Jazz Piano Voicings – Think Like A Big Band
By Sam Griffith A few years ago, Wynton Marsalis participated in an documentary on HBO that featured him directing a group of prodigious high-school jazz musicians. Wynton gives tons of great feedback to the musicians, especially to the pianist of the group. In a discussion about comping, Wynton gives several awesome conceptual ideas for the pianist to explore. […]
Mulgrew Miller – If I Should Lose You (From the album “Live At The Kennedy Center, Vol. 1”) [LOTW #80]
Here is a nice solo break Mulgrew Miller uses over a dominant 7th chord. He starts on the #11 and runs down the altered scale until he gets to the second measure. At this point he has a nice skip pattern he uses to get back in to the altered scale at the C natural […]
Mulgrew Miller – If I Were A Bell (From the album “Live At Yoshi’s Vol. 1”) [LOTW #79]
Mulgrew Miller made a huge impact on jazz history. He will be forever remembered. Here is a nice line over a 2-5-1. He uses the same pattern over both the two chord and the five chord. He goes from the b9 to the #9 to the 3rd then back down to the natural 9, b13 […]
Chick Corea – Tones For Joan’s Bones (From the album “Number Two Express”) [LOTW #78]
I love how this line starts. It is such a cool sound over a dominant chord. If you’re thinking in terms of F7, he starts on the natural 13, the note B then moves to the b7 ,#9, 5th then root. Its a nice fourth pattern that can be used in lots of different ways. […]
Chick Corea – Autumn Leaves (From the album “Rendezvous In New York”) [LOTW #77]
Here is a fingering pattern from Chick Corea, used in Autumn Leaves. In this line Chick is repeating a 4321, 4321, fingering pattern and selecting certain notes to match up. I would say this line is more about a texture rather than focusing on specific notes. When you get to the level these pros are […]
Chick Corea – Matrix (Pt. 2, From the album “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs”) [LOTW #76]
I had to do one more from “Matrix” because you hear this pattern all the time and I’m sure you might have wondered what the heck that was that was being played. Well here it is! This line is truly just a technical exercise pattern. With some practice you’ll have it down in no time. […]
Useful Considerations for Jazz Piano Comping
By Sam Griffith Jazz piano comping can be extremely difficult. When accompanying other musicians, pianists have a lot to think about! Here are a few things to ALWAYS remember: Keep It Simple! This process always begins with finding the right notes AND playing them in time. This is not always easy, but very important to remember! […]
Chick Corea – Matrix (Pt. 1, From the album “Now He Sings Now He Sobs”) [LOTW #75]
We start our Chick Corea series today with a line from his famous album , Now He Sings Now He Sobs. Fantastic album everyone should check out. This tune “The Matrix” is a fast blues that Chick Corea wrote. This line is pretty simple yet sounds amazing. Over the II dominant chord Chick plays a […]
McCoy Tyner – Satin Doll (From the album “McCoy Plays Ellington”) [LOTW #74]
Here is a nice line from when McCoy was younger and recorded an all Ellington album. In this line McCoy is beginning to develop his sound using his pentatonics but it is definitely not as pronounced as when he is recording with Trane and by himself a some years later. This is a great line […]
McCoy Tyner – Pursuance – (From John Coltrane’s album “A Love Supreme”) [LOTW #73]
Here is a nice lick from Coltrane’s famous, A Love Supreme. There is not much going on note wise but McCoy uses some nice re-harms here going to the F#7 then to A7 before finally resolving to the V7 of the minor blues the F7 chord. For ease of playing this, practice arpeggio runs to […]
