Blues jam session literature advice

[HaveTrumpetWillTravel]

Hi All,

I realized recently that my local jazz pub has two jam session nights. Sunday is blues and Tuesday is jazz. There are more folk at the jazz jam and it seems more professional (although folk seem to be playing out of fake books, they play it very well). The blues session seems to be more like 5-10 folk going back and forth. They play after a house band where their guitarist says he only plays off of sheet music.

What is a good starting place for blues as opposed to jazz? Is there a fake book for blues as common as for jazz? I've often seen people suggest 10-20 jazz standards that everyone should know. Is there something like this for blues? If I stay in the right key could I noodle around in the background? I'm trying to find a place where I could play with others and work towards blues and jazz improv, but I'm also trying to work my way into this.

(As an aside I'm doing what a lot of folk here suggest: listening a lot, working out of one the jazz beginner books, playing tunes out of a real book, and playing against background music; I hope to do some transcription soon.)

[Croquethed]

How strong is your knowledge of the blues scales?

So many songs and riffs in songs like Born Under A Bad Sign (rock as well as blues) are fairly straightforward arrangements of the blues scales. Noodle them in practice as much as possible, practice your I-IV-V transitions, and you'll go a long way.

Working knowledge of the blues scales and forms also help you ease off the dependence on sheet music quite quickly.

Listen closely to bands like Paul Butterfield (his trumpet guys were Keith Johnson and Steve Madaio) and to blues jazz standards like Moanin'.