Jazz Trumpet Licks

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?

I heard Tom Harrell play this Jazz lick in the beginning of his trumpet solo on Scrapple From the Apple off his Moon Alley album. This lick doesn’t necessarily have to be played over a ii V7 I, it can be played over a regular major chord as well. It’s a very scale like Jazz lick so it’s easy to play on trumpet.

Here is a sound sample played on trumpet:

How to memorize this Jazz lick in 12 keys:

Like I said before, since this Jazz lick is very scale like, it lays very nicely on the trumpet. You can either think of the lick as a G bebop scale lick with a raised 4th, or a C major lick with a b9 (or raised tonic). I prefer to think of it as a C major lick with a b9 in it.

If you prefer memorizing the lick in major think of starting on the 5th of whatever key you’re in, then play the major scale up to the 4th, then go down to the b9, up to the 3rd, and finally finish the scale out landing on the 3rd of the I chord.

If you prefer memorizing the lick thinking in dominant then just know that you’ll start on the tonic of whatever dominant scale you’re starting on, go up the scale to the b7, down to the #4, up a minor 3rd from that, then just finish out the dominant scale down landing on a chord tone of the I chord.

Feel free to embellish on the lick and make it your own.

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A tenor sax player friend of mine back in Japan showed me this bebop scale exercise. This is not a lick, it is simply an exercise or calisthenic that will help develop your overall bebop playing. It’s very important to learn this exercise in 12 keys to really develop your technique.

Here is a sample of the bebop exercise played on trumpet:

How to memorize the bebop exercise in 12 keys:

Notice that the exercise just starts on the tonic of whatever bebop scale you are working on. It then just goes up the the chord tones to the 11th and then down the bebop scale landing on the 3rd, 5th, b7th and tonic chord tones. After you reach the octave, the exercise just repeats itself and goes backwards landing on the , b7th, 5th, 3rd and ending on the tonic.

This is the easiest way to memorize the exercise in 12 keys. Just know that you will never go outside the bebop scale you are currently working on.

Here is a ii V7 I lick that uses the bebop scale for pretty much the entire lick.

Here is a sample of the lick played on trumpet:

How to memorize this lick in 12 keys:

If you just think about the C bebop scale throughout this entire lick, you’ll learn it very quickly in 12 keys. This lick simply starts on the tonic of whatever bebop scale you are playing, but on the 5th of the I chord. So for a G ii V7 I, what bebop scale would you play? That’s right, the D bebop scale, because it is a 5th above the I chord.

So you start on the tonic of the bebop you are playing and go down the bebop scale until you hit the 3rd. Once you hit the 3rd, you just go up a diminished arpeggio which will hit the b9, then finish out the bebop scale however you would like to and land on a chord tone of the I chord. In the above sample, the lick ends on the 3rd of the I chord.

Here is an easy bebop lick that you can play over a ii V7 I.

Here is a sound sample on trumpet:

How to memorize in 12 keys:

This lick is really easy to learn in 12 keys. Whatever note you start on is the bebop scale you will play. Know that the C bebop scale is a 5th above F Major . For example, if you have a ii V7 I in the key of G Major, what bebop scale would you play? The answer is the D bebop scale because D is a 5th above G.

You start on the tonic, go up to the 3rd, then do the bebop scale down to the 3rd again. When you hit the 3rd, just do a diminished arpeggio up to the b9 and then finish the bebop scale down landing on the 3rd of the I chord.