Jazz Trumpet Licks

I would like to show you an easy way to use the cry me a river Jazz lick over a ii V7 I chord progression. There are many ways to incorporate the cry me a river lick into your Jazz solos, but this is one of the first ways I learned how to do so and I’ve been using this technique ever since.

Here is a sound sample on F blues progression with trumpet:

How to memorize the cry me a river lick in 12 keys:

For this ii V7 I Jazz lick, the only important chords are the V7 going to the I chord. All you have to know is you are starting on the flat third of whatever chord the V7 chord is. In the above example, F natural is the b3 of the D7 chord. You can play whatever your heart desires on the ii chord. After you play the cry me a river Jazz lick, your goal is to land on either the 3rd or 5th chord tone of the tonic chord. You’ll notice in the above example, I used an enclosure going to the 5th of the I chord, this is optional, but enclosures always sound great.

As far as memorizing the cry me a river lick, for me this Jazz lick was memorized easiest by feel. This is because it usually goes by pretty fast and it’s a little bit easier to memorize in some keys better than others.

Here is an easy ii V7 I Jazz lick to learn in 12 keys. I was messing around with some Aebersolds a few days ago and started playing it. I knew I heard the lick before somewhere, it sounded really old school to me, yet still hip enough to play. It really sounds cool if you land on the raised fourth instead of the third on the I chord. The reason I call the lick old school is because it sounds like something an old school cat would play.

Here is a sound sample and example over a blues progression played on trumpet:

How to memorize this ii V7 I Jazz lick in 12 keys:

Well, you’ll notice that the Jazz lick simply starts off on the tonic of the ii chord. I like to think in minor for pretty much the entire lick. In the above example, you just go down the D minor scale doing a little turn on the sixth and doing a chromatic to the b5. Then you’ll hit the third scale degree of the V7 chord. I think to the b7th, then down the minor arpeggio doing pretty much whatever you like finally ending on the 3rd of the I chord.

I since this lick isn’t very fast and if you think about the minor scale, this Jazz lick is probably easy enough to learn by ear and feel in 12 keys.

I got this ii V7 I Jazz lick from David Baker’s How to Play Bebop – Volume 1 book. Lots of great bebop licks in that book, highly recommended, you won’t be disappointed in all the nice Jazz licks you’ll learn from it. Anyway, this ii V7 I lick starts off with the bebop scale and finishes with a diminished pattern landing on the tonic of the I chord.

Here is a sound sample played on trumpet:

How to memorize this ii V7 I lick in 12 keys:

Just know that it starts on the tonic of the bebop scale you will be playing, or you can just think tonic of the key you are in on the ii V7 I Jazz lick. The lick goes up to the 3rd of the bebop scale you are currently on, then goes down the bebop scale until you land on the 5th. Next, you’ll switch to a diminished stacked 3rd approach. In the above example it starts on C#.

What is a minor 3rd above C#? That’s right, E. What is a minor 3rd below C#? That’s right, Bb or A#, however you want to memorize it. Do you see the pattern here? The lick simply finishes off going down stacked minor thirds until you land on the tonic (1st position) of the I chord.

In my experience, some keys are easier than others. But this is a nice Jazz lick to have in your back pocket whenever you see the need for it.

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I heard Tom Harrell play this Jazz lick, but I can’t remember where from. It’s a pretty easy Jazz lick to learn in 12 keys and to incorporate into your Jazz improv playing. I hope you enjoy and use the Jazz lick just as much as I do.

Here is a sound sample played on trumpet:

How to memorize the Jazz lick in 12 keys:

I think bebop scale when I play this lick. I don’t care whether or not I’m playing it over a ii V7 I or not. The Jazz lick fits over a lot of different chords. Know that the lick starts on the tonic of the bebop scale you’re on, a 5th above the ending I chord (in the above example it’s G). Go down to the b7th, then up the bebop scale to the 2nd, next go up a minor 3rd to C, then down bebop scale. Continue down the bebop scale without the major 7th until you land on a chord tone of the I chord. Which in the above example is the 3rd of C.

I also added the b9 on the V7 chord, which in my opinion sounds a whole lot cooler than just playing a regular 9 on the V7 chord. What do you think?

This ii V7 I Jazz lick I heard Clifford Brown play is pretty easy to learn and implement into your Jazz solos. If you look towards the end of the Clifford Brown Jazz lick you’ll see an enclosure. If you don’t know what a Jazz enclosure is, it’s where you go up a half step then below a half step towards a chord tone. You’ll see that Clifford Brown did an enclosure on the 5th of the I chord.

Here is a sound sample on trumpet:

How to memorize this Jazz lick in 12 keys:

Notice that the lick starts on the I of the ii chord, does a pentatonic down to the 4th, then I continue to think in C minor going to the 2nd down to the harmonic raised 7th. Then the cool part of the lick hops from C to G to C to A, then down the scale with an enclosure at the end landing on the 5th of the I chord.

This is how I memorized the lick, it doesn’t mean this method is going to work for you. This lick sounds nice over a break before you begin your solo, an example would be the break in the tune Four.