Funk-Fusion Soloing Workout—Use the Same Track I Recorded for Jeff Lorber

In this lesson I’m going to breakdown my approach to mixing bebop and blues language into a funk/fusion context.

We’ll analyze this 12-bar solo and deconstruct:

1. Rhythmic approaches (including 3 against 4)
2. Motivic approaches (developing mini melodies in short spaces)
3. Chord tensions that work nicely (don’t take every written chord as gospel!)
4. The importance of understanding a phrase’s architecture, and why this can be a faster path to using language than learning a lick “in all 12 keys” the traditional way.

Use the backing tracks, solo excerpts, and practice loops below to make this vocabulary your own and have some fun playing with this groove. (It’s the exact track I recorded along to!)