Solo Jazz Guitar Masterclass
Solo Jazz Guitar Lesson Kid Charlemagne

About this masterclass
Jake Reichbart teaches his complete solo jazz guitar arrangement of Steely Dan's Kid Charlemagne in this one-hour-and-25-minute lesson. Jake has performed solo guitar for 30+ years at around 300 gigs a year, and a big part of that staying power is folding pop tunes into a jazz repertoire — the ideas here apply to arranging almost any pop song.
What's covered
- A rhythm and right-hand introduction: playing bass and melody only, each with its own rhythm
- Chord-note arpeggiation in the underlying subdivision to keep the rhythm moving forward
- Jake's famous backbeat downstroke with the right hand
- The entire arrangement outlined slowly and in close-up, fingering by fingering
- Why you're likely halfway there already: most voicings are classic drop 2, drop 3, and closed triads
- Ideas that make any solo arrangement come alive: dynamics, articulation, open strings
The arrangement stays close to the original recording's key, tempo, and style (one repeated verse trimmed, with nothing missing if you want to restore it). For intermediate players who want a gig-ready Steely Dan arrangement plus a toolkit for building their own.
Lessons in this masterclass
Lessons
- 1Kid Charlemagne Full Class + Download1h 25m
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About the instructor
Jake Reichbart →
Jake Reichbart won WEMU-FM’s Emily Remler scholarship for best jazz guitarist in 1991. Since then, he has been among the busiest guitarists in the greater Detroit region. As a sideman, he appears on countless recordings and jingles and has performed alongside Motown legends and jazz greats alike, logging over 4,600 live gigs. Reichbart’s passion, though, has always been solo guitar, citing Joe Pass, Tuck Andress and Tommy Emmanuel as his main influences, while creating a unique voice of his own. He can arrange for the guitar nearly any tune imaginable, drawing from any and every musical style. His CDs 16 Songs and Long Ago and Far Away have received nominations for best jazz recording at the Detroit Music Awards and have garnered rave reviews from such prestigious publications as All Music Guide, Just Jazz Guitar, and Cadence, as well as from numerous radio stations across the US and abroad. He has performed for two US presidents, the Michigan Governor's Inaugural Ball three times, and for countless other similar events. His instructional DVDs are distributed by the largest publisher in the world, Hal Leonard Corporation and he was featured on the front cover of the May 2012 issue of Just Jazz Guitar magazine, which included a lengthy interview and a transcription of one of his arrangements. Jake cites his most enjoyable solo work as being the “restaurant guitarist,” creating long-term relationships and enjoying a loyal following. For the past 20 years, he has been performing on Wednesday evenings at Ann Arbor’s most famous restaurant, The Earle.
