New York City funk/jazz master Oz Noy knows comping. He knows a thing or two about soloing as well. It stands to reason that he’s also pretty good at thinking about both concepts at once. These examples were culled from Noy’s improvisation on a mid-tempo funk groove with a straight eighth-note rhythm, as heard in his cover of “I Feel Good” from his album, Who Gives a Funk, but they can be played at any tempo and with a swung eighth-note feel as well. Also, some of the chords are “rootless voicings,” with the root ostensibly being supplied by the bass. —Vinnie DeMasi
“Whenever I solo, especially in a trio context, I like to conceptualize my improvisations as a musical interaction where I’m comping behind myself,” says Noy. “I’ll play a line and then answer it with a chordal lick in a call-and-response dialogue fashion. When I sound the chords, I’ll almost always throw on a DLS Effects RotoSIM Leslie speaker simulator to give it a Hammond organ vibe. If you ever see me play live, you’ll notice I have my foot on the pedal for most of the show, frequently switching it on and off.
“Ex. 1 is an example of a classic question-and-answer phrase over a straight-ahead I-IV blues or funk vamp in the key of D. If I want to modulate outside the key center however, then playing a chord to set up the harmonic background first is a great way to lead the listener’s ear and make it sound more musical. I like modulating up or down a half-step during solos, since I feel it provides interesting melodic and harmonic tension. Ex. 2 is an example of how I could set up a brief jump to E