Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Volume 16: Jazz Turnarounds, Cycles, & ii/V7s: Book & Online Audio

This volume distills the harmonic architecture that every jazz improviser needs to internalize. The progression from turnarounds to cycles to ii/V7s in all 12 keys builds muscle memory that transfers immediately to real playing situations, and the rhythm section playing (Aebersold on piano, John Clayton on bass, Mike Hyman on drums) is supportive without being prescriptive.

Meditative and revealing. The slow tempos create space to hear exactly what your fingers are doing and how each change connects to the next. By the time you reach the faster versions, the patterns feel less like exercises and more like vocabulary you're fluently reading.

Intermediate and advanced jazz students who have internalized basic ii/V7/I progressions and are ready to explore how those building blocks combine into longer harmonic sequences. Band directors and jazz educators use this with students preparing for combos, auditions, and real-world jazz situations.

• Start with the slow practice tracks before moving to medium and fast versions; rushing into tempo obscures the harmonic relationships you're building.
• Work through one key thoroughly before cycling through all 12; depth in a single key teaches more than surface-level familiarity across the full range.
• Sing the progression on a neutral syllable before playing it; your voice will reveal which changes feel awkward, and that awareness transfers to your instrument.
• Record yourself playing over these tracks and listen back without judgment; transcription of your own playing catches rhythmic and harmonic habits you won't hear in real time.

Assign this as a summer practice method for students advancing to jazz ensemble or combo, or integrate it into sectional rehearsals where students work on the same progressions simultaneously but at their own pace. The Coltrane Blues and Coltrane Changes tracks align naturally with discussions of advanced harmonic concepts in advanced improvisation courses.

• Recognizing and navigating turnaround figures across all keys
• Playing chord-scale relationships through cycling progressions
• Fluency with ii/V7/I resolutions in all 12 keys
• Hearing and executing substitute ii/V7 changes
• Intonation and voice leading within complex harmonic sequences
• Rhythmic precision with a working rhythm section