Jazz Trumpet Licks

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.

Probably my most favorite trumpet CD ever made is To Diz with Love: Diamond Jubilee  Recordings. It is just filled with awesome trumpet players like Claudio Roditi, Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis, and more.

Well I wanted to feature Claudio Roditi because he is just awesome on this CD. He has such an aggressive sound and plays the trumpet very clean. The two tunes he takes a ride on are A Night in Tunisia & Billie’s Bounce.

Sorry the two solos have been removed. Feel free to listen to more of Claudio Roditi below.