re Does a Jazz Blues Actually Need Dominant Function? Three Spots, Not Twelve BarsWhe
Every chord in a jazz blues is a dominant 7th, but dominant function lives in only three places — bars 4, 8 and 12. Play the upper structure there and rest inside the tonic elsewhere.
Jazz Blues From the Voicings? Find the Dominant Function FirstHow Do You Solo Over a
Every chord in a 12-bar blues is a dominant 7th, but only a few carry dominant function — bar 4 heading into the IV, the V chord, and the turnaround. Hear those moments, then solo from the voicings themselves: minor upper structures on the I and IV, a half-step slide into each target, and the Wes Montgomery line through the 2-5.
es Montgomery Write His Own Blues? Four Tunes That Teach the Whole SystemWhy Did W
Wes Montgomery didn't just play the blues — he wrote his own: Cariba, The Thumb, Fried Pies, West Coast Blues. Each tune distills one side of his system — the sound, the line, the voice — and the jazz-waltz West Coast Blues ties them together.
elve Bars, Different Voice: How Wes Montgomery Made the Blues Sound Like HimselfSame Tw
Everyone plays the same twelve bars — the voice is in the phrasing. Wes Montgomery's own blues 'Fried Pies' shows how motivic development turns shared structure into a personal sound, and how you can do the same without copying licks.
How Do You Connect the Changes on a Blues? Wes Montgomery’s Diagonal Line in The Thumb
Connecting the changes on a blues means your line travels with the harmony instead of parking in one position. Wes Montgomery's own blues 'The Thumb' is a masterclass: a riff-and-groove tune whose whole engine is diagonal movement across the fretboard.
Why Does Your Blues Sound Like Practice? Wes Montgomery Built His on Sound, Not Patterns
If your blues solos sound like practice, the missing piece isn't a new lick — it's the sound: the tension between major and minor thirds that makes a line feel like the blues before any 'blue note' is played. Wes Montgomery's own blues, Cariba, is the clearest proof.
Jazz Guitar Upper Structures: How a Dominant Chord Borrows the Next Chord’s Sound
The altered, dominant-function sound on a jazz blues comes from one move: voice the target chord's upper structure a half-step above and slide it down. Here's the logic — and how George Benson used it.