"Naima" - Exploring Modern Dominant 7ths

Sheryl Bailey explores "Naima", John Coltrane's ballad of kaleidoscopic, evolving colors, as a guide to the family of modern dominant 7th sounds. Coltrane composed the tune in 1959, naming it after his wife, and first recorded it on Giant Steps; it is notable for its rich harmonies over bass pedal notes and has been covered by McCoy Tyner, John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius, and Herbie Hancock. "'Naima' is a gift," as Sheryl puts it — she likens its tonal changes to a cloudy sky moving through bright and dark moods.

What's covered

• The four main 7th-chord sounds and scales in the tune: dominant 7ths, diminished, altered dominants, and natural/sus dominants
• Vamping over loops of each dominant chord type to open up both chordal and single-note exploration
• ii-V applications and tritone substitute approaches
• How the Harmonic Major scale contributes to the modern jazz sound of players like Adam Rogers and Kurt Rosenwinkel
• References to George Russell's Lydian concept — how major and minor chords work differently in jazz than in classical harmony

Sheryl balances intellect and intuition, helping you feel your way through each chord group rather than just calculate it. This advanced class suits guitarists who want to apply these ideas not only to Coltrane's composition but to their broader comping, improvising, and compositional approaches.