In this video, we dive into the colorful, spacious world of modal jazz—a revolutionary style that broke away from the dense harmonic structures of swing and bebop.
PART 1 – What is Modal Jazz?
Modal jazz emerged in the late 1950s as a bold alternative to the chord-heavy landscape of bebop. Artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock led the charge, exploring single modes for extended periods, allowing improvisers to focus more on mood, color, and phrasing rather than racing through rapid chord changes.
? PART 2 – We take Freddie Hubbard’s stunning “Little Sunflower” and show how to improvise over it using the triad pair system—a technique that injects fresh melodic ideas into modal improvisation.
The exercises + Triad pairs come from the:
✅ Encyclopedia of Triad Pairs and combinations: https://jazzduets.com/products/3044746
The Encyclopedia of Triad Pair Combinations is an immersive, comprehensive resource designed to deepen your harmonic understanding, expand your technical skills, and unlock emotional expression in your improvisation. With over 40 triad pair demonstration videos, 10 jazz standard applications, and 2,460 exercises, this course offers a structured yet creative pathway to mastering triad pairs.
My name is Nick Homes. I am a non genius musician who struggled for many years to find out the secrets of jazz improvisation. Throughout 40 years of playing, and obsessive investigation I have focussed on building systems of learning for my students so they can improve , and reach their learning goals with the highest probability whilst having fun!
? Sign up to the weekly Jazzduets newsletter for latest practice ideas : https://jazzduets.com/pages/newsletter-signup
✅ AUTUMN LEAVES MASTERCLASS course:
https://jazzduets.com/products/2066377
? RHYTHM CHANGES MASTERCLASS : https://jazzduets.com/products/2147716
▶️ Next Level Minor Chord Techniques Online course:
https://jazzduets.com/pages/next-level-minor-chord-techniques
▶️ Check out my foundational Soul Scale Improvisational course:
https://jazzduets.com/pages/jazzduets-soul-scale-course-foundations
☑️ Check the Thesaurus of Minor Triad Pairs :
https://jazzduets.com/pages/thesaurus-compendium
**********************************************
★ JAZZDUETS LINKS ★
➡ WEBSITE: https://jazzduets.com
➡ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jazz_duets
➡ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jazzduetsshop
➡ EMAIL: support@jazzduets.com
#saxophone #modal #improvisation