Learning Jazz Chords

Hi Friends,
Welcome to Tawna's Music Madness! I'm finally going to learn how to play some jazz chords. I've had some direction from Mark Levine, Justin Nielson, and now Reed Burkholder, and I think I have figured out the first step to learning to play some "jazzy" 7th chords. Here's what you do:

1. Play a root position C dominant 7 chord with your left hand.
2. Invert it to the 1st inversion (this is called "A Position" in jazz lingo, with the 3rd of the chord on the bottom).
3. Raise the root of the chord a whole step.
4. Raise the 5th of the chord a whole step.

Next you need to learn the "B Position" voicings, which means the 7th of your chord is on the bottom of the chord.
1. Play a root position C chord.
2. Add the 7th of the chord BELOW the chord. From the bottom up this chord is spelled Bb C E G.
3. Now raise both the root and the 5th a whole step.

Both of these procedures give you a rootless 9-13 chord. You can use this chord when you see "C7". Follow this procedure for all 12 keys, going around the circle of 4ths (which is the circle of 5ths counter clockwise!). If you are playing with a combo with a bass player, use these chords in your LH and improv with your RH or play the melody with your RH. If you are the only instrumentalist accompanying a singer, play the chord in the RH and play the bass in your LH. The standard jazz piano range for using these chords is between D below middle C and A above middle C. Some of these chords can only be used in A position and some can only be used in B position in order to stay within this range.