Modal Solo on Dmi7b5 (from "It Always Happens")

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RIP Ahmad Jamal (1930-2023)

Often times a modal solo (aka a solo over a single chord), happens over a single min7 chord. Like in "Impressions" or "So What": the solo section is a single Dmi7 chord. But the solo section to Ahmad Jamal's "It Always Happens" is over a single min7b5 chord: Dmi7b5.

This is a challenge because min7b5 does not feel like a "home key". So we want to think more about textures than lines!

1) Starting quiet (so we have room to grow)
2) Using the upper register (like the Maestro, Ahmad Jamal himself!)
3) Call & Response Phraseology
4) Using lots of space (like the Maestro, Ahmad Jamal himself!)
5) Crescendo to build dynamically
6) Using the low register of the piano

This was captured from 4/17/22 at Manhattan School of Music (New York, NY). To watch the FULL CUT, click HERE.

Will Lyle (bass)
Bijan Taghavi (piano)
Neal Smith (drums)