Jazz Licks for Saxophone, Vol. 1

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Jazz Licks for Saxophone, Vol. 1

B Flat Saxophones Edition (PDF Download)

100 Interchangeable Long Major II-V-I Licks

Jazz Licks for Saxophone, Vol. 1 is arguably the most authentic and efficient book for saxophonists to use to help them develop their jazz vocabulary.

Included in the book are 100 licks to play over the hugely important “long” Major II-V-I chord progression. The licks are written mostly in the bebop tradition and presented in all 12 keys. They all cover the key aspects of jazz including enclosures, tri-tone substitutions, diminished and altered scales. This is core jazz language for any saxophonist!

“A very enjoyable pair of books. Good tunes, cool licks, ace backing tracks and a great workout for my playing – Hugely recommend!”

J. Raisbeck, Sax Student, Newcastle, UK

As well as the 100 licks written out in all 12 keys, this book comes with a huge number of demo and backing tracks. You’ll get the following practise materials when you download the book: –

  • 100 Demo/Play-a-long tracks for each of the licks
  • 6 Demo/Play-a-long tracks for the example “Spliced Licks”
  • 72 key based practise tracks (covering 6 different tempos ranging from 108 – 200 bpm)
  • 48 fluency work out tracks (taking the major II-V-I around all 12 keys in 4 different ways, covering the same tempos as above)
  • Chord charts for all of the above, and space for you to try out and write down your own major II-V-I licks!
  • Alternate fingering recommendations where applicable for each of the licks!

Please note, as most of my website’s visitors are now not UK based, I’m now processing payments in US Dollars for their ease of purchase.

Scroll images for example pages from the book.


A More Authentic Approach to Using Jazz Licks in Improvisation

Not only does Jazz Licks for Saxophone, Vol. 1 give you 100 great licks, the core concept of this book is that the licks are “interchangeable.” What do I mean by this?

In Jazz Licks for Saxophone, Vol. 1 I group the licks by the note that they land on beat 1 of bar 2. You can then transition to another lick at this point should you wish, and the result will always sound good. This then gives you lots of different options to work with, helping you use licks in a more creatively.

Jazz Etudes for Saxophone Vol. 1

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Jazz Etudes for Saxophone, Vol. 1

B Flat Saxophones Edition (PDF Download)

Jazz Etudes for Saxophone Vol. 1 is the first in a series of eBooks written to help the saxophone student learn to how to improvise.

Please note, as most of my website’s visitors are now not UK based, I’m now processing payments in US Dollars for their ease of purchase.

“The book is really good. So much material in each and every one of the études.” 

Alistair Parnell, iSax Academy

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If you are an intermediate or advanced level saxophonist, but when it comes to jazz and improvisation you don’t know what to play, then this series of jazz etudes is specifically written for you.

Scroll images for example pages from the book.


Authentic Jazz Etudes

In the book, you’ll find 12 jazz etudes based upon the chord progressions to famous jazz standards and the blues. All in common keys for the saxophonist, so they’ll fit “neatly under the fingers.” No dubious transpositions to be found here!

Charlie Parker: A Closer Look

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Analysing Charlie Parker’s Solo on “Au Privave”

Analysing Charlie Parker's solo on "Au Privave".
The Legendary Charlie Parker, Photo Credit: William P Gottlieb

It’s recently been the 100th birthday of the legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker. Most musicians, and jazz enthusiasts know that he was (and still is) a huge influence on the music, but don’t necessarily understand why. I therefore decided to not only post a transcription of one of his solos, but take a closer look at what he actually plays so we can try and understand his genius (even if it’s just a little bit)!

What To Practise: Transcription II

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Sonny Stitt’s Solo On “Elora” (Take 2) by J. J. Johnson

Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt in 1971. Photo Credit: JPRoche

This is how I discovered the music of the great jazz saxophonist Sonny Stitt…

When I was fresh out of the Royal College, very young, and so very naive I arranged to have a sax lesson with the legendary American saxophonist Bob Mintzer whilst he was over in the UK on tour with his band the “Yellow Jackets”.

Back then I was still finding my feet with my jazz playing and if I think back to that lesson it makes me shudder! What on earth was I thinking?! Anyway, Bob was very kind to me in that lesson and actually he gave me some invaluable pointers.

What To Practise: Transcription

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Dexter Gordon’s Solo on “Blue Bossa” by Kenny Dorham

Dexter Gordon - Master Jazz Tenor Saxophone Player
Dexter Gordon in Amsterdam. Photo Credit: Albert Kok

Dexter Gordon is undoubtedly one of the all time great jazz tenor saxophonists. His performing and recording career spanned some 40+ years, winning a Grammy, and even earning an Oscar nomination in the Best Lead Actor category for his role in the 1986 film “Round Midnight”.

From a learning perspective his solos can be a dream to transcribe thanks to their clarity, therefore making them ideal for the intermediate player. Dexter’s phrasing, use of space, and sense of time often give his playing an unhurried feel, and so his solos are great examples to try and emulate.

Nathan’s Top 5 Bebop Licks

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5 Top Bebop Licks - Learn to play jazz saxophone with Nathan Hassall at Saxophoneteacher.co.uk

Are you looking to strengthen your jazz improvisation?

Building a “language” is invaluable if you want to become a convincing improviser, whatever the genre that you are interested in.

Bebop is undoubtedly the building blocks of jazz as we know it today and so at the bottom of this blog post is a pdf file for you to download and keep of 5 of my favourite jazz licks. They are by four of the greatest exponents of the idiom, namely Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins, and Clifford Brown (Yes, a trumpet player. It’s extremely useful to transcribe solos by the masters that didn’t just play your instrument!).