Mike Stern’s Monster II-V-I's he i-V: is probably the most common progression in jazz, but that doestit stop Mike Stern from putting his own stamp on this ubiquitous ‘change, as demonstrated by these examples drawn from his improvisations. While bopping his way with easy confidence through treacher ous iv: I modulations, Mike often draws from his rock/blues vocabulary—a near-heretical approach to jazz standards, Ex. 1 features straight-ahead bop blowing over ai-V-1 in Bf major. The pickup into the fi st measure approaches the Sth ofthe i chord, Cm via two descending chromatic tones. The rhythmic motif reappears, leading to the Sth of V7 (E7) and setting the Istener up forthe return tothe I chord (bia Instead, Stern sustains the V chord, slidnginto the oh BY JESSE GRESS position and stirring up melodic tension with a series of descending chromatic pull-offs. Grab the Fon beat 3 with your ed finger to shift into Lith position forthe By major wrap-up. The line in Ex. 2 was originally conceived over a Cminori-V-i (Dm7}5-G7-Cr), but it works just as well over its relative major progression (Fm7- [BL7-Fbmaj7). The motifon beats 1 and 2 derives from Ab Dorian, an “outside” tonality produced by raising the ii chord—Fim7, inthe case ofthe ma- jot progression—a minor third to Agmm (which is also a5 substitute for D755, the i of the minor progression). The remainder ofthe line utilizes the A, major scale to create altered-chord dissonances (#5, #9, }9) over the G7 chord. Note that only diatonic dissonances (7, 11, ) occur when the phrase s played against Bb7. m2 Dmihs 7a om7 m7) (Biren) (Ebmai7) & 1 In Ex.3, the 3d ofthe tonic Bf is approached by a short altered-dominant 749/49 lick; we can also view these notes as part ofthe B minor scale, Which demonstrates a handy chord substitution technique: To create altered-chord tension over a dominant 7th chord, play from the minor key sit- uated a whole-step below the dominant chord. Next, Mike unleashes a series of King-stye blues phases (complete with B.B.$ and Albert’ signature “dee-dah lick) from the 6th and 3th-position By pentatonic minor scales until a high bend to Bg signals the return to bopsville. Like Ex. 2 (but with- ‘out the pulloffs), the i-V- in bar 3 takes a chromatic approach to a Dj Dorian-based run, Here, Stern creates tension by playing a half-step above the it chord (Crm7. Begin this phrase in the 13th position, then shift to 12th position by playing the Gb on beat 2 with your Sed finger. Shift back to the 13th position on the “and” of beat 3 to set up a comfortable fingering for the following Bird-like Bg major phrase, Stern subs an bm Dorian idea over m7 and F7 before returning inside to Bb 102 GUITAR PLAYER March 19933 Frat Bhmai7 m7 or om7 Fralt Bhai om7 Frat ®hmaj7 ‘The chromatic ly descending triad arpeggios in Ex 4 are a Stem trademark. Mike begins inside the Bf tonality but quickly heads out 0 A, Ab, G; ‘and Gp, with identical fingering for each arpeggio. Midway through bar3 he alters the shape by raising the lower three notes a hal-step for a Gadd _arpeggio. reversing the melodic direction and creating additional tension. The harmony resolves with four ascending diatonic 7th arpeggios. Exh Ex. 5 isa 16:bar chord-melody chorus. In the two-bar pickup Mike doubles up the underlying chord changes (F#m7- B7-Fm7-B471n place of the original Fim7-847). Stern then assumes a minimalist single-note stance before introducing two- and three-note voicings over a series of descending {i-V’'s, Arriving at Fn7, he ascends to the V chord with alternating As and Bj major triads. Once there, he fleshes out the chords with a fourth voice and resolves to Eb, using quartal 6/9 chords. In bar 10 Mike sets up a triplet-based rhythmic motif that extends over the -V (Dm7-G7) into C, with ‘Continued on nes page Morch 1993 GUITAR PLAYER. 103,Mike Stern's Monster II-V-I's three-note voicings moving beneath a Cpedal tone. A 06/9 voiced in fourths and fifths precedes syncopated diminished chord punctuations. A pair of 1-V's (Gn7-C7 and Fm7-B47) leads us to expect the Conic A, but Mike substitutes a lush, open-voiced 6/9 that spans more than three octaves x ‘with Lovely results ms Sige Fm7 87 Esmaj7 G7/D cm cmzig ssoanscre FAT 87 Fz er : the) —_ Fm? a7 Ebmal7 FTA ANT Gm7 crite) 8 AL Bh BhOoust ESO Esmait3 Am? 7 4 Dm? G7 ‘may Fr Feaim7 ors —Greust O89 Fie em7 7 Abmai7 Bime Is}9 ANS m7 or Fm7 Bh? 6 Fm Bhtdsuss “Bbiste Ea Ebmai7 *orets 104 GUITAR PLAYER March 1993