Useful Jazz Voicings

Coming up with chord voicings that sound good on the Hammond is an interesting challenge. Since most jazz Hammond players will be walking a bassline in the left hand, the voicings have to fit entirely in the right hand. For some of the more extended or altered chords, there are only a few ways to get the tones that define the chord to fit. In addition, some dissonances that sound good on the piano won't sound quite right on the Hammond, and some clustered voicings will sound muddy, especially in the lower octaves or if the organ is overdriven a bit. Below are some voicings that jazz organists use frequently. It is by no means a comprehensive list.

Minor 7th Voicings

C bass / Bb D Eb G |

   Cm9.

C bass / Bb Eb G |

   Cm7.  Same voicing as above but without the half-step dissonance.  Use this one instead of the above in the lower register to avoid muddiness.

C bass / D Eb G C |

   Cm add9.  Larry Young uses this one a lot.

C bass / Bb Eb F |

   Cm11.  Also works well for Cm7b5, especially in minor ii-V's.

Dominant 7th Voicings

C bass / Bb D E A |

   C13, close-voiced

C bass / Bb E A C |

   C13, wide-voiced.  As an example, the first chord Jack ?McDuff plays on "Oblighetto" from Moon Rappin'.

C bass / Bb E A C# |

   C13b9, or A/C7 as a polychord fraction

C bass / Bb E G# C |

   C+7

C bass / Bb E G# C# |

   C7#5b9, or Dbm/C7 as a polychord fraction

C bass / E A Bb D |

   C13, close-voiced with a half-step dissonance.

C bass / E Bb D |

   C9, same voicing as above but without the half-step dissonance.

C bass / E Bb D# |

   C7#9, the "Jimi Hendrix" voicing.  You can add in an Ab (the #5) or a Gb (the b5) to add to the character.

C bass / E Bb Db |

   C7b9.  You can add in a #5/b5 as with the previous voicing.

C bass / E Bb Db Gb |

   C7b5b9, or F#/C7 as a polychord fraction.

C bass / E Bb Eb Gb |

   C7b5#9, or Ebm/C7 as a polychord fraction.

C bass / E Bb D F# |

   C9#11