TENSIONS
How can I play solos that follow the chord progressions and land on key
tensions that are important in that chord? I have a hard time playing
outside of my comfort diatonic scale and landing on 7ths and 9ths.
I recommend a step-by-step set of exercises to gain comfort with your
tensions.
First, arpeggiate each half-note chord in an 8th-note rhythm, R- 3 - 5 - 7
(One-And-Two-And etc.).
Then, move through the progression again playing 3- 5 - 7 - 9 in the same
fashion.
You can continue with 5- 7 - 9 - 11, 7- 9 - 11 - 13, 9- 11 - 13 - Root, 11- 13 - Root-3,
and 13-Root- 3 - 5. This will give you a variety of sounds and relationships
to exploit in your harmonic playing!
PHRASING
Since theoretic information is finite, does phrasing really separate jazz
musicians from each other? So, what is a good approach to phrasing? I
guess that's two questions!
The goal of American Music is to sound like yourself. If you pursue this
goal you will find your own voice in your playing over time.
A couple of good ways to work on your phrasing are to sing your lines
while you play them, and to play solos up and down one string, which
forces you to be more conscious of melodic spacing and flow.