Leroy Jones
BOURBON STREET PARADE
Leroy Jones is one of the great improvisers alive. His style is a seamless merger of traditional jazz and bebop, calling to mind Pops and Clifford. I was fortunate to hear Leroy every night on tour while he was a member of Harry Connick, Jr.’s big band. His soloing is always fresh and original, delving from an inexhaustible wealth of ideas. This solo, from his 1994 debut recording for Columbia, Mo’ Cream from the Crop, demonstrates Leroy’s singular approach to a classic New Orleans standard, Bourbon Street Parade.
Leroy approaches the Bb-7 in bar 6 by implying an applied dominant F7 in the previous bar. It’s a staple bebop device for adding chromatic movement to any minor chord:
DIG DEEPER - all keys
This brilliant line highlights how alterations on dominant chords can be played melodically, in this case adding altered ninths. Click the image to learn this turnaround in all keys to expand your playing.
This final example showcases Leroy’s use of grace notes. Be sure to listen to the recording to hear how Leroy’s hard rhythmic style of attack defines his playing:
