50 Jazz Licks You Must Know!

Frank Vignola is one of the best guitar instructors out there, as well as a smoking player; his style is very direct and yet pleasing as he guides you through 50 Jazz, Blues & Funk licks that will help expand your guitar vocabulary. He goes through different styles such as Bossa Nova, Bebop, Funk and even Gypsy Jazz covering the licks of several legendary players such as Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Les Paul, Barney Kessel and many others. There is a wealth of information in this one as it includes free downloads for tabs and additional instructional material (including an extra audio track and material on improvisation as well as backup practice tracks) from their website at truefire.com. These 50 licks are presented in a single key but the intention of the instructor is for you to be able to transpose them to all other keys and to be able to play them in multiple positions in the fretboard in order for you to be able to use them while improvising, therefore expanding your vocabulary. I liked his teaching style so much that I also bought another one of his instructional videos called Vamps, Jams & Improvisation which I haven't seen or worked on yet but judging by this one it's also going to be a winner.

When it comes to guitar instructional material, I'm sort of a market they can't glut. I'm looking at an entire wall of shelves as I write this. They hold hundreds of guitar instructional books, DVDs, and magazines on the subject. So, when I say that Frank Vignola's DVD is a cut above the competition, I know what I'm talking about. Each lick is introduced, played at tempo, then played slowly several times so that you can actually cop each lick just from the video. Good pacing. I prefer to look at the music, though, and you get a free PDF download with the disc which is pretty cool. I own about a half-dozen of these Jazz Lick DVDs, and this is the best one.

This video was purchased because of the title to this review. For me, music is a journey that has no end. I am always looking to add to my vocabulary. Since there is no limit to the order in which we can arrange notes into phrases/licks. Then logically there is no limit to the ways in which we can tie those licks together. I am expanding my vocabulary. I have found that the licks that do not include double stops or other polyphony can be translated to my main instrument, Trumpet/Flugelhorn. Keep an open mind and apply this to everything that you play.

Frank Vignola is a great player, no question. But I have yet to find any of his instructional material helpful at all. This kind of title is designed to suck you into spending your money only to find out that there's really nothing here worth your money. The licks are banal and uninspired, and there's no particular reason anyone "Must" know any of them. This book was written in a couple of hours I'd be willing to bet. Save your money for someone who knows how to teach. This is not a commentary on his playing however. He's great in that regard, obviously.

I think this DVD (and other lick based teaching tools) is good for getting out of a rut. If everything you play sounds the same, a lick based tool can cause you to look at the changes differently. I was a little disappointed when I discovered that two licks are almost exactly the same and I'm only up to lick 17 of 50! If they are going to demo only 50 jazz licks, you would expect a little more variation. Lick 1 and lick 17 are essentially the same. 1 over major and 17 over minor. Mr. Vignola is a very good player and just watching him play can teach a lot. I may update my review after making my way through the entire dvd.

Vignola is a great musician and seems like a great guy. He does present some nice licks on this DVD, which I think may be most useful for someone getting into jazz or someone up to an intermediate level. A lot of his licks are riff-like as well, meaning they are melodic and rather simple and could be repeated as a motif in a solo or something. There aren't any blazing Martino runs in here or far out Bebop lines. And it is very light on the Gypsy Jazz end as well- so I wouldn't get this if that's what you're interested in. These types of DVDs always end up disappointing me- I'm lucky if I get even just 1 or 2 licks from them that I actually end up using/keeping in my playing. Usually I feel like I waisted my money and got "robbed" or fooled again into buying some guitar book or DVD b/c I think it will change my playing... Is that the books or DVDs fault? I don't know for certain. But while I can't personally say this DVD will change your life or playing, I can say it is well produced and Vignola is a clear teacher. If you are a beginner or beginner-intermediate and want to explore some new licks and riffs, then I think you'd at least enjoy this.

Great material, well presented. Helping a non-jazz guy get a bit up to speed on the genre.

Good stuff. I reccomend it for beginners. Very easy and powerful licks

This is an excellent DVD. Frank Vignola breaks down the licks into bite sized pieces. The backing tracks make it easy to try out the licks yourself. The suppoet from True Fire is excellent.