Out of Nowhere/Solar - Chordal Explorations

Jay Umble works through two classic compositions — Out of Nowhere and Solar — showing how he combines and connects voicing types: chromatic embellishments, standard jazz voicings, quartal harmony, and tasteful intervallic voicings. You get three full choruses of comping for each tune, shot with close-ups of the fretboard so you can see every chord in detail, all explained bar by bar.

What's covered

• Expanding your chord vocabulary by placing a chord every two beats instead of sitting on one voicing per measure
• Quartal harmony and modern chord systems for an open, contemporary sound
• Two-note voicings that imply the essence of a chord without the full grip
• The "parent minor" substitution (playing Bbm over Eb7) and moving altered dominants in minor thirds up and down the neck
• Pedal tones, contrary motion, polarity points, and delayed resolutions
• Creating melody with the top note of each chord so your comping forms cohesive phrases

Unlike a typical jazz chords class, this one is all about application — you learn the voicings and the logic behind the choices, so the vocabulary transfers to many similar tunes. If you're stuck playing the same Drop-2 and shell voicings on standards, or struggle to connect one voicing to the next, this masterclass is for you. Includes 9 pages of PDF materials with chord diagrams. Full video is 1 hour 15 minutes.