Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Volume 2: Nothin' but Blues: Guitar Book & CD

Guitarists finally get a blues resource with the same pedagogical rigor that made Aebersold's Volume 2 indispensable for horn players and pianists. The inclusion of TAB and frame notation removes reading barriers while the multiple blues grooves (slow, fast, swing, bossa, funk, shuffle) give students genuine variety to work with instead of a single approach to blues soloing.

The blues comes alive across multiple moods here. One moment you're navigating a laid-back slow blues groove, the next you're trading energy in a shuffle or funk setting. The different feels prevent the blues from becoming one static sound, instead revealing it as a flexible framework where your choices as a soloist matter.

Guitarists in their first or second year of jazz study who want to move beyond scale exercises into the blues idiom. Equally suited for self-teaching guitarists and classroom settings where instructors want aligned materials across their ensemble.

• Spend time listening to the different groove variations on the CD before picking up your guitar. Let your ear internalize the rhythmic and harmonic feel of each style so your improvisation sits naturally within the pocket.
• Use the TAB as a reference, not a crutch. Work on identifying the scale shapes on the fretboard by ear first, then confirm with the tab to reinforce muscle memory.
• Start with the slower tempos to build accuracy with your phrasing and targeting chord tones. Speed comes naturally once your ear guides your finger placement.
• Record yourself soloing over different grooves in succession. This reveals which blues styles feel most intuitive to you and which ones need extra attention.

Assign this during the second semester of a jazz guitar course once students have the fundamentals from Volume 1. The multiple grooves also provide material for small group improvisation sessions, giving students charts they can explore beyond formal lessons.

• Blues scale applications across fretboard positions
• Chord tone targeting over I-IV-V progressions
• Rhythmic phrasing across different swing feels and grooves
• Reading notation and TAB in tandem
• Improvisation in multiple blues styles (swing, bossa, funk, shuffle, jazz-rock)