Easy jams for keyboard and bass

February 5, 2013 8:15 PM

I've played classical piano for years, but I'm just starting out with jazz and blues. A friends is learning bass guitar from scratch. Can anyone recommend some easy riffs or chord progressions we could play together?
posted by morninj to media & arts (6 answers total)

This guy does some pretty basic jazz/pop standards, and if you are classically trained already it should a breeze/jump off point. Not much help on the bass parts but just whatever you are doing with your left hand, he should follow.
posted by timsteil at 9:15 PM on February 5

An astonishing number of jazz standards are based on the ii-V-I progression. I highly recommend this Jamey Aebersold book for practicing it in every key.
posted by Wordwoman at 10:41 PM on February 5

A minor blues like "Equinox" is pretty easy to play.
posted by thelonius at 11:43 PM on February 5

You're probably already familiar with the twelve-bar blues, but there they are in case you aren't.
posted by wayland at 2:41 AM on February 6 [1 favorite]

Depending on how much progress your bass playing friend has made, a funk groove like Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" is a lot of fun to play. That might be a little hard for him if he is really just starting, though.
posted by thelonius at 5:59 AM on February 6

Two pieces of advice:

1. Listen to music together. Lots of it. Before you ever sit down at your instruments together and say, "OK, now we are going to jam and it's going to be amazing," listen to music together and figure out what it is about the piano part or the bass part that makes you say, "Whoa!"

2. Fake books. Maybe your bass player friend isn't quite there yet, but if you have a classical background you might already know enough theory to play an F#m7 chord without seeing all the notes on the staff.
posted by emelenjr at 9:41 AM on February 6