Author Archives: Mike

Bye Bye Blackbird Chord Melody

Here is my guitar chord melody arrangement for “Bye Bye Blackbird,” composed by Ray Henderson, published in 1926. A jazz standard, “Bye Bye Blackbird” has been recorded by many notable musicians including Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Keith Jarrett, … Continue reading

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Album Review at Guitar International

Check out my review of the Hugh Tracey archival guitar recordings on the album Origins of Guitar Music in Southern Congo and Northern Zambia 1950, ’51, ’51, ’57, ’58 at Guitar International Magazine.

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Jazz Styles at A Passion For Jazz

A Passion for Jazz has a great breakdown of the styles of jazz, from its beginnings in the 19th century to contemporary jazz styles from the 1980s and 1990s. Each style is covered in a couple of paragraphs which describe … Continue reading

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The Harlem Renaissance and American Music

A new article of mine on the influence of the Harlem Renaissance on 20th century American music is now available at All About Jazz. It relates to a previous post on this blog, linked here: The African-American Experience in Jazz … Continue reading

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My Youtube Channel

If you haven’t already, check out my Youtube channel. I currently have five playlists, three related to my teaching materials. These three playlists include sample lessons, ear training resources, and videos of the songs currently available in my Beginner Guitar … Continue reading

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The African-American Experience in Jazz Suites

Here is a link to another blogger’s post on jazz suites as they reflect the experience of black Americans (A Blog Supreme, NPR, by David Brent Johnson). This topic is very similar to that of an article I will soon … Continue reading

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Review: 98% Funky Stuff: My Life in Music, by Maceo Parker

Just finished reviewing Maceo Parker’s new autobiography, 98% Funky Stuff: My Life in Music, for Jazz Books Reviews: 98% Funky Stuff: My Life in Music, released in February 2013, is the autobiography of legendary funk saxophonist Maceo Parker. The writing is … Continue reading

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Ear Training Resource

Ear training is one of the fundamental skills a musician works to acquire. Recognizing intervallic relationships between different notes enables accurate sight singing, transcription, imitation, and allows the improvising musician to know what how something will sound before they even … Continue reading

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Website Redesign

You’ll probably notice that my website looks quite a bit different from your last visit, but I think that’s probably a good thing. I’ve altered the layout to make it more intuitive and accessible. In the new layout lesson info, reviews, … Continue reading

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Looking for New Music?

Here is a great website if you want to hear something new. There are links to 25 albums by Brazilian artists, all released in 2012, and all available (legally) for free download or streaming. Genres include jazz, fusion, rock, singer-songwriter, … Continue reading

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