Digging Deeper Jazz

Welcome to today's Guided Listening Session with Jeff Antoniuk. This podcast was originally released on February 25th, 2022, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! Today, in Episode #2, we have a classic John Coltrane Quartet recording, "Bessie's Blues." We also have a pdf transcription of Trane's solo for you. Just write DiggingDeeperJazz@gmail.com and we'll get it off t...

Welcome to today's Guided Listening Session with Jeff Antoniuk. This podcast was originally released on February 18th, 2022, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! Today, in Episode #1, we have some John Scofield from his great album Hand Jive. The band is SO grooving on this tune, but what does that mean? What is going on, and how might WE do that? And what about Eddie H...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on May 6th, 2022, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #37, It's Dominant over Minor . . . That almost sounds like BBQ sauce over ice cream, right? How can that even work? Well, our heroes (Cannonball, Kenny Dorham, Oscar Peterson and on and on) use this idea all the time. Toda...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on April 22nd, 2022, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #36, Today Jeff and James dig in to "quotes." The idea of quoting a melody from another song on the tune we are currently playing. Is this hip or dumb? Is this clever or silly? Is it a good way to learn jazz? Let's see what th...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on April 8th, 2022, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #35, believe it or not, we improvise better when we don't improvise so much. There, we said it. But what in the world does this mean? Coltrane and Miles were improvising, right . . . ? Well, yes and no. "Crafting" a solo is a b...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on March 25th, 2022, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #34, James and Jeff jump into a discussion on the topic of "Motivic Playing." We all know that we should tell a story when we are improvising jazz. But here's the thing . . . is that actually true? Did Charlie Parker do that, ...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on March 11th, 2022, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #33, James and Jeff are on a mission to get folks playing, swinging and nodding their heads in time. But how do we practice this, really? Metronome or not? Or, do you have to be “born with it”, whatever “it” is? Let’s dig in! ...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on February 4th, 2022, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #32, James & Jeff ask, are a YouTube fan? If so, that's great. Having all that information at our fingertips is incredible. But . . . are you playing better because of it, or are you more or less wasting time? Both are p...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on January 14th, 2021, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #31, James and Jeff will tell you a sad truth . . . you can play the notes correctly, and have all the rhythms right, and STILL not sound very good. What the heck!? Well, how you serve up the solo is as important as the solo...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on December 31st, 2021, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #30, James and Jeff are talking about big band and ensemble playing. Whether you are playing in a funk horn section or a Count Basie big band, knowing the rules of the road (on all instruments) is crucial. It's a different ...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on December 10th, 2021, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #29, it's Altered Scales! Nothing in our study of jazz strikes more fear and loathing into the hearts of musicians than the Altered Scale. Confusing and complicated, perplexing and problematic, the Altered Scale is responsi...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on November 26th, 2021, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #28, Today we are talking Bending Notes. Yes, this is a super important element of style in jazz, and something that all the greats used to some extent. That said, it is also very easy to overdo, so we end up sounding total...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on November 12th, 2021, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #27, James and Jeff talk about Momentum! Not just for cement trucks and bowling balls, momentum is hugely important in jazz. How are some improvisers able to play lines that seem to have incredible and inexorable direction?...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on October 22nd, 2021, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #26, James and Jeff talk about jam sessions. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Jam sessions are a rite of passage and a great way to meet people and to get inspired. They are also a great way to diminish your will to live. Ch...

Welcome to the J&J on Jazz Podcast. This podcast was originally released on October 15th, 2021, on the Jeff Antoniuk - Educator YouTube channel. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and feel free to enjoy the video version as well. FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS! In episode #25, James and Jeff talk about the history of this music, and if it is worth our time to go back to some earlier styles. Is there anything in swing music (dance music) that we can learn from? You might be surprised! Tune in ...