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 these tunes can be pretty challenging…
As a musician, you know you want to expand your creative horizons and the musical options for your solos…to get to the heart of improvising by finding something ‘new’ to play.
But the first stop many of us take is diving right into theory devices: scales, substitutions, and harmonic tricks – imposing “concepts” that are often divorced from the musical world in which we are trying to operate.
In this lesson we’ll take a different approach, going right to the source itself, the actual musical compositions of the players that propelled this music forward.
The term “modern” here is somewhat of a stretch – most of these tunes are from the mid-1960s, but the innovations, ideas, and language you hear are foundational to the music that you hear today.
Just like Bird’s influence stretched well beyond the bebop era, the music in these tunes set the stage for the innovators of the present.
From tradition to innovation
You’ve probably noticed, it can be difficult to go from standards like Just Friends to playing over a Wayne Shorter tune – the same musical tools or approach simply doesn’t work…
These both originate from the same tradition, but you need to understand the nuances of the musical evolution to bridge the gap.
This starts with building a solid foundation of jazz standards and bebop tunes…Here are a few resources to check out:
- 9 Jazz Standards That’ll Boost Your Melodic Skills
- The Ultimate Guide to Bebop Tunes: 30 Essential Songs
- 10 Charlie Parker Blues Heads Everyone Should Know
However, you need a way to connect the dots from this foundation to the musical situations you’ll encounter as a musician in today’s world.
The compositions we’ll look at today move beyond the typical cycle movement found in standards or even the idea of being in a particular key. They utilize unconventional chords, unexpected melodic techniques and break the rules…
And these are all tools you can use to bring your playing to a new level.
11 Modern Jazz Tunes to Learn
The 11 compositions below are a great introduction for expanding your musical awareness and improvisation options beyond the basics.
Not surprisingly, the composers of these tunes are precisely the iconic players who shaped the sound of the music – Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Donald Byrd, Sam Rivers…
Immersing yourself in their compositions is an excellent way to peek inside their musical minds and grasp how they are thinking about and approaching melody, harmony, rhythm, and more.
There are many levels and entry points into the compositions you’ll find here. Listen, learn the melody, figure out the chords, study the phrases – each layers contains valuable lessons.
Let’s get started…
1. Inner Urge
Joe Henderson’s classic composition Inner Urge, from the 1966 album of the same name, is likely familiar to many players.
A staple of many jam sessions, this up-tempo tune prominently features the Major 7#11 or lydian sound throughout the progression…
The 24-bar from opens with an F#-7b5 sound and an angular intervalic melody that continues with a recurring rhythmic theme:
After a sequence of major 7#11 chords descending by whole-step, the final 8 bars of the form utilizes root movement traveling down a minor third and up a half-step:
Head to these lessons for more on the Lydian (Major7#11) sound and the music of Joe Henderson:
2. One Finger Snap
Another tune that is frequently played is Herbie Hancock’s One Finger Snap from his classic 1964 album Empyrean Isles…
This tune features a 20-bar form with the first twelve containing dominant sus chords. During the melody, there is a break for the first 4 bars, but during the solos a C7sus chord is played:
The last eight bars feature a more standard iii-VI-ii-V progression leading to Eb major with a final ii-V resolving back to the C7sus at the top of the form:
For some improvisation techniques for this tune, check out this PRO lesson that breaks down Herbie Hancock’s solo with complete transcriptions for C, Bb, and Eb instruments:
The Secrets Behind Herbie Hancock’s One Finger Snap Solo
3. Conception
George Shearing’s 1949 composition, Conception, has been played by the likes of Bud Powell and Miles all the way to the musicians recording today.
In this tune you’ll find bebop language applied to a harmonic progression with some unexpected twists and turns…
The tune is in Db major – starting with a minor ii-V moving to major, but immediately moves away…
Rather than staying in the diatonic world of Db, he moves to other harmonic areas, touching on A major, Gb major, and E major before resolving back to Db:
The 8-bar bridge begins with a ii-V-I in E major and then uses a sequence of ii-V’s descending in half-steps:
Notice the alterations of the V7 chords – #9, b9 and then emphasizing the #11 on the descending ii-V’s.
*Note – there is a another version of Conception played by Miles Davis with a different melody on the bridge and an interlude. (Check out the Miles tune Deception with a similar form.)
4. Fly Little Bird Fly
Donald Byrd’s composition Fly Little Bird Fly was first recorded on Duke Pearson’s album Wahoo…
Listening to this tune, you might be reminded of John Coltrane’s Giant Steps – a 16 bar form resolving to harmonic centers a 3rd apart.
Let’s take a closer look at the first 8 bars of the tune:
The larger harmonic movement is with descending minor 3rds with resolutions by tritone subs
Specifically, moving a whole-step below the major chord (the bVII or backdoor V7) and resolving down by half-step (tritone substitution) to the next major chord.
In the second part 8 bars the harmonic direction changes:
Here the progression moves up in major 3rds (F to A to Db (C#))with a dominant chord is up a 4th – still a tritone resolution to following major chord
5. Ezz-thetic
In his composition Ezz-thetic, George Russell presents some interesting and unexpected melodic possibilities over a minor tonality…
Listen to this version recorded by Miles Davis and Lee Konitz from 1951:
After an 8 bar into, you’ll hear the melody below starting on the root of the C-7 sound and moving in and out of the harmony:
Here he takes a conventional form or harmonic movement – an extended C minor chord, moving to the minor iv, and a bridge in the relative major – and applies an unconventional melody with large intervallic leaps and alterations.
On the bridge, he again takes the familiar progression of ii-V-I-iii-VI in Eb and crafts an angular melody that weaves in and out of the underlying chords:
Check out this version with Grant Green, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones – bringing a different musical esthetic to the composition.
6. Cyclic Episode
Sam Rivers’ composition Cyclic Episode from his 1965 album Fuchsia Swing Song with Jaki Byard, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams is often played by musicians in the know…
This tune features another unconventional way of moving through harmony, but is tied together with a larger “cyclic” movement that utilizes minor 7th chords – hitting every minor chord in all 12 keys:
The progression opens with minor 7th chords ascending by minor 3rds, starting on Bb-7:
And in the second half of the form we find descending minor 3rd root movement starting on a D- chord, and ascending minor 3rd movement in the final 4 bars:
7. Passion Dance
McCoy Tyner’s iconic album ‘The Real McCoy’ introduced a number of tunes that have become standards, and Passion Dance is one of these:
Here you’ll find a 32-bar form consisting of two thematic sections – the first half is over an F7 of F7sus sound:
Again you hear an intervallic approach to this dominant sus sound, using the movement of 4ths and 5ths as opposed to 2nds and 3rds you hear in conventional standards.
In the 8 bar bridge section is over a Bb pedal and implies a Bb- phyrigian sound:
For some clues to navigating these sounds, listen to what McCoy does in the opening of his solo, focusing mainly on two triads (F and Eb):
For more musical inspiration from McCoy Tyner, check out these two lessons:
8. Litha
Along with his incredible playing, Chick Corea is also known for his compositions – one of which is Litha, found on the 1966 album Tones for Joan’s Bones…
This tune begins in 6/8 with a melodic line that is composed mainly of perfect fourths:
Again you can hear root movement by minor 3rd – the arrival of the major 7th chords moving from D to B to A to F and finally D.
The second section transitions to a swing 4/4 feel with a modal approach to the harmony and a melody with minor pentatonic characteristics:
For more on his musical approach, you’ll find Chick’s solo excerpt on Matrix along with 8 other amazing piano solos in this lesson:
9 Incredible Jazz Piano Solos You Should Know
9. The Intrepid Fox
Freddie Hubbard’s composition The Intrepid Fox comes from his 1970 album Red Clay…
A tune that begins with a vamp in C minor and a pentatonic melody begins after a break:
Notice the common tones between the solo chods: C-, Bmaj#11, Bb7sus, and F7sus.
For more on Freddie Hubbard’s approach, check out this lesson where we take a deep dive into just one line he plays:
Learn the Secrets Behind this Crazy Freddie Hubbard Line
10. Isotope
Not all of these tunes are built on completely original song forms and progressions – Joe Henderson’s Isotope is written over the familiar blues form.
Check out this later version from the album Power to the People with Herbie, Jack De Jonette, Ron Carter, and the trumpet player Mike Lawrence…
The framework of the 12-bar blues is immediately apparent, but Henderson adds some interesting twists to the progression:
Along with the move to the bIII (Eb7)chord in the second measure and the bVI (Ab7) in bar 9, notice the descending minor 3rd pattern in the final two bars – a turnaround variation that recurs throughout the form:
For another Joe Hederson blues, his composition If, check out this PRO lesson:
A Pentatonic Approach to Playing Outside on the Blues
11. Toy Tune
The last tune is from the great Wayne Shorter, as well known as a composer as he is an iconic improviser…
His composition Toy Tune is like many of his – a puzzle to solve through repeated listening and playing.
The tune is a 28 measure AABA form, starting with an 8 bar ‘A’ section:
Each ‘A’ begins with a recurring rhythmic figure played by the whole band:
Notice also how the same melodic notes and shapes in the ‘A’ section are used with different harmonic material:
Although the harmonic path is unconventional, these strong compositional elements tie everything together.
A world of music is waiting
The eleven tunes here are just the tip of the ice berg, a small sampling of the many players and recordings out there that pushed the music in a new direction…
As you learn the tunes above, dive further into each musician, look up the players you might not be familiar with, and check out the recordings you don’t know – each tune will lead you through another doorway.
In addition to the composers highlighted here, you might also check out Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Andrew Hill, Paul Bley, and many more…
The deeper you explore these connections and the evolution, the more you will bring to the table when it’s time to share your musical ideas.
