GW 305 and 959 reviewed in Guitar Player

Some videos let you cop the best bits of a style by showing you a few trademark licks or phrases. Not these two. If you enlist in Adrian Ingrams jazz boot camp, you’re expected to get deep, soldier!

In Essentials of Jazz Guitar, Ingram crams several month’s worth of theory lessons into the first ten minutes. It’s great stuff, but a little overwhelming-most will need to refer to the included booklet to keep up. If you can be patient, however, you’ll be rewarded with clear explanations and useful applications. Ingram details chord construction, extensions, and substitutions, and de-mystifies the Roman numeral system. (You’ll never fear
the leader barking out changes from the bandstand ever again.) It’s good material presented in a clear manner by a good teacher. Think of it as Jazz Guitar 101.

Jazz for the Electric Blues Guitarist is designed to help players make the musical jump from Buddy Guy to Robben Ford. In this video, Ingram takes the tried-and-true I-IV-V blues progression and expands upon it with different chord voicings, turnarounds, and passing tones-all designed to get you from down-home to uptown. He also illustrates the use of non-blues scale notes in blues solos so you can painlessly add spice to what you already know. (You’ll also get some insights on the styles of Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery.) The accompanying booklet is full of good information, although there are a few misnamed chords and other typos. Ingram proves himself to be a monster player, a good teacher, and a benevolent taskmaster, and everything adds up to a video you can revisit many times over and still find new stuff. Very cool.