Carl once took a lesson from Joe Pass, who showed him his five-step procedure for mastering a jazz tune.
Step 1: Learn to play the melody in all positions all over the neck.
Step 2: Harmonize the melody with small chord voicings.
Step 3: Come up with a chord-melody arrangement that you can play unaccompanied.
Step 4: Be able to improvise over the tune’s chord changes.
Step 5: Learn the tune in other keys.