Jazz Trumpet Licks

One of the things Miles Davis is known for is coming up with the bouncy pattern. Miles Davis used different variations of this pattern in a lot of the trumpet solos he played. The bouncy pattern is a very easy lick to memorize because it is based off of chromatics. No matter what note you start on its the same pattern over and over again based off the chromatic scale.

Here is a sound sample played on trumpet:

How to memorize the Miles Davis bouncy pattern in 12 keys:

Since this is a chromatic lick, you’ll only need to learn it in one key depending on which note you start on. Just remember that the lick is going down in half steps with a half step between each half step. I also encourage you to mess around with the pattern and come up with some ideas of your own with this lick.

I wish you could take listen to a very energetic trumpet solo by Roy Eldridge (also known as “Little Jazz”) that was recorded live on stage at Carnegie Hall. Roy Eldridge took the last solo on a tune called The Opener which Charlie Parker started with taking the first improvised solo.

I love this Jazz trumpet solo because Roy Eldridge plays it with so much energy. All the other rides were good to, but Roy Eldridge’s solo just had so much more energy and the trumpet solo didn’t have too many notes either. Just a whole lot of energy. Roy Eldridge is known for his edgy trumpet playing, which I like.

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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).