(ii- V- I) Double Time Line by Cecil Alexander

This line was taken from Cecil’s amazing new “DOUBLE TIME BEBOP LICKS (MAJOR II-V-I)” and I have been transposing it into various keys on the piano and guitar. This line uses chromaticism, descending leaps of a 6th, and enclosures to achieve the bebop sound. Some of my favorite parts occur over the G7.

Here Cecil encircles the root from the b7 with a series of half steps.

The F# (natural 7) comes from the bebop scale, which also could be considered a chromatic approach tone.

This ascending Cm(Maj7) arpeggio is a great way to play a Mixolydian b13 sound on a V7

You might not play a Cm(Maj7) as a chord voicing here, but as a single note line, it resolves nicely back to C in the next measure.

After landing on the root Cecil leaps down a 6th then back up a 5th to descend chromatically eventually using some well-known jazz language to approach the 9th in the following measure.

I highly recommend checking out Cecil’s Alexander. He has become one of my favorite players in recent years. He was recently signed to Heartcore records (Kurt Rosenwinkel’s record label) and you can find his debut album there.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply