Three Easy Jazz Songs for Guitarists Who Don’t Play Jazz

A few months ago, Darrell Braun presented a video in which he demonstrates 24 easy jazz chords. He’s back with the second lesson in this series, “Three Easy Jazz Songs for People Who Don’t Play Jazz.” These songs use the chords from the previous lesson, which you can see right here.

The songs are “Stormy Monday,” which Darrell explains is essentially a 12-bar blues with jazz chords (and which many of you have heard performed by the Allman Brothers Band, B.B. King and Eric Clapton, among others); “Blue Bossa,” an instrumental jazz composition by Kenny Dorham that’s been performed by Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon and many others; and “Blue in Green,” a Miles Davis composition featured on his 1959 album Kind of Blue.

As always, Darrell has included tab right in the video.

If you’re unfamiliar with any of these songs, we’ve included popular renditions of them below Darrell’s lesson. In true jazz fashion, they may not strictly adhere to the chord changes presented in Darrell’s lesson, but interpretation is what it’s all about.

For more of Darrell’s lesson, visit his YouTube channel. Photo by Pexels.com.

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Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.