September 7, 2023 by Klaus Crow
I just love figuring out different ways to play a jazz chord progression or just mixing up jazz chords with other styles of music.
It can add nice flavors to a song and give it some extra magic. It’s really fun to experiment with that.
Learning jazz expands your guitar vocabulary to a whole new level if you are ready for it.
In the meantime it’s just fun to play some beautiful jazz chord progressions and it will certainly contribute to your playing skills and creativity as well.
There are also more advanced II-V-I’s than the ones I show here but these are really nice to start out with and get your feet in the dirt. It can be a little bit overwhelming if you learn to play jazz chords and progressions for the first time, but after a few runs you’ll get the hang of it. You’ll be amazed!
The II-V-I is one of the most used chord progressions in jazz standards, so it is an important progression for jazz players to learn. The II-V-I are roman numerals for 2-5-1 and so the chords are built of the second, fifth and first degree of the major scale. The II is from the minor chord family, the V is from the dominant 7 chord family and the I is from the major chord family.
Check out these 5 beauties and memorize each one by heart.
Don’t forget to take a break if you need it. A nice cappuccino will do the job.
For an explanation of how the read the chords below check out 10 Ways to Play the Most Beautiful Open Chord Shapes
Enjoy and have fun!
2-5-1 Jazz Chord Progression #1
/ Em9 / A13 / Dmaj9 / Dmaj9 /
Em9= x7577x
A13 = 5x567x
Dmaj9 = x5465x
2-5-1 Jazz Chord Progression #2
/ Am7 / D7#9 / G6 / G6 /
Am7= 5×5555
D7#9 = x5456x
G6 = 3x243x
2-5-1 Jazz Chord Progression #3
/ Bm9 / E13 / Amaj7 / Amaj7 /
Bm9 = 7×7779
E13= x7x799
Amaj7= 5x665x
2-5-1 Jazz Chord Progression #4
Cappuccino or tea break with some nice biscuits!
/ Em9 / A7#5 / Dmaj9 / Dmaj9 /
Em9 = xx5432
A7#5= 5x566x
Dmaj9= x5765x
2-5-1 Jazz Chord Progression #5
/ Am11 / D7b9 / Gmaj13 / Gmaj13 /
Am11= 5x553x
D7b9= x5454x
Gmaj13= 3x445x
If you liked these jazz chords check out these two links if you’re interested in
a good jazz guitar chord introduction
for the beginner jazz guitarist.
or a complete jazz guitar chord bible
that will open your mind with new sounds and smooth transitions.
hey klaus, now i’v played your II-V-I progressions….. i don’t know anymore… woow , i tried them all , found out that the first one is the progression of an old song of gram parsons, don’t know if you know him. don’t know for sure, but in my head it’s the same. BEAUTIFUL!
I like this one a lot:
D11 / D7b5 / Gmaj7
D11 – 5X553x
D7b5 – 4X453X
Gmaj7 – 3X443xf
and this one:
Dm9 / Db7#9 / Cmaj7
Dm9 – X5355X
Db7#9 – X4345X
Cmaj7 – X3535X
They are nice as they have chromatic bass movement.
Now I just need to learn how to improve over these chords :)
I don’t play jazz guitar but enjoy listening to it and appreciate the skill involved. I’d struggle with the fingerings of those chords.
Michael – which Gram Parson’s tune is that? Brass Buttons?
These are two of my favorites.
/ Dm9 / G7b5#5b9 / Cmaj13 / Cmaj13 /
Dm9 = X53555
G7b5#5b9 = 343444
Cmaj13 = X3X455
/ Em7b9 / A7#5 / Dmaj7 / Dmaj7 /
Em7b9 = X7576X
A7#5 = 5X566X
Dmaj7 = X5767X
I love that G7b5#5b9.
I just modified one of the progressions that was posted above. So its now II-V-I-V
/Em9 / A13 / Dmaj9 / Amaj7 Amaj /
play the Amaj like this 5x765x
It sound so beautiful if played in 4/4 but gets down and dirty when you play is in swing at a high tempo.
Well thats my 2 cents, enjoy!
I guess I’m replying a bit late to this post, but I’ve been enjoying your site over the past couple days. One comment/suggestion, I think it would be really helpful to include your fingerings for some of these chords. Many of the jazz chords are new to me, and finding good fingerings is tricky!
Here is one I like: It is a 2 5 1 in Gmaj. I am not sure what you would
call these voicings. I hope you like it. It is, of course, movable.
X5557X
X3445X
X2223X
Jim I think those would technically be called, at least in the context of a 2-5-1, Am13/D – D6/9/C – C6/9/B.
Im knew here im trying to understand all this, i love jazz i ‘ll come through..
Im loving all this
I’m a bass player and was just looking for more info on ii-V-I progressions. I tried these on the piano. Very helpful! Thanks.
This article is great. If you like those chord progressions, have a look at bossa nova. In the late 1950’s, those brazilian guitarists were using 9ths, 11ths and 13ths chords where most jazzmen limited themselves to 7ths. The chord progression for One note samba, for instance is :
X2423x (Bm7)
6x653x (Bb7/9)
5x553x (Am7/11)
4x553x (Ab7M/#11)
4x453x (Ab7/#11)
Etc.
Hi Jamal,
A really nice one for in my jazz chord progression back pocket.
Love it!
Thanks.
Best regards,
Klaus Crow
I got this from Jody Fisher on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geYgMyDtoKg
These are variations on II V I in the key of F.
What he’s doing is using the same formation (finger pattern) for the V chord. He moves it up 2 frets each time.
Note that some folks would call the C9b5b13 chord a C9b5#5.
XX3333 Gm7
XX2312 C7b5
XX0011 F6/9 (no 3rd)
XX3333 Gm7
XX4534 C9b5b13
XX3555 Fmaj7
XX3333 Gm7
XX6756 C9#5
XX3555 Fmaj7
XX3333 Gm7
XX8978 C7b5
XX3555 Fmaj7
XX3333 Gm7
X.X.10.11.9.10 C9b5b13
X.8.10.9.10.8 Fmaj7
X.10.12.10.11.10 Gm7
XX.12.13.11.12 C9#5
XX.12.12.13.13 F6/9 (no 3rd)
I think I got all of the fingers right. Let me know if I need to make any corrections
Thanks for adding the vids! I liked this page before, but am prone to do better with the “monkey see, monkey do” learning method. ;-)
Just wanted to say thanks for posting this page. I’m just getting started in Jazz guitar and it’s a big help that you laid out all of the finger position for each chord form. I know all of the easy ones, major, minor, but some of the more advanced chords I haven’t quite got memorized yet. Have you thought about a similar page for some of the other common jazz progressions?
thanks again,
-anthony
whoah this blog is excellent i really like studying your articles.
Keep up the good work! You know, a lot of individuals are hunting round for this info, you could
aid them greatly.
The Gram Parsons song referred to above is Zah’s Blues. I have part of it going
F#m13 Am7+5 Cmaj7 Gm7 Dmaj7
or maybe I’m close. Beautiful song that he wrote and recorded when he was in high school. It’s very different from his later music.
Hi my friend! I wish to say that this article is amazing, nice written and include almost all significant infos. I’d like to peer extra posts like this .