Anyone learning how to play jazz guitar will know that the blues makes up a large part of the jazz soloing, comping and writing traditions. From the licks famous jazzers play, to the chord progressions they write their tunes over, the blues is deeply integrated into jazz soloing and composition.

For guitarists of any background or experience level, learning how to play jazz guitar means working through different types of standard tunes and forms, such as major blues, minor blues and rhythm changes. Though it is less common than its major and minor cousins, the Bird Blues chord progression, most notably demonstrated in the Charlie Parker tune “Blues for Alice,” is a tricky and important progression for any jazz guitarist to explore in the practice room.

When learning how to play jazz guitar, one of the most common progressions guitarists check out is the jazz blues progression. Since it is a fundamental form in just about every genre of modern music, the blues is a natural first step for guitarists who are moving into jazz from a rock, blues or pop background.

It often seems there are limited voicings for the iim7b5 chord that consistently appears in minor keys, and too many options for the V7alt chord that follows the iim7b5 in a ii V I minor progression. In today’s lesson, we’re going to look at three different licks, with each using different ways of playing the iim7b5 chord as well as specific ways to connect those voicings to the tonic chord through the V7alt chord in various alterations.