How Jazzadvice Works
Lessons
Lessons explore specific ideas designed to stand on their own, but they become even more powerful when they start connecting.
Courses
Courses organize major topics like language and ear training into a clear progression, helping you build a deep understanding and knowledge, step by step.
PRO
PRO is how members support Jazzadvice and gain access to our most in-depth lessons & courses, helping us continue to create the best work we can.
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Joe Henderson Plays Recorda Me
Recorda Me is one of Joe Henderson’s most famous compositions. Recorded on his epic album Page One from 1963, he actually composed the popular jazz standard when he was only…
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The 4 Bar Problem and The Power of Riffs
In jazz, there are some harmonic situations that seem like they should be easy, but they’re just not. For example, have you ever tried to play over a single major…
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11 Modern Jazz Compositions That’ll Transform Your Playing
Beyond standards and bebop melodies lie what what we might call modern jazz tunes – the compositions of musical innovators who pushed the music in a new direction. And navigating…
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Learn Doxy From Miles Davis: How Charts Mislead You
Doxy is one of those classic Sonny Rollins tunes that gradually made its way into the jazz standard repertoire. Originally recorded in 1954 and released on the album Miles Davis…
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How Bye Bye Blackbird Really Works (Form, Variations, and Solo Concepts)
Of all the standards in the jazz repertoire, there are certain tunes that seem to play themselves. Songs where you can simply outline a few chord tones, follow the changes,…
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Tune Up – 3 Legendary Solos
Tune Up is one of those classic up-tempo jazz standards that every player should work on. Composed by Eddie Vinson, It became super well known when legendary trumpeter player Miles…
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4 Legendary Bye Bye Blackbird Solos (And What to Steal From Each)
Bye Bye Blackbird is a tune that looks simple on paper, yet one that can become surprisingly challenging the moment you begin to solo. And in Part II of our…
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Bill Evans: 4 Tools for Creating Harmonic Motion
For any improviser learning jazz standards, one of the greatest challenges isn’t just learning the chords to a tune – it’s making music with them when you take a solo.…
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Herbie Hancock Plays You’re My Everything
As a listener, it’s thrilling to hear world-class musicians improvise flawless solos over crazy tempos & impossible progressions. But one of my favorite things, is listening to my musical heroes…
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The Girl From Ipanema: Learning from the Masters
The Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim is well known to improvisers with dozens of tunes frequently played and recorded in the jazz repertoire. However, one song in particular stands out……
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6 Roy Hargrove Minor Exercises on What Is This Thing Called Love
When you start to transcribe and discover what your musical heroes are doing, you begin to open up a whole new understanding about how to improvise and approach chord changes.…
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Well You Needn’t – How to Dominate This Jam Session Tune
If you’ve ever been to a jam session before, you’ve probably encountered the famous Thelonious Monk tune Well You Needn’t. Over the years, it’s become one of the most popular…
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10 Hidden Gems from Charlie Parker on the Blues
When it comes to the blues, few voices sing as clearly, or as creatively, as Charlie Parker’s. While Bird is often celebrated for his iconic solos and well-known standards, there’s…
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The Relative Minor Formula in Every Standard
One of the keys to developing a more musical approach to navigating chord progressions is not only learning the definitions of chords – but understanding how they relate to each…
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5 Bud Powell Tunes Every Improviser Should Know
Every musician dreams of creating solos full of flowing melodic lines. To play compelling ideas over fast tunes, ballads, complex chord progressions, and standard forms like the blues or rhythm…
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10 Levels of Playing the Bridge to Rhythm Changes
From the moment George Gershwin’s composition I Got Rhythm entered the jazz repertoire, it quickly became one of the most played, and most important, song forms in this music… And…
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The Ultimate Guide to Bebop Tunes: 30 Essential Songs
Bebop, or the innovative musical revolution of the 1940’s led by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, is one of the pillars of learning to improvise as a modern musician. …and…
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10 Charlie Parker Blues Heads Everyone Should Know
We all know about Charlie Parker the revolutionary soloist, but we often overlook Charlie Parker “the composer.” Bird wrote a number of songs over popular song forms that quickly became…
FREE PRO PRO & PREMIUMIn-Depth Jazz Courses
While lessons generally explore individual ideas, our expansive courses provide a structured way to go deeper, organizing major concepts into a connected approach that develops understanding over time.
Jazz Theory Unlocked
Jazz Theory Unlocked
A clear approach to understanding harmony and how tunes actually work — focused on the “why” behind jazz theory, and how everything connects into one clear framework.
The Ear Training Method
The Ear Training Method
A structured ear training system designed to help you hear chord movement, learn tunes by ear, and connect sound directly to theory.
Melodic Power
Melodic Power
A super detailed exploration of jazz language, helping you move beyond scales and understand how strong melodies are really built.
Visualization for Jazz Improvisation
Visualization for Jazz Improvisation
A practical way to organize chords and progressions mentally, making it easier to memorize tunes and think clearly through chord changes.
Reprogramming the Musical Mind
Reprogramming the Musical Mind
A focused course on the performance aspect of playing, addressing confidence, creativity, and the mindset needed to perform and practice with ease.
Who is Jazzadvice?
We’re Forrest & Eric. We’ve spent years learning directly from some of the greatest jazz musicians of our time — including Mulgrew Miller, Rich Perry, and Harold Mabern — and many others who shaped how this music is actually played and passed down.
Jazzadvice exists to take the insights that are usually shared informally at the professional level and make them clear, practical, and usable — without watering them down or stripping away their depth.
Forrest Wernick
Saxophone
Forrest has spent years studying and performing across the country, learning directly from master musicians, with close study under Rich Perry and Harold Mabern.
Eric O’Donnell
Trumpet
Eric has spent years studying and performing throughout the East Coast, training with master musicians including Bill Mobley, Mulgrew Miller, and Ingrid Jensen.
PRO Membership
Joining PRO is how members support everything we create and gain access to our most in-depth lessons and courses — where ideas have the space to connect, build, and compound over time.
Inside PRO, everything follows the same approach you see throughout Jazzadvice: going deep, focusing on how and why things work, and building an understanding that actually holds up when you play.
What PRO Unlocks
- Unlimited access to the full Jazzadvice lesson library — deep dives into harmony, improvisation, ear training, rhythm, and more, designed to be revisited as your playing evolves.
- In-depth jazz courses built as complete learning paths — structured programs that organize major topics into a connected progression and continue to reveal new insights over time.
- Everything new we create, included automatically — new lessons, courses, and tools added as Jazzadvice continues to grow and expand.
What PRO Supports
PRO members are the reason Jazzadvice continues to grow. Your support allows us to push further, creating better resources designed to help you reach the next level in your playing.
We’re deeply grateful to every member who supports the site. It’s what keeps us motivated, inspired, and excited about where Jazzadvice is headed.
Start Where You Are
Wherever you are in your playing, Jazzadvice is built to help you move forward
Lessons
Explore the Lesson Library
Browse individual lessons that focus on specific ideas you can apply right away — and return to as your understanding grows.
Courses
Go Deeper with Courses
Work through structured courses that organize major topics into a clear progression, helping you build long-term understanding step by step.
PRO
Unlock Everything
PRO supports everything we create and gives you access to our most in-depth lessons, complete courses, and everything new we release.
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