Funny timing. I just got back into jazz. Also first chord melody stuff and now more single note stuff as well. I agree 1000% that learning songs as a mode for improvisation is the best place to start. Just like you, I made the mistake of practicing over tracks of just 2 5 1s, and that really doesn't prepare us to play music.

@crazygirlfun1

15 күн бұрын

i would like you hear you play more jazz in your channel 😅

@sunburstshredder

15 күн бұрын

@@crazygirlfun1 Ditto

mate, you are so good at jazz. your chord melodies and lines are incredible. you have a ton to give to the genre. please keep playing!!

You should keep playing Jazz, sounds good

I'm not into the 'real' jazzy kind of jazz, but this sounds great. Thank you for it.

I admire your legato skills but I’d rather listen to this . . . Jazz with feeling and without falling in to the trap of too many notes. More please!

@jaycollins9244

8 күн бұрын

Spot on comment here. I love playing melodic jazz where at no point do you lose the tune and force people to ask what was the song he's playing?

@godzoo18

3 күн бұрын

Too many notes? Bebop is the cornerstone of jazz and has billions of notes. 🤡

What a difference a day makes!..since jazz is a deep world, to advance you must NEVER stop playing jazz, because you will never stop learning!

You have such an elegant feel and touch , more jazz please 🌝🙏🏻

I went for a meal in Kensington with a group of friends and there was a guy noodling mellow jazz in a corner as we ate. It was so cool. Is Tom Waites a jazzer? 'Invitation to the blues'

@godzoo18

3 күн бұрын

No.

A nice little Sunday duo residency somewhere and you’ll be good. Either that or a regular solo / looper gig in a restaurant.

That was exceptional! And that tone was absolutely perfect! I can relate to what you are saying. Working out these tunes with the chords and playing something nice around the melody of those chords is time consuming for sure. But jeez man don't give that up!!!

I can relate to a lot of what John says here, although I do still regularly try to play jazz because music isn’t my work anymore; I do it for fun in my spare time, like many of us. I have found I can totally forget loads of material unless I revisit it regularly, to an extent I accept this and let whatever sticks stick. But I do find, if I have really spent a lot of time playing a tune, then little fragments of it become part of my musical vocabulary, even if it’s just a novel chord voicing, so I guess it’s worth doing if you enjoy the process.

lovely! It's 'funny' - interesting - how a guitar journey goes. I started out with melody, and after years, have kind of come back to it, having 'forgotten' all the songs I used to know, and re-visiting them with some of my newer skills. Beautiful sound.

I am currently doing a masters thesis on how to transition from Rock/Metal to jazz and I am documenting the process like you and believe me I am going through the same struggles.

“I stopped playing jazz guitar” - while playing jazz guitar in the video…coming up tomorrow: “Why I’m into jazz guitar again”. We love you John!!! 😊

Your video actually inspires me to try jazz. I always thought it would be unattainable. If I focus on scales and arpeggios I might pick up a tune or two. That would be very satisfying.

That Larsen guy on You Tube knows his jazz, and teaches it.

AWESOME rendering of such a beautiful classic! Thank you man!

Great touch. Lovely playing.

Your jazz playing touches me the most. Terrific tone, feeling, phrasing, and loud soft dynamics. So musical. I will always click on them. I practiced real book tunes 4 hours a day during Uni summers and gigged jazz in my 20s. I was always able to include some standards at the beginning of a wedding or function gig. I have had a computer job for a long time since then so less time. With less time I focused more on rock/pop music with vocals and harmonies, and writing vocal originals, all of which connect to others (non jazzers) more easily at house parties. We still pull out some Steely Dan though :-) Jazz can be rich but does take a lot of time, and can be isolating if you do not have a jazz circle to share it with. I may get back to it as well (when I retire).

@tommywallberg

15 күн бұрын

Really great tasteful playing!

Most jazzers eventually come back. Beautiful legato in your intro.

great advice! I'm going to start learning jazz standards! You are a fantastic jazzer keep playing it's so heartfelt

Great tone, lyrical, emotive touch, just pure music. Excellent tune selection. What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, I had never heard of you.

M’man, you have SUCH a lovely touch with unique interpretations of phrasing and also the way you harmonize. It’s something I really enjoy listening to much more than some gymnastic shred approach. It’s more of a “I’m PLAYING for you.” As opposed to “Wow, look what I can do! Good luck figuring this out!” Stick with it. You’re doing important work.

Please don't stop playing Jazz. You make a good point about playing it as a side to your normal stuff. Your Jazz Playing and guitar playing in general is a real inspiration for a novice/intermediate player like myself.

I'm definitely a fan of your jazz playing! They were always the first videos that I would look for on your channel, John.

Everything about your playing is great. From the dynamics in your picking hand to the touch of your left hand. You have an incredible sense of time and feel. You sir are fantastic! Regardless of the genre you play. Your Jazz is fire though.

That’s lush mate. Don’t stop playing that jazz box.

I prefer your musical Jazz lines and chords to your technicality impressive legato playing.

Beautiful opening!❤

What did you feed the K Line on ? Fabulous 🎸

Jazz - a little word that covers a whole load of different types of music. Avoiding to attempt a definitive 'definition' I would say that is an environment in which one can expand one's theory, practise and techniques. Whatever your 'main; musical direction, jazz is always there to take detours into. Whether that's reliving old standards or attempting to break new ground. More directly, you have to do what you enjoy while you still enjoy it.

You never give up Jazz ! 😂 Anyway lovely great warm tone here ! Is it one of your patches ? Asking this as I've downloaded your presets for Fractal some time ago and I'm wondering if this Jazz preset could already be in or is it a new one ! Keep up the good work !

@SuchaDoofus

9 күн бұрын

Exactly. Because jazz will never give up on you.... Grreat..

Sounds great! What model is that archtop?

My tutor is trying to teach me jazz. It’s definitely helping me learn more interesting things to play - without it being ‘jazz’ . Tim’s stuff is fantastic. I thought solo guitar wouldn’t be that hard but it’s really hard! But it’s helping me get better. Learning heads by ear is still really hard and time consuming. What’s interesting is using it to learn what works over different chords and expanding my chord knowledge.

Have to echo everyone else’s sentiments…I really enjoy your melodic jazz playing. Beautiful musicality, phrasing and tone. Can I have some more?

I can relate. I went in the jazz blues direction. Grooveyard , take five , midnight blues ect. the head and some improv of the recordings. It’s so cool to hear it come out in your solos at “money gigs”. The guys saying sounds good. Where did that come from.😅

wow, never heard such a tempo with this one! Beautiful playing John. I spent a few years trying to learn the bebop/standards canon, but now most of that stuff (looking at you Pat Martino) seems like WAYTOO many notes. I much prefer melodic phrases (looking at you JNC)

Okay buddy...at 1:40 I stopped to declare - you cannot stop playing jazz since you are good. Mankind needs you like never before.

Wonderful tune and your touch is exquisite. You can of course always play other styles, but please don’t stop playing jazz. It’s, sadly, becoming a lost art. I really like your sound as well. Cheers!

Your Jazz chops are amazing. I am sure you have your personal reasons for gravitating in other directions, but this is one genre your definitely seem to have mastered 🤩

@godzoo18

3 күн бұрын

Jazz chops? This is a joke right?

@karmadave

2 күн бұрын

@@godzoo18 Have you watched any of John's Jazz videos? He may not be a pure Jazz guitarist, but his Jazz playing is better than 99.9% of what I've seen. You may disagree and I respect this...

Damn! You need to not be stopping the jazz guitar. That was just moving that . Change course. This clearly brings you much more satisfaction

Welcome to Jazz Club. Bringing you all that's best in the world of Jazz. Nice. What guitar are you playing? Grreat....

I like a wide variety of music and have been playing/learning classical/electric/acoustic guitar for 48 years ("semi"-professionally?). During my morning walk I listened to my Pat Metheny playlist on random through my earphones - it transported me to another world. This afternoon I watched Paul Davids's 73-minute Julian Lage interview - it really made me rethink some of my views on making music with the guitar. Thirty minutes ago I saw the title "STOPPED Playing Jazz Guitar..." and hoped it was just a joke. I know you have high standards, as do I, but respectfully I think you're overthinking this. "JAZZ" is just a word and it means a lot of different things to different people. All I know is that after attentively listening to Metheny and Lage today, your playing from 0:50 on evoked many of the same feelings. I could care less about II-V-I progressions, altered scales, modal interchange, etc... when I'm listening to well phrased melodies, interesting harmonies and a deft dynamic touch. While I understand you have overwhelming time restraints with your business and family, I would implore you to cut back in other areas. As much as I enjoy your videos on gear, legato, pentatonics, etc., I like your tasteful arrangement lessons/performances the most. Hopefully my viewpoint is not in the minority!

@godzoo18

3 күн бұрын

You see jazz as Pat Metheny and Julian lage? Really? That's a bit like saying Taylor Swift is Death Metal

@orlandoguitarist

2 күн бұрын

@@godzoo18 I guess you don't consider Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Rodgers and Hart either. Perhaps you can enlighten us with what style of music Pat Metheny and Julian Lage play and what "you see jazz as." Both Julian Lage and Pat Metheny are the greatest JAZZ guitarists alive today - if you disagree, you're at odds with most of the jazz listening public.

@godzoo18

2 күн бұрын

@@orlandoguitarist John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington yes. I have met both Miles and Shorter. This may help you.. kzread.info/dash/bejne/inyuyctrc7O5qtY.html

Beautiful guitar tone. Very soulful playing.

John, you dont have to stop playing Jazz Guitar altogether. If there are little or no Jazz gigs in your town you can still play Jazz Guitar for the Joy of it or, as you say dip back into it sometime later. Their are literally hundreds of standards but in reality, there are about 100 or so that are the most performed and recorded. Of these, there are about 10, that if you learn them thoroughly, you can apply those concepts to just about any other Standard because with most Standards there is a lot of Similar Chord Progressions. With Jazz or just about any other Genre, if you want to get better faster, focus on 3 things. 1.Technique 2.Language 3. Songs. If you or anyone else wants more information, please check out the book Jazz Improvisation Made Simple by Brent Vaartstra. This book is great for anyone that's new to Jazz Guitar or anyone that wants a clear road map on how to get better faster on Jazz Guitar. Also, your Tone and Phrasing are great. Thanks.

I've been trying to learn jazz. It's improved my knowledge a lot of the guitar but the first stages have been learn all these triads, learn all these inversions, learn them across all three sets of strings. How the hell am I meant to remember all of them. It's too much.

there's a very limited audience for jazz, as Rick Beato has also discovered -- it's too bad. This great music has a very high bar of entry even for the listener. Very rewarding though, for those who pay the price.

@SuchaDoofus

9 күн бұрын

A rock guitarist plays 4 chords to a thousand people. A jazz guitarist plays 1000 chords to 4 people, and gets paid 4 pounds. Don't worry though, it's per hour.....

100% If you have another kid you can truly kiss goodbye to jazz guitar until they're at school!

What's the logic of jazz? What are you doing when you improvise? I love Kinda Blue but I don't know what Miles Davis is doing and why I like it

@JasonT-xp3kh

15 күн бұрын

It's weird. I've only really had a cursory look at it but what I've gleaned is: a basic chord progression like a 1 5 2 is modulated every so many bars. It usually moves to the 5, chasing it's way around the circle of fifths. That's kind of the basic idea of how it works from what I could tell. I'm sure others could do much better at explaining it. I just thought I'd throw my little tidbit in there to start the convo.

@jamesbennettmusic2154

15 күн бұрын

That album was largely about simpler chord sequences and more melodic jazz soloing. It was a contrast to mainstream Jazz up until that point, which had become an exercise in soloing over tunes with hundreds of chords / crazy changes.

Keep playing jazz, it sounds beautiful.

Yes this a bit of a dilemma when combining musicians of all styles. You almost have to just do your own thing like Robin Ford or Chris Kane. They are covering alot of ground as far as language and vocabulary in the treatment of Dominant chords and melody. The crowd probably has no idea what these artists are studying or working on..but they know that there's a twist to how they approach a blues or even a country song. Yes its not jazz but its about an awareness of direction and possibilities . Alot of guitarists dont work on melodic playing or consider tension and resolution. I get it, not enough time to study jazz when your expected to memorize 3 sets of country tunes with various tunings.. I would rather hear a jazz influenced player improvise on a tune like Little Wing Hendrix. Playing the parent minor chord over a dominant like Wes Montgomery is another valuable approach.

That guitar sounds beautiful-mostly due to you! Why the tape on the pickup?

@christopherjbutler

15 күн бұрын

John has a charming flavor of OCD when it comes to that stuff. He tents to leave the plastic protector stuff on pickguards, and even pickups, until his playing pretty much wears them through if he holds onto a new instrument long enough. But I think there may be a different story re the tape on the jazz box pickup.

Lovely rendition. Jazz standards are the Great American Songbook, so rich and textured. But any one offers endless possibilities. Which chord notes are necessary to give the feel of a major 7th, which of the others can be handled by the melody? Pare it all down. And stick with one or two pieces, maybe just played a couple times. 15 minutes. You are good and I’d hate to know you pulled your oars out of the water only because you’ve set your expectations way too high.

I would advise scaling back instead of not working on jazz at all. We don’t think about it but everything we do in popular music genres somehow links back to jazz where for the first time you had rhythm sections, a drum set as well as musical noclemenature we use from playing musicals to rocking to a top 40 band on the weekend gigs. Working on jazz is also working on concepts which in turn help you in the other stuff more in the popular side of things. Let’s say you are working on triad pairs, constant structures inside the symmetric scales, quartal harmony or drop 2 triads just even 10 minutes a day of this stuff helps you grow and also get out of playing the same ideas whether you are playing a jazz standard or a rock solo. Of course on must cater the resources to the style of music being performed but as Eric Johnson and Andy Timmons have shown it can be done.

We know that there is nowhere near the amount of interest in jazz as there is in other forms of music - and because there is less demand, there is less dosh. That said, it's great hearing John playing jazz, so at least on this channel, I feel he should keep going. I agree that Tim Lerch is a great source of information and inspiration when playing jazz, as are Allan Holdsworth (even if not strictly jazz), and Jonathan Kreisberg, Mike Moreno and Pasquale Grasso. And it's good to listen to players of other instruments - such as Charlie Parker (alto sax) Michael Brecker (tenor sax) Bill Evans (piano), Keith Jarrett (piano) Geri Allen (piano) John Taylor (piano) Bud Powell (piano) and Art Farmer (Trumpet and Flugel Horn). It's interesting to me that John has the exact same guitar heroes as myself.

I would appreciate a jazz piece and mini-lesson occasionally. But yeah, you definitely need to put most of your focus on things that make money.

Sounds beautiful to me

Man your jazz sounds fine AF

Playing a musical instrument is self fulfilling. If you happen to touch others with your music that's great. If not so be it. One thing for sure is once you get bitten by the jazz bug and immerse yourself in it and get fairly proficient, you never get over it. You may play other genres, but you'll never completely drop it. Another thing is if you love it enough, it's not about the money. I've been playing guitar over fifty years, I'm primarily a bebop player but I started out playing rock when it was good; yes that's a stab but it isn't as good as it used to be years ago, there are too many clones today. But every now and then, I'll take out my solid body and rock out from Hendrix to Focus and Mahavishnu, it's in my roots. But jazz takes me places I wouldn't get to with rock or anything else. Anyway, continue on your journey; you're a great musician.

Beautiful

Dude you're such a good jazz player. I hope you're not putting it down because you don't think it sounds good. I hope you come back to it

As I get older, I listen to far more jazz than pop or rock...it's so much more melodic, with rich and complex tonal qualities you truly cannot find in rock. I hope you find a way to devote some time playing more jazz John, you seem to have a wonderful feel for it.

@SuchaDoofus

9 күн бұрын

There's room for both....

@worthmoremusic

9 күн бұрын

​@@SuchaDoofus To each his/her own.

I like more when u play jazz than what you normaly play..no offense is just what I like❤️ Can u share the backing track pls? Thx

Surprise. How to keep people interested.Definitely the best thing you've posted in donkey's.👌

The old saying goes, "There's no such thing as a part-time jazz musician."

You've just made chord/melody arranging so much less intimidating!: "I'd just play the melody, and figure out where I could place some chords." This makes vastly more sense than starting with the chords from the chart, and trying to fit the melody notes above them. Because so many melody notes are roots, I keep getting stuck searching for voicings that fit a root above a 7th without sounding congested.and rotten. I'm going to try your approach instead, with gratitude. If jazz isn't paying the bills, by all means focus on what's enjoyable and giggable for now. I like your philosophy that reclaiming and improving your jazz chops is something to look forward to when you get older.

🤘

Jazz is not a genre. It’s a level of understanding of music theory, and language that requires virtuosity. It’s something that we aspire to as musicians. Hang in there don’t get discouraged. There’s only one way up and it’s not sideways.

Not to mention,it's hard to get good paying gigs for jazz.

@christopherjbutler

15 күн бұрын

John jokes about that in many videos where he mentions his jazz playing lol

If you're like me, you don't like waste. If you quit playing, you've stopped progressing and you've WASTED all that time.

Stop calling it jazz then you might feel better. Your playing is beautiful.

It “seems” the style of jazz you are emulating is NOT in sync with your other electric playing. That may be the issue. Less Ted Green and more Holdsworth for you.

@godzoo18

3 күн бұрын

Alan Holsworth was not a jazz musician.

I've tried to learn standards and altered scales, but it's almost as if you have to suspend your conventional fretboard knowledge and start clean any time you play jazz. You practice for thousands of hours avoiding the "bad" notes and then jazz is all about figuring out how many wrong notes you can make sound right. The two skill sets almost seem mutually exclusive.

@godzoo18

3 күн бұрын

Is that what you think jazz is? 😂

@cbsaulren

3 күн бұрын

@@godzoo18 what kind of reply is this?

@godzoo18

3 күн бұрын

@@cbsaulren It your conventional fretboard knowledge comment. It's jazz guitarists that practically INVENTED modern fretboard knowledge.

What is so much to learn in Jazz? Its 50-60 jazz standards............ to know which accords to play in between... and the rest is just move your fingers >P Jazz is one of the easiest music to play, after Blues - which is top of the easiest things.

@rainchaser5389

4 сағат бұрын

Your experience is dumbfounding. Thank you for posting. 🌱

@goshu7009

3 сағат бұрын

@@rainchaser5389 Yes, like the founders of Jazz 😀

Try free Jazz. Good fun.

Are You Playing Jazz???😁......for me, not Jazz but Great playing anyway.....

Sorry John. You've entered, and mastered, a deeply spiritual world of musical expressionism and, unfortunately that world has embraced you, accepted you, baptized you, that there's no turning back, or even something sillier, like "giving up". Make the adjustments that the money infested world has enslaved us in, but you're on your journey of no return. Blessings.

yes, you are not a jazz player. You do not have that breath and feel in your playing. You are a very good pop-rock player. Like Steve Vai or Statriani, etc. Great players but they do not feel the phrasing, th accent, the rhythm-breath concept that make a player jazzy, even they are not even technically close to your skills. Alex Hutchings can do that, and of course, Matteo Mancuso

I'm too metal for jazz to compute

I must have missed this with all the election news

You have actually NEVER played jazz. jazz is not a guitar or a tone, it's an entire language and you don't speak it. You're a nice player in the things you play but what you played here was a tad jazzy, but it wasn't jazz. Jazz is black Art form and has a uniquely specific language and phraseology. None of that was present in the piece of music you played. If you really want to play jazz guitar you need to listen to bebop players Wes Montgomery, Grant Green and early George Benson who were absolute masters of this language, not Tim Lurch. You know, you don't go to Eskimos to learn French. Reading all the comments it seems there's not a single person here that understands what jazz is.

The best songs ever written, are in fact, the very best teachers you will EVER have. When you study and explore music by Gershwin, or Ellington, or Victor Young, or Richard Rogers ( and other REAL MASTERS ), you are learning from the most informed sources who ever lived, and their genius WILL become imprinted on YOU, and will be an indivisible part of YOU and your musicality, for the rest of your life. No other experience can transform you like these masterworks can, but it is up to YOU, to GO to the mountaintop . . .