Part 1: Ed Bickert

Though he was not well known, I consider Ed Bickert to be one of the trailblazers of jazz guitar.

I’ll go even further to say that Ed Bickert is one of the greatest jazz guitarists the world has ever seen – I think his name deserves as much recognition as Joe Pass or Wes Montgomery.

The reason?

Bickert had very innovative approaches to chords and chord melody playing, as you’ll see in some of the examples below.

Ed Bickert’s Life & Career

Ed Bickert was born in Manitoba, Canada, to a family of farmers. His parents were musical, with his father being a fiddler and his mother a pianist.

Deciding to pursue music instead of farming, Bickert quickly established himself as a success, becoming one of the top jazz and studio guitarists of the scene in Toronto in the 60s.

But Bickert’s real lucky break came when he was introduced to Paul Desmond by Jim Hall, (Ed and Jim were friends), which led to several collaborations between Desmond and Bickert.

Bickert continued to play until the early 2000s, when he then retired.

Unlike other jazz masters, Bickert quietly pursued his art and didn’t overtly seek fame or success.

I think this is one of the reasons why Bickert developed such a uniquely personal style, as genuine as it is groundbreaking.

Now, let’s check out some of his playing.

Ed Bickert’s Style – Smooth As Silk

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

But a video is worth a million.

So, check out this video of Bickert playing in a trio of the classic jazz standard Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me as a fine example of his silky smooth style:

(By the way, if you want to learn Ed Bickert’s solo off this track, click here for a closeup video walkthrough I found on Youtube and click here for a video of the notated transcription)

If I was only allowed to choose one player to emulate in a trio setting it would be Ed Bickert – laid back yet refined, I could listen to him all day long.

As Bickert plays a solo he often interchanges between single line, chord stabs and full chord soloing, skilfully creating interest and variety as you can hear in the video above.

What I love most about Bickert’s playing is his unique approach to chord voicings: easy on the hands, but very sophisticated.

Bickert was the master of implying harmony with chords.

His chords give the impression to the listener of many more notes being played in the voicings than what is actually there.

For jazz guitar, it’s usually only practical to play three or four note chords, so you need to make sure you get the most ‘bang-for-your-buck’ out of the chord tones for each shape you hold down.

Bickert’s voicings live on the upper structures of the harmony: he rarely plays the root or 5th in his chords and often uses quartal approaches.

Here’s the thing:

If you try to play Bickert’s voicings unaccompanied, they can often seem quite dissonant and unrelated to the given harmony.

But, in the context of a trio, they blend in beautifully – giving a warm, listenable, and attention grabbing sound to your comping and chord solos.

3 Ed Bickert Licks

No more armchair jazz guitar! It’s time for you to get to work now.

Get started by learning the following 3 licks in the style of Ed Bickert, which are strong examples of his key ideas.

Ed Bickert Lick 1

Listen & Play:

https://www.fretdojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ed-bickert-lick-1.mp3

This first lick, based on a I – vi – ii – V turnaround, features colorful chord voicings at every turn.

Notice the skillful ‘smooth as silk’ voice leading that Bickert employs in this lick as he moves from chord to chord.

Also noteworthy is that all the chords in this lick are rootless voicings.

The reason?

If you’re playing in a trio, the bass player is usually playing the root notes, freeing you up to play more colorful tones on top.

Whilst this lick might sound a bit strange unaccompanied, try it along with the recording and it will make sense.

Ed Bickert Lick 2

Listen & Play:

https://www.fretdojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ed-bickert-lick-2.mp3

In this lick, Bickert employs open strings to great effect.

Bickert liked using chord clusters, i.e groups of notes very close together. Employing open strings results in a chord cluster which can be otherwise be too tricky to play on guitar.

Again you’ll see the use of entirely rootless voicings, with Bickert playing exclusively in the upper structures of the harmony.

Also, notice that deliciously smooth voice leading that Ed Bickert is renowned for.

Ed Bickert Lick 3

Listen & Play:

https://www.fretdojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ed-bickert-lick-3.mp3

I love this one.

The first chord is a sub of the iim7 chord, becoming a V/V7.

There’s also lots of chords in this lick with a b13 tension, giving it a really hip sound.

As this lick finishes on a I7 chord in the harmony, it’s a good one to use for a jazz blues progression.

Great Recordings of Ed Bickert

This list isn’t exhaustive, but is a good place to start checking out Ed Bickert’s playing at his finest:

Paul Desmond & Ed Bickert – Pure Desmond (1974)

Paul Desmond Quartet Live (1975 )

Out of The Past (1976)

Ed Bickert with Don Thompson: At the Garden Party (1979)

Conclusion

Despite being the musical equivalent of a ‘hidden yogi’, Ed Bickert is a master musician and essential study for any serious chord melody jazz guitarist.

His chord voicings are sophisticated yet easy to apply, which will give you a dynamic sound in your chord melodies and will help break you away from the more stock standard drop 2 and drop 3 chord voicings.

I encourage you to find out more about this fabulous player, one who should be more well known to jazz guitarists everywhere.