Jazz

BY ANDY ELLIS

Tripping

L E N I S T E R N ’ S M E LO D I C E X C U R S I O N S

nickname used to be ‘Show Me,’” laughs Leni Stern as she plucks a

“ MY
snappy phrase on her gold Fender Custom Shop Strat, “because I couldn’t

control myself when I saw people play. I’d literally grab their hands and say, ‘Stop—show

me that!’” ■ Remarkably, neither time nor career pressures has dampened Stern’s

enthusiasm. Without losing an iota of her original curiosity, she’s managed to establish

herself in the ultra-competitive New York jazz scene and record critically acclaimed

albums that include Clairvoyant [Passport], Secrets [Enja], Ten Songs [Lipstick], Black

Guitar [Lipstick], and Separate Cages [Alchemy]—a stunning duo with Wayne Krantz.
Jazz Tripping CHARTERED EXCURSIONS
Use this chart to compare the scales and
arpeggios Stern presents as melodic excursions over Esus2.

Mixolydian formula 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 —
E Mixolydian E F# G# A B C# Dn —

Krantz. Stern’s Composing and Compositions

B Mixolydian B C# D# E F# G# An —
[CPP Belwin] book and tape is full of revelatory major scale formula 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 —
technical info and inspiration. A major scale A B C# D E F# G# —
And these days, players grab her hands in
search of fretboard enlightenment—which is major scale diatonic triads I IIm IIIm IV V VIm VIIdim —
precisely what I did one sunny afternoon while A major diatonic triads A Bm C#m D E F#m G#dim —
she was in San Francisco for a series of gigs. As
minor pentatonic scale formula 1 b3 4 5 b7 — — —
Stern guided me step by step through a series
B minor pentatonic B Dn E F# An — — —
of her favorite improvising strategies, it became
evident that her teaching abilities equal her for- C minor pentatonic C Eb F G Bb — — —
midable playing skills. If you’re eager to inves- blues scale formula 1 b3 4 b5 n5 b7 — —
tigate the mysteries of jazz-flavored improvi- B blues scale B Dn E Fn F# An — —
sation, the following ideas will keep you
F blues scale F Ab Bb Cb Cn Eb — —
sleuthing the fretboard for months.
E blues scale E Gn A Bb Bn Dn — —
OPEN UP dominant 7 chord formula 1 3 5 b7 — — — —
Stern’s first lesson: Listen with an open mind. B7 arpeggio B D# F# An — — — —
“I get very inspired by what other people play,”
she declares. “At Berklee, I had a teacher named minor 7 chord formula 1 b3 5 b7 — — — —
Jon Damian. Studying with him was the musical F#m7 arpeggio F# An C# En — — — —
equivalent of taking acid. When I walked into b5 chord formula
minor 7b 1 b3 b5 b7 — — — —
my first lesson, he was playing the most disso-
F#m7b5 arpeggio F# An Cn En — — — —
nant series of intervals. I thought, ‘Oh, my God.’
But by the time I left, it all sounded consonant: half-whole scale formula 1 b9 #9 3 b5 5 13 b7
‘Of course, 12 tones. What was I thinking?’ He B half-whole scale B Cn Dn D# Fn F# G# An
blasted open all the doors. He really understands
how music works, and he knows the connection
between playing notes and pure sound. And he is music. I think he’s a genius—or the closest I’ve “Take this chord, for instance,” says Stern
can bring you to that place. To Jon, everything come to it. My main teacher was Bill Frisell, who playing Ex. 1’s Esus2. “You could play an E
also studied with Jon. Along with my husband, Mixolydian line against it, like this [plays Ex. 2a],
Mike Stern, these are my major influences.” or maybe this [E Ex. 2b].”
Ex. 1 Esus2
E Mixolydian works because it contains

#### öööö 1
MAKE THE Esus2 chord tones—E, F#, and B. Significantly,
1
JOURNEY E Mixolydian also yields E7’s most important
=====
& ö =
4
3
1
“Lately, I’ve been working on what I term ex- tones: G#, the 3, and Dn, the b7. Thus, an E
ö cursions,” Stern reveals. “In a solo, I think about Mixolydian line imparts an E7 flavor to the am-
expanding on something from the tune—not biguous Esus2. To fully experience this effect, play
7 necessarily the tune’s main melody; bass lines both lines over an Esus2 rhythm track. Watch the
T
7
A
9 are melodies too. I want to develop lines that quick bend-and-release moves in Ex. 2a, and the
B
9
7 are related in different ways to the harmony. The slip-sliding position shifts in Ex. 2b.
0
idea is to put motion in your phrases. In this lesson, we’ll be auditioning numerous

Ex. 2a
Ex. 2b
ö = 66-112 Esus2 ö Esus2
U
= 66-112

U
E Mixolydian E Mixolydian
n ö . J ö ö ö . ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~
ö ö ö ö
4

#### 4 J ö( ) ö( ) ö
3

#### 4 ö ö n ö ö ö
1 4

n ö
3 1

ö
3 1 2

& 4 & 4 ö ö ö nö =
4

================= = ================
4 2
1
2

~~~~
B R B R ~~~~ ~~~~
10 9 7 7
T
10 10 9 (10) 9 (10) 9 7
T 9 7 6 7
A A
B B
9 9 7 6
7 5
approaches to improvising melodically over
Esus2, so now would be a good time to record
several minutes of Esus2 backing. For easy cross-
referencing, the companion chart on p. 80 shows
the spelling and formula for each scale and
arpeggio Stern discusses.
KEY SHIFTING
“Another approach,” continues Stern, “is to
play anything in the key of A against Esus2. Start
thinking of all the diatonic triads, for instance.”
To illustrate, she plays Examples 3a and 3b,
which include Bm, C#m, and D arpeggios, as in-
dicated by the brackets. “Is it a stretch to see the
relationship?” she asks.
Hmm, let’s see: E Mixolydian is the fifth
mode of A, and therefore shares the same tones
(see chart). “But we’re parked somewhere
else—that’s the key word,” Stern offers.
“The D triad is a really nice sound against
Esus2,” she says playing Ex. 3c, “but go through
all the triads in the key of A. Also, remember the
open strings. In this case, they all work except G.
This gives you so much shit to play with! You can
take an obnoxiously long solo with just triads
and open strings.”
FROM THE 5
“We’re all familiar with minor pentatonic pat-
terns,” continues Stern, “but for something new,
work off the chord’s 5. Against Esus2, that’s B mi-
nor pentatonic. [Plays Ex. 4a.] It sounds fresh,
now, doesn’t it? To make the minor pentatonic
line bluesier, throw in its b5.” [Plays Ex. 4b.]
Check the reference chart: That one
note—Fn—changes B minor pentatonic into a
B blues scale. “Now I can play all my blues shit
against Esus2,” remarks Stern. Ex. 4b’s line fea-
Ex. 3a
tures a sweet half-step bend and sly position shift
at the end of bar 2.
“Another approach,” she says, fingering Ex.
5, “is to play B Mixolydian. Now you’re super-
imposing a major sound over Esus2.” Check it
out: Both B minor pentatonic and B blues con-
tain Dn—the b3. B Mixolydian, however, features
D#, the 3. It’s a mere half-step difference, yet the
results are worlds apart. Contrast them for your-
self. Remember to run your Esus2 rhythm track.
“Inside B Mixolydian is a B7 arpeggio,” ex-
plains Stern. “B, D#, F#, An—it’s right there. So
if you want a bluesy, minor sound and the
Mixolydian vibe, try something like this.” [Picks
Ex. 6.] Notice how she neatly wraps the B7 arpeg-
gio within a B blues line. Now you have both
worlds at your fingertips. “Remember, don’t stay
out,” Stern says, “just take a bluesy excursion
off the V7 when you want some spice.”
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE
“Now that we’ve played the V7 over the I—B7
against Esus2—what’s the next logical move?”
Leni asks, tapping her fingers on the Strat pick-
guard. “Look—we can put the IIm chord in front
of the V!” To demonstrate, she plays Examples
7a, 7b, and 7c with their F#m7 and B7 arpeggios.
The brackets tell the story, and it’s pretty cool:
You can play subdominant and dominant
sounds against the tonic and get away with it.
(Strictly speaking, the IIm chord is the super-
tonic. However, jazzbos hear and treat the IIm
as a surrogate subdominant, and here’s why: In
the key of E, the IV chord is Amaj7. Amaj7 ’s rel-
ative minor is F#m7—the IIm of E. Essentially,
IIm sounds like a “subdominant relative minor,”
and does the IV chord’s job—i.e., it leads you to
the V7.) “Don’t use a slide rule,” reminds Stern,
“just have fun.”
HALF-STEPPING
“Here’s the one my rock-guitarist friends like
the best,” Stern says. “Using a blues scale, go up
a half-step from the chord root and then back
down. [Plays Examples 8a and 8b.] This is a
much-maligned move—everyone says that’s all
guitar players do—but there’s a reason it works.
Say we’re playing E blues over the Esus2. Moving
up a half-step gives us F blues, right? The F blues
scale implies an F7, which is the tritone substi-
tution for B7.” (See the sidebar, “Trippy Tritones.”)
There are other ways to look at the F blues
against E, Stern points out. Over Esus2, the F
blues scale yields useful tensions, such as b9
(F ), b5 (Bb), #5 (C ), and 7 (D# or Eb). “And the
E-F half-step shift has that flamenco sound,”
she adds. “I think that’s where a lot of people
get the idea.”
Stern has yet another twist on the half-step
shimmy. “Apply this idea to B minor pentaton-
ic—you remember how that sounds, right?
Move up to C minor pentatonic and back. [Plays
Ex. 9.] Isn’t that cool?” Against our Esus2, this
maneuver yields pure altered tones—b9 (F ), #9
(G ), b5 (Bb), #5 (C )—along with a 7 (Eb or D#).
SLIPSTREAM ARPEGGIOS
“When I practice,” says Stern, “I look for step-
wise connections in and out of the harmony—
tension and release. Whole-step connections
work, but half-step moves are the best. In ad-
dition to the scales we’ve tried, you can use
arpeggios. Try slipping from E into Fmaj7 and
back, for instance. [Plays Ex. 10a.] Or try F7 to
E9. [Plays Ex. 10b.] Even simple triads work, like
F to E. [Plays Ex. 10c.]
“My personal favorite is F#m7b5, the seventh
diatonic chord in the key of G. [Plays Examples

C #m U
ö Esus2 11a and 11b.] Just the arpeggio is so cool against
>ö
= 66-112

ö ö >
ö >
Bm
~~~~
#### 4 ä ö ö
3 Esus2. For more harmonic body, link an F#m7b5
ö
1 1
ö nö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö
4 3 1 2
3 1 3 3 1 1 3
arpeggio to an altered B7 arpeggio.” [Plays Ex. 12.]
& 4 3 ö ö ö ö =
1 1

======================== 3
2 B7alt is a flexible chord. Along with 1, 3, and b7,
3 3 3 it can contain various combinations of b9, #9, b5,
~~~~
3 3
or #5. The altered dominant’s parent scale is the
9 7 half-whole scale (see chart). It’s an eight-note af-
T
10 7 9 10 9
A
9 7 6 7 9 7 9 9 fair, so you get beaucoup melodic possibilities.
B
9 11 11 9 7 6
7 7 “Thinking about chords when playing lines
is a saxophone thing,” Stern continues. “My
Ex. 3b Ex. 3c guess is that since sax players can’t actually play

ö
U
~~
ö = 66-112 Esus2

#
= 66-112 Esus2 D D
Bm D C m ö nö ö
3
1
n ö ö ö ö ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3

#### 4 ö n ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö #### 4 n ö ö ö
1

öú
1 2 1 1
1 1 3 1 3 2
3

& 4 4
3

============ 3 = ============
& =
3 3
~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3

12 10 12 10 12 10
T
7 9 10 10 10
7 9 11 T 11 11
A 9 11 12 A 12
B B
Jazz Tripping chords, they harp on them out of desperation.
They want to create the impression of playing
time I play arpeggio excursions, my guitar-play-
ing friends say, ‘What was that?’” [Laughs.]
harmony. Guitarists can learn from this. When
you wail, why not try other things besides in-
creasing your speed and having your feedback MORE STUDY
go nuts? Add some dissonance to your lines. At “When it’s raining, and you’re in the mood
the very least, you’ll amaze your friends. Every to learn something new,” suggests Stern, “pull

Ex. 4a Ex. 4b

ö = 66-112 Esus2
ö = 66-112 Esus2
>
B minor pentatonic

n ö ö ö >ö ö ~~~~~~~~
B Blues
~~~~ U~~~~
ö ö >ö n ö ö >
1

#### 4 #### 4 ö ö n ö e(n ö) ö ö ö

4

ö
4 1
3 1 1 3

ö ú
3 3
ö(#)ö ö nö ö ö
1

& 4 & 4
1 3 1

================ = ================= nö ö ö =
1
3 1 2
4 1 3

~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ B R B1/4

10 7 7
T
10 7 10 7 7 T
7
A
9 7 A
7 9 (10) 9 7
B
9 7 9 B
9 9 7
9 7 8 7 7 5
10 7

Ex. 6
Ex. 5
ö = 66-112 Esus2
B Blues
ö = 66-112 Esus2
U~~~ B7
n ö
B Mixolydian (3)
~~~~~~
(3)

#### 4 ö ö ö ö ö #### 4 Î n Jö (#) ö ö ö ö ö ä ö ö Jö ö

4 1 4 4
1 1

ö ö ö Jö ö .
3 2 1 2 1

& 4
================ ö ö ö ö & 4
3

= =============
1
3
=
3
~~~
3 3 3 3
~~~~~~ B1/4 B1/4
7 7 10 7 7
10 7 T
7 10 7 7 10
T 9 8 9 8 7 8
A 9 7 7 7 9 9 A
B 9 B

Ex. 7a Ex. 7b Ex. 7c

ö ö
>ö #
Esus2 ö
# #
= 66-112 = 66-112 Esus2 = 66-112 Esus2

U~~
F m7
B7
ö ö ö U~~
F m7 B7
U
F m7 B7

#### 4 ö ö
1
ö ö 3
ö ~~~~~
# #### 4
1
ö ö ö
4
## # 4 ö ö ö ö ö
4 4

ö
2 3 2 3
ö
1 3 3
ö
3 1

ö
1 2
ö ö= & 4 ö ö ö ö ö ö =
3 1
4 & 4
2 1

=========
& ========= = ==============
4 2
1 4 4
1 2
3
~~ ~~ 3
~~~~~
12 9 9 11
T
10 10 12 10 T
7 10 7
11 8 T 9 11 11 6 9 8
A 9 A A 7 9 7
B 12 9 B B 9 9 6 7

Ex. 8a Ex. 8b

ö = 66-112 Esus2 ö = 66-112 Esus2

F Blues
U ~~~~
E Blues
>
F Blues
U~~~~
E Blues

n >
ö n ö 1
~~~~ n ö ö >
ö ö ö ö n ö b ö n ö b ö
1 4

b ö ö n ö ö b ö ö
1 1
b ö ö J
2
b ö ö
3 4

#### 4 b ö n ö b ö n ö n ö ( n) ö
3
b
#### 4
3 3
e b
n ö bö n ö
3
3 1
3 1 1 1 3 e 1 1
3 1 3

4 4
1

===============
& 3 3 3 = =====================
& =
3
~~~~ ~~~~
B1/4
~~~~
12 12 12 13
T
13 15 12 15 15 15 16 13
13 15 15 13 15 16 12 T 15 13 15 16 15 13
A 13 15 14 A
B B
15 13 14
13 15

8 1 GUITAR PLAYER AUGUST 1998

out some old George Benson or Wes Mont-
gomery records and take down just the IIm-V
licks. Write them out, memorize them in 12 keys,
and then stick them into your solos. Or, as Bill
Frisell would say, ‘Forget them!’”

THE ROAD HOME

Whatever approach you use, states Stern,
know your way back. “That’s very important,”
she says. “The band will establish home, but you
want to acknowledge that you’re with them. The
excursions only work if they are interesting di-
gressions—you always have to go around and
return to a chord tone. The fun lies in how you
come back!” g

LENI’S TRIP BAG

main guitar is a 1960 hardtail Stratocaster,” says Stern. “I also have a gold
“ My
Fender Custom Shop Strat with a neck patterned after my favorite ’59 Telecast-
er. I like a single-coil sound, but without the 60-cycle graaah. To fight it, Flip Scipio—my guitar
tech and an essential asset to my career—installed DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups in the
gold Strat. My pride and joy is a sunburst Gibson dot-marker 335, serial number 10,000. For
acoustics, I have a Martin J series and a little Yamaha flat-top. I also own a Music Man 6-string
bass that was converted to a B baritone guitar.
“My guitar goes into a Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, an old MXR compressor, and an original
SansAmp—which has all the DIP switches down except for #6, the tube setting. I want the
same sound with the pedal on or off—I’m using it more like a volume booster—because I
don’t want to ruin my Strat’s tone. I also own Lexicon’s Jam Man, PCM-80, and MPX-1, and a
T.C. Electronic analog chorus—which sounds brilliant on chords.
“I have a bunch of Fender amps: two Bassman reissues, a ’63 Deluxe, a reissue Deluxe
Reverb with a Celestion speaker, a vintage Princeton, and an old Champ. I also have two
Matchless combos—a 2x12 Chieftain and a Lightning—and I use them in combination with the
Princeton and Deluxe because I like to combine Vox-style and Fender sounds.
“I use D’Addario .010-.046 strings on my electrics and D’Addario light-gauge on my
acoustics. I like how D’Addarios behave over time. That’s really the test: How often do you have
to put on a new set and poke your fingers with pointy little E strings?” g
 tern has her own record label, LenStern Recordings, and handles most of her business
S affairs. “I have this rule,” she says. “Whenever I get bad news—like I didn’t get a
gig—I don’t get up from my chair until I’ve attempted to avoid the bitterness. I translate the en-
ergy into a phone call to try and get another gig.”
According to Stern, dealing with business is a necessary evil. “But it’s a separate art,” she
asserts, “and you have to keep it in proportion. You need to admit that you’ll probably never
be a great businessperson. I’m sure my lawyer and accountant friends double over laughing at
my business sense. But it’s about being part of the game. If you don’t want to be treated like a
child and used like a slave, you have to become a grown-up, sit at the table, and establish a
level playing field. My awareness of this is probably heightened by the fact that I’m a woman.
I had to get my shit together, because it was too frustrating to be ignored.” g

Ex. 9 Ex. 10a

ö = 66-112 Esus2 ö = 66-112 Esus2
B minor pentatonic C minor pentatonic
U~~~~ E
U~~~~ Fmaj7

#### 4 ö ö ö n ö n ö bö n ö bö 3 #### 4 nö ö ö n ö ö
4 3 4
1 3

ö
1

& 4 ö ö ö ö
3 1

& 4 3 ö 3
ö n ö (n )ö
3 1

=============== =========== =
1 4
2 1
1
3
3 1
3
~~~~ ~~~~
T
10 7 T
A
9 7 10 8 A
9 10 9
B
9 7 10 8 B
6 9 10 7 10
10 8 7 7

Ex. 10b Ex. 10c

ö = 66-112 Esus2

U
F7 E9
ö
~~~~~~~~~~~ Esus2
= 66-112

b>ö n ö ö >ö ö ö
4
F E
#### 4 ö nö nö e ö U
1

ö #### 4
3 1
3 3 1 3

& 4 3
============== = & 4 j
=========== nö nö ö ö ö
1

ö
1
3
n ö
3
ö
1
3
ö ö
~~~~~~~~~~~
11 8 8 7
T
10 10 9
9 7 9 11 T
A A
B B
3 2 6
3
0 0 1 5 0
Ex. 11a Ex. 11b

ö
# b
Esus2
ö
F # m7 b 5
= 66-112 Esus2 = 66-112
F m7 5
U~~~~~ ö ö nö U
~~~~~
4 2

#### 4 n ö . # ö
3

ö ö ## # 4 ö ö nö
1

öj ö
2 2 1 3 2 1

& 4
========= =
4
& 4
=========== ö ö = 2
4
1

~~~~~ ~~~~~
14 12
T T
13 10
A
9 11 A
11 9
B
10 10 B
10
12 12 9

Ex. 12

ö
# b
= 66-112
Esus2

U~~~~~
F m7 5 B7alt

#### 4 ö ö ö ö ö ö nö 3 4 1 4

nö ö ö ö 3 1 1 4 2

& 4 ö ö
4 4

============== =
1 3
3

3 3
3
~~~~~
7
T
7 10 10 7
A
9 10 8
B
7 10 10 9
9

tritone is an interval whose notes are three whole-steps apart. The tritone (a dimin-
A ished fifth) divides an octave in half. When inverted, the interval remains a tritone.
In a dominant-7th chord, the 3 and b7 form a tritone—E and Bb in C7, for example.
Invert this interval and you get Bb and E (Fb)—the 3 and b7 of Gb7. Any two dominant 7s
whose roots are a diminished fifth apart share the same tritone. Jazz guitarists often rehar-
monize a tune by replacing a given dominant 7 with its tritone twin—say, Ab7 in lieu of D7.
This is called the “flat-five substitution.” g