It's been tenor saxophone week at Studio Fretboard.

Having finally ponied up for Seventh String's fabulous Transcribe software, I've been tackling a bit of Dexter Gordon's double-time soloing on his epic blues "Society Red." And then, prompted by the coincidence of finding myself in a room with people playing "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" not once but twice over the weekend, my search for bebop versions of same led me to Jumpin' At The Woodside, an Arnett Cobb album featuring guitarist Tiny Grimes and pianist Lloyd Glenn.

Now, a few months ago Ms. Fretboard and I had on Lloyd Glenn's own tune "Blank Fantasy," also with Tiny Grimes on guitar. I didn't have a lot of details to provide, other than that it was a cool record and that once upon a time Glenn had been been around and about as a sideman and session musician. Was there any more of this guy? I didn't know. And now, lookit! Indeed there was.

Hearing that tenor/guitar combination made me think of another track I heard ages ago on WBGO in New York, Buddy Tate's "B.T. Blues," with Ed Bickert on guitar. I was never able to track down a physical copy of that one, but within moments, there it was on Spotify, large as life and twice as natural.

There isn't a lot of Ed Bickert in a quartet setting that I'm aware of besides his definitive I Wished On The Moon, and this Buddy Tate LP, The Ballad Artistry of Buddy Tate, includes Bickert with his frequent comrades, bassist Don Thompson and drummer Terry Clarke, so it's pretty great all around. Ed Bickert has this remarkable way of providing chord accompaniment to his own soloing that never fails to amaze and delight me, and there is plenty of that here.

Today's Youtube lesson is also about doing two things at once, namely, putting chord hits over a jump blues-style bass line. But it's ultimately really about how to get your thumb and fingers coordinated, so they'll do what you want them to when you play fingerstyle blues. You can find it here:

Jump Blues Basslines

I have gotten this question a lot lately: "How much do I need to know before I join the Fingerstyle Five membership?" And my answer is always: not as much as you might think.

First, over the past few years, the format of the membership has evolved from presenting a new song every month to presenting a new song every three months. So there is plenty of time to work on each song before we move on.

Second, each song is presented at multiple levels. Everyone starts with a straightforward version of the melody over a basic chord progression, and it's entirely up to you whether you want to spend the next few months mastering that or moving through more syncopated versions of the melody, adding in bass lines, varying the turnarounds, and so on.

Finally, each month includes three hour-long live streams where I spend at least a third of the time answering questions about the material, which you can ask via the real-time chat window or post in advance in the community forum. Which means you can get a clarification when you need it, either directly from me or from the remarkably friendly and well-informed members of the membership community.

For the month of September, we'll be focusing on how to add intros, turnarounds, endings and more to a walking bass blues in E. To join us, use the link below to sign up:

https://www.fretboardconfidential.com/

More soon,

David