Hip Licks for Saxophone - Greg Fishman (BK/4CDs)

Hip Licks for Saxophone is designed to help saxophonists develop fluency in the jazz language by providing mainstream jazz vocabulary (swing/bop/post-bop) that nails the changes and lays great on the horn.

Think of Hip Licks for Saxophone as a musical reference book, like a dictionary of great licks in all twelve keys, available when you need it. You can open the book to any page and just start playing. 

Need something that will help you sound like a total pro while playing over the most challenging keys, like: C#, F# or B? Hip Licks for Saxophone is an indispensable resource that can immediately show you how a professional player would approach those tough keys and chord progressions.

Special Features of Hip Licks for Saxophone by Greg Fishman: 

• 168 Hip Licks – Each lick is unique and customized for each key, based on the best timbre, register and playability on the horn. The C7 lick is different than the B7 lick, which is different than the Bb7 lick, etc. 

• Idiomatic Construction – Alto and Tenor read the same written part, while the rhythm section is recorded in two different keys, ensuring that each lick lays perfectly on all saxophones. 

• Slow Tempo and Fast Tempo Play-Along CDs are included for both Alto and Tenor – 4 CDs included:

2 Alto CDs and 2 Tenor CDs, providing over four hours of play-along tracks.

• Hip Licks Nail the Most Popular Chord Progressions: 

- Major 7th, Dominant 7th, Dominant 7b9, Minor 7th, Minor 7b5, and Diminished 7th and Augmented 7th Chords

- ii-7 / V7 / I Major (two and four-measure phrases)

- ii-7b5 / V7b9 / i Minor (two and four-measure phrases)

- Parallel Major to Minor Progressions

- ii- ii-Maj7 / ii-7 V7 / I Maj7 (ii-7 / V7 / I Maj7 with moving 7ths) 

• Modular Design – The licks are self-contained, easily taken out of the book to be used in a wide variety of songs. 

• Interactive Call and Response Format, perfect for ear-training and developing your musical memory. Each lick is played twice in a row on the Play-Along CDs, so you can hear the lick and then immediately play along.

• Twelve Key Approach – Every CD track takes you through all twelve keys. 

• Rhythm-Section-Only Tracks let you experiment with your own variations on the licks and improvise over a wide variety of harmonic settings. These tracks are also excellent backgrounds for practicing all of your chords and scales. 

• Technique Builder – Use Hip Licks for Saxophone as part of your daily practice routine to dramatically increase your technical command of the saxophone. 

Hip Licks for Saxophone (Book and Four CD Play-along Set)

By Greg Fishman

Published by Greg Fishman Jazz Studios, Evanston, Illinois

Staff Review

As somewhat of a jazz novice compared to some of my colleagues, I've found this book really useful. The licks are easily digestible, and you get them over all of the standard chord changes you're likely to find in most standards. For ear training I find it quite a good workout to pick just one lick, and then try and work it out in all keys! Oren Gurney (oren@sax.co.uk)