1956 release Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet.
Action-Packed Major ii-V-I Lick 5/10/09
This major ii-V-I lick from Tommy Flanagan's 1977 Enja recording Confirmation is loaded with notes, mostly eighths and sixteenths and tensions too.
The first three notes proceed up the dorian scale and then break into a combination arpeggiated/approach three-against-two pattern with b9 and #9 over the F7. It ends by ascending and descending the ionian chordscale and Bbmaj7 arpeggios.
Watch the fingering on this one if you want to play it fast though!
Joe Zawinul Major Chord Lick 4/19/09
OK so you need to fill two measures over a major 7th chord. How are you going to do that? Plug in this
lyrical lick from Joe Zawinul's solo over the tune Teaneck from the 1961 classic Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley.
It is loaded with approach patterns. Can you find them? Listen for it at 3:46, right at the tail end of his solo just before the band comes in for the head out.
For more Joe Zawinul licks, a complete transcription of his solo over this tune and for an analysis of his use of approach patterns, watch Improv Drill: Approach Patterns Part 1.
Major ii-V-I Lick from Peace 3/22/09
One of the most beautiful tunes in the jazz repertoire has to be Peace by Horace Silver. And perhaps the most beautiful recording of it is Tommy Flanagan's reading of it on his 1978 OJC release Something Borrowed, Something Blue. Jazz radio legend Eric Jackson, host of Eric in the Evening on Boston's WGBH 89.7 FM, has used it for the introduction to his show for decades.
Played at a glacial 60 BPM, Tommy spins out this double-time
lick over a major ii-V-I progression in A major at 2:44 in his first solo chorus:
To any of Eric's devotees, this lick is ingrained in their mind's ear as much as any childhood melody. Don't be put off by the sixteenth notes though; written in half time it becomes much more accessible:
Click on the album cover below to listen to or buy the track or album.
This lick comes from the hit album Our Delight by veteran tenor player James Moody. He begins with a descending Bb dorian scale with added passing tones between the 5th and 6th (Gb) and 4th and 5th (E) notes (a la BeBop Scale) which serves to place the chord tones on strong beats, 1 and 3. He finishes with a sequence of perfect 4th intervals which balances the line nicely. Listen for it at 2:32 on the tune Lady Bird.
Watch Improvising Over Lady Bird for a transcription of Hank Jones' improvisation over this Tadd Dameron classic.
Wynton Kelly Blues Lick 2/8/09
A frequent collaborator of Hank Mobley, Wynton Kelly is almost synonomous with hard bop. Here is a flexible blues lick that you can use over a dominant chord. Listen to it at 5:10 on the tune Greasin' Easy on Hank Mobley's 1961 Blue Note release Workout. Click either image below to be taken to the JazzPianoOnline.com Store to listen to or buy the track or album.
Bill Evans Minor ii-V Lick 1/18/09
Here is a simple but strong minor ii-V lick to add to your arsenal. Listen for it at 1:23 on Night and Day on his 1956 Everybody Digs Bill Evans recording. It is the first idea in his solo and uses a straight up symmetric dominant scale (whole/half) over the Bb7 chord emphazising the tensions #9 and 13.
Benny Green Major ii-V-I Lick 10/4/08
If the Three Benny Green Licks aren't enough to keep you busy try this tasty major iiV line also from the Bud Powell tune Celia from Benny's That's Right recording. You can find many, many, many more like it in the Benny Green Collection, a compilation of several of his tunes and transcriptions from his multiple recordings as a leader.
