Getting into funky, jazzy fusion guitar playing

Question

intermediate guitarist here! This question is going to be quite broad but hopefully you'll have some great tips.

I'd love to get into the type of funky and/or jazzy type of guitar playing for example is these clips, specifically the soloing:

• https://youtu.be/ilroTI32p5s?t=274

I am decently proficient at playing standard modal scales and chord formations but not so much for using them in a jazzy way.

So mainly I wonder what is the best way to learn this type of playing, what concepts to focus on, if you have any great tips & tricks or something that you think is vital to getting into it. I am not looking for some magic formula since I understand that it takes a lot of practice, but more like, where to designate my practicing time.

Also, I understand that a lot of getting into a genre/style of playing is listening to stuff so if you have some artists/albums that you think are good examples of music like this (both funk and jazz) then I'd very much appreciate if you'd share the names of them and I'll check them out!

Thanks! :)

Answer 1

Yeah, Frank Gambale! I listened to the first vid and was like, "wow, this guy would love Gambale..." lol.

So, getting more specific and answering your (admittedly) very broad question:

Harmony/Changes

These guys are playing with the changes. That's because this isn't really pure "funk"(), it's fusion, which is really jazz with a rock beat (IMHO, don't flame me).

Get some Jamey Abersold books, or the backing track for the first vid, and learn the chords.

There is a whole Vital Information album on Play Along Jazz. Buy the versions with no guitar, it is not expensive at all.

Jazz harmony takes some getting-used-to, and playing a little outside really makes or breaks this style. Playing outside is playing notes that contrast or cause tension with the current chord. Dudes like Scofield go so far out sometimes you wonder if they will come back.

Feel

Again, it's the feel that makes this "funky". Find the pocket and the groove, and licks that fit them. In specifically these clips, most of your rock licks, even pretty busy ones, will work, as long as they are in a scale that is interesting, not based right on the tonic.

The play-along tracks help here for sure.

But the best is to find other musicians that like this style. IMHO, in the clips you showed, the rhythm section is really what is driving the whole tune, and the guitar playing just fits nicely.

Find others and play!