Lesson time: (1min 8sec)
Ollie Weston works through the Rhythm Changes bridge, navigating its dominant-7th chords around the cycle of fifths as in Gershwin's 'I Got Rhythm'.
This lesson is part of the course Exploring Jazz Saxophone: Part 2 - Soloing on Songs and Chord Sequences
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
A famous use of the cycle of fifths in jazz is found in the bridge of George Gershwin's classic tune, I Got Rhythm. This song has been much loved and frequently played by jazz musicians since the 1930s.
Start with this simple two-note line:
This line is derived from one of the most memorable songs in jazz.
Challenge:
Since graduating from the Leeds College of Music (BA Hons) and the Guildhall School of Music (Post Graduate Diploma in Performance), Ollie has built a busy and varied career in music. As a saxophonist he has performed in live and studio settings with artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Tim Minchin, Bonobo, Frank Turner, the London Jazz Orchestra, the Hackney Colliery Band, the Ambient Jazz Ensemble and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. He is also the co-leader of the jazz quartet 'Time Is Of The Essence', and composes and arranges material for this and other ensembles. Ollie is active in music education, currently as course leader for the jazz department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (junior school), where he runs jazz ensembles, big band and theory classes. He has written a series of 'Exploring Jazz' books for Schott Music that are published worldwide and feature on exam syllabuses in the UK. Ollie has also run workshops for Oxford University, Pro Corda Strings and BABSWE, as well as the Guildhall School of Music summer schools. In his Exploring Jazz Saxophone courses, Ollie takes you from getting started right through to soloing confidently over songs and chord sequences, building the improvising skills that put a real jazz player's vocabulary at your fingertips. read more
