Jazz Trumpet Licks

Here is the all famous Cry Me a River Jazz lick. It is heard all over the Jazz world by every famous Jazz musician in some variation or another. If you don’t have this Jazz lick in your bag of tricks yet, I highly encourage you to get it down in 12 keys as soon as you can. It really is a fun lick to use in your improvised solos.

Here is a sound sample played on trumpet:

How to learn the Cry Me a River lick in 12 keys:

I put this lick in the diminished category even though it is not completely a diminished lick. Every note in the lick is part of the diminished scale except for Ab (this is if we were thinking in Db, E, G, or Bb diminished). I could be wrong though, I’m not a big Jazz theory specialist.

In my experience, memorizing the Cry Me a River lick in 12 keys came easiest through feel or muscle memory rather than actual theory. There are many forms and variations you can do with the Cry Me a River lick. One simple example I use a lot is on the V7 to I chord I’ll start on the minor 3rd of the V7 chord, do the Cry Me a River lick and land on the 5th of the I chord (the above example shows this).

A guitar player I used to work with showed me this easy ii V7 I lick.  The lick is based off the major 7th of the I chord, this is how I remember the lick.

Here is a sound sample of the lick played on trumpet:

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

The easiest way to memorize the ii V7 I lick in 12 keys is to first know that the lick starts on the major 7th of the I chord (it’s also best to think in C major throughout the entire lick). Then you go up the chromatic scale to D or the 9th. Next you go down the major 7th arpeggio until you land on the major 7th.

After you hit the 3rd of the V7 chord it goes up diminished for 3 notes then one whole step until you get the b6 (b9 if thinking in the V7 chord). Finally, the lick finishes by ending the major and landing on the 3rd of the I chord.

I know this seems like a lot of steps, that is why it’s pretty much easier to think of the whole lick in C major. Like any lick or pattern, you’ll eventually develop a feel for it and not have to think about it anymore.

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.

A sax player in New Orleans showed me this easy diminished lick. I asked him what diminished licks he knew and he was kind enough to share a few with me. I have more, but they will come in later posts.

A sound sample played on trumpet:

Learn the pattern in 12 keys:

Since this lick is diminished, you’ll only need to worry about learning it in three different keys depending on what note you start on. Notice how this diminished pattern just leaps around minor 3rds with a whole step after each minor 3rd. As long as you get yourself familiar with the stacked minor 3rds of the three diminished keys, you’ll have no problems memorizing this pattern.

All you have to think is minor 3rd, whole step, minor 3rd, whole step. etc… and you got it.

This is a well known Jazz lick you hear a lot of Jazz artists play in different variations. A trombone player I used to work with in Seattle was kind enough to show me this easy lick.

Here is a sound sample played on trumpet:

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

This lick starts off with an A minor arpeggio starting on the 5th and ending on the 5th. So whatever key you are in just know that you will start on the 5th of the ii chord. Then I think of what key I’m in knowing I’ll be hitting the raised tonic then down to the 5th again then the regular tonic with a half step into the 3rd of the V7 chord. Know that the first 3 notes of the V7 chord is just diminished going up until you hit the tonic of the V7 chord and go to the b9 down the G scale and landing on the 3rd of the I chord.

I know this sounds kind of confusing. I really don’t think of all those instances when memorizing this ii V7 I lick. This is the short version of memorizing the lick. Think minor arpeggio starting on the 5th, know it goes to the raised tonic, then up diminished to the b9 and down the scale ending on the 3rd of the I chord.