Jump Monk: Journey Through The Real Book

A jazz piano lesson to help you learn the Charles Mingus jazz standard “Jump Monk.”

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We’re halfway through The Real Book! 0:00
Understanding jazz standards 0:22
Trying to make sense of “Charles Mingus’ “Jump Monk” 0:36
Seeing Charles Mingus as a bridge between Ellington and Bebop 0:57
The melody of “Jump Monk” 1:52
The tune’s chord progression as derived from “Rhythm Changes” 2:36
An approach to playing “Jump Monk” in the spirit of Mingus 3:36
Using voicings over a C pedal tone for the introduction 4:10
Starting with right hand tremolos 4:53
Becoming more rhythmic 5:05
Improvising around the tune’s melody 5:16
Easing into a swing groove 5:24
Playing the melody 6:00
A C pedal tone, reminiscent of the intro 6:09
Improvising over the chord changes 6:23
Developing a motif with repeated notes 6:28
Going back into the tune 6:39
Thirds 7:43
Playing outside the changes 7:57
Pseudo-stride in the left hand 8:00
Walking bass 8:11
Mixing up the left hand rhythms 8:17
Rhythmic interplay between the hands 8:20
Returning to the melody 8:34
Putting an F pedal point under the chord progression 8:45
The F Blues Scale 8:55
A more expansive texture 9:12
A taste of Thelonious Monk! 9:18
2-part jazz counterpoint 9:35
Developing a motif from the tune’s melody 9:38
“Bluesiness” in F 10:00
Coming in for a landing 10:16
Analyzing the ending 10:39
An ongoing journey 12:00

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Enjoy the journey, and "let the music flow!"
Ron