10) They are to jazz and western swing what bar chords are to classic rock or open chords are to bluegrass
9) You only need to know five or six moveable chord shapes to do just about everything
8) If you leave out the middle notes, you can play harmonized bass line
7) If you leave out the bottom notes, you can comp like Grant Green
6) They sound
complete enough to accompany a singer or another guitar player all by yourself
5) You can use them to play standards
4) You can use them to add chord substitutions to an eight-bar blues
3) You can use them in keys like E and A, not just keys like Bb and F
2) They can help you learn about diminished chords, voice leading and other cool music-nerd stuff
1) You can use them to play better fingerstyle
blues