Lennie Niehaus Plays the Blues: B-flat Instruments Book & Online Audio

Niehaus wrote these solos from a saxophonist's deep knowledge of what the blues demands, making them swing and sing rather than sit as note collections. The 12-key structure forces real transposition fluency while the bebop vocabulary stays musical and memorable throughout. You get model solos that students internalize, not just exercises they endure.

Swinging and grounded. Each solo sits comfortably in the blues without overwrought complexity, but the bebop phrasing and syncopation keep your ears engaged. Playing these feels like being inside a real jazz session rather than practicing theoretical concepts.

Intermediate to advanced B-flat players who are ready to tackle jazz transposition and want model solos written by someone who knew how to make the blues speak. This works for alto and tenor saxophonists, clarinetists, and trumpet players serious about jazz vocabulary.

• Lock into the swing feel of the rhythm section from the start. The piano, bass, and drums on the audio track set a pocket that's worth studying before you solo over it.
• Phrase across the barlines to match Lennie's own interpretations on the recording. Notice where he breathes and lets phrases breathe rather than stopping at measures.
• Work one key thoroughly before moving to the next. These solos reveal more about blues language and bebop phrasing when you can play one all the way through at tempo without thinking about the mechanics.
• Sing the solo first without your instrument. This grounds the melodic and harmonic logic before your fingers take over.

Assign one key per week across a semester, pairing rehearsal time with the play-along tracks. These work equally well as small group repertoire at a jazz ensemble concert or as recital material for serious jazz students. The recorded solos also serve as listening models in jazz history or improvisation courses.

• Blues harmony and phrasing across all 12 keys
• Bebop vocabulary, syncopation, and rhythmic feel
• Reading swing rhythms and triplet-based eighth-note figures
• Transposition fluency on B-flat instruments
• Internalizing jazz sound and phrasing from model solos
• Playing over a rhythm section with rhythmic precision and relaxation